Learning Spanish

[bobster999]

Been thinking about this for a while now and figured there's no time like the present, so I'm going to give it a go.

What is the best way to learn? I've looked at courses but feel that I'd like to learn the basics first before I commit financially, it's looking like circa 200 quid for a short course here in London. I reckon I'd get more out of that if I at least had a basic grasp of grammar and the like.

Aside from Duolingo (still not convinced this is any good), are there other cheap or free ways to go through the basics online?

Any good tips? Places to begin? Any advice or experiences would be appreciated.

DuoLingo is pretty good. It has an app as well. I was doing Italian but the didn't keep it up

Learn a language for free

Learn languages by playing a game. It's 100% free, fun, and scientifically proven to work.

www.duolingo.com

Edit* - I should read the whole post before replying

 

[James]

Thanks everyone, some really useful advice in here, much appreciated.

Could anyone recommend any text books for self learning? My frustration with Duolingo is that it doesn't explain much and I'd rather sit and study it a bit more than race onto the next exercise. Any recommendations for child's level Spanish books would probably be handy too. Basic stories.

Think I'm going to have a month of an hour a day trying to learn the very basics then decide on a course. I know I'll never learn without that or tutoring, just want to build up a bit of confidence first before getting involved. Canny hard to change the way you speak, innit.

 

[My second life]

I learned to a decent level using

The Michel Thomas Method – The Natural Way to Learn a New Language

The highly acclaimed Michel Thomas Method audio language courses let you learn a new language naturally – just as you learned your own

www.michelthomas.com

It's all audio (no books or owt like that) so its handy to stick on in the car going to and from work.

If you are interested pm me

Edit

And start watching Spanish tv/ YouTube kids cartoons are great for beginners

I did the Michael Thomas course years ago. He does a wonderful job in demystifying the verb tenses which are probably one of the greatest challenges to learners. I dont recall him being that good though on other aspects of grammar which is one aspect of the langauge which I still find counter intuitive. But a very good shout. Great for a solid grounding.

 

[Horatio Pugwash]

I did the Michael Thomas course years ago. He does a wonderful job in demystifying the verb tenses which are probably one of the greatest challenges to learners. I dont recall him being that good though on other aspects of grammar which is one aspect of the langauge which I still find counter intuitive. But a very good shout. Great for a solid grounding.

I'm actually doing the Russian course now


Gotta admit, I found Spanish easier

 

[My second life]

Thanks everyone, some really useful advice in here, much appreciated.

Could anyone recommend any text books for self learning? My frustration with Duolingo is that it doesn't explain much and I'd rather sit and study it a bit more than race onto the next exercise. Any recommendations for child's level Spanish books would probably be handy too. Basic stories.

Think I'm going to have a month of an hour a day trying to learn the very basics then decide on a course. I know I'll never learn without that or tutoring, just want to build up a bit of confidence first before getting involved. Canny hard to change the way you speak, innit.

I must have spent a fortune on books over the last 20 years. I have piles of them. But there are three that I keep to hand and constantly go back to. Spanish verb tenses by Dorothy Devney Richmond, Collins Easy learning Spanish Grammar, and a git big Oxford Spanish Dictionary which must be over a 1000 pages. A lesson I've learnt is that cheaper, concise, dictionaries just don't cut it. Really full of a kinda ambiguity that leaves native speakers puzzled. But if like me you prefer learning from books these three will be all you need. Good luck.

 

[Horatio Moustache]

You can also arrange language exchanges - meet up for an hour, speak English for half an hour and Spanish for half an hour. Personally never done that but meant to be useful if you can get over the awkwardness.

This is what I do with the other language I'm learning. I'm already at conversation(ish) level so it's a great way to practice and it's obviously for free. I've got two separate and longstanding calls once a week with them and I can't emphasize enough how helpful it's been.

 

[roker beach]

Thanks everyone, some really useful advice in here, much appreciated.

Could anyone recommend any text books for self learning? My frustration with Duolingo is that it doesn't explain much and I'd rather sit and study it a bit more than race onto the next exercise. Any recommendations for child's level Spanish books would probably be handy too. Basic stories.

Think I'm going to have a month of an hour a day trying to learn the very basics then decide on a course. I know I'll never learn without that or tutoring, just want to build up a bit of confidence first before getting involved. Canny hard to change the way you speak, innit.

Re the text books - you could try the bbc talk box set, talk 1, talk 2, grammar and cds. its not too expensive and the language and learning is more contemporary than some books, but it still gives you all the basics that you are going to need as your base.

My other tip would be to listen to cds or podcasts in the car etc, it gives you a few minutes every day automatically.

 

[daventry cat]

Get a Spanish girlfriend,truthfully,i have met a few guys who picked up the lingo of their ladies.

Hasnt worked with my Polish Mrs(no)

 

[Deleted member 2014]

Spanish with Paul, this is really good.

That's very good, thanks @Crook
I did all of this stuff and similar, a few years ago in class.
It's a great way to learn the basics, and unlike in a class, if you get stuck, just pause, rewind, and start again.

I must have spent a fortune on books over the last 20 years. I have piles of them. But there are three that I keep to hand and constantly go back to. Spanish verb tenses by Dorothy Devney Richmond, Collins Easy learning Spanish Grammar, and a git big Oxford Spanish Dictionary which must be over a 1000 pages. A lesson I've learnt is that cheaper, concise, dictionaries just don't cut it. Really full of a kinda ambiguity that leaves native speakers puzzled. But if like me you prefer learning from books these three will be all you need. Good luck.

I've also got lots of books.
I have a Spanish Vocabulary Drills, and Spanish Verb Drills & Conjugations, as well as a host of dictionaries and other books, like the 15 minute's (per day) Spanish, book.
They're all useful, in their own way.

 

[aupaalaves]

The simple answer is by going and living in a Spanish speaking country for a period of time. Immerse yourself in the language and set yourself daily goals and put yourself into different situations.

Avoid becoming friends with lots of other native English Speakers as you'll find that that's the only thing you have in common with them.

If that's not possible, then go to Spanish classes, use duo lingo, watch YouTube videos and try to find an online Spanish teacher to practice conversation. www.tusclasesparticulares.es is a good place to start for that. You might even find people who would be happy doing a language exchange. Half hour in Spanish and half hour in English.

I went to Spanish classes for a few years before I moved out here and learnt a bit but looking back, the classes weren't challenging enough because your classmates probably aren't as serious as you are about learning the language fluently so the classes lose that edge and quality.

Una caminata en el parquet!

A walk on the wooden flooring?

Dónde está la granja de sandía rusa?

Where's the Russian watermelon farm?

 

[James]

I must have spent a fortune on books over the last 20 years. I have piles of them. But there are three that I keep to hand and constantly go back to. Spanish verb tenses by Dorothy Devney Richmond, Collins Easy learning Spanish Grammar, and a git big Oxford Spanish Dictionary which must be over a 1000 pages. A lesson I've learnt is that cheaper, concise, dictionaries just don't cut it. Really full of a kinda ambiguity that leaves native speakers puzzled. But if like me you prefer learning from books these three will be all you need. Good luck.

Really helpful, thank you. Just bought the first editions of the verbs and pronouns Dorothy Richmond books. The reviews for it are excellent online.

 

[aupaalaves]

A tip I would give is to learn the names of the grammatical tenses in English. Once you know them, you can relate to the Spanish equivalent and learn that structure.

 

[killbill]

Thanks everyone, some really useful advice in here, much appreciated.

Could anyone recommend any text books for self learning? My frustration with Duolingo is that it doesn't explain much and I'd rather sit and study it a bit more than race onto the next exercise. Any recommendations for child's level Spanish books would probably be handy too. Basic stories.

Think I'm going to have a month of an hour a day trying to learn the very basics then decide on a course. I know I'll never learn without that or tutoring, just want to build up a bit of confidence first before getting involved. Canny hard to change the way you speak, innit.

Hi mate, am also in London and been learning Spanish for the past 8 months or so. I personally wouldn't recommend group classes/courses, I did one every Monday night in Clapham leading up to Xmas and didn't think much of it.
I use italki and have a Skype lesson every weekend with my spanish teacher who is based in Toronto.
Apart from that there's loads of resource online, youtube, podcasts etc.
I listen to spanish radio online, haven't got a clue what's going on but its all about training the brain.

 

[James]

Hi mate, am also in London and been learning Spanish for the past 8 months or so. I personally wouldn't recommend group classes/courses, I did one every Monday night in Clapham leading up to Xmas and didn't think much of it.
I use italki and have a Skype lesson every weekend with my spanish teacher who is based in Toronto.
Apart from that there's loads of resource online, youtube, podcasts etc.
I listen to spanish radio online, haven't got a clue what's going on but its all about training the brain.

How do you feel you're getting on then after 8 months in terms of fluency? Are you able to hold a conversation? Read a book?

 

[pablo casals]

if you like footy read www.marca.com - international language innit, you start to pick it up after a while. it the same old rubbish just with foreign words

I've been learning Spanish for 30 year now. You never pick it all up, its like climbing a hill that never ends. But you can easily get to a decent level, especally if you live in a Spanish speaking country. A Spanish missus (no) helps too.
Now weve got a spanish kid who laughs at her mams English and takes the piss out of my Spanish, so the best tip is to be born again and bilingual

 

[gizmoganzee]

dos Grande cerveza senor

Uno mas

 

[alicante mackem]

I did the Michael Thomas course years ago. He does a wonderful job in demystifying the verb tenses which are probably one of the greatest challenges to learners. I dont recall him being that good though on other aspects of grammar which is one aspect of the langauge which I still find counter intuitive. But a very good shout. Great for a solid grounding.

This is what I'd recommend. I did it before I moved out here for a few months. It really helped me get a start.

 

[SydneyFan]

Been thinking about this for a while now and figured there's no time like the present, so I'm going to give it a go.

What is the best way to learn? I've looked at courses but feel that I'd like to learn the basics first before I commit financially, it's looking like circa 200 quid for a short course here in London. I reckon I'd get more out of that if I at least had a basic grasp of grammar and the like.

Aside from Duolingo (still not convinced this is any good), are there other cheap or free ways to go through the basics online?

Any good tips? Places to begin? Any advice or experiences would be appreciated.

Another advocate for the Michel Thomas method. I've learnt Greek with it. Done the Total Greek then was so into it I got the follow up Perfect Greek. We actually picked up Total Spanish and Total German from Aldi one week, couldn't believe it. About a $100 cheaper than I had paid for the Greek one !


Best thing is it's 90% audio with reference guides there if you want. I just ripped it to my phone and listen in the car. I haven't listened to the radio for a couple of years. It means I'm pretty much doing an hour a day Mon-Fri commuting to work. I did those 2 courses 20-30 times each getting better and better. You do it with 2 other students who make the same mistakes you do. Try it you won't regret it.