I want to learn Spanish. Which method (or combination of methods) would you recommend? Has anyone used Rosetta Stone?
I haven’t used Rosetta Stone, but studied Spanish from age 12 through a college major. There’s also a highly intensive method used by the Peace Corps called “The Rassias Method.” I don’t know if anyone uses it outside of the Peace Corps, though. I do know that my spoken Spanish didn’t get very good until I went to Spain and was forced to converse in Spanish. For that reason, I wouldn’t think a record album type lesson would be very effective.
I’m going to Spain in August, so I’ve signed up for a six-week continuing education class. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I’ve always heard the best way to learn a language was immersion, ie be put in a situation where the use of said language is a necessity.
That being said, all I can speak is a few years of HS worth of Spanish. Good luck!
I don’t know anything about Rosetta Stone but I have heard very positive reviews of this dude:
I’ve heard amazing things about Michel Thomas too.
Another thing to consider is a “homestay” in countries like Venezuela, where you learn Spanish in the morning and speak English in the afternoon. I’ve several friends who have done this, and they all loved it: they picked the language up quickly and got some really good cultural insight - and it is extremely inexpensive.
I have no experience with Rosetta Stone, though I’ve heard good things about it. I’m currently trying to regain my Spanish (studying it for five years in middle/high school, then went for three years without a single class).
For grammar, you just need to force yourself to plow through it, rote-memorization style, especially for the verb conjugations. In high school, my Spanish teacher made blank worksheets, which a whole bunch of verbs (about 30 or so), and a column for each conjugation. Without the help of a textbook we would fill them out. If you got one single conjugation wrong, you did the entire sheet again. It was horrid at the time, but we learned those conjugations, by looking at/saying/writing them over and over and over and over.
Beyond that, my suggestion would be to immerse yourself in the language as much as you can. Never ever pass up on an opportunity to speak/listen to/read the language. Are there any Spanish language magazines or newspapers in your area? Once you know some basic vocabulary, try to get through some short articles in them. Listen to Spanish radio. Spanish soap operas are fantastic - you could probably follow the basic plot even if you don’t know a lick of Spanish.
The more effort you put into it, the faster you’ll get it. And, IMO, it’s absolutely worth it: I remember how awesome it was the first time I could read through a sentence in Spanish and understand it without needing help, and a few years later, it felt just as great to be able to read a novel without help.