Planes para aprender
Hola, he estado estudiando español más o menos 1.5 años. Puedo escribir y leer así-así, puedo hablar un poco, y a veces puedo entender qué otras personas están diciendo. Quiero aprender más, pero no estoy seguro cuál forma para usar. ¿Qué recomienden para una persona como yo?
In a nutshell, I want to take a step back to review the methods I am using to learn Spanish.
As a frame of reference, I wrote the Spanish at the beginning of this post in Microsoft Word, using their spell checker, but without looking up a single word or conjugation.
I am currently doing the following (fyi, my wife is fluent):
1. Utilize all the tools on SpanishDict.com daily (of course!)
2. Exchange e-mails completely in Spanish with my wife daily
3. Speak "mostly" in Spanish with my wife on the commute home from work (approx 30-45 mins) 2-3 times a week
4. Listen to Notes In Spanish Inspired Beginners podcast daily
5. Use Anki flash cards to review vocab & conjugations daily
6. Read elementry Spanish books on my kindle daily
I am looking into:
1. Picking up other podcast/media that are good for someone at my level (recommendations?)
2. Attending a Spanish conversation group here in Pittsburgh to get used to talking to more people in Spanish
3. Spending time reading out loud just to practice my pronunciations
Anyone have any other recommendations? What methods are you all using to learn? Thanks!
4 Answers
You sound like you´re doing really well already.
I´d imagine you should add the intermediate Notes In Spanish to your podcast list.
Another good podcast is Spanish Only Spanish.
I discovered an excellent book called Breaking Out of Beginners Spanish.
Rodney recently recommended the book Español entre Amigos, and so far, I like it a lot too.
The first part will be too low level for you, but still good practice, in the online educational series, Destinos. What´s nice about it, is that there are some very nicely prepared college texts and workbooks to go along with the series, which is basically a telenovela (not the cheesy kind) and since it´s a bit dated, the books to accompany the free streaming videos, are available super cheaply.
hth roger
What you wrote in Spanish was well phrased and easy to understand. Makes me ponder why you can write so well but only communicate a little. I can totally relate to your circumstances. You said your wife is fluent, but didn't mention if Spanish was her first language. If she is a native speaker, then you have a perfect way to learn. If she's not a native speaker, but fluent, that's still an awesome resource, Like having a full time instructor.
Most of us learn Spanish to communicate, not to become grammar experts. So the more time you spend speaking, and listening to others speak (very important) the more you will improve. It really comes down to putting in the time using the language. Why not try Spanish only days, and then weeks at home? It may feel frustrating, but it's that sink or swim thing that pushes us along.
As far as what to study, I think learning verb tenses and conjugating is crucial. Real conversation is all over the place with present, past, maybe, will be, might have been. Living with a native speaker I learned a huge amount just by talking and listening, but I think I would have been lost for a long time figuring out how to conjugate verbs had I not studied it.
Also, the six things you mentioned sound like a good plan. It just takes time and effort.
try www.albalearning.com for a change of accent. Here you can read along as a person reads a book. You can choose the level of book from short to long. The pronunciation is central Spain if that impresses you. Cheers
Oh, and DO attend local practice groups. They, along with an OCD like obsession to progress, are what have helped me move beyond what most of my classmates can do. Not brains really, but just the old practice practice practice. Go to that group you mentioned.
