Learning a new language (Spanish)

[shortstuff]

I have always wanted to learn another language just because I think it would be cool to do and would come in handy one day. The want I am going to start learning is Spanish.

Does any one have any tips or handy links or things I should when it comes to learning Spanish or any language?

[Tocho]

www.livemocha.com (it's free, premium services are unnecessary and not required)

http://www.fluentin3months.com/ <- lots of (good) advice [in my opinion]

I'd like to say I'm almost fluent in Spanish (which I'm not), but I'm quite proficient when it comes to Spanish - so feel free to ask if you need help with it (or other languages).

Good luck!

[Ghost]

When I was doing French I used this: http://www.memrise.com/welcome/

It has heaps of different languages, and is completely free!

It really harnesses mnemonics, I can easily remember Dismiss is Limoger in french!

Limoger = Lime Ogre = Shrek = Dismiss!

[Jennieve01]

I have been using this ->

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php

Its all public domain languge kits Sure they may be old but you still can learn a lot from them.

[JeffyB]

I'm trying to improve on the German that I learned while stationed there; last year I bought a blank Moleskine-style notebook, created a calendar in it (for this year), and wrote in the months, days, holidays, and appointments in German... I figured it would be a good reminder of the common basic words.

[Tocho]

When I was doing French I used this: http://www.memrise.com/welcome/

It has heaps of different languages, and is completely free!

It really harnesses mnemonics, I can easily remember Dismiss is Limoger in french!

Limoger = Lime Ogre = Shrek = Dismiss!

I can see how Limoger = Lime Ogre, and how Lime Ogre = Shrek. But how does Shrek = Dismiss/Sack?

[Raikas]

If you can't have an immersion experience (always the best way), I'd suggest finding other ways to listen to the language - watch movies in it, find your favourite TV series in a dubbed version and start watching that, find radio stations online and stream them.

[shortstuff]

When I was doing French I used this: http://www.memrise.com/welcome/

It has heaps of different languages, and is completely free!

It really harnesses mnemonics, I can easily remember Dismiss is Limoger in french!

Limoger = Lime Ogre = Shrek = Dismiss!

I have been using this ->

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php

Its all public domain languge kits Sure they may be old but you still can learn a lot from them.

Thanks for the link!

I'm trying to improve on the German that I learned while stationed there; last year I bought a blank Moleskine-style notebook, created a calendar in it (for this year), and wrote in the months, days, holidays, and appointments in German... I figured it would be a good reminder of the common basic words.

If you can't have an immersion experience (always the best way), I'd suggest finding other ways to listen to the language - watch movies in it, find your favourite TV series in a dubbed version and start watching that, find radio stations online and stream them.

They are really good ideas thanks *goes off wondering if LoTR movies can be played in spanish*

[pedrosette]

Thanks for the link!

They are really good ideas thanks *goes off wondering if LoTR movies can be played in spanish*

Even though watching movies in spanish IS a good idea, I wouldn't recommend LoTR. It's a foreign movie and you would watch a dubbed version, which is an inferior exercise when compared to watching a movie that was acted, written and directed in spanish. You seem to be into fantasy, so I would recommend something like "Alatriste", which is not fantasy per se, it's more like a gritty reboot of the cape-and-sword genre. I would also look into anything by Pedro Almodóvar or with Gael García Bernal in it (Motorcycle Diaries is awesome).

Now, you just gotta pay attention to the fact that spanish is a VERY different language depending on the country. Argentina, for example, uses the pronoun "vos", which changes the verb in a specific way, while in Spain that would not be used. So this might be confusing when watching some movies from different parts of the world.

[Tocho]

3 great Spanish movies; Pan's Labyrinth (El laborinto del fauno), Voces Inocentes (Innocent Voices) and Celda 211 (Cell 211).

[Raincloak]

my advice: first of all, you can get a surprisingly long way with just "Hello," "Please," and "Thank you." Mix with gestures, add 500 words, and voila, you can have a conversation. (actually you only need 50 or 100 words to have a very simple conversation, but you won't be able to say much. With 500 words you can have a real discussion.)

If you're going to learn any language, SPEAK it. When you read written Spanish, say the words out loud to yourself in the best accent you can manage. (You're also free to imitate a Spanish accent when you talk in English.) Put on the Spanish subtitles for your favorite movie, mute the volume, watch the movie and read the subtitles aloud, even if you can't understand every word. Watch films in Spanish and repeat the actors' sentences.

Whenever you see an item around the house, say its name in Spanish as you pick it up. Be like a toddler who points at everything and says its name. Bonus points if you add adjectives. Practice sentences aloud even if you're not talking to anyone (like, "Donde estan mis llaves? Ah, aqui los estan!") This helps your brain form the connections between mouth, ears, and meaning.

To build vocabulary, you'll also want flash cards or something similar. Set yourself a reasonable goal like 10 new words per week, and get an app or carry a little notebook. Whenever you have a spare minute standing in line or sitting on the bus, practice the words. Don't forget verbs and adjectives, not just nouns.

Grammar is the hardest part of a language to master, and for that you might actually need to hire a teacher or get a good textbook. The good news is, it's the least important thing. Learn some of the simpler tenses and make them work. Spanish has rules for conjugating verbs, just like English; learn the basic rules and you can conjugate any verb. Even if you get it a little bit wrong, you'll get the point across.

I would also recommend you find someone in your area who speaks Spanish, and offer to buy them coffee if they'll have a 1-hour conversation with you once a week. At this conversation you can talk about anything you wish, but for maximum benefit, you should speak ONLY Spanish.

[Ghost]

I can see how Limoger = Lime Ogre, and how Lime Ogre = Shrek. But how does Shrek = Dismiss/Sack?

Shrek does not equal dismiss. Shrek is Shrek.

But because I have applied such a vivid image to this word it is much stronger.

And easier to remember, you don't need to see Shrek to remember dismiss.

It just gives you more access to that memory.

Another one, couteau, means knife in French.

I remember it by "Cut toe". Knife, cut, and even toe which is unrelated all just stimulate the memory a bit better.

It is hard to explain. But most people have used Mnemonics.

Like SOH CAH TOA for mathematics.

[Raikas]

Even though watching movies in spanish IS a good idea, I wouldn't recommend LoTR. It's a foreign movie and you would watch a dubbed version, which is an inferior exercise when compared to watching a movie that was acted, written and directed in spanish.

Well, watching dubbed movies is usually an inferior cinematic experience, but in terms of language-learning they can be very useful - part of faking a language immersion experience is having things on in the background just to get used to the sound and flow of the language. By watching a dubbed version of something you've already seen (or a remake in your target language, or a movie you've watched with subtitles before) you can have that half-understood experience of the language - and that's the frame of mind that makes it easiest to pick up a "sense" of things like verb conjugations or noun classes/genders.

I'd suggest watching sporting events in Spanish (or any other target language) for the same reason - you'll probably have a sense of what's happening, so you're less worried about comprehension and can let your brain pick up on the other bits and pieces.

[Lugh]

As a language learning aficionado, here are two ressources I could advise you (more from a methodological point of view, rather than specific to Spanish):

• All Japanese All The Time (AJATT): Based on the Moon method, Khatzumoto advocates for total or near-complete immersion (planing your environment in Spanish rather than English) with a focus on "fun". For him, one does not "learn" but rather "get used" to a language (hence immersion). Furthermore, he argues (quite rightly in my opinion) that doing something fun in the language is more important than studying something hard but efficient things: Fun will make you want to keep studying whereas Hard things will make you more likely to give up. He focuses quite extremely on the use of Spaced-Repetition (Memrise/Anki). (Also, I find him in general quite funny but that's just me)
  
• Anki: Just like Memrise but as a software, also exists as an app for Apple and Android. You have the possibility of downloading shared decks (of flashcards) from other users and Spanish ressources are readily available.

Also, Ghost is 100% right. Mnemonics are amazingly efficient to remember vocabulary (although they might seem unatural at first). Making up an image or a story to fit the new words you learn will greatly increase your retention rate.

Oh, and like any other romance language make sure whenever you learn vocabulary to also learn its gender. Of course native/fluent speakers will still understand what you mean but there is no more obvious beginner mistake than that. (And regardless of how fluent you get, you'll be considered a beginner as long as you make gender mistakes for common words)

[hnsight_ner]

I speak seven languages so far. My approach:

Google a list of 500 most common words. Translate those words to language of choice. Index cards (or Android) app, one side English, other side new language - one word each.

Memorize ten words a day. Super hard the first week, so-so the second week, after two months one look at a new word and you remember it. Memory, amazing thing.

Move to the country. Let using those words, watching TV, interacting with locals fill in all the grammar organically. I never learned a single grammar rule, but I speak like a native in four or my languages. Grammar study just f's up your mind. Vocab, then living there.

[Tocho]

I speak seven languages so far. My approach:

Google a list of 500 most common words. Translate those words to language of choice. Index cards (or Android) app, one side English, other side new language - one word each.

Memorize ten words a day. Super hard the first week, so-so the second week, after two months one look at a new word and you remember it. Memory, amazing thing.

Move to the country. Let using those words, watching TV, interacting with locals fill in all the grammar organically. I never learned a single grammar rule, but I speak like a native in four or my languages. Grammar study just f's up your mind. Vocab, then living there.

Just out of curiousity, what languages do you speak?

[Raikas]

Grammar study just f's up your mind.

Eh, I think that depends on the languages.

I find that the closer a goal language is to one that I already speak, the more I need to actually study the grammar. Otherwise I find myself just speaking a mid-point version of the one I already speak. For example, I was in Belgium recently and my attempts at Dutch pretty much consisted of using Afrikaans nouns with German verbs. People could understand me, but I clearly wasn't actually speaking Dutch, y'know? But I think I could separate them out fairly easily with a little look though a grammar book or two.

Having some formal knowledge of the rules breaks down that mental linking of the two, at least in my experience (I majored in Linguistics at university and I speak four or five languages - depending on what we count as fluency - plus I've studied two that I've now forgotten and I understand a bits of others). I know with Spanish it's easy to end up letting Italian or Portuguese (or even French) bleed into it, at least for a not insignificant number of people.

Then again, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It just depends on your goals - "faking" a language is fine if it's just for travel and magazines. I wouldn't want to try to get an office job/attend university/read serious literature with a functional-but-fake fluency.

[Trad_Climb]

I learned Spanish as my second language. The 1 major thing that helped me learn it, is having actual discussions in the language. Even if you don't know the words say as much as you can, then go back and learn the words or phrases you didn't know. Go back and have the same discussion again. rinse and repeat.

Watch movies and kid shows. I agree Pan's labyrinth and Innocent Voices are awesome. For shows El Chavo del Ocho is so freaking funny!

[Kyrian]

For self-study, the best thing is to find a good website or book with exercises and basic vocabulary. That will help you with the basic grammar and survival vocab. Once you've got that, you just have to add to your vocabulary until you have a really good foundation.

When you get to a level where you can read or listen in the language and understand the majority of it, it becomes a lot easier because you have so many different ways to practice. I find that watching Disney movies or reading children's books that were originally English is easiest, because the vocabulary is a little simpler and the language isn't quite as foreign as it is in media from your target language (for example - I'm reading 'The Hobbit' in Russian right now, but if I try to pick up a book originally written in Russian, I get really lost and have no idea what's going on...)

The hardest part is speaking. Don't be scared to go up to native speakers and try to strike up a conversation. You'll get things wrong, but that's natural. And often times they'll try to switch to English (especially if they speak better English than you do Spanish), but if you're persistent they'll usually speak to you in their native language.

There are a lot of good phone flash card apps out there now. Those are a good way to get study in when you're waiting somewhere or just have an extra five minutes to kill.

[BeautifulBeast]

I saw it stated above, LIVEMOCHA!!! It is an awesome website! I am learning Swedish from it  

[independent739]

I'd recommend LiveMocha, too. I also really like Duolingo, which is completely free AND has an app (not sure about Android/Google).

[Gonzosan]

If you can't have an immersion experience (always the best way), I'd suggest finding other ways to listen to the language - watch movies in it, find your favourite TV series in a dubbed version and start watching that, find radio stations online and stream them.

I agree with this, I'm fluent in Spanish but my mom is from Spain and I grew up in El Paso which is predominantly hispanic. When I was living in Japan I learned some basic conversational Japanese but I was going to school for it then was immediately able to use it with the locals. Immersion is the best but if you can't do that then make it so that you have to learn it from things you already do. Change your browser language to Spanish, only write in spanish for certain things, etc.

[Marco]

If you want to try Portuguese, i can give you some help.

[Rexxar Txan]

I am fluent in Spanish and been a language teacher for the past 7 years. I would recommend focusing on listening (understanding) and speaking, reading and writing are the least important especially if your purpose is traveling. Grammar is left for last. Try watching children's shows in spanish as they are easy to follow and repeat the same expressions several times in each episode.

 

Buena suerte y si necesites ayuda contactame!

[minx34]

This is all so helpful! I want to strengthen my Spanish as well, since my boyfriend's family primarily speaks it. I've taken Spanish classes before, but I have lost a lot from not using it. Thanks for posting shortstuff, and thanks for the advice everyone!