Thoughts on my approach to learning Spanish?
Hi there,
So for the most part I'm becoming confident in my ability to read & understand most of what I hear when talking with native speakers but when trying to wrap my head around the grammar it makes me realize how little I actually know.
I really want to learn this because it's important for me to show respect to this wonderful language and its rules but how did you guys go about memorizing & applying all the different grammar rules into everyday speaking and writing?
Is it worth obsessing over knowing each and every rule or should I just learn what I can and focus more on an more everyday, conversational style? Obviously this is a personal preference but I would like to know if you advanced or native speakers have a strong grasp of the grammar?
5 Answers
The best language learning comes from learning small bits at a time. A child learns to speak the language properly through the corrections coming from his elders. A structured process like what you get in school is excellent. The structure -the way of putting words together, verb forms, etc., are presented in a logical manner which gets you to your goal a lot quicker than a child reaches his. The child's advantage is that he is totally submersed in the language from his mother's womb.
I recommend a structured approach as in a class, or one of the many good self-teaching programs out there and practice, practice, practice. If you have any native Spanish speaking friends, let them correct you.
I started English at age nine, and by time I was out of high school, nobody even knew I was a Spaniard. My English is flawless California American. I know of some American missionaries currently serving in Mexico whose Spanish is flawless colloquial Mexican Spanish.
Get out there and speak what Spanish you know, let people correct you and try to get some kind of structured program going whether it be in class or other means.
As far as "conversation" goes, if you really want to converse, you HAVE to know vocabulary and structure. Otherwise it's the "Me Tarzan, you Jane" sort of thing.
I think it depends on your age, your circumstances and what you want to get from your language learning.
A young child hears language around them, then starts to speak using basic words and phrases. Hopefully they are encouraged by their parents and people who care for them. It involves gentle repetition and correction of phrases until they absorb the correct way of speaking. They do not learn any grammar until they go to school even though they will be able to talk about past and future as well as present. I still remember a fascinating lesson about the different ways of pronouncing words with 'ough' in them. Children who do not have people able to speak to them will take longer to learn. Obviously in the world where we live we look on communication as being speaking, reading writing and listening.
Some people say whatever your age, there are advantages in concentrating on speaking and letting everything else catch up when needed. This may work if you go somewhere, where no one speaks your native language and you have to get on with it.
However, I think if you have already mastered your native language you will want to understand some grammar to help you structure sentences and this will involve some concentrated learning.
I can remember attending an adult education class where our teacher was Mexican.
she provided us with lots of homework and lessons on fairly complex grammar. When we said we wanted less grammar she was shocked. [she did have a PHD in linguistics] and said in Mexico they were taught a lot of grammar and it was important. We had a new teacher when she went on maternity leave and were soon asking him to add to the grammar content of the lessons. [he would give whole lessons without any formal grammar]
I don't know what stage you have reached nor whether you have a teacher,
If your aim is just to chat to people maybe grammar is not so important but if you want to be able to read, listen to music and write then grammar is important. learning about apocope will allow you to make sense of why sometimes it is cien/gran etc.
I know I needed to learn the order of direct and indirect objects and their placement. I do in fact remember this by lines from songs.
Listen to music, read when you can and speak. If you have limited opportunities to speak then sing and read out loud.
I like Notes in Spanish podcasts which go from beginner to advanced. They recommend Bowdoin for checking grammar. I also like
which includes some grammar.
This blog has useful resources but is entirely in Spanish lenguaje
Your aim is to communicate and you do not want to become overwhelmed by grammar. Find a course or podcasts you like and work through them. Look up the important grammar points as they arise. Ver Taal has various exercises. Most points have been responded to on this forum often with good links.
Ideally you would find a good teacher to guide and inspire you. There is nothing like learning a grammatical point, doing some exercises working out what you don't understand and then having it explained.
The best sites grade material A1 to C. A lot of them will include the initials ELE. You can use material slightly above your level but there is no point dealing with things way beyond your level.
Finally I enjoy Veintemundos a free electronic magazine with links to grammar and other media. Don't forget to enjoy and become enriched with your learning experience.
Is it worth obsessing over knowing each and every rule or should I just learn what I can and focus more on an more everyday, conversational style?
This may sound crazy, but focusing too much on grammar will stifle your progress. Unless your goal is to be a teacher, don't obsess over grammar rules.
Focus primarily on conversational Spanish and just pick up the grammar as you go along, as opposed to focusing a significant amount of effort on it.
After all, how many English speakers can really explain the in's and out's of grammar? Very few. We just "know" what's right and wrong and it's the same for Spanish speakers.
As much as I appreciate Daniela2041 for contributing and grateful for the answers here on SpanishDict I highly disagree on this one. The answer came out more as a bragging.
So called "standard" or say "school" method has proven itself to be highly inefficient for learning new languages.
By the age you get to the school you already know the language and the only thing school does as Daniela said structure the knowledge.
But if you know nothing there is nothing to structure. Just a bunch of boring rules you are going to hate by the end of the lesson.
So if you know how to talk well then go ahead and put everything on their shelves but I highly discourage you to learn the language by grammar books and try to pronounce every piece by the rule. It will lead you nowhere.
"Me Tarzan, you Jane" is much better than the rules in your head you can apply to nothing.
It is best to try and learn spanish by learning the small bits that all fit together to make a large spanish vocabulary. It is mandatory to know most of the rules in spanish to speak it. I can't go around speaking english like "like I of lots video games." instead of "I like lots of video games". Things such as rules of spanish speaking and the sentence structure are very important to learning the language.
