What's the best way to start learning spanish'?
Hey, I just started to try to learn spanish, and I would like to know, What Is the best way to start learning spanish'
9 Answers
A combination approach is probably the best. That is some sort of a course and having exposure to the native language environment. The fastest way, of course, is to go a Spanish-speaking country while taking some introductory course while being there and practicing what you learn in class in the natural linguistic environment right away. Being the best and fastest option this might not be available to everyone. If you live in the States though, most of the large metropolitan areas should provide ample opportunities to be exposed to the native linguistic environment and culture. You can take a class at a community college or university or a computer-based course BUT definitely combine with some sort a conversation group (check craigslist, college campuses, search online). I’d be surprised if such groups aren’t available in your city. Try to go the Latino markets and restaurant. Try ordering in Spanish, having a basic conversation with the store clerks/owners, etc.
There are tons of online/computer-based courses and IOS/Android apps and it is difficult to chose one that’s right for you. I would recommend getting something that allows you to practice listening comprehension, reading/writing AND speaking. Some popular courses like Pimsluer do not and although expensive will be fairly limited in scope and variety of exercises. Rosetta Stone and some less expensive courses like Speakado will let you record your voice and listen to your pronunciation in addition to their interactive content. I’d take a look at their trials to see if they work for you and remember to combine any sort of in-class or online instruction with some access to native speakers.
I'm just a beginner, so I can't say much. But my wife started rom zero a year ago and is now an intermediate. She's made rapid progress. It's probably easiest just to read her blog. She only recently started it, but she plans to chronicle the whole journey from just starting to learn to future fluency. I think it would be interesting for anyone just starting (and wondering how to just start). http://learningspanishanywayican.blogspot.com/
Good luck with your Spanish.
I'm just a beginner, so I can't say much, but my wife, who started a year ago and now is an intermediate, is making rapid progress. It would probably be easiest to just read her blog. She just started writing it and isn't too far along, but she adds to it every day. I think anyone just starting (and wondering how to just start) might be interested. http://learningspanishanywayican.blogspot.com/ Good luck.
My husband and i started learning Spanish about a month ago. We got the Michel Thomas audio CDs and have been listening to them to and from work in the car each day. We were wasting 40 minutes a day in the car anyway.
The Michel Thomas technique is great, and you can learn really quickly.
Yeah, I've seen both those links already.
Thank You
I do think to learn the correct pronouciation is so very important, and conversational spanish is what i want to learn
We have very good resources here.
Please read this:
[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A236980]http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A236980[/url]
HI, have you discovered our "groups" yet? There is a Spanish Beginners group and more advanced groups too.
http://my.spanishdict.com/groups
If you want to make friends just send a "comment", if you wish to ask a question, go to "forum " and start a discussion with the words in the title, please.
I think the best way is to watch spanish children's tv, look for children's websites in spanish with games, get a dictionary (I really recommend the spanish english visual bilingual dictionary by dk publishing. Associate words and sounds with pictures. I also recommend rosetta stone. I use it and it really sticks and it's easy and all about association. Learn Spanish the way you learned English (or your native language). Have fun with it. And when you want to start learning vocabulary, use a computer flashcard program such as Anki, which saves so much time with memorization (speaking as someone who had to memorize 1000 kanji characters with it). Buy games in Spanish, watch movies in spanish. A good website I recommend which you can get more ideas for learning spanish easily and quickly is alljapaneseallthetime.com. Substitute Japanese for Spanish. It works really well. You listen to spanish music, read websites in spanish with a built in dictionary add on such as a google translator, and instead of watching TV in English, watch it in Spanish or watch movies in Spanish.
You know the people that stick a toe in the cold pool water and take 30 minutes to adjust and slip in? You want to be the type to jump right in when it comes to languages, otherwise it will seem like you are just not getting it. Spend whatever time you can learning spanish rather than spending 15 minutes a day. It will really pay off.
About classes: They are good for the people who aren't disciplined enough to do it themselves. I suggest a college class. High school spanish didn't do very much for me or my friends.
