How to Learn the Spanish Language
In an age where no man is an Island and no nation exists in isolation, people, businesses and cultural ideas have spread far and wide to, sometimes, places almost unfathomed before now. This has made the need to understand each other's culture, history and language even more important. This is where it also becomes necessary to learn the Spanish language.
But a problem that has been an issue with interested linguists and other passionate students of foreign languages is that of how to learn the Spanish language quickly, effectively and easily.
While there may be quite a few ways to go about this, here are some of my best tips to help you out.
But a problem that has been an issue with interested linguists and other passionate students of foreign languages is that of how to learn the Spanish language quickly, effectively and easily.
While there may be quite a few ways to go about this, here are some of my best tips to help you out.
Want to Know How to Learn the Spanish Language?
Here are a few tips to help you...
Ok, here are the tips on how to learn the Spanish language.
- The Great Teacher Factor
- Helpful Spanish Language Books
- Here's Your First Spanish Lesson. Enjoy! :)
- Vocabulary and Grammar
- Recommended Products
- Now, It is Time to...
- Cultural Immersion
- Some Popular Destination
- Want to Know What Some Spanish Cities Are Like?
- Spanish Media
- New Amazon
- Here's a Sample Spanish TV Program
- Your Spanish Lesson-Counting in Spanish
- New Amazon
- If you are Still Wrestling with the Pronunciations Above, Here's how! :)
- Practice It!
- Basic Salutations
- What Did You Like Most About this Lens?
- Cuéntanos lo Que Piensas-Tell Us What You Think
The Great Teacher Factor
What is the one thing that all great men have in common (apart from being 'great men':) )?
Answer: Great Teachers.
Now this 'great teacher' can come in the form of an actual teacher, a mentor, a role model, or a resource guide-books, programs, etc.
Learning the Spanish language requires the same thing- un gran maestro (a great teacher)
There are a number of ways you can go about this:
While these provide varying degrees of convenience and speed learning, either of these will take you a long way to achieving your dream of learning to speak the Spanish language.
Answer: Great Teachers.
Now this 'great teacher' can come in the form of an actual teacher, a mentor, a role model, or a resource guide-books, programs, etc.
Learning the Spanish language requires the same thing- un gran maestro (a great teacher)
There are a number of ways you can go about this:
- Books-You can buy quality books to help you
learn the Spanish language. These are available both at your local bookstore or online. Just make sure that it is one that is really good. A yardstick to measure this will be using the reviews of past customers and your own instincts based on the content they have claimed to put in that book.
- Software-You can also use such language software as Rocket Spanish, Rosetta Stone and a dozen other ones that are available online and offline.
- Schools-You can also attend classes at a specialized Spanish language school near you, an adult educational center offering courses in Spanish or use distance learning.
While these provide varying degrees of convenience and speed learning, either of these will take you a long way to achieving your dream of learning to speak the Spanish language.
Helpful Spanish Language Books
Here are some books from Amazon that can help you learn Spanish fast and achieve fluency easily.
Learn to Speak Spanish Deluxe
Amazon Price: $16.99 (as of 12/28/2009) 
Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase) (Spanish and English Edition)
Amazon Price: $2.00 (as of 12/28/2009)
Spanish for Kids: Learn Spanish Beginner Level 1
Amazon Price: $22.49 (as of 12/28/2009)
Here's Your First Spanish Lesson. Enjoy! :)
Vocabulary and Grammar
Your own bucket of words
Another way to easily and quickly learn the Spanish language is to consistently build your 'database' of Spanish vocabulary and improve your grammar.
Words, phrases and expressions are what make a language-any language for that matter-alive, usable and appealing. This same thing applies to the Spanish language.
Here are a few tips to help you with building your Spanish vocabulary and grammar.
Words, phrases and expressions are what make a language-any language for that matter-alive, usable and appealing. This same thing applies to the Spanish language.
Here are a few tips to help you with building your Spanish vocabulary and grammar.
- Start with the Most Basic: A big mistake to make is to try and learn Spanish downwards. In other words, don't start with learning the vocabulary associated with business, politics, etc without first learning how to interact at the barest social level. Learn the salutations first, followed by the numbers (see some examples of these two a few paragraphs below.)
- You should then follow it up by learning some basic "domestic" verbs like those that has to do with household activities like eating, drinking, washing, watching (TV), etc.
- Learn the Tenses: You should follow this up with learn the present tense, present continuous and past tense.
- Improve Your Grammar: Once you have gotten down to learning some basic Spanish phrases, follow it up with adding more words and expressions to your vocabulary. Also, at this point, you should be working on improving your spoken Spanish. Stop saying things like "Yo comes" ("I you eat") That won't make sense to even the King of Spain; trust me. :)
Recommended Products
Learn Lingo's Complete Spanish Immersion (The 8 DVD Set)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/28/2009)
The Standard Deviants - Habla Espanol? Beyond the Basics (Learn to Speak Spanish)
Amazon Price: $15.99 (as of 12/28/2009)
Now, It is Time to...
Learn Spanish Phrases
How to Speak Spanish : Common Spanish Phrases When Asking Questions
Learn how to speak Spanish with topics such as asking questions in this free language video on learning how to speak Spanish. Expert: Mixitxu Etxeberria Bio: Mixitxu Etxeberria speaks fluent Spanish, holds a BA in Linguistics from Reed College, lived in Spain for one year, taught Spanish for six months. Filmmaker: EV studios
Runtime: 135
148009 views
390 Comments:
curated content from YouTube
Cultural Immersion
Vivir como una persona española-Living as a Spanish Person
Perhaps the best way to learn Spanish is to immerse yourself in their culture.Research linguists have found out that this is also the way we all learn our first languages as children.
The reasoning is that you are constantly immersed in this culture and are around people who speak only this language; therefore, you will have no choice but to pay attention, learn, speak and ultimately master the language.
To achieve this, you will have to travel to a Spanish-speaking country or place like Spain, South America, the Caribbean, etc. Once there, don't always try to have somebody translate whatever is said to you into English. You will be fooling yourself if you do this.
The best way to approach this is to:
- In your home country, learn the basics of the Spanish language, like some 'domestic' verbs, the tenses, some phrases, etc
- Choose a Spanish-speaking country or place where most people (think 80%+) speak only Spanish and nothing else. (You are cooked. LOL)
- Get out of your comfort zone and just take that trip, for God's sake. Don't even start thinking "what if," "what if not." That's the way of losers, develop the guts (if you don't have them already) and stick to your decision.
- Keep an open mind and endure. It won't be easy, but with every day that goes by, you will get better, more fluent and feel more confident of your Spanish language skills.
This is doable and you can do it too, if you are not chicken. And I think you are not, if you have been brave enough to read up to this line. Bravo!
Tip: If you cannot currently afford to travel to Spanish-speaking country, another very affordable way of immersing yourself in their language and culture is to get Spanish language learning software that is tailored to dynamically immerse you into the Spanish language and culture. Rocket Spanish is one of the best of such programs around.
Some Popular Destination
for Spanish Learners
Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown - Episode 14: Barcelona, Spain
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/28/2009)
Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown Season 1 Episode 13: Madrid, Spain
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/28/2009)
Practical Travel A to Z: Dominican Republic
Amazon Price: (as of 12/28/2009)
V!VA Travel Guides Peru: Exploring Machu Picchu, Cusco, the Inca Trail, Arequipa, Lake Titicaca, Lima and beyond
Amazon Price: $17.93 (as of 12/28/2009)
2006 Country Profile and Guide to Argentina: National Travel Guidebook and Handbook
Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 12/28/2009)
Want to Know What Some Spanish Cities Are Like?
Take a Peek! :)
Spanish Media
Another way to learn Spanish easily and quickly is to use available Spanish language media. This does not just mean listening to their cultural music like Reggaeton, Salsa, etc but also using other readily available and easily-accessible media. These include:
No matter what you do, it will always be a good idea to try and use available Spanish language media in conjunction with any learning systems or programs you are using.
- TV: This includes watching such Spanish-speaking TV channels as Univision. You should also watch their news reports, soap operas, movies, children's learning programs, sports and so on. Using these, you can virtually immerse yourself into the culture and master the language at the same time.
- Radio: As soon as you start picking up a little Spanish, it may be a good idea to start tuning in to their Radio stations as well. This influences you to also be a good listener and quick thinker when communicating in this language. Listening to the radio will also make you more attentive, since you do not have pictorial representations of what they are saying, but would instead be relying on what you can hear.
- The Internet Media: There are virtually thousands of sites where you can listen to or watch Spanish media content such as movies, musical clips, slides and a lot more. A prime example would be Youtube.com . You can also opt to watch Spanish language programs dealing with certain areas of life, such as family, school, work, etc. This will help you develop your vocabulary, improve your fluency and, of course, boost your confidence.
No matter what you do, it will always be a good idea to try and use available Spanish language media in conjunction with any learning systems or programs you are using.
Your Spanish Lesson-Counting in Spanish
Ok, I don't want this lens sounding like just some boneless advice, or whatever.So, I am going to give you your first Spanish lesson right here. By the end of today, you should be able to count in Español.
Ready? Ok, count with me! :)
0---Cero (pronounced 'say-ro')
1---Uno (pronounced 'uh-no')
2---Dos (pronounced 'dose')
3---Tres (pronounced 'tress')
4---Cuatro (pronounced 'ku-at-ro')
5---Cinco (pronounced 'sin-ko')
6---Seis (pronounced 'says')
7---Siete (pronounced 'See-yettay')
8---Ocho (pronounced 'oh-cho')
9---Nueve (pronounced 'nu-way-bay')
10--Dies (pronounced 'dee-yes')
20--Veinte (pronounced 'ben-tay')
30--Treinta (pronounced 'train-tah')
40--Cuarenta (pronounced 'Ku-wa-rain-tah')
50--Cincuenta (pronounced 'sin-ku-wen-tah')
60--Sesenta (pronounced 'say-sen-tah')
70--Setenta (pronounced 'set-ten-tah')
80--Ochenta (pronounced 'oh-chen-tah')
90--Noventa (pronounced 'no-ben-tah')
100-Cien (pronounced 'si-yen')
While counting, do remember that the transcriptions above are to be pronounced together, not as separate words. I have only dissected the words so that you can learn the Spanish pronunciations right. But do try and say them as one word. ;)
Ok, that is it for one. Other Spanish lessons will follow as soon as possible.
By the way, I would also appreciate your feedback. So, post it below. That way, I can know what is useful and also what I may need to add in here to make it even more useful for you.
If you are Still Wrestling with the Pronunciations Above, Here's how! :)
01006 Spanish Lesson - Numbers 0-39
In this lesson, we'll be reviewing the numbers 1-15 in Spanish from the prior video and then adding 0 and 16-39. Forgive me for the repetition in this video, but that's the best way to learn a new language. *Note* the shortened ways are correct while the longer ways are not really used in Spanish for 16-19; 21-29. Comments and questions are welcome. For more Spanish videos, feel free to peruse http://www.senorjordan.com Vocabulario: 0 cero 16 dieciséis 17 diecisiete 18 dieciocho 19 diecinueve 20 veinte 21 veintiuno 22 veintidós 23 veintitrés 24 veinticuatro 25 veinticinco 26 veintiséis 27 veintisiete 28 veintiocho 29 veintinueve 30 treinta 31 treinta y uno 32 treinta y dos 33 treinta y tres 34 treinta y cuatro 35 treinta y cinco 36 treinta y seis 37 treinta y siete 38 treinta y ocho 39 treinta y nueve
Runtime: 245
14515 views
27 Comments:
curated content from YouTube
Cuéntanos lo Que Piensas-Tell Us What You Think
submit
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Reply
- kavinsmith kavinsmith Nov 21, 2009 @ 4:11 am
- I like your efforts, and I am very much impressed that you are promoting this beautiful language in such a nice way, your efforts are wonderful I went through all this and I really appreciate your work about Spanish language thanks for your blog. The ?Beginner Lessons? category is really very helpful to those who have just started with Spanish. Thanks, Keep going.
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Reply
- infosultan infosultan Oct 31, 2009 @ 3:32 pm
- Hi Nick,
Thanks for your feedback.
I am happy that you loved it.
All the best,
Muhammad
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Reply
- nick16 nick16 Oct 31, 2009 @ 1:26 am
- It's very interesting to go through your lens.
I am very good in Spanish but before learning it i though that it's a tough language, but when i start
learning it i found that it's a very interesting and easy to learn and your blog has given right advice that how we can teach our children Spanish .
by infosultan
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