Post: #1

what are some good online programs to learn to speak Spanish? I plan on spending some time in Central/South America in the future, so now is the perfect time to start learning the language. I've heard that it's necessary to speak Spanish if you want the fly local girls in these countries. I don't want to limit myself because of a language barrier.

Post: #2

best way imo is learning all the basic words that form a sentence. ie adverbs

then learn the top / most used verbs (top 100)

then focus on conjugation and formation.

I have been at it for the past 1.5 years and have come along way with minimal effort.

also get some spanish friends on facebook and chat with them.

Most common words Adverbs http://spanish.speak7.com/spanish_adverbs.htm

Most common Verbs http://www.linguasorb.com/learnspanish/m...verbs.aspx

Post: #3

Use the search: /google-search.html

Lots of existing Spanish threads.

Post: #4

(10-18-2011 11:13 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  best way imo is learning all the basic words that form a sentence. ie adverbs

then learn the top / most used verbs (top 100)

then focus on conjugation and formation.

I have been at it for the past 1.5 years and have come along way with minimal effort.

also get some spanish friends on facebook and chat with them.

Most common words Adverbs http://spanish.speak7.com/spanish_adverbs.htm

Most common Verbs http://www.linguasorb.com/learnspanish/m...verbs.aspx

Good links, i decide to keep learning Spanish instead of Portuguese. More usefull and i had way more fun in the latin countries. Finally got my Brazil bang last night.

Post: #5

neil,

bust out a lay report SOMEWHERE lol

Post: #6

(10-19-2011 09:56 AM)Dash Global Wrote:  neil,

bust out a lay report SOMEWHERE lol

Will be on my site in a 100 year if i find time and motivation to write. I wrote a small report in the South America thread.

Post: #7

In answer to the question: Naked, in bed, with a hot latina.

Post: #8

There are plenty of online resources and books and sure you should use them but from my personal experience, I highly recommend an intense quick course in a classroom just to get your bearings.

I know, I know: 'it costs money', 'why pay when you can download so many courses', 'why not study at home'..

I was struggling with language books and online courses for a loooong time. Finally I took an intense 2 weeks classroom course and it was actually invaluable in terms of giving me orientation. I continue my studies at home and it's much more effective now.

So personally I would recommend: a classroom course (anywhere from a flash 2 weeks course to longer) to get oriented, then continue on your own.

Post: #9

(10-18-2011 11:13 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  best way imo is learning all the basic words that form a sentence. ie adverbs

then learn the top / most used verbs (top 100)

then focus on conjugation and formation.

I have been at it for the past 1.5 years and have come along way with minimal effort.

also get some spanish friends on facebook and chat with them.

Most common words Adverbs http://spanish.speak7.com/spanish_adverbs.htm

Most common Verbs http://www.linguasorb.com/learnspanish/m...verbs.aspx

Spot on, learn the most common words and you'll be amazed at the sentences you can put together. Learning phrases like most resources seem to teach didn't work for me, sure I could remember a few of them but I didn't know help me know all the words that make up the phrase. I wouldn't worry too much about getting the perfect grammar or spoken sentence at first either, I'm happy enough just to be understood.

Post: #10

thanks for the links dash.
I actually took years of Spanish in grade school. I remember a decent amount, but I'm better at listening than speaking. Unfortunately I didn't take Spanish class seriously. i always thought that it was useless to learn, seeing as I was living in America and all... How the tables have turned...

Post: #11

I've been learning Spanish for a while, it takes time and it can be frustrating. I really wish there was something like this for learning Spanish: http://www.khanacademy.org/ the progression and tracking element is excellent and it would be great for reviewing your weak areas.

Post: #12

hands down the best way to learn is a one on one class in a foreign country.

Many online schools you can do 1 on 1 via skype average cost is about $10 an hour.

if it was easy and cheap everyone could speak numerous languages.

I've met tons of gringos that live and work in latin america and speak passable but VERY sloppy spanish bc they have never had proper teachers or lessons.

Post: #13

(10-19-2011 12:14 PM)LostGringo Wrote:  In answer to the question: Naked, in bed, with a hot latina.

Agree 100%.

I just switched my badoo profile to the DR. The chicas have been blowing me up for the last hour on messages. I've been using language programs downloaded on my Galaxy Tab 10.1. to assist. The verb conjugation ones are key. When I trip up, I say, "Lo siempre, mi Espanol es muy mal. Pero, yo apprendo muy rapido. Gracias por ser paciente." They eat that up.

I just got free practice from 7-8 different hot girls, and built repoire. I only stopped because my head hurts. My Spanish is basic, but at this rate, will be far better in 6 months. And talking to these girls is a great motivator. Better than an ugly school marme.

Post: #14

A good advice i can give you is to take it seriously.
A lot of people will be trying to convince you about how easy it is to learn Spanish.
Yes it is easier than other languages but don't expect to be fluent unless you put up some hard work.

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content....ogrammatic

Hands down FSI programmatic is the best program out there.

Post: #15

I don't understand how peope think listening to an mp3 file and repeating sentences is better than having hours of one on one CONVERSATIONS with a proper teacher, but obviously i'm in the minority.

having said that...all methods are useful. one thing to be aware of for newbies is that using msn to chat up skanks is a good method but most of these girls can't spell correctly to save their lives. bamos instead of vamos, e tenido instead of he tenido, huzar instead of usar, kiero instead of quiero etc.

Post: #16

You're right redneckpunk. I remember a lot of words, verb conjugation in present and past tense, and sentence structure. That means nothing when dealing with slang and people speaking "muy rapido".

Professionals I know that needed to learn the language were eventually immersed somewhere where they couldn't speak English. Software will only help to start.

Post: #17

(10-18-2011 11:13 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  best way imo is learning all the basic words that form a sentence. ie adverbs

then learn the top / most used verbs (top 100)

then focus on conjugation and formation.

I have been at it for the past 1.5 years and have come along way with minimal effort.

also get some spanish friends on facebook and chat with them.

Most common words Adverbs http://spanish.speak7.com/spanish_adverbs.htm

Most common Verbs http://www.linguasorb.com/learnspanish/m...verbs.aspx

Indeed, Dash's spanish is very spot on, he even uses slang with no problem.

I've always thought that for any language, the best way to stay motivated is to learn how to say and write perfectly the most common/useful expressions. The rewarding feeling you get when you execute one perfectly and manage to defend yourself in a language you are learning is priceless.

Take advantage of the technology we have nowadays, you can chat with alot of people and skype with them as well, try practicing 1 hour daily and you will see improvement.

Lastly, make the experience more enjoyable by finding a chick who speaks the language, make a connection and the learning process will be more fun and rewarding.

Post: #18

Fred,

I learned most of the slang (the small amount I know) from chatting with girls on facebook. I swear hardly no one uses proper spanish. Sometimes it is hard to understand what they said when I can't use the translator because of them using slang and improper spanish.

I actually messed up. I meant to say adjectives. All of it is important though. Id learn the top 100 of each inside and out and you will be highly pleased with what you can accomplish from just by yourself studying from online list ect. Decent site to see what im talking about http://www.spanishpronto.com/spanishpron...adjectives

Adjectives

Verbs

Pronouns

Conjugations

Nouns

Adverbs

Prepositions

I am having a hard time grasping past and future tenses with all the different variables.

Yo Fret see if you know the name of this song in the youtube clip I posted on my korean thread. Song is hot and I need to add it to the library. /thread-5968-page-6.html

edit* Scratch that just randomly stumbled upon the song on youtube! Song is called Tocarte Toda

Post: #19

the best way to learn spanish is to go to a spanish speaking country for a year. Thats what I did and i am near fluent in spanish. but if you dont have the resources to go for a year try finding people on line to speak spanish with and watch movies with subtitles that helped me a lot!

Post: #20

Another thing.

Once you know most of the main words in each of the categories (verbs, adjectives, nouns, prepositions, articles, conjugates, pronouns ect) then you need to focus on learning proper Spanish grammar and how to use those words to form coherent and correct sentences.

You dont translate stuff word for word in Spanish with how it is used in English.

Best way to learn proper Spanish grammar imo is through parallel text. This will also help you alot with actual verb conjugations. So you can kill two birds with one stone, not to mention learning new words and increasing your vocabulary.

Im looking for some good parallel text books right now, so when I find some good ones I post them here.

Post: #21

I've taught myself Spanish into a professional level, meaning that now my Spanish level is good enough that I now use it for work (in a Spanish centric business) on a daily basis. My native tongue is actually English and Tagalog.

My best advise for anyone who wants to be proficient at Spanish is to understand the requirements of learning a language. We should separate a learner according to beginners, intermediate, and advanced. Just like game, it is a matter of desire and interest that determines your level. I would say 95% of Spanish students are confined to mediocre Spanish and could hardly speak the language. The top 5%, like me, not to sound egoistical, are those who have incorporate Spanish into our lifestyle and have invested huge amount of time into language acquisitions trying which works and which doesn't.

There is not single program that will teach you to speak Spanish in 6 months. At most your level will be confined to speaking to Spanish school teachers or other Spanish students, and will not be at a level to chat a local off the street and engage them in a meaningful conversation.

You can learn the first 50% quickly, then the next 50% will require much from you at an exponentially increasing level. Meaning going from 50% to 80% will require less than say going from 95% to 97%. I believe this has to do with language decay, which is that if you don't use it, you lose it, and that the decay gets more prevalent the higher your level so much more is required of you to maintain it. You need to constantly learn and relearn, memorize as much as you can.

The only real way to learn Spanish, IMO, is to use it as much as you can and surround yourself with the language to the point that you forget your mother tongue at times. Most important if living in US or non Spanish speaking country, is to SURROUND (I cant emphasize enough) with the language.

If you have time to get immersion in a latin American country, best prepare before hand. I learned this the hard way. If you prepare before your immersion trip, meaning you study, your rate of Spanish acquisition will be so much higher than those who are beginning at 0.

There are four areas of languages: writing, speaking, listening, culture. They are equally important to a student. The writing forces your grammar, your listening tunes you in to regionalism, speaking forces you to be in an active state, and culture is the semantics -- the meaning behind the words in a cultural context giving it varying depths of meaning.

What I am now currently learning in my Spanish journey is that it is getting harder because of regionalism -- meaning that part that school does not teach you -- that Spanish is spoken differently in different regions, effectively making a finite set of Spanish dialects which in its own become mini-languages. Have you tried talking to a Dominican? Way different than talking a Spaniard.

Lastly, PM me if you have more questions. I leave with the thought that learning a language requires a HUGE commitment for the student, especially if you want to pass mundane conversations and into something like the professional world or talking to a local with zero English and no common ground. It aint easy.. but actually.. it pays monetarily and is worldly.. and is just fun to learn a language. Vale la pena.


This is priceless:
"hablas bien espanol"
"aaah.. gracias!"

Post: #22

Another great site

http://spanish.speak7.com/index.htm

Post: #23

What about learning german? the german speaking countries have a very strong economy and their women look fly.

Post: #24

(10-21-2011 10:55 PM)metalhaze Wrote:  What about learning german? the german speaking countries have a very strong economy and their women look fly.

Dont most young German girls speak english? Seems like it would be a waste of time.

And still Latin America > Germany.....

Post: #25

[/quote]

Indeed, Dash's spanish is very spot on, he even uses slang with no problem.

[/quote]
??????

Dash admitted he has problems using past and future tenses. If you don't know those upside and down then you are not intermediate level and your spanish is not "spot on".

I believe there are 14 tenses and moods for Spanish verbs so before anyone starts patting themselves on the back too much realize there is a lot to learn and it is a looong process.