learning spanish software? online? evening course?

8th July 2008, 11:06 AM

Hi,

I am a student and new to this forum. I am interested in taking spanish lessons and wonder if anyone could recommend on the best way to learn spanish for a busy student with limited budget.

There are several choices such as taking evening courses (expensive..), taking online lessons, or using one of these learning spanish software cds (is it effective at all...?)

Any advice/recommendation is welcomed.

cheers,

JayD.

asturiasjohn · 8th July 2008, 11:33 AM

For learning lots of vocab I've been very impressed with the CD ROM's here - http://www.200words-a-day.com/

I don't know if 200 words a day is really possible but I was scoring 90-95% correct in the tests within a month for over a 1000 words.

Good luck!

John

gary · 8th July 2008, 02:16 PM

Rosetta Stone - but its expensive....

Yossarian · 9th July 2008, 11:26 AM

I agree with Gary - Rosetta Stone - the best software.
Instead - livemocha.com

gary · 9th July 2008, 11:57 AM

Great link Yossarian - site looks very interesting I reckon I'm going to go through it to brush up before BCN in August

Ive made your link live - when i tested it the site was down for maintenance but it was up five mins ago - Im sure it wont be down long

Back up as we speak....

delce · 13th July 2008, 07:53 PM

Hi there! I am new here and a beginner/intermediate at Spanish. I have been using edufire.com. It is a place where you can be tutored over the internet. I have also used verbalplanet before too. I have trouble learning from books and this had been the best way forward for me.

Saludos

alanmalarkey · 13th July 2008, 08:27 PM

Try to make a visit to central or South America and spend at least a month with 4 hours a day 1:1 tuition, living cheaply with a family and avoiding other backpackers - you will be surprised by your progress and because of the pound/dollar difference and generally cheap cost of living, if you do a proper cost benefit analysis you will be amazed how cheap it is - after that you will be well placed to make use of several free resources via Itunes, my 4 best are NiS (of course), Coffeebreak spanish, spanish pod and spanish pod 101.

good luck

Flanny · 23rd July 2008, 01:16 AM

First off I'm not asking for charity. Just affordability. I am a disabled veteran and would love to find a book or ebook or cd or even an online resource. I can check out pimsleur from the library and received living language ultimate as a gift a few years ago, but I find I learn words and phrases much better using mnemonics.

unfortunately I'm on an extremely tight budget as all the jobs I'm qualified to do have been shipped over seas.

Any good suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much

rogerwillson · 18th October 2008, 07:40 AM

I would learn it with a Spanish course for sure.
Doing it this way allows you to focus on what matters and learn the "proper" way, which means you learn from the ground up: basics first and the more complex stuff later.
It tells you the fastest way to learn and recommends you use a course called Rocket Spanish.
You'll get all sorts of answers on here ranging from "you can't learn it that fast" to "move to Costa Rica for 10 weeks". At the end of the day, it's down to your own focus and determination.
I hope this has helped you

Cheers
Roger.

mem · 23rd October 2008, 06:27 AM

If you have enough of a background to cary on a very low level conversation, a free way to get a whole lot of practice is to go to Meetup groups for Spanish learners. I have a friend who has done it in Kansas City for ages and I just started doing it in San Diego. It has the added benefit of being a good way to meet new people.

enhorabuena · 5th November 2008, 08:06 PM

Hello everybody, I'm about to start a course in the Virtual Center of Cervantes Institute. You can find them at http://www.cervantes.es/lengua_y_ens...l_internet.htm courses are available at all levels, you can choose to have a tutor or not, or you can learn totally on your own, there are various solutions. It doesn't cost that much. I will post what it is like as soon as I get first hand experience.
¡Hasta luego!

jasoncharles · 27th January 2009, 06:10 AM

You really need to go immerse yourself in a native Spanish speaking environment. There are immersion programs in foreign countries that will have classes while simultaneously housing you with a Spanish speaking family. Learning in an English speaking country is extremely difficult and you will never truly learn the language because academic language learning is very different than practical, everyday usage. If you don't have this kind of option then I would recommend taking courses where there is interaction with a teacher and other students (community colleges are inexpensive) and watch a lot of Spanish television to pick up on the colloquial language. Remember though that Univision is mostly Mexican and each Spanish speaking country varies slightly (or a lot) with there use of language.

Take a look at:
http://spanish.about.com/
http://in.youtube.com/view_play_list...&v=YA8DybfLsOQ
http://learnspanishreview.net/SpanishArticles/

JWood424 · 27th January 2009, 08:36 PM

I have tried just about everything within my price range to improve my Spanish. I have taken classes, watched television, read books and bought Rosetta Stone. While I agree the fastest way to learn is to stick yourself right in the middle of a Spanish speaking community, this isn't always an option. I was hoping Rosetta Stone would be my next big step, but so far I don't feel all that challenged, and I am using Level Three. I was wondering if anyone else had opinions on the program? Perhaps I am not getting the most out of it. I also agree that one's level of success comes directly from their desire to be successful. My biggest set back is my fear to speak to other native speakers, or even those with a more advanced level than my own, but I have found that slowly but surely I have improved and I have gotten over some of my fear. The best way to improve is to find what works best for you, and go with it. Everyone learns in different ways.

Expanish · 4th February 2009, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary

Rosetta Stone - but its expensive....

I had a problem with Rosetta Stone. It's nice that it's completely linear, but I couldn't use it to learn because it was so dull. I wish I hadn't spent money on it.

I switched to Bueno, Entonces. . . which was much more my style of learning (but you need an Iphone/Ipod touch). The humor in it is really good, and sometimes really shocking even, haha. Either way, I'm actually getting a good grasp of the grammar from BE and it hasn't gotten boring at all. I think it's less expensive than Rosetta Stone, but I also think that Rosetta Stone is grossly overpriced.

I've asked around for free options and tried some podcasts, but sadly it seems like you usually get what you pay for as far as programs go.

Good luck!

8th July 2008, 11:06 AM	#1
jydav66 Guest Posts: n/a	learning spanish software? online? evening course? Hi, I am a student and new to this forum. I am interested in taking spanish lessons and wonder if anyone could recommend on the best way to learn spanish for a busy student with limited budget. There are several choices such as taking evening courses (expensive..), taking online lessons, or using one of these learning spanish software cds (is it effective at all...?) Any advice/recommendation is welcomed. cheers, JayD. Last edited by Ben; 8th July 2008 at 11:44 AM.

9th July 2008, 11:26 AM	#4
Yossarian El refugiado de estupidez Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Croacia Posts: 35	I agree with Gary - Rosetta Stone - the best software. Instead - livemocha.com Last edited by gary; 9th July 2008 at 11:55 AM.

23rd July 2008, 01:16 AM	#8
Flanny Malabarista Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: En una caja de cartón. Posts: 82	I realize this is late but . . . First off I'm not asking for charity. Just affordability. I am a disabled veteran and would love to find a book or ebook or cd or even an online resource. I can check out pimsleur from the library and received living language ultimate as a gift a few years ago, but I find I learn words and phrases much better using mnemonics. unfortunately I'm on an extremely tight budget as all the jobs I'm qualified to do have been shipped over seas. Any good suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much Last edited by Ben; 28th January 2009 at 08:31 AM.

18th October 2008, 07:40 AM	#9
rogerwillson Novato Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1	Learn Spanish like Crazy I would learn it with a Spanish course for sure. Doing it this way allows you to focus on what matters and learn the "proper" way, which means you learn from the ground up: basics first and the more complex stuff later. It tells you the fastest way to learn and recommends you use a course called Rocket Spanish. You'll get all sorts of answers on here ranging from "you can't learn it that fast" to "move to Costa Rica for 10 weeks". At the end of the day, it's down to your own focus and determination. I hope this has helped you Cheers Roger. Last edited by Ben; 18th October 2008 at 10:39 AM.

23rd October 2008, 06:27 AM	#10
mem Forero Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 10	Meetup If you have enough of a background to cary on a very low level conversation, a free way to get a whole lot of practice is to go to Meetup groups for Spanish learners. I have a friend who has done it in Kansas City for ages and I just started doing it in San Diego. It has the added benefit of being a good way to meet new people.

8th July 2008, 11:33 AM	#2
asturiasjohn Super Forero Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Asturias, España Posts: 100	For learning lots of vocab I've been very impressed with the CD ROM's here - http://www.200words-a-day.com/ I don't know if 200 words a day is really possible but I was scoring 90-95% correct in the tests within a month for over a 1000 words. Good luck! John

8th July 2008, 02:16 PM	#3
gary Samuri Forero Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 2,724	Rosetta Stone - but its expensive....

9th July 2008, 11:57 AM	#5
gary Samuri Forero Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 2,724	Great link Yossarian - site looks very interesting I reckon I'm going to go through it to brush up before BCN in August Ive made your link live - when i tested it the site was down for maintenance but it was up five mins ago - Im sure it wont be down long Back up as we speak....

13th July 2008, 07:53 PM	#6
delce Forero Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: UK Posts: 7	Hi there! I am new here and a beginner/intermediate at Spanish. I have been using edufire.com. It is a place where you can be tutored over the internet. I have also used verbalplanet before too. I have trouble learning from books and this had been the best way forward for me. Saludos

13th July 2008, 08:27 PM	#7
alanmalarkey Mega Forero Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Croydon Posts: 251	Try to make a visit to central or South America and spend at least a month with 4 hours a day 1:1 tuition, living cheaply with a family and avoiding other backpackers - you will be surprised by your progress and because of the pound/dollar difference and generally cheap cost of living, if you do a proper cost benefit analysis you will be amazed how cheap it is - after that you will be well placed to make use of several free resources via Itunes, my 4 best are NiS (of course), Coffeebreak spanish, spanish pod and spanish pod 101. good luck

5th November 2008, 08:06 PM	#11
enhorabuena Forero Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Italia Posts: 9	Instituto Cervantes Hello everybody, I'm about to start a course in the Virtual Center of Cervantes Institute. You can find them at http://www.cervantes.es/lengua_y_ens...l_internet.htm courses are available at all levels, you can choose to have a tutor or not, or you can learn totally on your own, there are various solutions. It doesn't cost that much. I will post what it is like as soon as I get first hand experience. ¡Hasta luego!

27th January 2009, 06:10 AM	#12
jasoncharles Novato Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1	Learn Spanish You really need to go immerse yourself in a native Spanish speaking environment. There are immersion programs in foreign countries that will have classes while simultaneously housing you with a Spanish speaking family. Learning in an English speaking country is extremely difficult and you will never truly learn the language because academic language learning is very different than practical, everyday usage. If you don't have this kind of option then I would recommend taking courses where there is interaction with a teacher and other students (community colleges are inexpensive) and watch a lot of Spanish television to pick up on the colloquial language. Remember though that Univision is mostly Mexican and each Spanish speaking country varies slightly (or a lot) with there use of language. Take a look at: http://spanish.about.com/ http://in.youtube.com/view_play_list...&v=YA8DybfLsOQ http://learnspanishreview.net/SpanishArticles/

27th January 2009, 08:36 PM	#13
JWood424 Forero Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 32	I have tried just about everything within my price range to improve my Spanish. I have taken classes, watched television, read books and bought Rosetta Stone. While I agree the fastest way to learn is to stick yourself right in the middle of a Spanish speaking community, this isn't always an option. I was hoping Rosetta Stone would be my next big step, but so far I don't feel all that challenged, and I am using Level Three. I was wondering if anyone else had opinions on the program? Perhaps I am not getting the most out of it. I also agree that one's level of success comes directly from their desire to be successful. My biggest set back is my fear to speak to other native speakers, or even those with a more advanced level than my own, but I have found that slowly but surely I have improved and I have gotten over some of my fear. The best way to improve is to find what works best for you, and go with it. Everyone learns in different ways.

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