# Time to learn Spanish! Any advice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 30, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417 "2003-06-30T20:08:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/1 "2003-06-30T20:08:48Z")
Here’s what I’m thinking I’ll do: - Listen to one or more of those “Learn Spanish While You Drive Around” systems during the ol’ commute. - Speak what little Spanish I can to other people at work who are fluent. - Order dinner at Tex-Mex places in Spanish. 😃 Any other advice? Anything above a waste of time? Thanks for any tips you can give me. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/2 "2003-06-30T20:12:07Z")
Oh, and I forgot to mention, I hope to have a working knowledge of the language by the time I go back to Mexico next year. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/3 "2003-06-30T20:51:05Z")
In my experience, teach-yourself language tapes are OK as a supplement to a class, but no substitute for having a real teacher and other students to interact with. Is there any chance you could take a class at a community college or adult ed program? Oh, and watch Spanish movies with subtitles in English. Lots of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/4 "2003-07-01T01:02:30Z")
Listening to songs helps a great deal too, but you also have to have the translation to the words there…I’ll second Fretful’s opinion, there is really no substitute for having a Spanish teacher. ---
**Author:** ![flood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@flood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flood)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/5 "2003-07-01T01:50:11Z")
I see you live in Dallas. Well I too am a member of the great state of Texas. Having lived on the border since I was born, I’ve been able to get a fairly good handle on the language. I suggest you move down here. I’ll tutor you but you’ll have to buy me dinner at the _real_ Mexican restuarants that we have down here in Laredo. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/6 "2003-07-01T02:23:44Z")
Watch the cheesy \*telenovelas, \* and the news, in Spanish. Both provide very entertaining and educational perspectives on Hispanic culture. But my favorite method is to fall head over heels for someone who speaks zero English. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/7 "2003-07-01T02:30:10Z")
How good is your Spanish at the moment? Or are you just starting out? ---
**Author:** ![BadBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BadBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBaby)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/8 "2003-07-01T02:35:48Z")
Childrens programs aren’t bad to watch either. Newspapers, magazines, and books at your reading level can be good. What helps my students (they’re learning English but still) is to speak and think in the target language as much as possible. When you’re making dinner actually describe what you’re doing in Spanish. Name all the objects you use or see, that sort of thing. Estoy comiendo queso. Esto es un lapiz. Do this all day every day until you learn Spanish or are committed. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/9 "2003-07-01T02:47:26Z")
> [@](#): > > How good is your Spanish at the moment? Or are you just starting out? Oops, I didn’t finish what I wanted to say. When my Spanish was at the intermediate level I found that watching Spanish movies with subtitles (or the other way around, with DVDs) and reading Spanish news and columns would help greatly, as long as you take note of the words you don’t know and look 'em up. One site that I frequently visit is [http://www.yupimsn.com/](http://www.yupimsn.com/) (a Spanish version of [msn.com](http://msn.com)). And, as **BadBaby** mentioned, speak the language whenever possible. If you’re just starting out, then of course getting a tutor would be the best way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/10 "2003-07-01T02:51:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eva Luna \* > \*\* > But my favorite method is to fall head over heels for someone who speaks zero English. \*\* Actually worked for a friend of mine. She developed a crush on someone at work, who spoke close to no English at all. One day she went to the library and checked out pretty much every book they had. About a month later, the crush was gone, but she still kept it up. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/11 "2003-07-01T02:58:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by green\_bladder \* > \*\*How good is your Spanish at the moment? Or are you just starting out? \*\* Pretty much starting out. I have the basics from high school Spanish, but that doesn’t go to far these days. I basically know enough to crudely converse with a child at VBS (_mas estampitas?_). Thanks for the advice so far, I appreciate it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/12 "2003-07-01T03:32:06Z")
A good book that we are using in our conversational Spanish Class where I work is called, “Spanish the easy way”. It is a good way to start systematically working on your grammar. The best way to get better at any foreign language is to be around other people who speak that language. Best of luck to you. ---
**Author:** ![Quantum\_Butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e79b87/32.png) [@Quantum\_Butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quantum_Butterfly)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-learn-spanish-any-advice/185417/13 "2003-07-01T03:59:03Z")
Community college, mon. Or adult ed. That way you get somebody to correct your pronunciation, ask questions of, and a place to find a study buddy. Es muy importante to have somebody to practice with! I found this out when I took French and couldn’t find _anyone_ to practice with.