Learning the language: Spanish - Page 3

Hi .... it’s good to hear I’m not alone in this!  I have this week taken delivery of the Paul Noble CDs and have done disc 1.  I’m going to do disc 1 again before moving on.  Lesson 3 tonight with our tutor.  Fingers crossed she sees a glimmer of improvement this week!  Lol.  

We both started using Duolingo .....my husband has stuck with it, but I have decided to look for another way of learning as there is a lot of learning the written word on Duolingo, and that is not for me.....just want to speak it!

Hi Karen 

Is your Spanish teacher in San Juan. I am looking for a teacher.  Many thanks Janet

Hi Janet

No, we are still in the UK ..... intending to move to Spain August/ September this year therefore trying to get a head start on the language before we get there.  Karen

I have been learning Spanish on line YouTube is good I too have only been doing it a couple of weeks and although I’m finding it hard I have wrote things down and every night I take 20 minutes or so just saying the phrases out loud and I’m getting it.Try you tube and see if it helps

You will definitely have a head start,a lot of Brits down here that have been here for years still speak little or no Espanol at all. I think it rather insulting that they can't be bothered at all to try.I know from personal experience( I am married to a very Spanish and sometimes fiery señora) that if you make an effort the response if you need something is so much better.Dont try and all you get will " no habla Ingles" when in fact many of them can speak a bit of English.They pick it up as still a lot of films and music are still in their original language- English.Always surprises me when we go to the English cinema and  it is full ofSpanish  who are listening in English with Spanish subtitles for guidance....

How familiar is that?  "I like to know why"  Great for learning things like Physics or computers, but a disaster in my experience when learning languages.  We're all different and have our own preferred learning styles, but certainly I've found that for learning Spanish (and even after 15 years living here I still have a long way to go) I have to mix with Spanish - call in to see the elderly lady in the village who's just home from hospital to see if I can help with anything; offer a lift to someone waiting at a bus stop or, strange though it may sound, go to a Service at the local Church.  Major festivals, such as Christmas or Easter, are a great time to visit Church, and having frequently attended such Services in Britain, then the structure and the format of the Service seem familiar, making it easier to work out what's being said.  And if available, a service book is a bonus as it allows me to read the words I'm listening to and to join in saying the responses.

I appreciate of course that Church may not be for everyone, and there are many alternative ways of becoming immersed in local Spanish culture, such as volunteer groups, knitting circles, etc, but I'd suggest Church is one of the least threatening options as you can just sit quietly and absorb yourself in the rhythm of the language, understanding the basics of what is being said without actually having to get into any depth of conversation likely to expose your complete incompetence, and over a period I have certainly found that things like 'The Lord's Prayer' become almost second nature, doing wonders to my confidence.  A bit like 4th time of going through chapter 1, except that you're in the company of others who see you as completely normal.

I hope the concept at least may seem potentially helpful.

Que inteligente para aprender español - me gusta mucho!

No idea yet what you said Champ but I think (!) it was nice! Lol! 

Champ says" what intelligence ,to be learning Spanish. I like that very much" Mas y menos😁👍