# Learning Spanish



## lhauker (Jul 20, 2016)

Any one used any of the programs like Rosetta Stone? If so did it work? We want to be able to converse even if not fluently at least understand what someone is saying to some extent. We are not moving until June of 2017 so have some time to learn but not being young realize it will be a little bit of a challenge. Hopefully not a big bit. LOL


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lhauker said:


> Any one used any of the programs like Rosetta Stone? If so did it work? We want to be able to converse even if not fluently at least understand what someone is saying to some extent. We are not moving until June of 2017 so have some time to learn but not being young realize it will be a little bit of a challenge. Hopefully not a big bit. LOL


I have used Rosetta Stone. I found it boring. I have also used DuoLingo, a free web site. I find it more interesting and engaging. I took Spanish classes in adult school off and on over the years before I ended up in Mexico. The best it did for me was give me an understanding of basic Spanish grammar and a little, very little, vocabulary. I was nowhere close to being able to converse. The first three months I was in Mexico, I took Spanish classes for 4 hours/day, 5 days/week. At the end, I did have a minimal ability to communicate but it was pretty minimal. I continued taking classes for several more years. It took me about 6 years to become reasonably functional. By that I mean, I can now understand most of what people tell me, I can use the telephone and understand people on the phone. I still can't follow all of the dialog in movies or in conversations in a group, but I continue to improve slowly.

Also you used the pronoun "we" in your question. Most people I know find it harder to progress when they live with an English speaker.

Having said all that, people vary greatly in their ability to pick up a new language. I am not at the bottom of the pile, but I am certainly in the bottom half as far as that ability goes. If you are lucky, you probably will pick it up faster than I did and do.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

My Spanish acquisition came differently, in a long and indirect method. Among other useless things I acquired in college was a degree in Spanish which put me nowhere near fluency. Sure, I could read and write it fairly well and an extensive vocabulary was accumulated and stored somewhere in the back of my head, but any interpersonal communication ability came later, after long vacations to Latin America where I stayed away from touristy and expat areas. Then I hooked up with and later married a feisty and very talkative _mexicana_ who had zero English at the time. My fluency in Spanish, along with hers in English came rapidly after that. Pretty much confirms the consensus of another thread on this subject: Textbooks, classes and online stuff can all be helpful but you _really_ learn another language by putting yourself in situations where speaking it is the only option. Best of success on this endeavor.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

No question about it you have to take the language seriously and no matter tthe methd you use to learn te language you have to practice practice and practice some more and living with someone who speak English does not help.
I started at poin zero when I got to Mexico and I could speak and understand most people and understand people on he phone after 3 years and I am French which helps a whole lot.. Learning a language is a long term project especially if you are older..

I took private classes and never with my husband as we learn at different rates of speed..


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Do this Google search: "free resources for learning spanish” but without the quotes. You will get dozens and dozens of ideas. The hardest part about starting is choosing a handful of methods and concentrating on them. Also, at a certain point no matter what method(s) you have chosen, you have to invest a bit of hard work into it if you want to make progress past simple beginner level.

I also endorse the idea of using Duolingo as a supplement to whatever other methods you end up using.

I’ve been using Duolingo for a couple of years and I can’t believe it took me so long to find out this tip: if you do Duolingo on your computer (as opposed to a smaller device like a smartphone or a tablet), you get to see summaries of some of the main grammar features each time a new feature is introduced.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Duolingo + National Geographic in Spanish + Readers Digest in SPanish + a Spanish speaker to talk with.


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

If you want to try out a Spanish learning series before you decide to invest in it, I think SpanishPod101 would be a good one. There are quite a lot of lessons available free, and if you want to go to higher levels or get more resources, there are different levels of investment with different prices.

I haven’t looked at the Spanish course directly, but I did think the Japanese course worth my while to buy, so if the Spanish ones are as good, they’re very recommendable. Anyway, there are lots of beginner lessons free in the pod101 series, so you can try them out and decide for yourself. There are enough free lessons to give you quite a good start even if you decide not to buy.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> Duolingo + National Geographic in Spanish + Readers Digest in SPanish + a Spanish speaker to talk with.


Once you have a basic grasp of grammar and essential vocabulary, the most important thing is having a native Spanish speaker to talk to on a regular basis, hopefully someone who will gently correct any egregious errrors you make


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

Recent research has cast doubt on the _common wisdom_ that older individuals cannot learn a new language. A far greater factor is the student's motivation level. 

Since you are motivated, you will learn.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

xolo said:


> Recent research has cast doubt on the _common wisdom_ that older individuals cannot learn a new language. A far greater factor is the student's motivation level.
> 
> Since you are motivated, you will learn.


I've never heard of this "common wisdom" you mention. What is true is that unless you are already bi- or tr-lingual, as an adult (meaning anyone over 20), it's more difficult.


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

Isla Verde said:


> I've never heard of this "common wisdom" you mention.


In the world of language teaching and linguistics this is a very common belief/assumption. I'll just cite Chomsky and the "Language Acquisition Device" for one example.



Isla Verde said:


> What is true is that unless you are already bi- or tr-lingual, as an adult (meaning anyone over 20), it's more difficult.



My statement was that motivation is more important than age.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

xolo said:


> In the world of language teaching and linguistics this is a very common belief/assumption. I'll just cite Chomsky and the "Language Acquisition Device" for one example.
> 
> My statement was that motivation is more important than age.


Though I was a language teacher for many years before retirement (Spanish and ESL/EFL), I never paid much attention to theories developed by experts like Chomsky and his ilk, relying instead on my experiences in the language classroom as both teacher and student.

Motivation is super-important, I agree, but it is not enough, especially for the older language learner.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Back to the accounts of how to learn Spanish, the only thing I would like add is that, however you do it, it takes persistence and time. Mexico is full of people who have lived here for years without learning enough Spanish for anything beyond an exchange of greetings. If you want to learn to speak you have to do something, living in a Spanish speaking country is not enough.


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## lhauker (Jul 20, 2016)

Thank you for all of your helpful hints and tips. Having been married 47 years probably won't kick her to the curb because she can't speak Spanish. We both do have the desire to learn and feel if we are going to live in their country we need to make a concentrated effort on how to go about it. Some great ideas and I feel if you want to and really work at it you should obtain some kind of success. I do a lot of things later it seems as I went back to college at 28 just to play basketball. Being short, overweight and Caucasian did not stop me and I was the captain of the team. It will be a challenge but that is what makes it worth it.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I speak several languages and I have learned languages starting at ag 11 , started SPanish at 53 and Tzotzil at 63 and I can tell you that the older you get and the more difficult it is to retain , I have to learn over and over and over things that I could have retained very quickly in the past. 
I agree motivation is very important but age does not help.
I am very frustrated with Tzotzil and I am planning to spend a month at a crack with people who do not speak anything else to make some decent progress. I found out that I can learn more playing with kids than just about anyone else as kids have a poor vocabulary and do not mind repeating and repeating and they make a game of it ..but at 70 I can tell you that is tough to learn a new language..

My other problem is that I keep going from Tzotzil to Tzeltal areas and Tzotzil is helping me at understanding some Tzeltal but it is like learning Italian and Spanish at the same time and it is roughly tough..


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

One trick to learn how to understand Spanish is to watch movies in Spanish with Spanish sub titles. 
I first watch the movie without any subtitles to see what I can pick up then I watch it with the subtitles and it helps me pick up what I had missed and then watch it again without the subtitles, it is work but it really helped me at the time I was not progressing in my undersanding of spoken Spanish.


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

citlali said:


> I speak several languages and I have learned languages starting at ag 11 , started SPanish at 53 and Tzotzil at 63 and I can tell you that the older you get and the more difficult it is to retain , I have to learn over and over and over things that I could have retained very quickly in the past.


I teach languages to traditional college-age students so don't have direct experience with older people. In my case I don't think my learning ability has deteriorated - it was always only so-so. But I am highly dubious of assumptions and beliefs about languages, especially when they are almost pejoratives. On the other hand, learning a Mayan language might be a bit more difficult than learning a related romance language.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Just to test yourself take a Chinese class or Maya or another non Indo-European language with young people and see how fast your are learning and retaining compare to them and you will find out real fast that the older you get and the tougher it gets.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

I took 2 years of Spanish in high school and two more in college ..... but was never speaking it. It certainly helped when trying to speak in Mexico but not much. When I moved here in 2005 and spending time with locals is when it started to work.

I then decided on two more months in two schools I attended here while still working up north. Both small, very good and not expensive

Encuentros - Cuernavaca
Learn Spanish in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico at ENCUENTROS Spanish immersion

CELEP - Patzcuaro
CELEP


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

I majored in Spanish at university (earning a B.S.ed.) and then ended up getting an MA, which focused on literature. But I didn't learn to really speak the language till I spent the summer of 1966 between my junior and senior years of college living in Mexico City with a Mexican family and taking classes at the UNAM. By the end of the summer, I was able to function in the language and manage a call with a friend on a public phone in the street over the roar of the traffic on Insurgentes Sur.


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

...


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

xolo said:


> ...


Xolo, do you want me to delete this post?


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

Isla Verde said:


> Once you have a basic grasp of grammar and essential vocabulary, the most important thing is having a native Spanish speaker to talk to on a regular basis, hopefully someone who will gently correct any egregious errrors you make


This is really the only way. There are no short cuts, no courses, that will make you fluent.

If you do get basic grammar from a course before going to Mexico, if you have Cable, if there is a Spanish language channel or two, watching the news night after night can help verbal recognition. 

The news readers speak standard clear Spanish with no slang, usually much more slowly than Spanish spoken among friends, and since the pictures will generally tell you what the story is about, you won't be totally lost. Stories on Trump's campaign might be even easier to comprehend. At first, you'll be lost, but if you watch every night's news, you'll recognize more and more words, and at least prepare your prepare brain. 

The goal, which is difficult, is to understand the spoken language without having to translate words in your head. You just understand it. Nothing new on that. Professionals described the process as "immersion" decades ago. The only way.


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## ffejcat62 (Sep 9, 2016)

I have been using SynergySpanish (synergyspanish.com) on line. I find it really good and the teaching concept really works well for me. There are several free lessons and you can also purchase more advance levels. I also have been daily using Duolingo and once I started with Synergy Spanish things in Duolingo became much easier. Check it out!


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## ffejcat62 (Sep 9, 2016)

It's actually synergyspanishsystems.com Sorry!


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Nothing works but being here and speaking it daily. Various things lead you in the right direction but fluent ...... no way


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## TwoBlackfoot (Jul 31, 2016)

I'm currently taking a course on the site babbel dot com. I am part of a running group that meets daily for 1-3 hour long runs, which is where I practice my conversational Spanish. I started taking the online course because I felt my Spanish regressing, and my vocabulary lacking. I think the next step I'll take is to start reading more books and newspapers.


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## Denmex (Mar 6, 2010)

I agree with you, Isla Verde. I grew-up in north Alabama. When I was 16 years old I spend my summer vacation (3 months) from school working on a farm on the plains in western Texas. All the other farm workers were Spanish speakers. Now, at 74, I have lived the past 12 years in Mexico. Since relocating here I have spent several hundreds of U.S. dollars for online Spanish courses. I attended a school in Cuernavaca to learn Spanish, and for 17 years I have been married to a Mexican woman that speaks English as a second language. We communicate, maybe, 25% Spanish and 75% English. Still, when I am conversing with a Spanish speaker, I am sorry to say, I understand the individual words more than complete sentences. I, too, am in that lower 50 percentile of understanding, writing and speaking the Spanish language. I can read Spanish quite well. Interestingly, approximately 75% of the Spanish that I do currently speak is from what I learned at 16 years old. I am a writer, and when I write for Mexican magazines and newspapers, my wife has to translate everything. Call me retarded, whatever, the truth is the truth.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Denmex said:


> I agree with you, Isla Verde. I grew-up in north Alabama. When I was 16 years old I spend my summer vacation (3 months) from school working on a farm on the plains in western Texas. All the other farm workers were Spanish speakers. Now, at 74, I have lived the past 12 years in Mexico. Since relocating here I have spent several hundreds of U.S. dollars for online Spanish courses. I attended a school in Cuernavaca to learn Spanish, and for 17 years I have been married to a Mexican woman that speaks English as a second language. We communicate, maybe, 25% Spanish and 75% English. Still, when I am conversing with a Spanish speaker, I am sorry to say, I understand the individual words more than complete sentences. I, too, am in that lower 50 percentile of understanding, writing and speaking the Spanish language. I can read Spanish quite well. Interestingly, approximately 75% of the Spanish that I do currently speak is from what I learned at 16 years old. I am a writer, and when I write for Mexican magazines and newspapers, my wife has to translate everything. Call me retarded, whatever, the truth is the truth.


Don't be too hard on yourself. As far as writing in a foreign language, there are few people who achieve sufficient mastery to write flawlessly in another language.

And with regard to learning to speak, I think it is very difficult when you live with a fluent Spanish speaker. It took me about six years of living in Mexico, taking classes, arranging intercambios (exchanges where we spend part of the time speaking English and part Spanish), to get to the point where I can understand a good part of what is said and can use the telephone. I think one of the main reasons I have succeeded at all, is that I have always done all of my own interaction with stores, bureaucracies, doctors, etc. Buying a house, dealing with INM, IMSS, house repairs and all the details of life in Mexico gives me lots of practice listening and speaking. I don't always understand and have made some mistakes or had to redo things because of misunderstandings, but the effort has resulted in my current level that I call functional, not fluent. If you have a fluent Spanish speaker to do all these things for you, you miss out on a painful but effective source of learning.


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