Spanish Lesson One: Learning A Little At A Time

I'm not a fluent speaker and I have never claimed to be, I however love the language and have learned LOTS over the years. I took Spanish I, II, and AP in high school and retained about 90% of it over the years. It takes a gifted person to really be able to retain a great deal of a language beyond that of their primary language. I'm writing this to help those who want to get fluent, but don't really have the time. Each Lesson will convey a few small facts and things to learn about the language without bogging you down.

When learning Spanish, it usually feels that things are a bit rushed and it's so difficult to really devote your mental power to learning it. It can be difficult and sometimes confusing. Though it's always FUN. I'm hoping to put some lessons on here to help the everyday person learn "A Little At A Time" and then eventually progress over time and eventually grow to a decent level of fluency.

Vamos a empezar!! (Let's Begin!)

The very first thing you must know is how each and every letter in the Spanish alphabet sounds so that you can pronounce it right when you stumble upon it. Once you have the alphabet, read a few words in Spanish (that I will provide) and see if you can can say them. I know this seems really juvenile, but it REALLY helps. My pronunciation is near perfect because I always stayed true to the alphabet and pronouncing words properly. Take a look at the letters and pronounce as close to my phonetic description as possible.

Once you've read both columns of letters, take a look at the youtube video I posted. I learned this same song when I first started learning. It made me very familiar with pronouncing the letter.

Ñ- N-Yay (This tild helps N gain a "y" sound)

O- O

P- Pay

Q- Ku

R- Ere

RR- (Double RRs are rolled)

S- Essay

T- Tay

U- OO

V- Vay

W- Doblay Vay

X- Ekeese

Y- E-Gri-Ay-Ga (I know, hard)

Z- Zeta

A- Ah

B- Bay

C- Say

Ch- Chay

D- Day

E- A (the letter)

F- Efe

G- Hay

H- Hachay

I- The letter E

J- Hota

K- Ka

L- Ele

LL- (Double LLs take on a "y" function)

M- Eme

N- Ene

Phrases

Hola- Hello (The "H" is silent)

Me llamo...- My name is (Should sound like "May Yamo")

Nouns

Chico- Boy

Video- Video (Vi-Day-O)

Verbs

Cantar- "To Sing"

Sacar- "To take/ To take down (like notes)"

Ir- "To Go" (Sounds exactly like "ear")

Each lesson will be short like this, and allow you to absorb more knowledge "A Little At A Time". Each lesson will teach you a little bit more over time and hopefully you'll grow in fluency. The alphabet is the perfect first stepping stone to learning pronunciation. Next lesson I'll delve deeper and teach you about accents and diaeresis. I'll also slowly give you more words to increase your vocabulary. Also you'll learn about verbs, sentence structure, describing people places and things, and conversational Spanish. Look for me. I think we'll have one lesson a week. Let me know if this was a good start!!

Also, please note that learning a new language is difficult. I constantly invite others to ask for help or assistance where needed. I may not be perfect, but I strive for it. I look forward from hearing from you! Thanks for your read!

Look up a Spanish song.. try No by Shakira and read the lyrics online as well as listen to her sing. Can you pronounce any of those words like her? The best way to get your pronunciation down packed is by listening to native speakers say the words as they're spelled. Go on! Give it a try!!

If you find a song you like and is slow enough to practice, have at it!! :) Other good songs include Viveme (Live through me) by Laura Pausini, and Angel by Belinda.