|
hey i am beginning to Learn Spanish
i have a spanish friend irl who will help out a bit (she used to be a teacher and might pick it back up again in the future)
i have the Michael Thomas audio tapes which are really cool. i put them on my phone so i can listen to them on the bus to and from work.
and i bought a printer so i can print off vocab lists and try to learn them away from the laptop.
next year i might sign up for the Modern Languages degree at the Open University. you can do English w Spanish , or Spanish w French. the latter would be way more interesting but also way more challenging. the other options would be to do something like Business Studies w Spanish. sounds awesome on paper, but honestly i dont think id be able to achieve it, and besides what business job would i be happy with apart from running my own business (english teacher?)?
my first aim is to continue to structure my days so that i have regular study hours. i will certainly take up mynock's advice here since he is a genius.
i also need to get movies and series with either spanish subtitles or in spanish with english subtitles or in spanish with spanish subtitles. (preferably with both language subtitles lol but idk if you can do that).
anyway my spanish level is below basic (didnt do it in school) and i want to be able to ace the GCSE Spanish (age 16 exams) before long, in preparation for the OU course. i dont think this will take me long (and then i can look into getting my French up to GCSE level again)
anyone else out there Just Starting to learn a language? or did you start to learn a language a while ago and want to share your experiences, successes and regrets?
 
|
I learned a bit of Latin back in my freshman year and MAN was it hard. Just stay on top of things and try to see connections, because THOSE things are important.
|
Seing as ur putting so much effort in it why not just go study in spain, portugal or latin america.
Barcelona is an awsome place move their for some time during ur studies ull learn the language in no time
|
How to fail at learning a second language: Don't use it often.
Seriously. I have an Aunt who used to live in Chile, now lives in Mexico, and I learned Spanish like...6 or 7 years ago in high school...While I was in school and learning it, I could call them at their home in wherever, and talk to them in fluent (mostly - was still learning after all) Spanish, and having her as a resource made learning the language really easy.
HOWEVER.
Post graduation, I didn't keep in touch with her, nor did I continue with Spanish after high school, and I never really used it at all...and I've pretty much forgotten it all at this point. Can't remember vocab and stuff. I remember the basics of the language and how to build a sentence but I forgot everything else. I'm sure if I tried to learn it again and put some effort into it, I could learn it again in record time since most the grammar and structure is still in my head, but still...if you don't use it or try to use it when you can, you'll eventually forget it over time. That's my advice/regrets. :p
|
On September 03 2011 02:57 Darkren wrote:
Seing as ur putting so much effort in it why not just go study in spain, portugal or latin america.
Barcelona is an awsome place move their for some time during ur studies ull learn the language in no time
i am saving up to do the CELTA (teach english) part-time course (£1200) then entry to OU (£800+) then i will save up for travel and living expenses (£1000-2000?) and start applying for jobs in another country as an english teacher 
|
On September 03 2011 03:00 Torenhire wrote:
How to fail at learning a second language: Don't use it often.
Seriously. I have an Aunt who used to live in Chile, now lives in Mexico, and I learned Spanish like...6 or 7 years ago in high school...While I was in school and learning it, I could call them at their home in wherever, and talk to them in fluent (mostly - was still learning after all) Spanish, and having her as a resource made learning the language really easy.
HOWEVER.
Post graduation, I didn't keep in touch with her, nor did I continue with Spanish after high school, and I never really used it at all...and I've pretty much forgotten it all at this point. Can't remember vocab and stuff. I remember the basics of the language and how to build a sentence but I forgot everything else. I'm sure if I tried to learn it again and put some effort into it, I could learn it again in record time since most the grammar and structure is still in my head, but still...if you don't use it or try to use it when you can, you'll eventually forget it over time. That's my advice/regrets. :p
hehe i learnt a few songs on piano then didnt play them (or anything) for like 2 years. when i tried to play again it was ridiculous, like trying to get a truck up a muddy hill but you keep getting stuck and wheels spinning, then every so often your wheels get a grip and your burst forwards a few metres!
|
i'm self-studying japanese right now, been studying for about 2 years (most of it self-study). couple of things:
-it's harder than western languages not because of kanji, etc. but because there are hardly any similarities with english. there are few words and grammar structures that are shared, so you can't infer much. european languages are probably much much easier.
-for any memorization, use SRS (anki is my preferred program). it helps a lot. if anything, it structures your studying by the day.
-find something fun to do in your target language to get native exposure. it can be whatever you want. if you like reading, read spanish websites or novels. watch tv. date their girls or guys. as long as you can maintain an interest where the language is secondary, you'll continue to be motivated.
-frequency is important, as is total time spent. 1 hour a day every day is good and much better than 7 hours every friday. 7 hours a day is even better, but probably impossible for most of us, but again, keep in mind that the more time you spend in your target language, the better you'll be. quite simply, language learning isn't impossible, it just takes a lot of time.
-reading, writing, speaking and listening are related, but they can be developed independently so keep your goals in mind when studying. i can read much better than i can write, and my speaking is horrible; often times when i converse with a japanese person they're surprised that my speaking is so bad compared to what i write in my emails.
-you learn more with focused studying (word lists, textbooks, etc) but it's boring. TV shows/magazines/books are more fun, but you also learn a lot less at least in the beginning. so make sure you find a good balance between the two. i probably spend 1-2 hours a day on focused studying from textbooks/wordlists. i listen to japanese music all the time, occasionally read articles/stories, talk to people, and watch a ton of japanese TV to balance out the boring study.
-if you learn how to self-study, it's one of the most valuable skills you can ever teach yourself. language is a great starting point for it. i took japanese 4 at community college just so i could get a japanese recommendation if i ever needed one. my professor, who was my professor in japanese 1 when i first started out, was absolutely astounded by my progress and thought i was some sort of genius and kept saying i should go to grad school because i have insane study habits. in reality i just studied a little each day, it was nothing special.
|
One thing I was told whilst learning Greek and Latin is that frequency beats duration. i.e. if you're planning to study a vocabulary list or conjugation table for 1 hour in a day, it's better to go over it for 15 minutes 4 times that day rather than just staring at it for an entire hour.
|
Spanish is my first language, so if you have any questions about some words or expressions feel free to PM me
|
I learned Spanish when I was working in a fast food place many years ago with only Spanish speaking people. I got pretty good at it, but can definitely say that if you stop using it (which I did after I left), you definitely start to lose it. I can still converse now but definitely not at the level that I was at back then.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
