Untitled Document
Before you do anything else....
Make sure you sign up for my 100% FREE Spanish Lessons ($37 Value). You'll Learn:
-How to carry an interaction with native speakers with ease
-Pronunciation drills so effective, you'll be mistaken as a native speaker
-How to speak the type of Spanish native speakers use each day
Free Spanish Lessons
Spanish Vocabulary
Spanish Phrase Builder
Spanish Pronunciation
Spanish Grammar
Spanish Verb Drills
How to Learn Spanish
Learn Spanish Software Reviews
Spanish Culture
For Serious Gringos Only
How to Properly Study Spanish
How to Study Spanish
Learning a language used to be full of headaches and torment. But with the tips provided in this section, learning Spanish has never been easier. After reading through this section, you will have a clear idea of how to go about learning Spanish, no matter your budget, availibilty or natural talent.
Learning a language is not as hard as you probably think. When most people thinking about learning a second language, thoughts of strict school teachers, boring their students with rote memorisation. I know it is certainly how of I think of learning a language, which is what motivated me to create this site. To show people how a language should be learnt, rather than how it is, sadly, taught. Hopefully you will agree with me.
For me, language learning began in high school. Japanese was the language I was forced to learn and I embraced it at the start, topping my class for the first semester. It wasn't long, however, that I began to become bored. In came rules and exceptions and all these other things that just ruined any of the fun that we had in the beginning. I ended up studying it up until the final year of high school, where I was finally able to drop it, much to the joy of my Japanese teacher, who did not enjoy teaching me at all.
Fast forward about 5 years. I was older and wiser. I decided that it was boring to only speak one language.So I picked Spanish and for the next couple of months, worked out a method that enabled me to learn at the fastest rate possible with least amount of time.
It is this method, that I share with you below.
The first thing that I want to say, is that while learning a language doesn't have to be difficult, it's not a complete walk in the park. It does take a comitted effort. The only way to learn Spanish fluently is to keep working at it.
Another common problem I see is accents. While it does take a long time to develop the correct accent, you can make an effort from day one. I'm sure, at some stage, you've tried to talk like Speedy Gonzalez. You would be surprised how much better your Spanish can sound when you put on a false Spanish accent.
When it comes to learning grammar, I think language guru Barry Farber sums it up best. In one of his books he said "Conquer the language and you'll posess the grammar". This means, instead of worrying about every single rule all the time, just learn the language with grammar in tact. Over time, you'll come to realise how grammar is used on it's own. This will make your learning experience much more fun and take away a lot of the angst usually associated with learning Spanish.
The Spanish Learners toolbox.
Just as a carpenter doesn't go to work without his hammer, neither should you attempt to learn a language without the proper tools. The following are what I consider musts in order to learn Spanish proficiently.
Spanish Dictionary: A simple, two way dictionary is vital. It allows you to look up any words you may not know. These are easy enough to find and they're usually available for $5-$10.
Spanish Phrasebook: These are very handy for learning basic sentences and other scenario based phrases.
Childrens books: Ok, so you may think this is a little different, but it's amazing how much you can learn from simple books like this. After all, they are designed for people learning a new language!
Online Course: It's great to have something that you can simply lookup online and learn from. Of course, you don't need to know about that, having found this site ;)
Spanish speaking friends: This one is a given. In the old days, you could apply to find a penpal from Spain and exchange letters. These days, with the invention of the internet, finding people from around the world couldnt be easier. Myspace for example, has millions of Spanish speakers on it. I'm sure there are plenty who would be happy to help you learn Spanish.
Audio/Software Product: While this can be the most expensive step, it is by far the step that will help you accelerate your learning. There are some seriously great products today, some of them not expensive at all. For a review of my personal favourites, check out the "Top Product Reviews" section.
Once you are armed with the above and ready to put in the effort, you simply cannot fail. I hope to provide the most useful content anywhere on the internet, so with that being, said, get into it!
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
