learning spanish

[charlieRSJ]

Whats the best and quickest way to build a basic vocabulary in spanish? Im sure immersing yourself in a spanish speaking community tops the list but thats not something im able to do just now.But for learning basic conversational spanish in the shortest amount of time,id be curious about your recommendations..and experiences.thanks oh,and by the way Okie man..Im in Oklahoma City myself so im particularly interested in how things develope for you. And like you,I myself am interested and focused on Medellin.later ya'll..Charlie

[Richard G]

... in response to learning spanish, posted by charlieRSJ on Jan 1, 2005

Charlie,

From my own experience I would not agree with those who say the best way to learn is to enroll in a community college course.  I took Spanish for one year in college and the problem is what really improves is your ability to read and write in Spanish.  A CC course will give you a good foundation in the basics of grammer.   However, what most people are after is the ability to talk to and understand other people.  In order to make the most progress quickly, start with language tapes.  Pimsleur is good, but very basic.  Mastering Spanish I & II by Barons (available on Amazon) is much more comprehensive and comes with a book.  I also highly recommend the book Learn Any Language by Barry Farber.  He describes a comprehensive method that is excellent, and the book is very motivational.  Also, check these two websites on learning languages.  They are both by a Swiss guy who is a self taught polyglot.  

http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/index.html

http://www.micheloud.com/FXM/LA/index.htm

If you use the language tapes daily you will be shocked by the progress you can make over a few months.  Good luck!

[kented]

... in response to learning spanish, posted by charlieRSJ on Jan 1, 2005

The starting point must be a community college course (cheapest and most convenient) of Spanish I and II.  That gives you most of the basic grammar and you can put your words together into correct sentences.

Along with this, buy People in Español.  The articles are short so you can take six months to finish an issue. (It doesn't really matter whether the gossip about JLo is four months old, esentially it never changes).  Also it is written for people with a tenth grade education so the vocabulary is conversational and common words are used.  It also teaches you about the Latina cuulture in the US.  

Getting good requires a lot of effort and interest.  In Costa Rica, I began reading novels in Spanish (I never read novels in the US).  I just finished reading all five Harry Potter books in Spanish.  That's how I spent my free time this year waiting for my wife to get her visa.

[Brandon2253]

... in response to learning spanish, posted by charlieRSJ on Jan 1, 2005

The Pimsleur Program is by far the best...but who wants to pay?  Download Bearshare at www.download.com  In the search field type in "Pimsleur Spanish"  All volumes are found.  You just save a lot of money.
Brandon

[pablo]

... in response to Re: learning spanish, posted by Brandon2253 on Jan 1, 2005


Brandon,

Thanks for the Bearshare tip being able to download the Pimsleur Spanish courses as there aren't too many libraries here in Medellin that would have them. Lol

Pablo

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Re: Re: learning spanish, posted by pablo on Jan 2, 2005

Pablo, why would you need the Pimsleur courses? You're doing the best Spanish course in the world, dude! The best place to learn Spanish es en la cama con una mujer hermosa. Speaking of libraries, the library system here amazes my wife. So much information and entertainment absolutely free courtesy of the taxpayers. Even her ESL classes at the local library are free.

[doombug]

... in response to learning spanish, posted by charlieRSJ on Jan 1, 2005

Either a semester at a community college...

Or, one offered online.  This site has a very simple format--and some free instruction:  http://studyspanish.com/index.htm

Here's their top-ten list for, "Reasons to Learn Spanish:"

10. Over 400 million other people speak it -- why not you?
9. So you can order dinner in a Mexican restaurant.
8. So you can understand that little Taco Bell dog.
7. Penelope Cruz.  
6. Looks great on the old résumé.
5. Because you want to go to college.
4. Ricky Martin.  [We can all comfortably object to this one]
3. To expand your cultural horizons (and increase your chances of getting a date).  
2. Because your mommy told you to.

Finally (and, in conjunction with #3, quite befitting):

1. Because you want to travel to Spain, or Mexico, or California, or Colombia, or Argentina, or Venezuela, or Texas, or Peru, or Chile, or Cuba, or New York, or Ecuador, or Dominican Republic, or El Salvador, or Honduras, or Guatemala, or Nicaragua, or Bolivia, or Costa Rica, or Chicago, or Uruguay, or Puerto Rico, or Panama, or Paraguay or Florida or ...

Apart from those two options, consider buying some courses on CD, then study at your own pace.

Amazon.com is a start.  There you'll find among the best/cheapest CD courses available.  The accompanying reviews and customer feedback is a bonus, too.  Try www.amazon.com, then type in "Spanish cds", and an array of offerings will pop up.

And if you're really desperate, re-watch all movies on DVD that you own, with the option for Spanish subtitles turned on.

Peace out!

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Re: learning spanish, posted by doombug on Jan 1, 2005

So you can understand the lyrics of Mana's songs - the greatest rock band in the world today!

[kented]

... in response to One more reason, posted by utopiacowboy on Jan 1, 2005

Shakira, Thalia, Paulina Rubio, La Oreja de Van Gogh.  

This is another good method to improve your Spanish.  All these albums come with the words or you can get them off the Internet.

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Mana and, posted by kented on Jan 1, 2005

There are bunches of them - Juanes comes to mind as well. Learning Spanish opens up a whole new world of good music.

[doombug]

... in response to One more reason, posted by utopiacowboy on Jan 1, 2005

Coldplay is a great lyrical rock band.

But, not worth it if you're trying to learn Spanish, hehe.

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Re: One more reason, posted by doombug on Jan 1, 2005

I'm with you - I'm a big fan of Coldplay as well.

[pablo]

... in response to learning spanish, posted by charlieRSJ on Jan 1, 2005


Hola Charlie,

One easy and effective way to learn conversational Spanish is by using the Pimsleur tapes/CD's.  Although the complete set is expensive, most public librarys have them.  The only drawback to the Pimsleur method is that grammar is not studied as it's listen and repeat but grammar can come later.

Pablo

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Re: learning spanish, posted by pablo on Jan 1, 2005

That's my method. Listen and repeat - this is pretty much how an infant learns to talk. I know much less Spanish grammar than my wife knows English grammar but I can speak a passable Spanish and she can barely speak English. Grammar is highly overrated.

[kented]

... in response to Re: Re: learning spanish, posted by utopiacowboy on Jan 1, 2005

The challenge of English is pronunciation because there are lots of letters that can be pronounced several ways.  

English grammar is not the challege.  There are a lot more mistakes to be made speaking Spanish as a foreign language.  Adjectives agree with nouns...una foto bonita not ...  uno foto bonito and verb endings are required.  Since Spanish omits the pronoun if it is obvious, the wrong ending on a verb changes who you are tlaking about.