Spanish Language - Page 2

Exactly, when you ask when does the course start? Oh you can join in at any time, thats code for I am going to teach you random stuff, there is no structure. That happened to me. Or Town Hall's Spanish born teachers starting talking about 28 moods (really verb tenses) you know you are in the wrong place. That happened to me too.

. You really need a stripped down course which is designed for mature aged British or Irish expats who need to be able to talk with neighbours, town Halls, shopstaff, etc. .  Look at this!  What students say!! - James Spanish School

James Spanish School hmm TBH It is a bit too expensive for me and could be for a lot of pensioners 275€ for 50 core lessons for 2 logins!. A few quesiotns also come to mind.

How long are the lessons? 

What is covered in the 'core lessons'?

What kind of support do they offer their online students? 

As for the course run by local ayuntamientos they seem to be popular I for one have not been able to just rock up and join. At least not in Mocajar or Vera. 

I was enrolled up in Castilléjar which I would highly recommended to anyone up there.

The teacher spoke very little Englsih and mostly used Deepl translate now while it may not sound an ideal way to teach I actually found it very useful listening to her pronunciation which then helped with mine. 

It was also good to see the words on the screen which has helped with my reading spanish immensely 

She did come in with a form of lesson plan but was not rigid in sticking to it as the class often could go off in tangets but it was always relevant to learning the language and was always of interest but it was also enjoyable.

Yes it harder as to learn as you age but in my experience it all depends on one expectations and what you put into it as well. 

So what if I may sound like I'm a five year old learning the language at least I'm trying and I found that Spaniards appreciate that. 

So free vs. 255€ I think I'll have to opt for the free and practicar para hablar español, practicar para hablar español,practicar para hablar español

Sorry Roberto 

plenty of free resources on youtube and you can download any you find helpfull

this is just 1 but they have annoying voices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE-03EATjho

Yes, its quite expensive, €275 for two people  for 50 lesson,averages €2.75 per 45 minute lesson, but you watch each lesson, as often as you like and you get notes as well.. Some lessons, the really important ones, I watched 5 or 6 times. Can't do that with the Town Hall classes can you?.  A lot of people these days apparently buy the lessons over four months,, that costs an extra €3 so that works for a lot of pensioners. 

What does it cover?, well the structure of the language really, it does not teach, names of vegetables, or colours, James assumes you can swot that yourself. What it teaches you is Spanish as a second language, with lots of short cuts, so you can actually keep a conversation going, something I never learnt from a year of daily Duolingo.. 

Then there is another spoken Spanish  practice lessons that cost another €2.75 each, they average an hour and a half.I do these over and over again. Again something you can't do at the free Bar lessons or the Town Hall lessons.   The reality is that free townhall lesson everywhere just don't have a very high success rate, because the teachers teach as if you are Spanish, cause that is the way they were taught. And they don't have a deep knowledge of the way native English speakers talk, so they don't understand the differences in your thinking about sentences and the mistakes we make while we are trying to learn Spanish.

You just have to look at why is students think its worth it and the majority of us are pensioners What students say!! - James Spanish School No other teacher gets such glowing references, that I know of. Do you?

Oh, you asked about support. James has a Q&A  system which is attached to every lesson and you can see other students questions and James' answers there, so you can see questions you did not even think of asking. The important thing for me, is that I can look at these and look at the lesson notes and the streaming video, at any time of day or night, and if its still not clear I can ask a follow up,  whereas by the time I got home from a Townhall lesson, it was all forgotten.

And you know what, when I was going to free lesson, somehow there was always a cup of coffee or a caña for two, not needed at home, so €2.75 a lesson is not all that expensive after all, is it.

As well as taking classes, the thing which really helps raise the level of your fluency and to truly understand the culture of Spain,  is to socialize with Spanish people rather, or far more than with English. Watch Spanish TV - if you're really serious about speaking the native tongue of your new county,  don't buy a UKTV package, stick with Spanish channels. If you buy into UKTV you'll watch that insead, because initially it's easier. If/when you need work done on your property, employ Spanish workers. Buy your food at the local market, not the supermarket - for one thing, it tastes better because it's far better quality and for  another you'll quickly be taught the names of the foods you're buying by the stallholders.  Learning any foreign language is needs driven. If you put yourself into situations where you don't truly need to speak Spanish - well.....you won't! It's difficult at first but your progress will be far, FAR faster the more you immerse yourself into being with Spaniards. Age is no barrier to learning a language. Willingness is everything.

Last time I was in Spain I overheard a Spanish girl advising another Spanish girl to listen to the songs of Clifford T Ward that her English would be improved. Are there any Spanish singers in the style of Clifford T ward to whom I can listen to on Youtube?

Incidentally, I think it's a good learning process.

Julio Iglesias

🤣🤣🤣 that’s why English is the easiest language on the planet, very basic grammar and why usually native  English speakers struggle with the concept of gender that all Roman languages have. If it was compulsory (as it should be in my opinion) to learn another language at school right from early on for at least 4 years than ppl would have a better understanding to learn another language. Sadly that’s not the case neither in some countr