I use it upfront to cram vocab, then actually USE the vocab. Then, the flashcard becomes unnecessary. When I learned Spanish, I figured that getting near-native pronunciation would only help… well, my pronunciation. In the process of getting perfect pronunciation, you actually tune your ear to the sounds of Spanish.
In this way, your ears are expecting the correct sounds, which is mandatory if you want to be able to understand people especially when they talk fast. You can use our Sounds of Spanish course for free here. This is literally the 1 thing people email me about, and probably the 1 frustration of any language learner of any language.
To understand people speaking fast, you have to understand Spanish — not the English you can translate that Spanish into. I work in Spanish. There are always things that are new to you, on the edge of your ability. These are the things you just did step one of the Foundational Law for, and thus have not yet solidified with conversations.
The orange area above is the part you have to translate. Over time, as you learn new things and then solidify those things with conversation, the blue part grows and grows. It just comes out. Again, you see the Foundational Law in effect. Learn something, then use it in conversations to put it in the blue zone.
Who will you have those conversations with? Who will check your pronunciation? Who will give you a controlled environment to make embarrassing mistakes without fear?
Thanks so much, Nate and Andrea, for helping me to improve my very poor Spanish. My knowledge is low so far, I have been studying 20 years ago, with no success, after 2 years ceased to learn. Now, 20 years later, being almost 60, I have found Espanolistos Podcast, and thanks to this you , I am back in learning! So, thanks again for your awesome courses, and keep doing those for us! Best regards from Miroslav Rehulek, Czech Republic. Thanks for the great article about ways to learn Spanish.
This has led to a lot of interesting and hysterical Spanish interactions in Walmart or the grocery store when I have temporarily forgotten I have the shirt on. Native Spanish speakers are so wonderful and are always happy to overlook mistakes and encourage me. Such an awesome idea, Jill.
I bet you have had some amazing conversations with the shirt. BTW, you must be an extrovert. This is awesome!! Learning to speak Spanish fluently has been on my bucket list for the last 3 years, as I spend hours a week in a primarily Spanish speaking work environment, which makes communicating with my team a huge challenge. After reading your article I realize now that this is a huge advantage to my learning, as I can practice everyday, but have had no clue where to begin, so thank you!
Any other suggestions on how best to take advantage of this opportunity would be greatly appreciated! Lisa — Sounds like you have the perfect opportunity where you work. If possible, only speak Spanish with your co-workers. Always seek to hear and speak the language. Best of luck. The best blog post ever!!!
As an author and Trauma Counselor, living in Mexico, many have requested my true international crime stories to be written in Espanol.
We are working on translating them now. I desire to learn Espanol to interview homicide and rape suspects without a translator. Leave a Comment Cancel reply. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. We hate spam. Your privacy will be protected! Chances are for far too long.
Don't have time to read the entire article? Download the 7 Best Ways cheat sheet below. The 7 Best Ways to Learn Spanish.
At most, you might have a couple speaking interactions in one class sitting. I have met some amazing friends from all over the world. I actually met a good friend from Spain who lived about an hour away from me. Below are my three favorites.
They have fun and engaging episodes that teach you the essentials of the language. Ben and Marina do an excellent job hosting this conversational Podcast. If you like reading, why not trying reading a book in Spanish?
I think this is the perfect way to get started with a Spanish book. How can you do that? Do you do a daily journal? I forced myself to use new words that I had learned in my flashcard app.
Thus, I was engaging all aspects of my brain and really learning the vocabulary. Were these things bad? Here is a sample routine for someone with a busy work schedule. I believe this can easily be accomplished if you can squeeze out an extra 5 hours a week.
During the Week Morning Routine Before getting ready, spend minutes reading in Spanish and journaling half a page worth of thoughts in Spanish. Listen to Spanish music in the shower or while you are getting ready. Lunch Hour Take 30 minutes to an hour doing a Spanish lesson with an online tutor 3 times a week. The subtitles are crucial. For the other half of the nights, make sure to schedule a language exchange with a friend that you met in a language exchange.
Weekend Try to attend a Spanish meetup if there is one in your area. You can find one on Meetup. Plan time to speak in Spanish on the weekend with a tutor or a conversation exchange. Maybe you know a native Spanish speaker that lives nearby that doesn't mind helping you?
If so, offer to buy them lunch in exchange for help. However, I find them to be too passive in their approach. Please do stick it out, I can promise it will be worth the struggle in the end. What method have you found to be most effective to learn Spanish?
Download the 7 Best Ways to Learn Spanish cheat sheet below. I bet you could. Thanks for checking out the blog! Awesome David, super good to hear! Awesome Tom! Yes, flashcards are a great way to learn! The most important thing it to read on topics that interest you.
This way, you learn relevant Spanish rather than trying to learn every noun, verb and adjective under the sun. By reading and listening at the same time to identical material , you can form links in your mind between the words and the sounds. You can also use the text to understand the audio which might otherwise be too fast. Reading teaches you so much. Many perceived difficulties with Spanish grammar can be solved simply by reading a lot.
When you see the grammar being used in a real context, it intuitively starts to make sense. I believe this is much better way to learn grammar than trying to study it in an isolated way in a textbook. Treat reading as your main Spanish study each day.
For an effective reading strategy, click here. But rather than leave it to chance, you can use digital flashcards to help commit the most useful vocabulary to memory. The trick here is to be selective about which vocabulary you try to learn. The most effective way to learn Spanish vocabulary with flashcards is to do multiple, short sessions a day.
The recommended minutes per day is best broken down into 3 or 4 short 5-minute sessions study. You can easily fit these into coffee breaks or waiting for the train. Danger: The hardest part of learning Spanish on your own, especially at the month stage, is the lack of structure. This is the Inconsistency Villain at work! But it needs to be focused. Most people shoot themselves in the foot here by trying to learn too much. What will really help me speak better? Your attitude is important here.
Instead, focus on the process of simply speaking week after week, and the benefits that come from that. After 6 months of studying and — critically — using Spanish, you will be in a good place. In the previous 3 months you were looking for reading material that is simplified for beginners, and speaking opportunities that are designed for learners.
However, now you need to dive into real Spanish. The way to make this meaningful, and not get overwhelmed, is to continue basing your studying around your own interests:. Naturally, this is not easy — especially at first. The star of the Netflix blockbuster Narcos used these principles to learn Spanish in only a few months.
Read how in this post! In other words, much of the difficulty comes at the beginning. The reason is that most people believe the best way to learn Spanish on your own is to master grammar from the beginning. For the same reason, it makes sense to study grammar systematically at this stage, and you can do this by working through a good grammar exercise book.
Simply focus on the areas of grammar you find tricky. At the same time as you work on your grammar, you need to start making Spanish the default language for your daily activities. The best way to approach this is to start small. Introduce one new Spanish activity every week. Ideally, your speaking practice will come from a Spanish-based social life.
Given the choice, non-fiction tends to be simpler to read than fiction. Similarly, magazines and blog posts can make for good reading material. These things seem almost too simplistic, but failing to study regularly, or reading boring things, will quickly kill your progress. As I said at the beginning, the best way to learn Spanish on your own will always be the simplest. Take this plan as a blueprint, commit to sticking at it, and get stuck in! Without a doubt, the learning activity that is the highest value for and language learner to do is speaking with a native speaker.
Nothing moved the needle more for me then speaking with a native Spanish speaker. How can you do it? You can message different people get to know them and schedule Skype calls. I know, I get it. This activity can be done without spending 1 additional minute to your day.
How can that be possible you might ask? Instead of spending your time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whatever your network of choice is devote that time to studying Spanish flashcards.
So what did I do?
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