classroom learning is artificial and takes too long to master. Immersion in the culture and language is far more effective IMHO
Hola Bharatthapa,
If you are new to the language read a lot of Spanish comic books or follow comic strips in Spanish newspapers. Not only is the syntax simpler than conversational Spanish but the pictures help in understanding.
¡Hola! Yeah i have some of them with me and please check my latest comment, which i have posted here.
Go to a Spanish speaking area or country for a vacation,or have a student from a Spanish speaking country come to live with you on a foreign exchange program.
also find an area that people only speak the language and try to catch on.
I have plans to visit south america most probably by the end of may 2012.
so far so good, i am learning spanish on my own from last four months.
I am almost through with the spanish present tense:grammer but still need to work on my vocabulary and i need to improve my verb conjugation as well.
Aah i am going off the topic well let me tell you that right now i am using Rosetta stone spanish(All 5levels) and right now i am in the mid of level 2.
Found it good as a vocabulary builder and slowly and gradually i am learning from it as well(takes to my prior knowledge also otherwise, it'd been very difficult for me to make sense out of it because there is no explanation given. Since i have already started it so i would not be backing off from it, it's certain that i'd be finishing it all. I wanted to supplement myself with some books and audios as well but RS employees they have asked me not supplement myself with any of these. I can just chat with the natives and listen and watch spanish movies and songs. =/
After this i have plans to start Pimsleur and Lslc1 and 2(If i don't do well with it) and last option would be either FSI spanish and Platiquemos(I know these are pretty hard and boring has lots of drilling and requires lot of memorisation).
What do you suggest?
I studied Spanish to imtermediate level with the OU (But I believe that standard apporoximates a higher GCSE, nothing more) I had no one to practice with, and to be honest, at my age, I found learning a completely new language quite difficult. I do have Rosetta Stone (intermediate, level 2) on my computer, and I do feel that helped. However, I agree with Stacie, to immerse yourself in the language and the culture has to be the greatest learning experience. Good luck.
Yeah i am trying to immerse myself and whatever spare time i have with me or i get, i always try to utilize it by listening spanish songs, watching spanish movies(whether i understand it or not =P )
I don't skip a day to use rosetta stone(they guarantee that after using Rosetta stone users would be able think in their desired/favourite language but i don't think so however i have to finish it just to find, if it really does wonders after completing all 5levels or not. And i can't skip any day because right now i am not in a position to use other supplements as recommended by RS.
What do you say about FSI or Platiquemos(I know they are the best and the most boring courses available but everyone knows about them that they almost bring you to the native fluency.)
What's your opinion about these two courses as well?
Can we have some comparison among these three courses?
1)RS(1-5) 2)FSI & Programmatic spanish 3)Platiquemos.
I used to worry about learning Spanish and found Pimsleur Spanish to be excellent.
You can find the program online - check out btjunkie.com
What also helped was listening/watching Spanish DVDs, but then again, almost all proper, shop-bought DVDs have the ability to change the language. Change either the spoken language or the subtitles to Spanish, and have the other in your native tongue if possible.
My first lesson in this was a film that started out with a woman calling out "Dame la nina" while the subtitles said "Give me the child".
I know from your comments on a hub of mine that your Spanish is pretty good, probably better than mine!
If it is impossible for you to live in a Spanish speaking country, then you can at least use the Google of a Spanish speaking country and read up on everything that is being said.
I speak Spanish only because my partner doesn't speak English. Otherwise at my age I don't think it would have been possible for me. That is probably why I know all the curses too, LOL, I guess it must be incredibly frustrating for him.
To be honest with you, i have all the major spanish learning courses. Be it Rosetta stone or rocket spanish(Which i believe not even worth $10..personally i didn't like it, maybe i am wrong but it's not what i want maybe good for them who just want to remain as a travelller for their rest of the life "Quiero comer algo o Quiero beber una cerveza" porque es muy limitado)
Pimsleur and LSLC(1 and 2both), Fluenz 1-2, Platiquemos and etc etc.
And i already have almost 30hardtext grammer books mostly by Dorothy richmonds-i must say her books are awesome. Just used one of her books so far before using Rosetta stone(Basic spanish)(pmp series and others as well. )
Pimsleur approach is really good but right now i am not using it but i am sure it'll be pretty good for additional vocabulary and would work as an accent differentiation tool as well in the initial stage of learning. I checked some of the chapters of Learn spanish like crazy also and found them very very informative and innovative for self teaching(Teaching method is almost same as Pimsleur but they try to push extra words in your brain while self teaching and one thing which i liked the most is they really speak fast but the better side of fast native speakers in the recording is definitely gonna help a learner to understand better it serious improves the listening skills of a learner como YO.
Ohh again i am going off the track well ..let me get back to the topic well i am learning spanish because i want to think in spanish as well. If i don't get native fluency entonces no hay problema conmigo pero lo quiero y lo voy a aprender como un loco.(sorry my spanish isn't that awesome..tengo muy limitado conocimiento del español.)
My motive is to gain atleast similar fluency or understanding as i have of English si posible más que íngles entonces muy bien!! =P
Almost four months practice and using RS(It seriously enhances your listening and understanding of language if you are using it by heart, still i am not sure after all 5 levels i would be able to form difficult sentences with the help of it or not.) has almost made me smart enough that while watching movies or mientras estoy escuchando las canciones, yo las puedo entender. (no todo pero las puedo)
BUTTTTTTTTT rosetta stone is damn slow jajajjajajjaaaj
I could have progressed much more if i would have not used RS but commitment is a commitment which i have already made. Fine! i don't care even if i have to give 200hours more to finish all the 5levels of RS but i do not want to regret later that i could've done something better than this.
As i already said my goal is to reach fluency, i know native fluency is almost impossible but it's just almost i have seen people trying to learn a language on their own without any prior knowledge of it or without any background they have self taught themselves and they speak it perfectly(with an accent but that's forgivable)
And thanks once again for participating and letting me and others know about your personal opinions and what do you think of itl.
Why don't you open a Spanish thread here? You have enough knowledge and more.
We've had hubbers in the past trying to help English speakers here learn Spanish, but they left after a time without so much as a bye your leave.
I know Hubpages is English only, but there does seem to be demand for some Spanish speaking somewhere here, even if it is only at elementary level.
Yo no hablo espanol o yo ayuda ti.
This says "I don't speak Spanish or I help you".
What I wanted to say was, "I don't speak Spanish or I would help you", but I don't know how to.
Yo no hablo español pero te voy a ayudar
Así se dice
y tampoco hablo bien español.
Gracias.'te voy ayudar?' is 'I would like to help you?'
Y'see my partner never wants to help me, so he never says that. It's always "eres siempre en el puta ordenador, por nada dinero!"
But he is wrong. I just don't tell him
well my own experience tells me that hay many words similar to english but "BEWARE" most of them they have different meanngs.
We call them "falso amigos" they sound and look similar to english word but don't interpret the similar meaning.
Por example:- actualmente(many learner they think maybe it means actually because as usual it has -mente at the end and actual is already there but literally it means "currently" and so there are many other words also.
te voy ayudar= i am going to help(English equivalent)
you can't have 100% translation of these spanish sentences(At beginning it's easy but later spanish grammer gets more and more complex and you'll find it harder to learner but it's true for a native english speaker it is the easiest language to learner.)
except ser and estar they might confuse you a lot.
oh my god....i think i've got too much spanish in my head!! jajjajajaaaja
ser and estar are easy once you know the difference.
Ser is a state of permanence. I am Scottish. That is permanent.
I live in Spain, that is not permanent.
Soy escocesa pero estoy vivo en espana.
estoy+vivo=wrong
Correct form= (Yo) estoy viviendo en españa.
or (Yo) Vivo en españa.
¿me entiendes?
Well to learn a language it needs lot of things such as time, dedication, interest and materials.
All i can expect that by the end of may 2012 i might gain some good knowledge of it.
Right the kind of spanish what i have taught myself is just sufficient to express myself and my necessities.
Grammatically i am not always correct you could say que tengo menos conocimiento del español.
I'd say here we can just exchange our views and let each other know that how to make Foreign language learning easy for each other by letting others know about the experiences that we encountered or we had while learning and blah blah!!
An interesting comment I have (to Spanish learners only of course) is when you want to say you like or don't like something.
Now this is the correct version, according to native Spanish speakers.
I like Spanish television.
A mi mi gusta television espanol.
I don't like Spanish television.
A mi no mi gusta television espanol.
To me it should be simply 'mi gusta' or 'no mi gusta', but it is 'a mi mi gusta' or 'a mi no mi gusta'.
Just thought I'd throw that in
Edit: spelling might be off.
A mí no me gusta el television español
A mí me gusta el telvision/televisor español.
you know it confuses me a lot how yes ser and estar is always there to confuse us but along with that we have ..hmmm let me give you some examples.
example1- i like this song= me encanta esta cancion
example2- i like this shirt- a mi me gusta esta camisa.
example3- i am angry- estoy enojado(if female enojada)
example4-i am inteligent- soy inteligente(works with both the genders)
example5- are you in the kitchen- ¿estás en la cocina?
example6-are you from usa?- ¿eres de los estados unidos?
Moral of the story:- You can not have exact word to word translation of spanish.
I am happy that still, i have somehow managed to understand the basics of spanish present tense and little bit of future tense along with little bit of past tense.
but that's not enough seven important tenses and vocabulary building and verb conjugation ooooooohh
............and believe me, so far what i heard and read from others i also feel that self teaching/learning is much better than or we should say 10x faster than regular classes.
I am not saying classroom teaching isn't good, if you're in the class then atleast you can expect from your teacher to clear your doubts and classroom keeps you in discipline but seriously classroom learning is a very slow process.
I think when you learn some foren language you need to conect both methods, because in the beginning you need that somebody explain you general structure of this language and when you got it - you are free in learning by yourself or by having conversation with native speaker. You need to have some basic knowledge to start interactive conversation!!!
sí, lo tengo!!! y puedo charlar también yeah i agree, it's important however to become perfect or close to native fluency takes time. =/
A few years ago (eight to ten?) I used to go to the football in Glasgow with a friend who was doing really well in his job and achieved a major promotion which meant he would be responsible for parts of Europe, as well as Britain. His European base was Spain and he spoke no more Spanish words than me (ie, none!) He went to night school in our local area and said the help he received was fantastic, especially when he told them why he had to learn the language, to at least a basic level, ASAP.
Learning a foreign language is never easy and requires dedication and hard work, whether it be classroom or self-teaching. It may be a little unethical and off the wall but personally, I found that learning to swear in German first - and criticise my own failures - helped endear me to the locals...
LOL, I wrote a hub about swearing in Spanish - Spain Spanish as opposed to S American Spanish, but the OP has already found it! (in my other name).
I do agree that learning to swear in a foreign language is definitely a first step, if only to know what they are saying about you!
One night in Benidorm, a Scottish friend and I were waiting on being served in a Turkish carry-out shop.
It was just young lads serving behind the counter, but suddenly my friend leapt forward, slapped one of the guys, and then led me by the arm outdoors.
It turns out she had lived in Turkey for a few months, long enough to learn some of the lingo, and these guys had been derogatory towards us.
Yep, definitely good to know the swear words if nothing else!
I remember reading a Hub or post Izzy where you gave someone in Spain (from Scotland) a blast in our unique dialect... and shocked them in to submission!
Bharatthapa, I am not sure of your reasons for learning Spanish or whether you have daily dealings with native Spanish speakers but that is the best advice I could ever give you. Get to know people who speak the language. Once you grab the basics, visit Spanish language websites if you don't meet native Spanish speakers every day.
You have reminded me of one time I was travelling back from Germany and a friend's daughter was learning German at school. He asked me to bring her newspapers from Germany. My case was opened at the airport and the authorities thought I was insane that it was half filled with old editions of Der Bild!
Yes sir that's what i am doing and i don't let any day go away from me.
because after giving so much time, if i will back off from here then for sure in rest of my life i am not going to learn anything.
No i am just learning it for my G.K(General Knowledge.)
I don't deal with spanish speakers.
I'd thought of another use for old newspapers, but thought I'd better not say.
Reminds me of my old granny. Her close was being pestered night after night by juveniles, and she finally phoned the police, in desperation, to get them removed.
They listened to her story of the noise and disturbance she had had to put up with, and then asked for her address, (so they could send officers round).
"I'd rather not say" she said.
It was a family joke for a couple of years until some wee ned assaulted her on the way back from the shops one day.
He knocked her to the ground - she was 80 odds - and she died in hospital less than 2 weeks later from the stroke that was waiting to happen, according to the defendant's lawyer.
This isn't a sad preclude, I will always remember my granny and her "I'd rather not say". Mores the pity as it turns out.
But don't worry even after knowing how to form the sentence, i often forget this and make mistakes.
Because i have not mastered it yet and still i translate it in my mind.
The day from when i'd be thinking in spanish that day would be my best day.
I am angry in Spain Spanish would be "Estoy enfadado/a".
There are a lot of differences in the words between American Spanish and Spanish Spanish.
You'll note in my hub there is an image which says "Eres pendejo - you are my best friend", but I have never heard the word 'pendejo' here in Spain. It isn't used. I have heard of it though, I'm online.
Viviendo - you are correct. I'm rubbish at languages, I don't mind admitting it. I have learnt enough to understand and be understood, at least face to face. I still don't speak Spanish on the telephone.
You, on the other hand, are a natural linguist and although you have only studied this language for a few months, I look forward to your corrections!
Some people's brains adapt to foreign languages better than others. It is my pleasure to meet you, young man. You have a rare aptitude
Muchas Gracias la señora IzzyM
but still i am on a learning curve when i chat with native spanish speaking americans/latinos i still find it hard to express myself.(Though i try my best to express myself and what i am trying to say.)
Because i don't want to let any opportunity go away from me.
Some of them they are very nice and some of them are $#@#@ but mostly i came across with nice people only.
La verdad is it has became an obsession for me right now because of this language learning i have started transportation(would rather say taxi renting business here) and just waiting for the permit.
Once i'll get the permit then i'll have enough time to study and practice and i'll quit my job
I can't leave my job because for living something is always required.
Atleast for bread and butter jajajajajajja.
Oh you must be my long lost son!!
I was a taxi driver for many years and if you ever need any hints or tips on how to deal with unruly passengers, email me.
Oh Veo
Yo estaba creyendo que Usted es la mujer jajajajjaja pero está bien.
Sure, my pleasure!!
Obviously you have a pretty good take on languages! I think it is good to start in the class room but at some stage you have to get out there and be prepared to make mistakes and sound awkward. I have learnt spanish for over 10 years, but as soon as I tried to speak with a Colombian it all went out the window. It's just like English, we all have different ways of saying the same thing.
Well thanks to revive this old thread again XD
I can't opt for the classroom method reason being i am a working person and hardly get time for myself and classroom requires atleast 4hrs presence of yours when you join them. So doesn't like a great idea to me.
But thanks!!!!
I find it comfortable for me to learn Spanish on my own. I always recommend people to check lists and rankings with the best books to learn Spanish and choose one adapted to their style.
http://spanishbooks.livejournal.com/
https://www.librarything.com/list/11238/all/
https://rankingspanishbooks.blogspot.com.es/
My choice was -A Good Spanish Book!- It is the first one in lists and rankings and it helped me a lot. I also buy reading books sometimes because I am a librarian at a high school and it's good to have variety for the kids who learn Spanish.
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