Best path to Spanish

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Expat13

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Jun 7, 2008
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After living here off/on for 5 years I think my Spanish may be getting worse. Its my fault of course, over the past 3 years I have done very little to no business in the DR, its all on the outside-which is good! The downside is I don't need to use/practice/learn Spanish much because of this and time is not a luxury so hard to allocate the time.
Im looking for advice as to the best way to learn Spanish, from those here who have done it. To further explain, if I was to rate Spanish levels from 1-10 where 10 is a fluent but not native perfect fluent.
I would say now I am probably a 4-5 which is part of my problem, its hard to decide what course and where to start. Nobody wants to fight thru the basics after being around the language for years as its a time waster and eventually you get bored and quit.
Keep in mind this question is for a 45 year old not a youngster who can pick up languages easy.

I would appreciate all thoughts, recommendations, courses etc.
 
Wishing you well

Wishing you well

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Sep 4, 2012
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Ther is also the Rosseta Stone path but you are already in country. The practical way to go about it is to be practical. Don't feel a fool, mistakes will happen, just keep at it and don't feel shameful to speak it. Practice, practice and more practice.

The locals understand you are the foreigner and wil give you a pass and a path to learn it and will help to it. Salaga a las calles y hable Espanol con Dominicanos.
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

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Aug 6, 2006
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One thing you could do is to do what a Uruguyan friend of mine did when he arrived in Miami: he advertised FREE SPANISH LESSONS and made a deal with three or four people who wanted to learn Spanish to help them with Spanish if they would help him with English. He is a pretty good linguist,as he spoke Italian as well as Spanish, but he was around 40 when he arrived here, and within three months had a business repairing TV's and VCR's, which was his occupation in Montevideo.

I would suggest getting a couple of copies of inexpensive books for this purpose. Margarita Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish and her other books are pretty good for Spanish learners. Get a couple of copies of an English for Spanish speakers conversational books as well. Amazon has a lot of used language books for cheap.

A DVD player set to the Spanish soundtrack with English subtitles can also be very useful at picking up everyday expressions.
 
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zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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Fish beat me to it but I suggest a Dominican chica with one on one private lessons. You do not have to be single, she is your language teacher. Have fun and learn at the same time. What could be better.
 
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shingani

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May 7, 2011
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Incredible lessons to be had in youtube, all free. Go to youtube.com and search 'spanish lessons'. Options are intermediate or advanced.
But you will gain a castillan accent.
 
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jabejuventus

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Feb 15, 2013
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Forget all other advice. If you are serious and you are a 4-5, then get yourself some Spanish lit and a good Spanish/English dictionary (or Google define/translate). The literature should be based on simple Spanish to start with (nothing complex) and it should hold your interest.

Now while reading, whenever you see a word/phrase you don't understand, stop and look it up. Definition of course, but also understand its usage and pronunciation. These latter are key. It will be painstaking at the beginning (it takes getting used to). If you choose an interesting read it will help you get over this hump. Once this learning foundation is in place all other encounters w/the Spanish language (verbal and/or written) will serve to augment/supplement and reinforce what you learned through your reading.

Note: Do not stress with memorization (I believe it takes 7 encounters with an object/subject to commit it to memory); rather, use quick mnemonics if you can and keep reading. Over time you will see how, not only speaking, but reading and writing will improve.
 
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Contango

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Dec 27, 2010
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The first step in Learning Spanish is taking a course in ENGLISH GRAMMAR, or you will never learn the language correctly.. I'm currently only a 2/10 when it comes to Spanish...
 
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PeterInBrat

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May 29, 2006
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I found it very useful to get a season set of DVDs of the Sopranos and then play with the language options. I watched them through in English, then Spanish with English sub-titles, Spanish with Spanish sub-titles and finally in Spanish with no sub-titles. The translations don't always work perfectly, esp with the swearing.

I've tried to watch telenovelas as well, but I just can't get into the story lines. On the plus side, they repeat the plot points over and over again and the Spanish is pretty clear for the Columbian based ones.

You can prob get some audible books in Spanish. Good for listening to while driving.
 
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JayinRD

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Apr 18, 2013
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I have the same problem w Spanish. After the number of years I am been in Hispanic speaking countries I should be a Spanish language professor by now, Unfortunately I still speak Spanish at the 3 grade level though I do find as the years pass I understand the language much much better. Many people like me are just not good with languages. Plus even though I have an advanced degree, I lack the patience and motivation to study Spanish in a formal setting...maybe I am too old. I dont find it to be a big problem.
 
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Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

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Aug 6, 2006
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Derfish said:
What grammar did you learn to have a base to learn English? The vast majority of people who speak Spanish have no knowledge of English grammar and you don't need it either.
Der Fish
Click to expand...

Well, yes and no. What is true is that most people do not have a descriptive knowledge of grammar. What native speakers always have is a working knowledge of the framework of the language. That is why an English speaker does not say "I have much hunger", or Look at the daisies yellow!", or "I saw him tomorrow." When you learn a different language, people apply the structure of their native language to that of the new language. To speak Spanish intelligibly, an English speaker needs to know the differences in grammar and syntax, either descriptively or instinctively. That is where knowing the grammar descriptively comes in handy.

No matter how you do it, learning a new language takes practice, and you will make a lot of errors.
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

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Contango said:
The first step in Learning Spanish is taking a course in ENGLISH GRAMMAR, or you will never learn the language correctly.. I'm currently only a 2/10 when it comes to Spanish...
Click to expand...

This is the book that will help.

http://http://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Students-Spanish-Learning/dp/0934034303

I taught Spanish to English speakers for forty years, and this is the book to use. Some people can pick up another language with no formal knowledge of grammar or syntax. A few more can make themselves understood but sound funny. And some require a more complete knowledge of Engish and how it relates to Spanish. This book will be useful to all, but indispensible to the latter.
 
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InsanelyOne

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Oct 21, 2008
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Although I'm very low on the 1-10 scale, what has worked for me is learning the written language, not the spoken language. When I see the written language I am able to identify how the words may have the same foundation as the associated English words. I can also see how the different Spanish words are related to each other. And since the language is phonetic, I can instantly figure out how to pronounce the words. (No way in hell to do that with English).

By just listening to and repeating what Dominicans say, I would argue you are doomed to mediocrity at best. You will learn how to speak a variation of Spanish that will not be very useful outside the DR. Plus, you'll have a difficult time reading.

I would say something like Rosetta Stone would be useful. Just grab the newspaper and a translation dictionary or maybe even some children's books.
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

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Rosetta Stone is certainly a decent program, but very expensive. The serious Pimsleur method is also expensive , but useful. The cheapo Pimsleur discs and/or cassettes you will listen to a dozen times and probably stash them away. Good for pronunciation practice at best. Amazon has a Spanish 123 program that will probably serve you just as well, for around $29.95 or so.

Used college textbooks you can get for extra cheap, and some have discs. Mosaicos is pretty good, I used it for years.
 
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ctrob

Silver
Nov 9, 2006
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I agree with Fish. Find a chica and just chat. Tell her what you need and just walk around, stop and grab a bite to eat, next class go grocery shopping, next class renew your dom whatever....and so on. Do 100% spanish on each trip and she can help with the struggles. If you're a 4/5 I think you'll be amazed how quick the rest comes.

Also, when not buying her time just sit at a local colmado and have a drink and chat - with sales clerk, whoever.

Join Busuu.com - you can jump to any level you want. It's a community based learning center. The basic courses are free.
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

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Aug 6, 2006
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One thing I have learned from teaching Spanish for over 40 years is that the same approach will not work equally well for everyone. People have different learning styles. Some people are more visual that others, others are more oral, some people are good at rote learning, others cannot stand memorization drills or flashcards.

I had one woman that argued with me every day about how masculine and feminine nouns made no sense to her. I told her that all she had to do was to memorize the word with the article: el libro, la silla. It did not have to make sense, it is just a fact you have to accept. She kept arguing and arguing for three days, like I had the power to make all nouns neuter. After that she dropped the course and told everyone I was confusing her.

I said, "there is no reason why we only have gray and red squirrels and never see blue or yellow squirrels. There is no reason why there is only one moon and not two, as on Mars. There is no logical reason why ships are called 'she' by sailors." She would have none of that: "you don't make no sense at all", she said. "Anyone can see that a chair ain't no woman."
 
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