Spanish learning tips???

Lowell says on Oct 8, 2007, 16:59:

Time and practice. I've been in colombia now for over 2 years, live in a total Spanish environment and still can only pick up about 25% of whats said. Don't fret. Most colombians have to have everything repeated to them too.

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

njtea5 says on Oct 8, 2007, 17:33:

Habla, Halba, y Habla. Don't be affraid to talk go out to a mall even if you dont want to buy anything and start asking questions, talk to yourself in spanish in the mirror in shower, buy dvd with subtitles and study phases from them (people talk more in slang in movies so you will learn things that they are not teaching you) also study on your own for 1-2 hours a day.. But more importantly in my opion is to talk and talk and talk some more....

gringoloid says on Oct 8, 2007, 17:41:

if you want radio and tv practice, you can get it here:

http://lomastv.com/product/home.php?

Leeroy says on Oct 8, 2007, 17:45:

Bear in mind that radio is one of the hardest media for a non-native speaker of any language to comprehend. It lacks the visual cues of television and real conversation, and is normally faster-spoken and more idiomatic than normal speech.

gringoloid says on Oct 8, 2007, 17:55:

i agree with leeroy, and man, do i have trouble talking on the phone for the same reasons. here is a place for free, lot of good stuff:

http://wordsgalore.com/wordsgalore/languages/spanish/spanish1000.html">http://wordsgalore.com/wordsgalore/languages/spanish/spanish1000.html

http://wordsgalore.com/

ozgringo says on Oct 8, 2007, 18:01:

Junkyak,

I share your frustration don't worry I have lived in Latin America for about 15 months now and I still don't get a word of the the TV or radio. I have had perhaps 150 hours of formal lessons but find real world situations work best for me. It helps that my g/f knows no english so we only speak Spanish.

may a thousand mangy wombats shit in your billabong

danronian says on Oct 8, 2007, 18:06:

I agree. Speaking is the best.

I've been in Colombia for about 5 months total and I can now pickup what just about every conversation is about, but my lack of verb knowledge leaves me lacking in being able to speak.

I think it's best to start yourself out with scripted questioins and answers, and then you should learn more and more from using those scripted quetions and answers.

As a language teacher (though English), the best thing, by far, is to be exposed int he language and use it! There is no other tricks really.

la campiña says on Oct 8, 2007, 18:30:

ALL of the above is true, pero confidence is the key, never be afraid to say , no entiendo, por favor otra vec pero mas despacio, soy ingles o un gringo, ha , o alien ha, colombians have great respect when they know you are here in there country and making an effort, ( also the more spanish you learn the more your english changes into spanglish , la verdad) my advice is to repeat phrases you know in spanish and add a word a day, however ( sin embargo) when you talk to a vigilante at 3 in the morning, assuming your out of the game you'll chat forever, however ( sin embargo),la proxima mañana por la mañana you will not recognise him. SO for ten points what does sin embargo mean , ha you got it , no but realy , practicar practicar practicar, and dont be embarazado ( testing) to make a fool of yourself, .. PERO beware of false friends, words that sound the same but are NOT. My advice realy is to master the two verbs "to be", realy almost robot style if you can, SER, ESTAR, once mastered you realy are on your way, irregular verbs well(pues) you just have to remember them

Man Tequila says on Oct 8, 2007, 19:03:

I can understand about 80% of what I hear, less if sung. My verbs are okay but my proper use of the subjunctive is bad. My father is trying to learn Spanish too, and suggested downloading the lyrics and songs of Cri-Cri (a Disneyesque cricket from the 1930s) to practice easier (i.e. children's) Spanish. This seems to be worth a try.

http://www.cri-cri.net/Canciones/canciones.html

Anyone hear ever heard of Cri-Cri?

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)

pedro says on Oct 8, 2007, 19:13:

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/getting-frustrated-with-my-spani...

que nota!

la campiña says on Oct 8, 2007, 19:48:

the fear factor , GRAMMAR, one question, when did you learn english, ok , as a child, mom, dad , friends family, tv, radio, everything around you, grammar just came with it, naturally, with me.

la campiña says on Oct 8, 2007, 19:50:

the fear factor, just learn at your own pace , phrases, spanish is very bendy ha

christobeldawg says on Oct 8, 2007, 20:10:

I've been using the Pimsleur cd's in the car for a couple of months, and so far, pretty helpful. They are expensive but most large libraries have copies.

admittedly, arriving can feel great too

capitan_centella says on Oct 8, 2007, 20:37:

Yeap, "need" and "patience" will become your best strategies to learn spanish. Always try to "catch" the slang. . .(that depends on the region you´re. For example people from medellin and surroundings are "paisas".)

And most of the people who speak spanish are willing to help you. So just say: "un poco mas despacio y podré entender". I think the most difficult accent to understand is "costeño" (from the north coast of colombia). . even for some guys like me, it´s hard to follow a conversation among costeños.

And good for you. Spanish it´s one of the hardest languages to master. Even natives, made foolish mistakes now and them. (;-)

"When you open your eyes, you turn around with the world, But it can change, if you only close it, and see a dream to yourself." Me.

RJQuilla says on Oct 8, 2007, 21:07:

I try to listen to Spanish on TV and Radio. I then pick up on bits and pieces. Its the slang that is spoken that gets you, also the cadence. The Language is spoken so fast. I tell my Novia speak slowly all the time. Just have to be immersed in it for awhile I guess.

fugdis says on Oct 8, 2007, 21:13:

Dont worry junkyak your not the only one.
I'm ok at asking questions and starting conversations in Spanish....its just when people answer I start having problems.=)
Colombians are generally pretty good and take into account that your learning but some,it seems,dont understand you even when you know you are saying it perfectly.
You will have good Spanish days and bad Spanish days.
Some days I just think......God,what a overly complicated ass backwards frickin language.

la campiña says on Oct 8, 2007, 21:16:

you see I dont splurge nonsense all the time , or is that guacala all the time,

fugdis says on Oct 8, 2007, 21:31:

splurge on geezer!!

john_stark says on Oct 8, 2007, 21:50:

The best way is you gotta get a hot chick who doesn't speak anything but Spanish and to get in her pants you gotta start talking her lingo and making sweet talk. Keep this up for 4 or 5 years and you'll be able to understand pretty much anything that's said on Spanish radio or tv.

la campiña says on Oct 8, 2007, 22:18:

PILLOW TALK

christobeldawg says on Oct 8, 2007, 22:23:

entiendo

admittedly, arriving can feel great too

Bill Turley says on Oct 9, 2007, 06:26:

Cri Cri is Jimminy Cricket in English

Mr. Bill Somondoco

Wastelandlive says on Oct 9, 2007, 06:41:

The short answer is that you're not at the intermediate level yet.

Relax. Set realistic goals. Understanding them at full speed talking about things like politics and religion is hard. Once you can do that, you're almost fluent.

Wasteland

love2colombia says on Oct 9, 2007, 09:56:

La gente de habla inglesa nunca han sido buenos para asimilar los lenguajes y menos las lenguas romance.
Cuando los romanos los conquistaron, trataron de convertir el latín en idioma oficial, nunca lo pudieron lograr...
Las personas que pueden aprender con mucha facilidad el español son los Italianos, los Franceses, los Portugueses, los Catalanes y por supuesto los Rumanos.
Conozco Italianos que han aprendió a hablar español en solo uno o dos meses.

Traten de entender lo que acabo de escribir, jejejeje.

drucifer says on Oct 9, 2007, 14:27:

Love - i disagree... We could learn a language, it's the accent that gives us the problem. Plus the languages you all listed are all latin.. Trying learning german and let us know how that goes for you. ;0)

lpdiver says on Oct 10, 2007, 20:22:

I have never studied spanish formally and I have been picking up bits and pieces since 2002.

I do make a few flash cards everyday and my paisa wife helps. I felt my spanish skills were very basic at best on my recent three week trip to Colombia. I was a little reserved at first but after a day or two I realized I could get by.

I chat in the internet, with my wife of course, watch Spanish channel on television etc.

I was pleasantly surprized the other night when I was drifting off to sleep and my wife was watching her telenova.

It was a quantam leap. Instead of understanding a word here or there I was catching sixty to seventy percent and what has been just a bunch of syllables strung together rapidly I was now recognizing as words even if they weren't in my vocabulary. And recognizing them well enough to look them up in a dictionary unassisted.

The only failure at communication I experienced in Colombia was in the town of Guatepe. When I asked for a Pilsen I was brought a cigarette? It took several attempts to get it.

t

"cook some rice!"