Need to learn spanish...FAST!

[Mike_2]

Greetings everyone -

Wow, I can hardly believe it! I just got a job offer and if everything works out I'll be moving to Spain in January. Now I need to make a real effort to learn as much spanish as I can before I arrive. This is my first post to this forum - consider it a plea for help! I already know a little spanish, but I've never made a good effort to progress beyond just a few words and phrases. My very patient wife is a native spanish speaker and has never pushed me too hard to learn the language. But, now that is going to change. So, what advice do you all have for me? I already found a lot of good tips in this forum. Every day now I am going to make a list of 5-6 words and their translations that I can carry with me to study during free time. I also loaded up my iPod with notes is spain, notes in spanish, cuisine from spain, and a few other podcasts that I heard about in these forums. What else do you all recommend? Classes? CDs? Private tutor? Software? I have tried some programs in the past including rosetta stone and spanish now! but they really bore me after about 20 minutes. Maybe I did not have enough motivation at that time. I need to make learning spanish part of my daily routine, so what are your suggestions?

Cheers
Mike

[Ben]

Welcome to the forums! First of all, don't worry, you have plenty of time before January, and can get loads of help here!

I made a list of tips a while ago on the blog, which may help to start with:
Blog entry - learning Spanish (http://www.notesfromspain.com/173/)

[Greg]

Hi Mike,

That's great, congratulations! And welcome to the forum...I'm sure you'll get plenty of good advice here.

As far as learning the language goes, you have a big advantage with the third item on Ben's list of tips: total immersion. Although it might seem awkward, start trying to use only Spanish with your wife as much as possible. At first it might seem like you're constantly asking how to say things, but you'll pick up the most common words and phrases fast that way. Reinforcing with classes is good too, especially for the fine points of grammar, but for sheer survival skills, the best thing you can do is to converse as much as possible.

It certainly sounds like you're motivated to work at it...good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[ValenciaSon]

Pick up on the grammatical patterns such as conjugating verbs for each pronoun. That will help you express your thoughts in spanish.

Good luck and congrats!

[deecree]

Greetings everyone -

CDs? Private tutor? Software? I have tried some programs in the past including rosetta stone and spanish now! but they really bore me after about 20 minutes. Maybe I did not have enough motivation at that time. I need to make learning spanish part of my daily routine, so what are your suggestions?

Cheers
Mike

In terms of CD's I found the 16CD Linguaphone course to be the least boring and is an excellent vocab builder.

If you want to learn fast perhaps you could learn by speaking and listening, and refraining from doing writen exercises - they are usually easier but writen spanish quickly follows conversational spanish, as I am finding.

Just my opinion.

[Catica]

My very patient wife is a native spanish speaker and has never pushed me too hard to learn the language. But, now that is going to change. So, what advice do you all have for me? I already found a lot of good tips in this forum. Every day now I am going to make a list of 5-6 words and their translations that I can carry with me to study during free time. I also loaded up my iPod with notes is spain, notes in spanish, cuisine from spain, and a few other podcasts that I heard about in these forums. What else do you all recommend? Classes? CDs? Private tutor? Software? I have tried some programs in the past including rosetta stone and spanish now! but they really bore me after about 20 minutes. Maybe I did not have enough motivation at that time. I need to make learning spanish part of my daily routine, so what are your suggestions?


I started learning Spanish almost two years ago, miles and miles away from a Spanish speaking country. My Spanish-speaking boyfriend who is sometimes patient has been a great help. In addition to Notes in Spanish, I've also uploaded all my issues of Puerta del Sol and a sample of issue of Punto y coma onto my MP3 player.

I started with Pimsleur about two years ago. I just wanted to see what would happen. I mainly started for a laugh, really. I committed to just one lesson, or a half hour a day, without stressing too much if I mastered it or not. This was all supposed to be for fun. When I first started, my boyfriend would run into the other room, screaming, "No! No!", which only added to my enjoyment. :)

I also used Rosetta Stone, through Level III, but I can't recommend it. I thought it helped me learn some vocabulary, but I just cannot relate to dogs sitting in airplanes and all the other contexts they think up. I think that there are better programs out there. On the other hand, it's not going to hurt you, so even twenty minutes a day is better than nothing.

One point I cannot emphasize enough is that your subconscious is a lot smarter than you think. So even if you don't feel like you really "know" it, your subconscious has already absorbed quite a bit. So whatever you do, as long as you do just a little bit every day, you're going to get quite far.

FSI Spanish (through the Foreign Service) is very thorough and very good. Platiquemos is an updated version of it, I think. You can find both here:

http://www.multilingualbooks.com/

One product I didn't try, but I've heard good things about, is something called Assimil (http://www.assimil.com/). I sometimes wish that I had started with this, because its methodology (passive and active) intrigues me.

If you really want to learn some grammar, three books I recommend are:


Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0844273112/sr=8-2/qid=1152638374/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-4108275-5941628?ie=UTF8)
Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0844273341/sr=8-1/qid=1152638204/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4108275-5941628?ie=UTF8)
The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071451714/sr=8-2/qid=1152638432/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-4108275-5941628?ie=UTF8)I just saw that the latter even comes with audio CDs.

I recommend these because the grammar is very well explained and I think the exercises are actually kind of fun.

[Edith]

Hi Mike,

I don't know where you are from, but have you considered taking part in a language immersion course? You stay with a local family where you can practice your Spanish you have learned in class, and they also organize all sorts of cultural activities (they= the language school). Don Quijote is an organization which offers language courses all over mainland Spain, on the Canaries, and in Latin America:

http://www.donquijote.co.uk/

¡Buena suerte!

[Marina]

One product I didn't try, but I've heard good things about, is something called Assimil (http://www.assimil.com/). I sometimes wish that I had started with this, because its methodology (passive and active) intrigues me.

Very funy that you mentioned this, my father used it learn English a few years ago.
Unfortunately I don't think he dedicated as much time as he would have needed, but I still remember him saying "My tailor is rich" :D

[Andy E]

Very funy that you mentioned this, my father used it learn English a few years ago. Unfortunately I don't think he dedicated as much time as he would have needed, but I still remember him saying "My tailor is rich" :D

Funny how everyone quotes this from their original English course (first published in 1929) - it's still mentioned on their website to this day.

I definitely recommend Assimil. These courses are great for teaching you a massive amount of vocabulary. They are, however, not so good for people who like their grammatical explanations and verb conjugations - if that's you then supplement with the McGraw-Hill books above, especially the Dorothy Richmond ones.

Andy.

[viajero]

I would strongly recommend taking a class to get a good foundation in vocabulary and verbs. Having excellent teachers at the beginning made all the difference for me! The rest of my Spanish learning "career" is learning more about the things I already got an introduction to....

Depending on the business you're going into, you might want to pick up vocabulary related to that particular area. No great ideas on how to accomplish this (sorry!) - but it could bridge some gaps when it comes time to start the job.

Best of luck - I'm envious!! :D

[Mike_2]

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful advice. I went to the library today and picked up a Plimseur CD set. I'll try it out and see how it goes. The main reason I am trying Plimseur is that its free (from the library, that is), and I'm not sure if I could work a regular class into my schedule. I did try Plimseur once before but I got incredibly bored before I even got through the first lesson. Now, I just finished the first lesson and I'm thinking of firing up the next one tonight. As Ben and others have said, motivation is the key. Well, I'm planning to supplement the Plimseur program with healthy doses of spanish language TV, news via internet, and of course conversations with my lovely wife! I'll let you all know how I'm doing in a few days...and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions for you, not only about the spanish language but about life in spain as well.

Saludos
Mike

[Edith]

Very funy that you mentioned this, my father used it learn English a few years ago.
Unfortunately I don't think he dedicated as much time as he would have needed, but I still remember him saying "My tailor is rich" :D

:D My tailor is rich

Is this some sort of an understatement in Spain? Inés (from Cuéntame cómo pasó) also uses this phrase a lot when she is working on her English to become an azafata. Was this some sort of standard phrase in school textbooks?

[Edith]

and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions for you, not only about the spanish language but about life in spain as well.

You've come to the right place, Mike! :)

[Marina]

:D My tailor is rich

Is this some sort of an understatement in Spain? Inés (from Cuéntame cómo pasó) also uses this phrase a lot when she is working on her English to become an azafata. Was this some sort of standard phrase in school textbooks?

It is the first sentence they teach in the Assimil method for learning English.
If you go to their website (http://62.193.198.10/indexuk.jsp?paramIdPartenaire=-2).

[Marina]

Sorry, I can edit previous message, my firefox crashes every time I try. Sometimes I hate:mad: computers.

What I was saying is that if you check their website for learning English the first thing you find is this sentence.

It's funny that they used it in "Cuentame", probably this method was the only way to learn English without a teacher that existed back then in the late 60's and early 70's. My father used it a little bit later in the early 80's.

[Edith]

"My tailor is rich" are familiar words to millions, both in France and beyond. This was the first sentence of Assimil's "Anglais Sans Peine" (or "English Made Easy"), first published in 1929

Ahaaa! I see. :)

[greytop]

Must be something about the first thing you learn of a language. I can still remember the opening lines from a tape I used in the '60s to learn German.
"Ich heisse Bill, und sie - wie heissen sie? "
"Ich heisse Jock"
No guarantees about the spelling as reel to reel tape recorders didn't have video capability!

[richardksa]

When I was faced with having to learn Spanish (see the stupid bet I made in other postings) I went immediately to the source of all knowledge - Google - and typed in variations of "Learning Spanish", "Spanish Language", etc. I was amazed at the number of sites that wanted to teach me spanish for free. (Or at least give me some free lessons before wanting to sell me something.) There are literally hundreds of them.

Whisper it quietly, but many of the recorded lessons of Pimsleur, Linguaphone All Talk et al can also be found on the file sharing networks.

No one course seems to work completely, therefore you need to approach it from different directions. Recordings, books, Radio and TV, Podcasts and, the one where I learn many coloquial phrases, About U and Delphi forums. Don't forget "Spanish Steps" on the BBC website. Basically immerse yourself. I do two hours a day at least, but some days it's like pushing water up hill. But there are other days when the little light in the language fridge of my brain pops on and I fly.

Que tengas suerte.

[Edith]

Must be something about the first thing you learn of a language. I can still remember the opening lines from a tape I used in the '60s to learn German.
"Ich heisse Bill, und sie - wie heissen sie? "
"Ich heisse Jock"
No guarantees about the spelling as reel to reel tape recorders didn't have video capability!

In Holland, almost everybody in my age group remembers 'Papa fume une pipe', being one of the first French phrases we could say out loud! :D

[greytop]

In Holland, almost everybody in my age group remembers 'Papa fume une pipe', being one of the first French phrases we could say out loud! :D La plume de ma tante est dans le bureau de mon oncle.

Then there were the songs Frere Jacques, Sur le pont d'Avignon
but mostly I remember standing in a line reciting French vowel sounds and receiving a smack with a ruler from the elderly lady (English) who tried to interest us in the finer points of French. She'd probably be in jail today!

[Catica]

I did try Plimseur once before but I got incredibly bored before I even got through the first lesson. Now, I just finished the first lesson and I'm thinking of firing up the next one tonight. As Ben and others have said, motivation is the key.

My one Pimsleur tip is to go through each lesson no more than twice, and even then, use caution. I only say this because I think sometimes when you try too hard to master it, your motivation can really plummet. I only went through each lesson once myself. My perspective was that the language probably wouldn't change much in the near future, so whatever I might have missed the first time around wasn't going anywhere. If I need to, I can always go back. This philosophy kept it fun for me, which I think is the most important part. :)

[Polly]

For the beginner - One of the best short-course books on tape I've found is Earworm's Learning: "Rapid Spanish" Vol. 1 Narrated by Marian Lodge. Available through Audible.com and at the Music Store on iTunes.

This hour long recording is chok full of quite useful survival phrases - broken down into five or six categories (with explanations and conversational short-cuts) and presented over catchy musical beats and non-boring repetition, with logical building blocks.

Much better than the dry(er) Pimsleur lessons, which are also loaded onto my ipod.

Another podcast on iTunes I've found helpful are the (free) lessons from: Spanish Arriba (www.spanisharriba.co.uk (http://www.spanisharriba.co.uk))

And of course! Notes in Spanish!

I also use interactive software from Transparent Language: 101 Languages of the World. www.transparent.com (http://www.transparent.com)

[Alan]

It is the first sentence they teach in the Assimil method for learning English.
If you go to their website (http://62.193.198.10/indexuk.jsp?paramIdPartenaire=-2).

Thank you! I was reading A Year in the Merde (Stephen Clarke) and this is one of the jokes in it. They are opening a chain of tea rooms in France and want to name it "My Tea is Rich" because it is very funny. Not to English speakers who have never heard of "My tailor is rich"! :) But I get it now.

[Catica]

I also use interactive software from Transparent Language: 101 Languages of the World. www.transparent.com (http://www.transparent.com)

I just checked this out. What do you think of it? I like that they support so many languages. Do you find it usable? Or at least enjoyable? It claims that you'll learn 15,000 words, which almost sounds too good to be true.

[Polly]

I like the program very much. I bought the software (on CD-R) about a year and a half ago. There are many different types of exercises, including reading, writing, word find, crossword, vocabulary tests, vocabulary flash cards, and interactive audio/ pronunciation practice. Very thorough. I like the program very much. But as I said before, it is just one of several tools I use - but nothing beats immersion for learning!

P

[cdowis]

In wanting to learn Spanish quickly, see my thread on the "two approaches". Decide whether your greatest need is to communicate -- you do most of the talking, or whether you are mostly going to listen, to emphasize listening comprehension. Decide which approach fits your need best in this short period of time.

[Psychosid]

So far i have just gone for total immersion with a golden rule......do something else when i start to get fed up...this includes a spanish class i was attending, i have begun to start really picking it up now,but on the downside i have a few gaps in my knowledge which some would deem as being basic, but i suppose that it all boils down to enjoying learning really, take a break when the enjoyment starts to wane.

[gary]

Umm..wrong language forum?

I'd say SPAMMER.

shes gone...

[jdcroft]

There is a really helpful website called studyspanish.com. They have tons of the right material to learn Spanish. I also can tutor at a really cheap price via webcam (I have lived in Spain for two years and I know the language fluently). Contact me by PM . Or see my profile (it's in my signature)

[Ramses]

Pimsleur won't teach you much (grammar and vocabulary-wise) and it's really boring (well, some like it; but most don't!).

The free FSI course (http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Spanish) is very complete, but can be boring at times as well (I'd rather buy the Platiquemos course if you really want to do a course and can spend some cash on it).

Anyway, if you REALLY want to learn Spanish I'd only use a complete course like FSI or Platiquemos and move on to native materials as soon as possible. Only using real materials will able you to learn real Spanish and not the dry corpse of Spanish that most textbooks contain.

[ArielleRDJ1]

I happen to really like xxx to jog my memory in my spare time. They've got English to Spanish translation and some video tutorials. Hopefully that will help a little!

[richardksa]

Actually I am in love with the girl who does the videos on SpanishDict. She explains well and the videos are just the right length for a coffee break.

[ArielleRDJ1]

Yeah!
(http://www.spanishdict.com/learn/)