As my financial situation has changed somewhat, sufficiently that if I desired to take a class for self-improvement I can, I’ve been thinking of taking some Spanish instruction. This is for several reasons:
I am interested in other languages
When I was younger, the choice was between French and Spanish. Well, I took French then, so Spanish now
Now that I work in retail knowing some Spanish could also be beneficial for employment, even if I’m not fluent
OK, that out of the way…
I am familiar with various resources to assist in language learning, from the internet to various DVD’s and books at the local library, to the various Spanish language TV stations available in my area. However, I think taking a few structured classes would help me get started and keep me focused.
Any suggestions for how to go about that in Northwest Indiana? Community college? Something else? I don’t have a LOT of money to spend on this, but I want some decent instruction. I’m more interested conversational Spanish than anything else, and I think having a class, where I’d be speaking with actual people, would help with that. I don’t need college credit for this, I’m doing it for my own benefit.
(No, work does not have a tuition reimbursement program, nor are they going to. I’d probably get an “atta girl!” and a thank you if I wind up being able to better communicate with our Spanish-speaking customers, but that’s about it.)
Coming from a college freshman Spanish student, my probably not worth much advice:
Consider a community college course. Auditing a class is a brilliant way to get the instruction without paying tuition. With a bit of luck the school library will have a copy of the textbook, so you wouldn’t even have to buy the book. No point in paying tuition unless you are seeking a degree.
Look into an Intercambio program. This is a bi-lingual educational program usually run by local libraries. The basic idea is to get a bunch of native Spanish speakers who want to learn English and a bunch of English speakers who want to learn Spanish together, and they bullshit back and forth for a couple of hours.
Books. Dictionaries, verb and noun guides, etc. The more information you can get the better, especially if you can get it from different angles.
Spanish tv is good, radio isn’t. It’s good to have visual cues to help you understand what’s going on. Watch movies you are familiar with with the Spanish dubbing on. I just watched Harry Potter in Spanish, and when I wasn’t laughing (“Hola, señor… Voldemort!”) it actually helped.
Rosetta stone is a waste of money, at least for beginners.
Dos Mundos. This is a Spanish textbook. I have no idea if it used in college instruction, but if you can find a copy, it will likely be very useful to you.
Likewise, English grammar for students of Spanish is a wonderful book. Hard to explain exactly, just trust me on this. Check out abebooks or a similar site, I found both of the above for less than a buck apiece.
Also, if you can get your hands on a copy of the video series Destinos, do so. I understand its hard to find, but some libraries might have it. It is a video immersion program aimed at beginners. Wikipedia has a good overview. The original program came with a book, I have the videos but not the book, and they helped a lot just by themselves.
This is evidently aimed at little kids, but both Dora la Exploradora and Manny Manitas (I think the English name for Manny may be Bob the Builder) were originally created to help Hispanic kids with their English; their “English language” versions are mostly English with bits where they explain how to say something in Spanish, the “Spanish language” version is the opposite. They’re likely to be available both from local kiddie channels and from libraries.
A CC course is probably the most cost-efficient option for structured teaching; jumping into a language exchange from day one may sound daunting, but remember that you probably know more Spanish than you think you do. Also, people at the exchange are there because they want to help and they want to teach, they’ll be perfectly happy to help you with your first steps.
Heck, I’m a native Spanish speaker and when they put Destinos in the PBS network, I got hooked and watched it. I don’t think I ever got to the end, though. But it was good!
And, you get to listen to “good” accents of the major regions (Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico/Caribbean). Meaning they have the accent, but speak appropriately (for their respective dialect).
Is it really? I’ve heard both ways. I’m retiring soon and would like to get some basic fluency in conversational spanish quickly. Cost aside, what are the drawbacks of this method?
I’ll be traveling around the US and maybe Mexico.
Peace,
mangeorge
They are OK for learning some phrases and words, and trying to hear the general sound of a language; they are a starting point for complete beginners. But it is difficult to maintain focus and really get to a proficient level using them, because they are really really boring and unless you are disciplined and dedicated, it’s too easy to put off. And unlike a class, it’s not possible to ask questions about confusing points or explore a phrase in more detail. I suggest checking them out from the library rather than buying a set.
Years ago when I started on Spanish I bought a book called Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish (with illustrations by Andrew Warhol). It’s a good system for learning basic verb conjugations and vocabulary. Then I would try out what I learned on the maids and custodians at work, who were all Mexican and glad to help me out.
Buena suerte.
I’ve been using Fluez for the past couple of months and really enjoyed it. Helped a lot during a recent trip to Argentina. It’s based around conversational situations so it’s easy to see how the lessons are applicable.
My personal opinion is that college courses tend to be once per week or the M-W-F style , and that’s not enough exposure to get any where. It’s something that has to be worked on daily.
If you have a smart phone, the Cat Spanish app is pretty awesome. I used it prepping for a trip to Peru, and it got me to the point where I could understand most of what was around me and engage in simple conversations.
I’ve becoming a believer in the “brute force memorize 1000 nouns” school of learning new languages, and I used spaced repetition flash card apps (specifically Memrise) to do so. It really helps to have enough nouns in your pocket that you aren’t struggling with vocabulary while learning grammar.
Rosetta Stone isn’t great. Duolingo offers basically the same thing for free.
IMHO self-study and finding someone to practice with is better than a class.
Congratulations Broomstick! Learning a foreign language is a great endeavor.
Only advice I can give is practice everyday. If you meet once a week in a classroom, you aren’t going to learn very much.
Always carry a pen and paper. Engage Spanish speaking people at every opportunity. In the streets, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Speak to them in Spanish, little by little. When you hear a new word, write it down.
Maybe you could even teach Spanish. To your birds!
Check your local library. My library has free access to Rosetta Stone online. I would think the librarian would know of good programs, or classes that would be available.
Find a message board in Spanish that’s devoted to some topic you are already familiar with–of high interest to you. (Keep in mind that it’ll be very colloquial and informal, with non - standard language.) Even just lurking you’ll learn a lot.
Contrary to what’s been posted above, I think Rosetta Stone is okay–for beginners only, just to review vocabulary. But don’t pay for it. I agree that a CC class is worth it, but I doubt they’d let you audit.
The suggestion above to look at English grammar for learners of Spanish is good, but only if you have a grammatical frame of mind already. (Many people don’t, and it just leads to frustration.)
I’m a big fan of getting some kind of minimal grammatical foundation first, so I’d definitely go for some kind of formal classroom instruction. But different people’s brains work differently. My grandparents managed to learn enough French to have a business importing antiques from France for 40-some years, and I don’t know that either one of them ever had any classroom instruction in French. Heck, my grandfather didn’t finish high school.
