Tips to Learn Spanish

Ten Ways I plan to learn Spanish.

By Michelle Sperling

Related: Learning a Foreign Language -Six Language Courses Available At No Cost!

I plan on learning Spanish in the near future, for career reasons and also for traveling. Here are ten ways I plan to augment the classroom study.

1. Purchase a Spanish-English/English-Spanish dictionary in order to look up and use words that I have not already learned, or encounter in an out of the classroom setting              
   
   
2. Read Spanish newspaper articles (see #1), signs, publications and attempt books in Spanish as my knowledge progresses. Reading recipes helps but bravery is needed to follow the recipe.              
   
   
3. Speak to coworkers and friends in Spanish and see if they understand, ask for help when needed.                       
   
   
4. Get the most out of the classroom situation, question what I do not understand, ask for assistance in things I find difficult. 
   
   
5. Check out any audio or books, if for no other reason to compare.                    
   
   
6. Use the language as much as possible so it is not lost.  
   
   
7. Watch Spanish channels on television and see how much I can understand in various stages of my learning. Same with music. Study various cultures and history for personal enlightenment.               
   
   
8. Shop in a market where the food or the signs have no English translations. Order meals in restaurants where there are no translations.                 
   
   
9. Keep up taking the classes as consistently as possible, skipping a semester or two will inhibit my learning.        
   
   
10. Make sure I enjoy what I'm doing, if learning the language and becoming fluent turns in to a chore, I think it will be time to reconsider my career options.

One final thing I will need to do for my own plans is spend time in Costa Rica and learn the dialect and culture. All the classroom learning and book learning does not compare to the “real thing”.

Best of luck to anybody learning a language, for whatever purpose. Remember to put your heart into it and it will be an enriching experience.

Learning Spanish Update:

Buenos dias! Remember me? I’m not going away so easily. I am the person who is learning Spanish for possible career options and personal edification. I have a lot of Hispanic friends and co-workers and if I want to spend time in Mexico now and eventually Costa Rica, I have a lot of work to do. Right now I’m parroting what I hear (carefully, of course). I’m also reading signs and comparing the Spanish to the English. Fortunately for me (or maybe not), Spanish is very similar to Italian which I learned some time ago, and find I compare the two, that actually helps with language study. I will need formal classroom study for conjugating verbs, tenses, genders, etc. But I’ve come up with some useful phrases to get started and I will tell you how I got my start and keep you posted on my progress.

Fifty Spanish phrases

1.  A typical day, general useful questions for basic communication skills.

Where is the bathroom? (This is the first expression I learn in any language!)	Donde esta los banos?
Will you help me, please?	Mi ayuda por favor?
What time does the party start?	A que hora comienza la fiesta?
I speak a little bit of Spanish. If someone asks if you speak Spanish?	Yo hablo un poco en espanol. Answer: un poco, un poquito.
How are you? (formal)  (familiar)	Como esta usted? Como estas?
My name is…(Rosa)	Me llamo Rosa
How much does it cost?	Quanto cuesta?
I want (a beer) please	Yo quiero (un cerveza) por favor.
Please. Thank you.	Por favor. Muchas gracias
I don’t understand	No entiendo
2. Ordering a meal or shopping
I want fresh fish	Yo quiero el pescado  fresco
Do you have onions?	Tiene las cebollas?
I don’t like it	No me gusta
Do you take credit cards?	Aceptan tarjetas de credito?
I want a glass of cold water	Yo quiero un vaso de aqua frio.
Its very hot (cold)	Esta muy caliente (frio).
When is breakfast (lunch, dinner)	Cuando comienza desayuno? (almuerzo? Cena?)
Handmade	hecho a mano
Handmade wicker baskets	Canastos de mimbre, hecho a mano!
Do you have cheaper ones?	Tiene otros (canastos de mimbre) mas baratos?
3. Relating to the self, body, physical
Pain	Dolor
Are you in pain?	Tengo dolor?
Yes it hurts a lot!	Si, duele mucho!
Help me get an ambulance!	Ayudame a pedir una ambulancia
Hurry up!	Apurate!
My head hurts	tengo mucho dolor de cabeza
I need a dentist	necessito un dentista
Toothache	dolor de muelas
Do you have health insurance?	Tiene seguro de salud?
I need a receipt for my insurance	Necessito un recibo para el seguro.
4. Legal issues, etc.
It’s the law/against the law	Es le ley/ contra de le ley
Call the police!	Llamen a la policia!
I want to talk to a lawyer (who speaks English)	Quiero hablar con un abogado qui hable ingles!
United States Consulate	Consulado de Estados Unidos?
No smoking please	No fumar, por favor
Were going to the police station	Vamos a la comisaria
My car doesn’t work (start)	Mi auto (carro) no funciona (no parte)
I need a mechanic	Necesito mechanico.
I understand the problem	Yo entiendo el problema
Excuse me, I can’t hear you	Perdone no le escucho
5. Miscellaneous
How old?	Quantos anos?
My son is twenty years old	Mi hijo tiene veinte anos.
The currency in Costa Rica	La moneda de Costa Rica es el colon
Thanks for your help	Gracias por su ayuda
First, second, third, fourth	Primero, segundo, tercero, cuarto
Street, avenue, neighborhood	calle, avenida, barrio
North, south, east, west	el norte, el sur, el este, el oeste
New Year’s Eve (we all know feliz navidad, no?)	Ano Nuevo
Day of the Dead (Nov 2)  (we all know cinco de mayo, si?)	Dia de los Muertos   (Dos de noviembre)
From November to March	De noviembre a marzo

To down load the above Spanish phrases, right click  Spanish Cheat Sheet and choose “save target as”.

I checked out a great book called Spanish for Dummies, this is from the series of “for Dummies” books that are so comprehensive they can teach anybody  anything by, breaking it into layman’s terms. Spanish for Dummies was so very comprehensive that I wanted to book my flight for Costa Rica right away. But as you can tell, I need a lot more work. Audio CD’s are in my immediate future, for pronunciation. Reading this book was fun and educational. The Authors have teamed up with Berlitz (you’ve heard that name before, they are consummate experts at teaching languages). I compared this with a “textbook” and found Spanish for Dummies so much easier to comprehend.  The book does get into some of the dialects and how words differ in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Venezuela, etc. There are historical facts interspersed with the language, conjugations and even games at the end of the chapter. I’m looking forward to learning a language after all this time. Adios for now.

Update # 2

YES! I want to claim my free instant access to the Rocket Spanish 6 day Learn Spanish course ($27 value).

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Update # 3

A Spanish Word a Day

Update # 4

Learn Basic Spanish Terms

Ok, I have been working on my Spanish and just put up this page on Basic Spanish Terms to help you (and me) learn Spanish.

New Lesson Spanish Greetings

If you are just starting to learn spanish then this book How to Learn Spanish is a good place to start. Right click on the link and choose save target as to download. Here are some Tips on Learning Spanish from Trinity University.

Employment Opportunity and Learning Spanish

    A funny thing happened to me on the way to my career change. Opportunity knocked. And I answered the door en Espanol.

    There was a departure in my office and a position opened. Because of my future aspirations, I gave the position little thought. Besides that, I would be up against some formidable competition.

    Over the past few months I have been using Rocket Spanish to continue my learning. This is an excellent program, where there is a narrator and an “instructor”. The instructor’s name is Maurizio and he is from Chile. I can definitely distinguish a Chilean accent from the Mexican I’m very used to hearing. Sometimes I just play the interactive vocabulary games at the end of the program and picture Maurizio looking like Antonio Banderas. I will admit that even though my job and some other issues have kept the Spanish on a back burner for a while, using the program is easy and fun.

    The Rocket Spanish teaches you many vocabulary words and grammatical rules. My aim is to enjoy learning the language and become proficient enough to travel or converse. The program is user-friendly and you can work at your own pace. (As you can tell I’ve been going slower than expected).

    I have been trying to fit in a few words, or a sentence of Spanish here and there. I have some honest friends who would correct me if I accidentally told them they looked like a horse.

    One fine day at my job, quite a few people had the day off and it was lunchtime, so I was doing about fifty things at once. A customer came up to the counter and asked a question in Spanish. Distractedly, I answered it. My supervisor heard me and said “I didn’t know you spoke Spanish” to which I replied, “I didn’t either”. That was a joke. I then told her all about my Rocket Spanish and my plans to be conversant in the language and learn the different dialects. I did not, however, discuss my ESL dreams. (Because I want to keep the job I have now). And even more so, after what happened next.

    My co-workers told me to apply for the position that was open. If for no other reason, it is a higher salary than what I bring home now. Save up money for plane tickets?  I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. So the big day approaches and guess what? My supervisor is on the interview panel. I did mention my ambition and progress in learning Spanish. As well as the other questions regarding the position.

    I Got The Job!!!

    I do not know if the Spanish was  what got me the job, the knowledge of my job and the new position, or just being charming in general (sarcasm). I don’t even recall if that position stated that being bi-lingual was preferred but not required (however they put it on a job posting to make it politically correct).

    I believe that the Spanish Speaking Incident during the Day of Distraction is what lead me to this new position, or at least played a key role in it. I have not had another opportunity to translate or answer  a customer’s question yet. This means I have to get Maurizio back into my life on a full-time basis. I wish I had known about Rocket Spanish sooner. I will also converse frequently with my Spanish speaking friends, even at the risk of calling them horses.

    This may not put an end to my ESL dreams, but it was an opportunity that knocked, knocked again,  and is now giving me more flexibility in the job that I have. The extra money may be saved up for a visit to Costa Rica before I start packing up my suitcases.

    Who knows what the future will bring. The immediate future will bring Spanish lessons and more Spanish lessons. I will dive into the Rocket Spanish and visit with Maurizio often. I’ve used a lot of sources, but I really enjoy Rocket Spanish and would recommend it to everybody