Whats the best way to learn Spanish? (1 Viewer)

chrisgreen

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me and the wife will be spending a bit of time in Spain in the future and would like to be able to speak Spanish so whats the best way to learn?
some sort of home course maybe??
 
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pappajohn

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Move to Spain.
Sis in law married a Spaniard and moved to Castilion 45 years ago knowing no Spanish.
Now she thinks in Spanish and has to mentally translate to English in conversation

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injebreck99

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No need, just talk loudly and point to stuff, usually works.!

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Spanishsteve

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A few people rate Duolingo, also the Michael Thomas Spanish CD's.
If you live close to London, the Spanish Govt run Cervantes Institute offer weekly and intensive courses.
There's a lot of free stuff on the net, find one you enjoy.
As previously stated 'total immersion' is best where you are picking it up from different sources daily.
I've done a few courses including a course at the Cervantes Institute but unless your using it very regularly you forget things quick.

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May 8, 2016
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Learn baby Portuguese and speak it with a ridiculous lisp, ideally in an effeminate manner, that will probably get you by.

Seriously, a basic Colins language course to start off with Amazon product ASIN 0008141738
Avoid the expats, most of whom seem to struggle to cope with English, and immerse yourself. The Spanish are usually very responsive to people trying to speak their language, and will generally be tolerant and helpful

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tonka

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MH 55 FUN. does have the best answer..
I just can't learn while at home but when we are at our place in Beni I do pick a bit more up each time...
Books learnt me to ask how are you "Como estas".. No bugger uses it.. It's all.. " quetal".. Same with adios !!
 
Feb 26, 2013
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The BBC online course is free and a good place to get the basic vocabulary started. And it's quite fun to do.
 

irnbru

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I have a book called Spanish With Carlos. It comes with 2 cds and has exercise classes included with the tuition. It's really great for getting your head around the Ser v Estar verbs.

As others have said Michel Thoma is is good too. Sometimes I listen to his ads while driving. Duolingo is a great app but it seems to be more of a Mexican spanish app.

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magicsurfbus

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Sign up for a one year (one night a week, term time) evening class at your local Sixth Form College to get the basics, and visit the country as often as you can to fill in the gaps.

I've done this for four languages and the results have varied. I failed French at school but picked up a lot of good stuff at an evening class, plus travelling in France. I now know enough French to more than get by, can engage in simple conversations, and can haggle at flea markets. I tried an Italian class and the teacher (an Italian) was great, so I've retained enough of it to get by in Italy, which we don't visit so often. I only did a twelve week class for Spanish and forgot the lot, plus the teacher was a bit low key. My latest effort was German - I stuck at the course for most of the year but dropped it a few weeks short of the end because they were going on to more advanced stuff and the teacher was boring as hell. I reckon I've covered enough for touring needs but have still to try it out on our next trip in a month's time.

Big advantage of a college class is you get to interact with others, and you learn from them as well as from the teacher. Doing it on your own with a pack is all well and good but it's always on your terms. Sometimes a bit of pressure to perform, plus expert advice can be helpful. You can't ask a CD for guidance either. Your teacher will recommend stuff to try outside the lessons too, so it isn't just the one class a week.
 
Aug 19, 2014
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Drinks lots of San Miquel.... Certainly loosens my tongue and embarrassment!

Also strongly recommend the Paul Noble course - very easy , no hard memorising, can listen in the car in on your phone.

I have learnt a reasonable level of tourist Italian and French with these. It all sort of falls into place when actually in Country.
 

Gordon-G

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As Stroppy Bird says, I found coffee break Spanish to be really good, also you tube if you have access can be extremely helpful, although most Spanish tuition on there is American based.
I have a couple of Spanish courses on cd (Michel Tomas and Linguaphone) but find the best idea is to spend one night per week where you only try to converse in Spanish, and use post it notes on everything to get to know the Spanish names.

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LAM

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There is no finite answer, it depends on how much you want to learn/how much time you have to commit to it and how much you want to spend.
There are plenty of ways (lots free) to do it, but it all takes practice. If it's just conversational, buy a book (phrases and or dictionary) and have a look at some free, online help to see how you do. That Michael Thomas voice 'grates !'

I have a few, 'stock sentences:- "excuse my Spanish", "I'm still learning" (in Spanish, of course), that sort of thing so the recipient is prepared ! Overall, the Spanish are very helpful and enjoy having a laugh, no sorry meant to say like you are making the effort.
Make a list of all the Spanish words/sentences you know, you will surprise yourself. Make the effort wherever you are whether it's Benidorm or Barcelona.
¡buen suerte!
 

LAM

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Hi R+ V,
I was wishing them 'good luck', the 'a' slipped off. :swear::banghead:

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Mar 11, 2016
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It's coming to the start of the evening classes season... usually September.
Look for your local council adult evening classes, Spanish is usually on there. Its amazing what a couple of terms can do.
 
Jul 4, 2016
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Learning Spanish?
I have been learning Spanish for a couple of years now



Before I forget, look at Spanish TV tip at the end!!



To start with, I used Michel Thomas Total Spanish, I bought the expensive box set but subsequently found out there is a rip off version on ebay much cheaper. The Total Spanish comes with a complete transcript. It starts with the very basics and takes you step by step through present and past tenses. The speech is very slow, but understandable for a first timer. I think it is excellent for learning grammar but not so good for conversational speed talk! Because the speech is slow and repetitive, my ears were not tuned into natural Spanish talk as words blend into each other and its easy to miss hear what is being said. This is why there are lots of people saying listen to Spanish Tv etc. You need to condition your ears to the sounds of the words at normal speed.

Here is a link to the Michel T transcripts.
http://www.michelthomas.com/assets/downloads/FOUNDATION SPANISH.pdf

The Advanced Spanish is part of the box set and the link is below.
http://www.michelthomas.com/assets/downloads/ADVANCED SPANISH.pdf

Next I used Collins Easy Learning Spanish. They are good for getting involved in general conversation, asking directions, hotel bookings etc. With the Michel T. understanding, I knew how the words were derived , and how the tense is applied.
I found the cs’s helpful and a great confidence builder. It is a good choice to follow on from Michel Thomas.
The transcripts for the disks can be found here,

http://resources.collins.co.uk.s3.am...panish%201.pdf

http://resources.collins.co.uk.s3.am...panish%202.pdf









I am now listening to Linguaphone All talk Spanish. The first 6 disks are often on ebay going very cheap, they were a promotional package with the Daily Mail. The advanced All Talk is dearer and harder to find as they were not part of the promotion.

This is the first time I got to listen to natural Spanish conversation, you learn the words first then listen to sentences at normal Spanish conversational speed. I had to listen to the talk several times before I could pick out the words crushed together in mid sentence. There is also a fun story line to the disks!

The transcript is not that helpful and I used DuoLingo translate and made my own copy of what is being said. The transcript is in alphabetical order and not disk order which I found disappointing.

This is the transcript download.



I am currently taking the EcX free Mooc Spanish course.
https://www.edx.org/course/learn-spanish-basic-spanish-english-upvalenciax-bsp101x

It’s a 16 week course and still learning despite the hours of listening I have spent! The Podcasts are very good, but I would find it difficult to understand if I had not completed the previous disks. There is a discussion page with many complaints the podcasts are too fast! I think its good as it tunes your ears to hear the words.

I started all this last March, it takes time and often I have to listen to conversation 10 or 20 times before it gets locked in. I can now read Spanish but still do not have the confidence to chat with someone!

Spanish TV

Lots of people recommend listening to Spanish radio or TV.
This is brilliant, the best I have found. The actors do speak slower and there are sub titles you can switch on / off. In the settings, you can select the language for the subtitles, Spanish or English. There is a whole series to watch. Its a bit like the American soap 'Friends'.


Extra en Español Ep 01 La llegada de Sam - YouTube

Edit, I didn't expect the link to start playing, but search 'youtube.com/watch?v=Dfb9-ZTCA-E' for the series.


And Finally Butterfly Spanish, I think Anna is wonderful!!

She has lots of 10 minute lessons.

https://www.youtube.com/user/ButterflySpanishola

Loaded on my iphone is duolingo which i recommend together with Memrise spanish. Both are very good but stick with them!

The best on line translator I have found is Spanishdict,

Cliff
 
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Jan 2, 2015
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Had been on an evening course 20 odd years ago and since have used Linguaphone, Dualingo, & Michel Thomas to try & maintain the language. On our times in Spain we had used Spanish to ask for the basics but never got into a conversation
Then we had a couple of weeks at El Eden Campsite , Peniscola earlier this year and pitched up next to a Spanish couple slightly younger than us. Found out that my wife had the same name as the Spanish lady and this broke the ice. We learned more Spanish in that two weeks than we had in the previous 20 years!
Sharing the wine helped together with pen & paper to draw things.

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Chris

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I can teach you how to ask for beer and coffee if that helps?(y)
 
Jul 4, 2016
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I can teach you how to ask for beer and coffee if that helps?(y)

It took me a while to get over the way you ask for a beer in Spanish, regarded as rude in English.
The translation would be ' put me a beer please' or 'I want a beer' To say ' I would like a beer' is regarded as an English person trying to speak Spanish.
 
May 8, 2016
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I actually rather enjoy watching British expats trying to communicate with "Johnny Foreigner". It usually starts off with shouting at them, and if that doesn't work, then shouting at them very slowly and waving their arms about a lot. Little surprise that such exchanges either end up with either the foreigner walking off shrugging his shoulders or the Englishman finding out that both his jaw hurts and the ground is hard

Watching TV is a good way to learn, and telling the people in your host country you would be grateful if they are willing to help you out, as you are now in their country and want to learn from them, will win you a lot of support from the locals.

When we first moved to Portugal, in our local bar, one old grump complained that we were foreigners, and it was our job to fit in after we asked for something in English. The old boy who owns the place said that at least we were "their" foreigners, and that they were glad enough to have the British as guests of their country when we drove out Napoleon and his Spanish army for them. Within weeks of that we became almost honorary family members. They still correct my Portuguese, but it's all done in good humour.

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