Any tips for learning a new language?

[2243]

I have Rosetta Stone software for learning Japanese... I'll just say it's a work in very slow progress.

 

[Croynan]

do well with the Spanish, piggy. good for you.

eM.

 

[2243]

Maybe you should try watching the spanish channel or spanish movies.

 

[LatinoSTAR]

Spend 15 minutes in a room with my family, you will know fluent spanish by the time you leave

 

[2243]

Spend 15 minutes in a room with my family, you will know fluent spanish by the time you leave

Alternatively, you can go to Ankh's JUB en español thread and practice on us there.

 

[Paws]

Go to Spain.

 

[pinoy-pride]

learning a new language huh? I was gonna suggest rosetta stone cuz I see the commercial on all the time. I took spanish in middle and high school, total of 4yrs, the last yr being an honors course, but I have nothing to show for it, it seems like I just wasted my time, and recently, within the last year, I decided I want to learn tagalog, bcuz I want to go back to the philippines and me being half filipino, I felt like I really need to it. I am doing so so so good teaching this language to my self, in 3months of reading, taking notes, like extensive, page after page after page of notes, made index cards for the grammar rules and I know so much tagalog now, moreso tagalog than the 4years of spanish I took. and it took everyone by surprise becuz they couldn't believe I learned so much, with no teacher to instruct me. I can write it out really well,but as far as speaking it, this language is one of those that if you stress the vowel in a different area, it has a completely different meaning so I'm perfecting my soeaking, but I continue to learn more by watching filipino movies, tv shows, magazines, songs, and I'm very proud of myself. cuz I have a lot of filipino friends that are fluent along with my mom and they were speaking tagalog and so I joined in on the conversation and they're like, oh shit, you know what we're saying? and to keep it all fresh in my mind, I speak tagalog everyday, I tell them to correct me if I say something wrong and so on. and all I did was buy lots of tagalog learning books, like Basic Tagalog, Modern Tagalog w/ grammar rules and Conversational Tagalog, I finished my 1st book, so I don't know, I guess I had the drive to learn it alone. go to amazon online and look up spanish learning books or tools, maybe it'll be easier that way

 

[hopnung]

Read the Spanish version of websites (like CNN, NBC, etc.) alongside the English version. It's at your own pace and it's realistic (meaning that it's not something fabricated, as some learning materials tend to be).

Listening to foreign language music helps to, with the pronunciation and such. Start off by finding kids music with simple words, find the lyrics and follow along. Then you can move up to mainstream music, doing the same thing. That's how I learned how to pronounce words in Spanish, Italian and German before I even started learning them, and it made things much easier.

Buena suerte, Puerquito!

 

[JakeLucas]

¡Felicitaciones, Piggy!

That's great! Good for you!

I used to teach Spanish (and German). There are several different methods for learning a new language, and I'm not familiar with which method Rosetta Stone uses.

Of course, the best way to learn a language is to start as a young child. I suspect it may be too late for that.

The next best way to learn is by "total immersion," which is living/studying in a country where the language is spoken. With that method, if you want to eat, you have to speak the language! Most people don't have the 6 weeks it takes to go that route.


If you have access to Spanish TV (Univisión/Telemundo) you might try watching that, mostly to "tune" your ear to the sound of the language. That can be frustrating, though, because they will be speaking too fast for a beginner to understand much.
(Oh, and the telenovelas (soap operas) have a lot of gorgeous hunks! )

You will need a lot of practice listening and speaking. Practice speaking out loud as much as you can. You will find it gets easier and easier. As you go about your daily routine, try thinking in Spanish.

A good website for learning Spanish is Notes in Spanish. They have podcasts you can listen to, or download them to an mp3 player and listen at your convenience.

The podcasts are divided into "Inspired Beginners," "Intermediate" and "Advanced." In the Inspired Beginners section, they speak nice and slowly. They use "real life" / "everyday" Spanish... not the stuff they teach in schools (like, "The pen of my aunt is blue." )

Hope this helps.

¡Buena suerte! Good luck!

 

[gsdx]

Don't put it off. No offence, but you're well-past the age when learning a language is easy, and it becomes more difficult with each passing year. If you're really serious about doing it, start right now.

 

[RationalLunacy]

Get a universal translator implanted. It's easier than learning all that crap.

 

[Chalchalero]

I'm wanting to learn Spanish for personal/work purposes.

I'm using Rosetta Stone software and it's working great.


I've learned 10-15 new words and simple phrases.

When the Spanish text is shown, it only takes me a few seconds to answer correctly.

When it's auditory spoken, I have to think about what was just said. It's taking me much longer; up to 15-20 seconds.

I'm trying to improve my timing, but am getting frustrated.


How long did it take you to learn a new language?

Any useful tips while learning.

The great thing about Spanish is that once you have gotten the pronunciation of the letters down, every word is pronounced exactly as it is written. Therefore your only problems are grammar (which is relatively simple as compared to English) and vocabulary, which is often similar to English.

What may help as well is watching telenovelas. One in which they speak very good Spanish is called El Juramento which comes on at 8 on Telemundo, and is actually a very good story.

It is basically a retelling of the much better La Mentira from the 90's and is about a woman who is confused with another woman as being the cause of a man's suicide and the revenge his brother takes on her unjustifiably.

The Spanish on that program is very sophisticated, and you can learn much that you will need to know about vocabulary, pronunciation, etc. I highly recommend it.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

 

[robbieadam]

Google Translator!

Good luck with the lessons Piggy.

 

[2243]

All those are arab derive Piggy. One of them, Ojalá, means something like "god willing" or something similar, it's an expression denoting hope that something happens... oj-alá, sounds familiar?

That reminds me of the (maybe slang) word Alomejor. It was always weird to me because it sounds like it means for the better, but people use it as it's possible.

For example: "Mama, donde esta mi gato? Alomejor se lo robaron mijo".

But I guess it could have something to do with alá-mejor, either that or it's not being used right.

 

[pacz]

I took 5 years of Spanish in High School, although I could understand and read it, I was unable to speak it. Now I have a couple of Mexican friends who are as bad with English as I am with Spanish, I am finally learning to speak it, as they are with English. I think you really have to put yourself in it yourself in it to really learn. I remember one time in Spanish class, without realizing it, I called the Pope a potato head!

 

[senorserio]

I think all the above suggestions are great. The only thing I would add is that one needs to be realistic in his expectations for fluency. For one thing, "fluent" is an adjective that I tell my students is much like "pretty". It's all in the eye of the beholder. What seems "fluent" to one person is not to another. Do you just want to be able to travel to Spain and interact with the shop vendors and tour guides or are you looking to spend time abroad making friends and perhaps even working or living there? Your level of fluency will be radically different.

So many times I see frustration with the language development process because people believe that after having taken a few courses or done some software, that they will then be able to sit and watch television or converse with people like they do in their everyday lives with English and then want to give up when their 4 years of Spanish have not gotten them anywhere near able to handle such things. It's like learning to play an instrument. It takes YEARS (immersion experiences excepted) of practice and daily reinforcement to get to a level of fluency anywhere near your native tongue. Just like a novice piano player cannot perform in a professional concert hall until he has spent years mastering his instrument. Unfortunately, in most instances, it is a slow and laborious process but congratulations Piggy for taking the initiative to undertake such a task. It's never too late. As most things in life, it all comes down to how badly do you want it?

 

[JakeLucas]

I just realized I didn't answer one of your questions, Piggy:

How long did it take you to learn a new language?

If you keep at it, you will probably be able to carry on a basic conversation in just a couple of months.

I started learning at age 10 and continued through college (including at the Universidad de Valencia in Spain). I'm still learning ## years later. I listen to the Advanced version of the podcasts from Notes in Spanish to keep fresh. Recently I learned a couple of new words... «escaquear» and «trapicheo».

 

[2243]

A lo mejor are 3 words, not one!

Your hipothesis is interesting

Oops!

Still, I often hear the phrase and I think it should be A lo peor or A lo menor or something like that.