Want to learn Spanish

3 years more than likely if you are a hard worker and somewhat gifted. It took me much longer.

Of course if you only need to ask for simple things and don't need to understand anybody, you can probably do that after 6 months.

Also, if you actually want to be fluent and are over 18, forget the immersion classes, they only teach you tourist Spanish.

Instituto Dominico Americano is Very good

Beginner Spanish in a university would be the best option but...

Since you want to study in Santo Domingo and if you find a good institute with competent foreign language instructors, you have a chance at successfully learning very basic concepts of language designed in their three month program. It will be a good intro (maybe) but ideally a beginner university course is what you need if you want to learn Spanish via studies.

In my opinion, three months of study of a new language (meaning you have no prior knowledge or exposure) is not enough time at all to be fluent but if you are dedicated to learning and your teacher is competent, you should come away with some core basic concepts about language learning and Spanish.

If you study beginner Spanish in a university you would learn the following in three months (one semester course):

-The alphabet- you need to know the sounds (phonetics) in Spanish in order to pronounce the words correctly. By learning the alphabet you will learn other related concepts such as diphthongs and syllables.

- Grammar- proper second language learning is grammar based. There's no way around it. You should be introduced to some core concepts such as verbs- the three verb groups, tenses and the three moods although you won't study all the tenses and moods in that time frame, you will be exposed to some of them in the three-month period.

- Short sentence formation (based on the grammar taught), short paragraph and short story reading.

- Vocabulary- by chapter. A university course will require a textbook which is essential because it does not eliminate the fundamental aspects that other language references and tools do not have. Many people try to use photocopies, cds, cassettes, a verb book, etc. and as a result there are many gaps. A beginner textbook in Spanish is a solid foundation course and allows you to move forward progressively to the intermediate level.

- In class practice- speaking in Spanish even with basic knowledge is a part of a three-month university course so you can start to understand and feel comfortable with Spanish sounds and pronunciation. The more you practice the more natural the pronunciation will become. The bonus is Spanish is a phonetic language. All letters are pronounced except /h/.

If you have studied a foreign language before these essential core concepts should not be new to you. It will just be Spanish instead of whatever language you have already studied. If not, it's all in the approach and your attitude about learning. Just imagine if you get a good foundation you can continue your studies anywhere and move from level to level in the (long) learning process. Nevertheless, Spanish is a fun language, spoken by many and surely will be an asset to you.

If you study in Santo Domingo you will get some basic exposure one way or the other plus the daily interaction with the locals etc.


Good luck and enjoy your course.



-MP.

learning the language and listening to people speak it are different things lol- you could confuse yourself learning on your own like I did - maybe you could enroll in a few classes at home first to prepare a little for immersion

Great idea!

hanswulff82 said:

Thanks for a very though answer. Seems like I should start studying on my own ASAP.

I have studied two other languages before, english and german, but not at university level. My english is offcourse fluent, but in german i?m at a intermdediate level. I only had german at school for three years at high school level.

However, in my quest for learning spanish I was thinking more in the lines of attending a private school in which I only study spanish say 5 hours a day 5 monday to friday, together with a small groop.

Click to expand...

As I suspected from your first post you seem to know the process of language learning via studies. That's why I took the time to give a detailed response. I usually do if a poster appears to have a genuine interest in learning the language.

I definitely agree that you could start studying on your own to give yourself a jump start and this way you will come prepared with some specific questions about grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary etc. which will enable you make the best of and get the best out of your three month study program. Not everyone who learns a language can do independent study but I have no doubt that you can. If you need any textbook recommendations (online shopping) just let me know.


-MP.

Hi, I'm new here. Just wanted to share a comment. I taught myself spanish with books cds listening to people and practice, practice and more practice. I got a little confused in the begining because I'm around Mexican, Dominican, and Puerto Rican speakers. I would use all of the 3 different types in one conversation and have people like "hold up..what?" lol. Anyway, learn one spanish first, then what ever one you like best, I guess. I like Dominican spanish best.

One Spanish...many variations...

hanswulff82 said:

OK, now you got me a little bit confused... Offcourse I understand that almost every language has dialects. But wouldn?t it be best to start with learning "standard spanish", which everyone will understand?
I think it would be hard finding a "dominican spanish" class here in Norway...

And are there any self-study courses in Dominican Spanish for beginners?

Click to expand...

It's the features or characteristics of speech that differentiates Spanish in the Dominican Republic from other countries or regions but not the language itself. Your localized Spanish meaning Spanish heard and spoken in the Dominican Republic is what you will hear when you are there.

There is only one Spanish which is the one all four hundred million + Spanish speakers speak. Spanish does not have dialects per se. In the linguistic world the speech variations you hear from country to country (and they are mostly vocabulary, expressions and some grammatical exceptions mostly in Latin America) are called regionalisms and that’s what makes the Spanish-speaking world so vast. There are only two true dialects in Spanish (maybe even one more) and coincidentally one of them is spoken in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic called el cibae?o. Any Spanish speaker from anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world can understand each other. There are different accents of course just like in English, French etc. but what is taught in the classroom is universal. Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans etc don't have their own grammar books, dictionaries etc. How is it that Spanish speakers can read any newspaper or choose any novel from any author and read their books? Even when I read novels, I note the local expressions and vocabulary differences but it does not impede comprehension. Vast accent differences can be challenging but Spanish speakers talk and flow with them and 'yes' some will comment and say 'their accent is really different' etc. or 'we don’t say that' etc.

hanswulff82, you have the concept correct. What you will learn is universal and depending how far you go in your studies after a few years and with exposure to Spanish speakers from different countries, you will notice regional differences in the way people speak, vocabulary and especially expressions. However, this should not be of concern to anyone who is learning Spanish for the first time. Some features of Dominican Spanish are speed, dropping the /s/ on the plural form of words and verb forms that have /s/. Also to note is an excessive usage of the pronoun 't?' and that's because most speakers drop the /s/ so the 't?' becomes a clarifier and emphatic to differentiate who the subject of the sentence is or stress a point. There are many more features of Spanish spoken in the Dominican Republic, however, you will be taught the correct way (or at least you should) in the classroom.

I will give you some examples of word varieties in the Spanish-speaking world:

1/ Bus- standard word anywhere= autob?s- which is what you should use anywhere
(you will learn autob?s in any text book. Some texts may have included the word used in Mexico just to give an example of an equally common word because there are many Mexican speakers chances are you will hear the word used in Mexico also).

Examples of regionalisms (by country):

Argentina- colectivo
Chile- micro
Dominican Republic- guagua

2/ Money- standard word anywhere= dinero- which is what you should use anywhere.

In Latin America, the most common variation word is plata- No tengo plata (I don’t have money) and then there are plenty of slang words in many countries. Ironically, plata is not common in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries meaning the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

As well, Spanish speakers don’t change the way they speak when they speak with other (native) speakers. If a Dominican goes to Argentina s/he does not try to sound like Argentineans or use some of their local word variations (that person may if they live there for a long period of time) but to start speaking with /sh/ sound which is characteristic of Argentineans from Buenos Aires (bonarense Spanish) the Dominican visitor will not do. Therefore, I don’t understand these comments about switching and trying to speak like a Mexican, Dominican, Puerto Rican etc. Just speak Spanish and you will be understood.



-MP.

Rosetta Stone

hanswulff82 said:

OK, now you got me a little bit confused... Offcourse I understand that almost every language has dialects. But wouldn?t it be best to start with learning "standard spanish", which everyone will understand?
I think it would be hard finding a "dominican spanish" class here in Norway...

And are there any self-study courses in Dominican Spanish for beginners?

Click to expand...

I thought it was bull until I tried it. I would suggest that you start with this BEFORE taking an immersion course so that you don't become overwhelmed with having to learn the finer points of structure AND vocabulary simultaneously. It teaches Spanish the same way I was taught English. You listen, then you speak in an expanding range of subjects and get corrected until you get it right. Without this preparation I would have had no chance of succeeding in academic English courses.

There are two very distinct and different Rosetta Stone courses in Spanish: "Latin America" and "Spain". If you plan to travel in the Western hemisphere I'd suggest the "Latin America" version.


Language Learning with Rosetta Stone


I thought that learning Spanish would be hopeless for me before this. If you can find a neighbor who speaks the language or have access to Spanish lanuage TV and newspapers that will help as well. It's like doing crossword puzzles. The more you try, the better you'll do.

Good luck man. I think DR is not the right country to learn spanish in the immersion style. I would recommend Mexico for cadence and Colombia for grammatical consistency. Here in DR, the people speak too fast and have the ability to condense words or cut verbs(like splitting verbs in english). Now for a beginner you re going to have difficulty determining what word ended and started where. Thats why I say Mexico is good for immersion. You will try to keep up their pace and find yourself speaking gibberish. In Mexico the spoken pace is slower allowing your mind to differentiate the end and beginning of a word. Thats why like grey said a lot of people have given up on the language as too difficult because they chose the wrong place to immerse themselves in to pick up the nuances of the language.
And all the Spanish speaking countries have their own colloqualisms that you may or may not want to use. Thats why I said Colombia. The language there seems to be so generic that you can make yourself adapt to that kind of conversatory style.
Well thats how I do it.
Of course these people here tell me I sound French when I speak Spanish. Hardy har har!

livemocha is good for beginners- I have a nice lady from Uruguay that corrects my mistakes

help wanted

I have been studing spanish for years and love the dominican accent. I would love to get my hands on some instructional cd's, video's or whatever to help me to understand spanish dominican style. I have googled, youtubed and always come up short. Is there anyone out there that has a link or know any resources for me?

i agree

RacerX said:

Good luck man. I think DR is not the right country to learn spanish in the immersion style. I would recommend Mexico for cadence and Colombia for grammatical consistency. Here in DR, the people speak too fast and have the ability to condense words or cut verbs(like splitting verbs in english). Now for a beginner you re going to have difficulty determining what word ended and started where. Thats why I say Mexico is good for immersion. You will try to keep up their pace and find yourself speaking gibberish. In Mexico the spoken pace is slower allowing your mind to differentiate the end and beginning of a word. Thats why like grey said a lot of people have given up on the language as too difficult because they chose the wrong place to immerse themselves in to pick up the nuances of the language.
And all the Spanish speaking countries have their own colloqualisms that you may or may not want to use. Thats why I said Colombia. The language there seems to be so generic that you can make yourself adapt to that kind of conversatory style.
Well thats how I do it.
Of course these people here tell me I sound French when I speak Spanish. Hardy har har!

Click to expand...

BUT in my experience some Mexicans arn't very friendly when it comes to ppl learning spanish. I found that dominicans have embraced ppl that try........it's to bad though because it's ppl like me that just want ot learn for self knowledge and I'm not trying to be discouraged

mamiroja said:

BUT in my experience some Mexicans arn't very friendly when it comes to ppl learning spanish. I found that dominicans have embraced ppl that try........it's to bad though because it's ppl like me that just want ot learn for self knowledge and I'm not trying to be discouraged

Click to expand...

It's not that Mexicans aren't friendly, it's jus that most of them that come to the States come from very poor families and I was told it was part of the culture to be reserved. Also, throw in the fact that many associate with illegals and you can see why they aren't as social as others.

I'm not aware of any Dominican style Spanish courses, but not to worry as any Spanish classes/tapes/books will get you headed in the right direction.

Get involved with the Latino community...

mamiroja said:

I have been studing spanish for years and love the dominican accent. I would love to get my hands on some instructional cd's, video's or whatever to help me to understand spanish dominican style. I have googled, youtubed and always come up short. Is there anyone out there that has a link or know any resources for me?

Click to expand...

Audio learning material always has the most neutral accents because clarity is important when people are learning a language. However, there is audio material that only has speakers from Spain as examples in which you will hear some variations which includes the 'seseo' pronunciation which is typical of Madrid and Northern Spain. Finding academic learning material with Dominican speakers specifically would be highly unlikely as learning material for Latin American Spanish is meant to be 'neutral' or 'standard'. Most speakers on those tapes and cds are from Mexico since it's very easy to find speakers there with a very clear and neutral accent in Spanish.


Since you are not in the DR full time some options for tuning into a Dominican accent are:

* making friends with Dominicans in your community. (If there is a Dominican community in your area).

* tuning into Dominican radio stations online. I found one to start you off. I will start to listen to it also. Certv Canal 4. I tested it and it loaded fine right away.

Livestation | Radiotelevision Dominicana | Live streaming TV to your computer and iPhone

* if you are in the USA, Dish Network has one Dominican channel (844), TV Dominicana. There are a few programs that may be worth watching. I tune in for the news report and like programs.

mamiroja said:

BUT in my experience some Mexicans arn't very friendly when it comes to ppl learning spanish. I found that dominicans have embraced ppl that try........it's to bad though because it's ppl like me that just want ot learn for self knowledge and I'm not trying to be discouraged

Click to expand...

When you say Mexicans are not friendly when it comes to people wanting to learn Spanish in what sense? Do you mean you have tried to speak with them in Spanish and they do not respond back in Spanish or are hesitant? I am just trying to understand your comment better because this does not happen (as far as I have observed) in my environs maybe because I live in multicultural cities (Toronto and Montreal) where foreign languages are encouraged and spoken openly by all.

As well, Mexicans in Mexico (especially tourist areas and cities) have a reputation for being friendly, at least that's the feedback I hear and I don't think it's for job purposes only but rather more of a small town friendliness type of scenario.

All I can say is don't let a very small percentage of people discourage you when it comes to learning and practicing Spanish. Most people in a general sense embrace language and admire people's efforts to learn without making a person feel conscious or shy about the way they speak. At least if you have any Spanish-speaking friends they should be more than willing to accommodate your efforts to speak to you in Spanish so you can learn the language. My suggestion is take every opportunity you get and not only be focused on a Dominican accent or way of speaking.


-MP.

You can read newspapers online...

I am probably your biggest fan/ supporter on this thread. You want to go to the Dominican Republic then that's where you go. I know what that's like once your mind is set on a place then no other can be a substitute (at that time). You are going to the capital which is even a bigger bonus in my opinion because it will gave you a good feel for the diversity of the island which is not geared towards tourists. The Dominican style or way of speaking should not be a deterrent especially since you are learning Spanish from scratch. Technically, if you get used to a Dominican accent you will have an easy time if you study Spanish anywhere else.

Reading newspapers from the DR or anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world you can do online. Read a little bit and whatever interests you. You can print an article(s) and read a paragraph or two. Any questions you have you can show them to your friend and I am sure he will help you. There are many online papers from the Dominican Republic but the popular and better written ones are: Diario Libre and Listin Diario. Other more casual ones are Hoy Digital and El Caribe.

DiarioLibre.com - Portada

Listin Diario

Hoy Digital - Hoy.com.do

ElCaribe.com.do - Con todo a cada minuto:: Portada


However, you can choose newspapers from anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world. Here are a two I enjoy:

Nacion- San Jose, Costa Rica- I really like this newspaper.

nacion.com - el peri?dico de Costa Rica

BBC Mundo- Latin American and world news from the BBC- good for a variety of issues.

BBC Mundo - Portada


I hope you have a good time. I am sure you will. I hope you come back and give some feedback about the course and your overall experience in Santo Domingo.


-MP.