Wow, I only started this ‘Tips’ series yesterday and already I have another, inspired by a blog I discovered about a Londoner’s Spanish learning journey. So, here are some of the most important lessons I learned after I turned up in Spain 7 years ago without a word of Spanish. I’m sure I’ll keep adding to this, and please do contribute your ideas in the comments below.
One: Motivation. To learn any language efficiently, quickly, and well, you need to be very motivated to do so, otherwise it takes forever. And I mean very motivated. If you only have the ‘I might try and learn a bit of Spanish’ kind of motivation, then give up and do something else. You need to be desperately keen to learn Spanish, longing to get out there and speak it fluently. Motivation ‘targets’, or reasons, include: ‘I want to move to Spain a.s.a.p.’, ‘I want to be able to talk to those beautiful Spanish girls/men,’ ‘I’m obsessed with Spain and I want to go as deep into the culture as I can…’ N.B. You don’t have to be fluent in Spanish to move to Spain. In 6 months you can go from zero to conversational, and to fluent in 9, if you move here and surround yourself with it.
Two: Hard work and hunger. Once the motivation is in place you’ll need to really throw yourself into it, working on the language constantly and consistently, devouring as much Spanish as you can get your hands on at every possible opportunity, which leads me to the next point…
Three: Total Immersion. Surround yourself with Spanish, bath yourself in Spanish! Watch Spanish films, read Spanish magazines and newspapers, get a decent text book from the local bookshop, buy a decent dictionary (and a pocket one). Get hold of novels or ‘readers’ that match your abilities. A reader is a reduced, graded book with a range of vocab that matches your level. Estimate your level by picking up a reader in the bookshop and reading a page. If you have trouble with around 6 words then this is your level. More than 6 and it is too high, less and it is too low.
Four: Prioritise. Think, ‘do I need to know such a complicated word yet? Have I learned enough useful stuff already?’ For example, if you come across the word for ‘railing’ before you have learned basic shopping vocab, then you may want to let it slip out of your memory for now, concentrating on the basics for the time being. I hope that makes sense, it really worked for me!
Five: Join a class. Learning with a group isn’t just a social thing, it’s really motivating to be in the same boat as others, and a bit of inter-group competitiveness never does any harm. Plus, teachers structure language learning nicely and pull you up on those recurring mistakes. The bi-weekly classes I took in my first year in Spain made a huge difference.
Six: Enter yourself into an official exam. Honestly, it isn’t that terrifying and it really gives your motivation a kick. The Instituto Cervantes offers official diplomas (the ‘DELE’) and has centres all over the world. I did the Intermediate level exam years ago and later the ‘Superior’, the latter really honing those damn subjunctives.
Seven: The Intercambio. You meet with a Spanish speaking person once a week, in a bar, cafe, wherever, and speak for an hour or more in Spanish, then the same in English. That way both parties benefit. Look or advertise on language school or college (especially Erasmus/ foreign students) noticeboards, and in the ex-pat press in Spain. This is invaluable for practicing your speaking, and really is my top tip, the single best thing you can do to improve your Spanish. Be warned (or not): many a lasting relationship, marriages included, have begun with an intercambio – here is one who speaks from experience!
Eight: Some random techniques. Some people use white stickers to label every object at home in Spanish – worked for my sister. I used to carry a sheet of paper around with all the basic tenses and verb types on, testing myself on the metro… Old fashioned vocab sheets work a treat – English words on one side of the page, Spanish on the other – you cover one side and try to remember the words’ translations. Self-testing whilst walking around -’Do I know the word for that?’ (whilst looking at a lamp post, letter box etc). Carrying the pocket dictionary everywhere is great for that.
Nine: Think in Spanish. Another old language learning trick, but it works. If you can’t regularly talk to others in Spanish then you can always practice by holding an internal dialogue with yourself!
Ten: Learn on the go. An obvious one. This really applies when you are actually in Spain (or South America etc). Need to open a bank account? Learn the relevant vocab before you go into the bank. Same goes for shopping at the market, buying bread, getting a haircut, chatting up the ladies/men on a night out, buying a train ticket etc etc….
Eleven: ENJOY IT! Use the techniques that work for you and aren’t too tiresome. If it’s boring or no fun you’ll soon give up. This is where things like classes and intercambios really help, especially when the latter has an element of the blind date thrown in for good measure (podcast no. 18 goes into this!)
Any thoughts, additions, suggestions? Please comment below! Hope this helps…
dave
30 Nov 05 at 4:47 pm
I’m really enjoying these TIPS posts. Please keep them coming!
thanks!
dave
caleb
30 Nov 05 at 6:12 pm
ben, great list of tips! the only thing i’d add from personal experience is – and this is easier said than done – stop hanging around english speakers! while a little cold hearted, if you’re really intent on learning a new language, leaving the old one behind as much as is practical will get you far. i tried to politely distance myself from american/canadian/english/irish/scot/etc folks with only one or two exceptions. i am sure this gets one farther in a new language than happens when exchange students and expats come over from a new country and live 4 to a flat. while it might be easier, i think they spend most of the time in an insulated social niche which is a disservice to their chance at fully experiencing the new country!
Ben
30 Nov 05 at 8:36 pm
I agree, though you also have to be careful not to take it too far. I have come across people here who refuse to have anything to do with non-spanish speakers, saying things like ‘I will only make friends with Spaniards and South Americans from now on’- you have to keep an open mind, try to immerse yourself, and, as you say, if you are going to distance yourself then do it politely!
Tim
1 Dec 05 at 11:05 am
Some great tips and absolutely on the money.
The thing that really worked for my wife and myself, as well for others that we met, was to spend a period (as long as possible – I spent 3 months, but others spend the odd week or fortnight when they can) at one of the language schools in Spain. There are loads of them. They generally teach only in Spanish and really do give you a fast-track into the language, as well as usually giving a good intro to the culture.
Steve
1 Dec 05 at 2:31 pm
Excellent tips. I used many myself, especially carrying a little list of words, useful phrases and verbs with me at all times. Good for the metro or when waiting for someone. For a while I added 10 new words a day that I had come across, and made sure I learned these.
Thinking in Spanish just gets you in the mood and it helps to start your brain flowing a bit quicker when someone asks you something unexpectedly.
Much more about Intercambios on my blog soon.
http://www.learningcastellano.blogspot.com/
Richard Wise
2 Dec 05 at 6:15 pm
I like this idea of tips and the language learning one is particularly good.
Something that someone told me (and I have done it, but yet to start) is to buy a well known novel in both English and Spanish. It is preferable if you know the story roughly. A very good example is the series of Harry Potter books. I have just bought The Chamber of Secrets in English and Spanish versions. The idea is that you read one chapter in English and then one in Spanish. That way you are getting the gist as you go along and do not get swamped by too many words/phrases that you do not understand.
I’m not sure whether to do that next or read my new book – The Basque History of The World.Before I do any of that I need to finish The Shadow of the Wind.
Richard
Pol
3 Dec 05 at 1:39 pm
Mmmm… some tips on learning Spanish… Ben, you say you can go from zero to conversational in only six months??. I wonder what would David Beckham think about that??. Frankly I don’t think he’s followed much of your rules, I don’t see him labelling in Spanish all the stuff in his house (i.e. “la crema facial exfoliante”, “la alfombra de pelo de gazela virgen tanzana”, “el ropero gigante con zapatero para todos los modelitos de mi mujer”…
César Ortega
4 Dec 05 at 3:09 am
Pol, eres un cachondo mental…
Ben
4 Dec 05 at 7:54 pm
It’s taken David Beckham almost 30 years to go from zero to conversational in English, let alone Spanish!
Sorry, that was uncalled for….
Beth Smaligo
3 Mar 06 at 2:34 am
Hello there. These tips are really great. Let’s see….I’ll tell you a condensed version of the story so as not to take up too much space. My Spanish teacher in high school (I’m between high school and college–I start next year full-time) was a nice person, but she couldn’t pronounce the language at all…I mean she couldn’t even roll her r. (How did she pass those college exams for pronunciation?) Also we never used a textbook….she just said hola means hello..write it down; adiós means goodbye..write it down, etc. And we never learned conjegations or declensions, grammar, etc. It was pathetic!! I’m told that what you see is what you get. (I wonder if there is Braille for Spanish…I’m blind and at this point only read English Braille–I’m also monolingual in English, but would love to learn Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean….I’m Korean American…came to the States when I was 2…my adoptive parents are second-generation European-American–they only speak English, of course). I want to learn these languages mostly because they are interesting and also because it would boost my credentials if I became a radio journalist covering international stories. Check out theworld.org for great international news, podcasts, and other cool stuff. Adiós. –Beth, age 19
Ben
5 Mar 06 at 7:55 am
Thanks for the tip on theword.org, great website!
Edith
11 Jul 06 at 11:00 pm
Another tip: learn some new words every day which are related to a specific subject, for instance: going to the doctor, having a haircut, buying a bus ticket, going to the beach, attending a wedding, making a cake, etc. Look up all the words and write them down in a special notebook.