need advice on learning Spanish

[ulysses]

It's occurred to me - again - just how stupid it is to teach in an area with a large Latino population and not be even remotely conversant in the home language of a lot of my kids. I don't have the time to go into an immersion program somewhere. Any ideas on the best route to take? I bought a couple of CDs a few years back, but the guy sounds like Darth Vader and I'm looking for something a little more colloquial.

[NMDemDist2]

1. watch Telemundo

a lot

I need to learn spanish too, i'll be interested in your responses

[ulysses]

2. heh - hadn't thought of that.

:) I probably will, as long as Ms Uly can stand it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. It's funny you say that because, in an interview,

Magglio Ordonez said he learned English by watching ESPN and CNN with Spanish subtitles...and he's pretty fluent, if heavily accented. But I think he does the heavy accent so they don't interview him a lot because he's kind of a quiet guy.

[NV Whino]

3. Community colleges usually have ESL courses

and conversational Spanish at the other end to balance it out.

I pop into my local cc once in a while to brush up on my high school Spanish.

[Chan790]

4. I've heard good things about Rosetta Stone.

I don't know firsthand though (I'm already semi-fluent) and it's kind of expensive(over $300)...perhaps if it qualifies for Continuing Education Units, or you can get some colleagues who also need to learn Spanish to go in to share the cost (It's CDs and DVDs so it is transferable. This is legal, provided you erase all content from your computer before transferring it to a second-party.) that might make it more reasonable. It is comparable to the cost of a community college course (here at least) and it offers the option of learning at your own pace.

Once you learn Spanish, you're going to have to work to maintain fluency unless you're using it daily.

I like to watch Spanish language films with the subtitles on to keep my Spanish sharp. I don't pay attention to the subtitles and if I come across a word or phrase I don't understand, it's right there for me in English. This is how they taught the 200/300 level classes on culture and social customs when I work-studied in the foreign-language lab in college. Also, I read books with the English on one page and the Spanish on the other. Finally, find a native or really-good speaker of Spanish and have "practice" conversations frequently or else you're going to have the problem I did where I thought I knew Spanish but hadn't used it in years...someone asked me a question and I realized that I recalled almost none of what they were saying.

[jumptheshadow]

5. Good free courses here

The Spanish course is kind of interesting, too.

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

[Crazy Dave]

6. This really works

Take a DVD of one of your favorite movies, one you've seen a million times, can turn the volume down and say all the parts, etc. Turn on the Spanish language and/or the Spanish subtitles option. We're watching most of our DVD's that way and it's helping us become more fluent and understandable versus trying to have proper sentence structure and all the other stuff they teach in books and videos. The way small kids learn how to talk and communicate and make themselves understood to adults. Plus it's entertaining at the same time.

I also like to watch the ladies on the Spanish channels and tell the wife I'm studying ;)

[riderinthestorm]

8. One of my clients is Swiss and she learned English this way, although she used I Love Lucy reruns

I met her after she'd been in the States for more than 10 years by which time her English was excellent so I can't say with any degree of certainty how she sounded when she first came to the US but she swears by "her" learning method.

[Crazy Dave]

10. Learning how to understand and communicate first makes the rest easy

Most learning methods, maybe even all of them focus too much on sentence structure than communication, understanding and making yourself understood. I can personally guarantee anyone and everyone that you are not going to offend or insult someone in a foreign country by being a foreigner and making mistakes speaking their language. It is very complimentary to them and very endearing that you are putting that much effort and respect into being a guest in their country and they will go out of their way to help you. Most even speak English and love the chance to use it.

But I cannot tell you how many times in Germany and in Spain I would hear some asshole tourist or military member shout, "Doesn't anybody here speak f**king english?" The same type that demand that everyone learn english if they come here to "their" country.

[ulysses]

7. good suggestions - thanks.

I've heard good things about Rosetta Stone, too.

[bikebloke]

9. A couple online options

There's a social site devoted to language learning called My Happy Planet (http://www.MyHappyPlanet.com). People post their own instruction videos.

My local library provides Rosetta Stone lessons online. Your could see if yours does the same.

[Forkboy]

11. Join the lado oscuro Luke!

:yoiks:

[unsavedtrash]

12. try mango

http://www.mangolanguages.com/

[huskerlaw]

13. If you use iTunes...

they have a really decent FREE podcast called Coffee Break Spanish.

I've been listening to it and it's extremely helpful. However, I used to be fairly decent at Spanish (but lost it all through complete un-use), so it's really more of a review with some new learning to me. Also, the instructors are from Scotland, which isn't actually as difficult as it sounds...their Spanish accents negate the Scottish ones!

It also has the option for additional learning materials for a fee. The fee wouldn't be bad, except it's in pounds which does make it a bit expensive if you need the flashcards, etc. that they offer. Then again, I make my own flashcards with index cards and the additional practice and study is extremely helpful.

Good luck!

[Tektonik]

14. Take some course at a community college,

then start watching Spanish tv and talking or at least listening to your kids when they speak Spanish.

[UTUSN]

15. Since all the good suggestions are taken, here's your first lesson.

Spanish is easy.


1. Zone yourself into (while you're doing the Spanish) OBLITERATING English sounds/pronunciation.


2. The key is to master the simple sounds of the Spanish vowels. Each vowel has ONE sound (unlike English). Ahhhh. Ehhhh. Eeeee. O. (E)wwww.


3. The words are spelled the way they sound and vice versa. A few little glicks, like the double-L, the separate "ch", the "x" sounds like "s" and that tilde deal. If you have a total mastery of the vowel sounds, you can practically read it right now. And perhaps even figure out what the text says, since there are many, many words THE SAME in both languages.


4. The syllabic accent is SIMPLE. If a word ends in a consonant, the accent (unwritten) falls on the last syllable. If it ends in a vowel, the accent (unwritten) is on the next-to-last syllable. The WRITTEN accent comes into play when the spoken accent breaks these two rules.

[Miss Carly]

16. Rosetta Stone is good, but get a used cd pack, the new ones are very expensive

Carly

[UndertheOcean]

17. Get The Rosetta Stone software

[yewberry]

18. Got an iPod?

There are some good (free) lessons on iTunes, believe it or not.

I take advantage of my commute time (35 minutes on the bus) with a variety of free NPR programming, language lessons, Urban Dharma (Buddhist commentary), and RadioLab (science/culture).

[suninvited]

20. I am currently using Visual Link CD's

although I am just beginning. I can't compare them to Rosetta Stone, as I havent tried them, but costwise Visual Link is much less.

I love my visual link course.

[Zavulon]

21. When you watch English-language movies, turn on the Spanish subtitles.

You'll be amazed at how much starts sinking in after eight or ten movies.

[Zavulon]

23. Whoops - DaveTheWave beat me to this suggestion.

He's right, though - it really works.

[Zavulon]

22. Rosetta Stone has a free demo disc. Don't even think of dropping $300 until you try the demo.

Their number is 1.888.232.9245. If you have a Rosetta Stone kiosk in your local mall, as I do, they'll have the free demo discs there, too.

I tried the demo with French and discovered that the approach just isn't right for me. I use Oxford "Take Off in French" course instead - a tenth of the price and a lot better for me.

These "Take Off" courses have more audio than any other course of its size (extremely important, because listening comprehension is crucial), and if it doesn't work for you you're only out $25-30.

If your preferred learning style is similar to mine, here's the equivalent course for Latin American Spanish (I assume this would be the preferred choice for you, although they have a European Spanish course as well): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=oxford+latin+american+spanish&x=18&y=18

[Zavulon]

24. Other tips:

1.) Here's a good resource: http://spanish.about.com/ . I use the French version and learn a lot.

2.) Pick a Spanish website of your choice and make it the startup page on your browser. For example, there's Mexico's Yahoo (http://mx.yahoo.com/) or Spain's Yahoo (http://es.yahoo.com/). Or you could pick a newspaper (http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/news/ , http://www.newspapers.com/ ), or MSN's Spanish version, or whatever.

3.) If you use a web-based e-mail service that has language options, switch to Spanish. You'll pick up Internet vocabulary that way, and if you use Hotmail or Yahoo you'll be taken to a Spanish-language page when you sign out.

4.) Assuming you're not married, find a picture of a Spanish speaker you think is smoking hot and put up pictures of that person everywhere in your house. This is what my brother is doing to learn Spanish. He has pictures of Salma Hayek and Anna Kournikova everywhere in his house (Kournikova is not a native speaker, but made herself fluent even before she started up with Julio Iglesias's son, whose first name I forget). My brother tells me that even though he thinks Hayek is hotter, the Kournikova picture helps more, especially when he's about to quit - as in "Christ, if she can do it, I'm sure as fuck not quitting."

(I have a long-term girlfriend, so I can't use this strategy. :( )

Bonne chance.

[ulysses]

25. all y'all rock - thanks!

Yeah, I don't know how Ms Uly would take to pictures of Penelope Cruz sprouting up around the house, and besides, you're right that I am looking for more Latin American than European Spanish. :P