It seems that everything worth studying has a method or program developed to aid the student.
Is there a current “method” to learning Spanish that can help me with my memorization?
I’ve read book after book (skimmed really) and I can see that a lot of words are similiar in both languages, I can keep up with present tense of verbs and I can speak all day with my Spanish speaking co-workers. But, I need some kind of miracle formula to help me retain and arrange this in my head.
If learning Spanish were as easy as learning the ABC song…
It ain’t easy to learn a language, period. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something, and that something won’t work. There’s lots of methodologies, but I don’t think it’s clear that any one is superior to all the rest. Practice, practice, practice - that’s all there is. If you’re up to reading in Spanish, pick up a dual-language book, if you can understand it, watch movies in it (subtitled if necessary). Take every opportunity you can to practice with co-workers, read grammar books, make flash cards, etc.
Total immersion. Move to Spain or another Spanish-speaking country. If you have to survive in it, you’ll pick it up faster than you will reciting “Hello, Humberto, can you show me to the library?” with a lady on a tape, I imagine.
Check out some of the suggestions brought up here.
There’s no easy way to learn a new language… you really have to expose yourself to the language and the culture and practice reading, listening and speaking whenever possible. If you can’t, then it’ll be a real pain in the ass to keep yourself from forgetting what you’ve learned.
My Spanish spelling and writing is terrible, mostly because I picked it up verbally from my then Spanish gf. In Spain.
That said - tapes, cd, evening school, whatever, won’t work. You really need to spend time being totally surrounded by it. Rememeber, learning a language is not only learning the words or the grammar. It’s understanding the language and all the references. So much of everyday English, just on this board, needs you to know a lot of references to literature, people, media, politics ASF. When Xander says that Wes should keep his pierce brosnany eyes off his Cordy, fans of Buffy get it. But would you get ‘Bigote de Aznar’ without knowing what the prime minister of Spain looks like?
Also, there are distinct differences between Spanish in most Spanish speaking countries. Argentinian has a melody close to Italian, which can be confusing. A car is ‘coche’ in Spain and ‘carro’ in many South American countries, ASF.
The way Americans might refer to Martha Stewart is mirrored with how Spaniards refer to Isabel Pantoja, and without the context, you’re gonna get woshed.
Your best plan is to go and take an intensive course in a country of your choice. It’s not that expensive and very rewarding. Most of them use ‘the natural method’, i.e. not translating anything, but teaching it, the way you teach a kid: ‘That is a cat, this is a dog’ and working up, always building on previous knowledge and not explaining anything with abstracts.
Like The Gaspode, my writing and spelling are horrible. Spanish isn’t as phonetic as, say, German.
Despite my wife, I think that I owe most of the initial credit to Berlitz. Its method really got me started off the right way, making it possible for my wife to teach me. That’s the thing, though, my wife didn’t really teach me – it was just talking to me, and asking her questions when I didn’t understand. And watching Uga Uga on Telemundo when it was on the first time back in 2001. And seeing Amores Perros for learning slang and swearing.
However, when compared to English, it’s simplicity itself…
The books and guides are good for the details, but what really speeds it up (with any language) is periods of immersion: direct conversation with the native-speakers, listening to and reading current media material w/o subtitling/translation at hand. Notice I said current media material, this means newspapers, popular mags, TV, radio, film – INCLUDING journals or documentaries/news on your specific areas of recreational or professional interest.
In that sense, Americans in the “big cities” have the advantage of access to ethnic neighborhoods where you’ll find a lot of material, and some blocks where you can’t hear English. Even further, if you have a late-model TV and you’re in a reasonably large media market you may have access to the SAP feature, which allows you to hear The Simpsons (and others) in Spanish.
Won’t necessarily work. A local college TV station showed a British series on learning Greek that used a dweebish, middle-aged BBC guy learning from a fabulously beautiful Greek movie star. He sat there, lost in her eyes and oblivious to what she was saying. He passed the heterosexuality test but I don’t know if he learned any Greek. I know I didn’t.
I am married to a Colombian woman for almost 20 years and that hasn’t helped my learning ability with Spanish. My speech is only mediocre, and we live in Colombia. The problem is that most people here want to practice their English when they talk to me. The best method is an intensive class in Spanish. Incidentally, my wife always speaks to me in English.
Total immersion seems to be the most suggested method although the Spanish speaking senorita idea of akteps has got me thinking…
But anyways, I could start looking at how I can get more access to Spanish versions of stuff like TV, radio and maybe even the 'net. The SAP feature on TVs suggested by JRDelirious sounds cool and I’ll be checking my TV this evening.
As I’m doing all of this, does anyone know of any Spanish versions of the old teaching “rhymes” like “I before E, except after C (and also in neighbor and weigh”? I still go over that rhyme in my head whenever the “ie or ei” question comes up while writing. I know the rules would be different but maybe a tool like this would help me start speaking real, proper Spanish and not my current version which makes my amigo Victor cringe.
Seeing or hearing a pattern for conjugating verbs, for example, would be great and would solve one issue I have. Native speakers seem to leave the object out of everything and conjugate the verbs to the nth degree. I’m having a lot of trouble keeping up with who is doing what.
Maybe I just need to tell everyone to stop talking so fast?!
