Recommend English/Spanish Software or Online Program....

Terry2 says on Jun 3, 2007, 14:38:

Learning Spanish Have a look here: http://www.loquella.com/learn-spanish/

I also have Rosetta Stone on disk...

gringoloid says on Jun 3, 2007, 14:43:

I wasn't happy with Rosetta Stone.... as it was too repetitive with just a few sentences and not much you can use. If you want to learn this sentence though, you will learn it good: el nino esta encima de la mesa.

I make flash cards, watch a lot of Mexican TV soap operas, one news story from the newspaper a day, a verb book, a preposition book, and most importantly a talking translator for my laptop; so I can put the sentence in and listen to it over and over to get the pace and the accent. I have a theme each day; conversations with girls, commands for employees, medical, time of day, travel, restaurants, asking for help, etc.

its coming, but at my age, slowly....

Man Tequila says on Jun 3, 2007, 15:37:

Good free resources include
http://www.studyspanish.com/freesite.htm
and the online Destinos telenovela, http://www.learner.org/resources/series75.html

Gringoloid's tips seem very good. University courses for this sort of thing are nice if you have lots of time but are no substitute for immersion, effort and use.

Aunque no me creas/ si me lo propongo/ lograre olvidarte/ porque a fin de cuentas/ no soy tan cobarde./ Y termino todo una de estas tardes/ no sera dificil buscar algún sitio donde refugiarme/ donde nunca mas vuelvas a encontrarme. (Polo Montañez)

podborski says on Jun 3, 2007, 15:43:

I used to listen to Pimsleur CDs. I thought they were very good, especially for a real beginner.

I don't know if they have an online version or not.

A lot of Universities in NA offer free spanish learning materials online. I can't recall which ones offhand, but there seems to be a lot of free stuff available if you have the time to look for it.

I can relate gringoloid, I swear it takes me 3 times the effort to learn something now. I guess alcohol really does kill those brain cells!

houstongal says on Jun 3, 2007, 15:52:

Podcasts For free lessons, try the numerous podcasts out on iTunes(if you have an iPod). There's one that I download (sorry, I can't tell you the name because I'm not at my home computer) that you also can download (for a donation) a free booklet. Some are also video podcasts. If you don't like one, try one of the others.

I took Spanish in high school and I've found the Practice Makes Perfect books to be great to re-learn what I learned 30 years ago. If you're a workbook type person, they're good for learning by writing.

Just remember that there are different ways of learning and one method may be better for you than others. If you're one that learns better in a classroom environment, perhaps a class would be a better option for you. If you're a good self-learner workbooks and audio sessions could be an equally good choice (consider whether or not you learn better by reading or listening).

Good luck!

Culture is language and language is culture - Dr. Annamaria Napolitano

Portena says on Jun 3, 2007, 16:21:

I got a tip on bilingualamerica.com here on this website. It has really helped me improve and polish my spanish. It is the perfect program for me because of its flexibility. You get CD's you can listen to and can also have a tutor work with you over the phone. Lessons are very structured and the tutors are well trained. I really wasn't able to fit a university Spanish course into my schedule - would have wasted 45 minutes each way driving to and from the University three times a week. I have too many other things to do!

Muchas gracias to the guy who told me about this program!

I feel better! I can smile at it now, I feel better. Ohhhh, better! Gnarls Barkley

podborski says on Jun 3, 2007, 17:49:

and you might also try that really old fashioned idea called the library. They often have Pimsleur and other courses to lend.

mkingston says on Jun 3, 2007, 18:27:

Great software byt expensive I found a great software package, from SEER. Full translation, speach, and congugation of verbs. Spanish-English, English-Spanish. It's kind of expensive to purchase, but you can rent it for one year - $99 USD.

misterB says on Jun 3, 2007, 21:34:

LSLC - Stands for Learning Spanish Like Crazy.

It's much better then pimsleur, IMO. It's not cheap. However, neither is pimsleur.

I recommend the download versions of it as its a lot cheaper. In addition, they just came out with Lesson 2. And those two levels will get you a lot further than Pimsleur's 1,2,3. I think the download versions are 99 bux a piece.

Their website sucks, but heres the links:

level1:
http://www.learningspanishlikecrazy.com/offer.html


level2:
http://www.learningspanishlikecrazy2.com/

bickerss says on Jun 4, 2007, 05:55:

www.laernspanish.com
www.laernspanish.com

podborski says on Jun 4, 2007, 06:00:

I hope it's www.learnspanish.com! : )

famsearch says on Jun 6, 2007, 18:32:

about rosettastone... my wife has been using it for english over the last few months, and she's learning more every day. sure it's repetitive, but it builds from one level to another on what you've already learned. the trick is, and she's figured this one out, is to put into practice what one has learned in everyday situations, and different variations. i just wish that our library system had this back when i was panic learning spanish 6 years ago. but even with my really rough spanish, i surprised my wife by breezing through the first 6-7 lessons in the first section without getting any wrong answers. the whole key to rosettastone is the written/spoken/visual associations, and once you get those into your head, then start using it. when my wife goes back to the first lessons (from being at the 6th or 8th lessons), i ask her if she remembers when even those lessons were difficult, but now they are easy. in addition to this, now she is taking english lessons at a local community center, and she said that without what she'd learned with rosettastone, she would have been completely lost.
dan

dan

CaritadeAngel says on Jun 6, 2007, 19:38:

RosettaStone Is for learning vocabulary. You can't use grammar without vocabulary, so you may find it works for you to learn words quickly and easily. Once you have a good bank of words under your belt, you'll find acquiring grammar much easier. For grammar, read.


He that knows better how to tame a shrew, Now let him speak; 'tis charity to shew."

"I hope I never say anything worth quoting".

famsearch says on Jun 6, 2007, 19:55:

you've got that right cari in the begining it's simple nouns and such, but also the concepts of and, on, under, in, and such. then moves on to verbs and thier tenses. i believe that grammar is built into the latter lessons, in items such as questions and answers, and such. i'd have to check in with my home pc to be more exact.
dan

dan

emero says on Jun 7, 2007, 08:37:

Rocket Spanish I like it as you can listen to the mp3's and there are so many of them. Also comes with a pdf with all the grammar and transcripts, it's also Latin American, which I prefer

www.rocketspanish.com
hugs Diane x

hugs Diane x

panthdave says on Jun 7, 2007, 15:09:

So Many to Choose.. Need to Research.... Thanks for the recommendations..Both My GF and I both need to learn have been looking for language software...

Will do the research...

panthdave Miami

panthdave Miami

famsearch says on Jun 7, 2007, 18:55:

i checked the lessons out today the grammar part seems to be built in to the system. an example of where my wife is at would be the following: "is the car red? no, the car is not red. the car is blue." or, "is there a man on the roof? yes there is a man on the roof.", and so on.
dan

dan

michaelz says on Jun 8, 2007, 07:10:

PC or TV Question on Rosetta stone - do you have to be at a computer to use the CD's or will they work on a DVD player hooked up to a TV?

misterB says on Jun 8, 2007, 13:55:

some free spanish Here's a couple of free (and legal) links I found online.

http://www.fsi-language-courses.com/default.aspx

www.loquella.com/learn-spanish/

misterB says on Jun 8, 2007, 13:56:

PC Rosetta Stone needs a PC the last time I checked. Unless there is something new, it's always been PC only.