# Learning Spanish



## Alank (Oct 23, 2017)

We will not be living in Spain for at least 5 years when we will retire to Costa Blanca North area. In the meantime, we aim to buy a property to use several weeks of the year and to let out in the summer months.ultimately, we will buy a property to retire to once we have researched the area.

What is the best way to learn the language. We are currently looking at on line course from Rosetta Stone, any one used this?

What do people recommend?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Personally, I found the best method was lessons with a native speaker. I did try CDs, tapes, etc. beforehand but didn't find them very effective. As you give your location as Manchester, I'd recommend signing up for a class at the Cervantes Institute there:-

Home. Instituto Cervantes in Manchester


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

The vast majority of Brits, living near the coast at least, never achieve even a basic level of Spanish, but they get by year after year.

One of the problem is that when a non-Spanish looking person enters almost any shop, restaurant, bar etc. they are addressed in English. That can be so even when the customer continues speaking Spanish.

I have met many Spaniards who look more Northern European than Spanish who are frequently initially addressed in English too.

For the most part commercial establishments want to get customers in, served and out as quickly as possible. They do not have the time to spend listening to foreigners practising their Spanish. 

After several years living in Spain my incentive was I wanted to find a girlfriend and speaking Spanish meant I was able to chat with many more people. So after about 7 years of saying I was going to learn Spanish I made a determined effort; attending classes for 2 a day, five days a week, and spending practically every other waking hour studying the books, after 3 months I had basic Spanish.	

If you really want to learn, I believe putting in the hours is the only way. Doing that in UK I think would be very difficult.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Hi, I tried the Rosetta Stone discs but soon got bored with it because i thought it didn't touch on the "every day" type of conversation I was expecting. Since living here in Spain I've tried (and still use occasionally) Duolingo, Memrise and Google translate. 

I found the most interesting way to learn, for me, was to write out and learn sentences (using Google translate) that I found I was using fairly regularly then added to that list as I felt confident. Standard learning programs are useful for learning numbers, days/months etc.

Each to their own methods but this method personally suited me.

Steve


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

There is no easy way ... getting to the point where you can have a meaningful conversation, understanding what people are saying to you, involves more effort than people realise.

I had evening classes in the UK before I moved here, and that gave me a good basic understanding of the language. Once I got here I devoted at least an hour a day to building on that. I worked my way through more difficult grammar exercises, watched Spanish TV, read Spanish books and papers and tried to have as many conversations as I could in Spanish. An "intercambio" with someone learning English is invaluable.

I don't think doing online courses, CDs etc on your own move you far enough out of your comfort zone. You need a good teacher to push you to practice the bits you find difficult. It's also good to be with other learners, so you can learn to make mistakes in front of other people without feeling embarrassed. So many people I know have quite reasonable Spanish but are scared to open their mouth in public. That's even more the case with Spaniards learning English!


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> There is no easy way ... getting to the point where you can have a meaningful conversation, understanding what people are saying to you, involves more effort than people realise.
> 
> I had evening classes in the UK before I moved here, and that gave me a good basic understanding of the language. Once I got here I devoted at least an hour a day to building on that. I worked my way through more difficult grammar exercises, watched Spanish TV, read Spanish books and papers and tried to have as many conversations as I could in Spanish. An "intercambio" with someone learning English is invaluable.
> 
> I don't think doing online courses, CDs etc on your own move you far enough out of your comfort zone. You need a good teacher to push you to practice the bits you find difficult. It's also good to be with other learners, so you can learn to make mistakes in front of other people without feeling embarrassed. So many people I know have quite reasonable Spanish but are scared to open their mouth in public. That's even more the case with Spaniards learning English!


Absolutely spot on. Lots say how good these CDs are but none of them recommending seem to speak very good Spanish 

Agree about classes and not one to one. A bit of competition does miracles if only to get down the know it all who you wonder if he only comes to show off (every class seems to have one) 

You can learn in UK. after all thousands of students get a degree in Spanish every year. Lots of adult education classes, a friend from Bilbao teaches adults in a Sussex college and many are at advanced level.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Chat groups are one of the best ways to learn conversational Spanish. Quite often it may not be quite grammatically correct but you will learn an assortment of different versions of Spanish because upbringing and location of that upbringing will put different emphases on what is said and how it is said. In this village there are two versions of Spanish commonly in use - Castillian and Castillero. After being here 9 years, there are a few locals whom I still have difficulty understanding.


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## John Seigal (Oct 21, 2017)

The best way is to get a spanish girlfriend or in your case - a mistress.

Other than that, try skype lessons with a spanish teacher. Watch spanish tv, news is probably the best as you already know most of the world events.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

baldilocks said:


> Chat groups are one of the best ways to learn conversational Spanish. Quite often it may not be quite grammatically correct but you will learn an assortment of different versions of Spanish because upbringing and location of that upbringing will put different emphases on what is said and how it is said. In this village there are two versions of Spanish commonly in use - Castillian and Castillero. After being here 9 years, there are a few locals whom I still have difficulty understanding.


What is Castillero?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> What is Castillero?


 We live in Castillo de Locubín so the people here are known as Castilleros so the way they speak (their own version of Andalu') is known as Castillero.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Juan C said:


> The vast majority of Brits, living near the coast at least, never achieve even a basic level of Spanish, but they get by year after year.
> 
> One of the problem is that when a non-Spanish looking person enters almost any shop, restaurant, bar etc. they are addressed in English. That can be so even when the customer continues speaking Spanish.
> 
> ...




Agreed, I studied it in High School and put in little effort, studied it in Undergraduate school, again with no effort. Preparing to retire, I retook two years of undergrad Spanish seriously. When we arrived five years ago we immediately enrolled in Spanish for Extranjeros and stayed for four years. Now I have a very good grasp on the language. All the class work returns to me in thinking or conversation. We purposely opted to retire where very little English is spoken, I agree with you about the large British communities down south where few Brits have any need to speak the idioma.


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## Chica22 (Feb 26, 2010)

When we lived in the UK (Sheffield) there was a Spanish Association (which was part funded by the Spanish Government).....this was before Spain joined the European Union!!!! Most of the people were Spaniards married to English partners and the Spanish Association was set up to ensure the Spanish tradition was maintained, eg Reyes, Going to the countryside and cooking a huge paella etc. etc.!!!! In addition to mixed marriages, there were English people who wanted to learn Spanish (and its traditions). 
At that time there seemed to be a large amount of Spaniards living in Manchester, indeed the Spanish Embassy was based in Manchester. Maybe google Spanish Association and it may be that it is still in existence in Manchester. It really is a good way to mix with Spanish people, practice your Spanish and get involved in the culture and food of Spain.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I taught Foreign Languages (French and German) to students of all ages, literally from eight to eighty. I've also taught English to adult students (English and foreign) and worked as a translator/interpreter so do have experience of learners and their problems.
Whilst the best way to learn a language is without doubt to go and live whatever country whose language you wish to learn and immerse yourself in it, not using your own language at all, this is neither possible nor practical for most people. Many years ago I spent a long time in Poland and Czechoslovakia with no English speakers around. I quickly learned sufficient transactional Czech and Polish to be able to cope with daily life, shopping, chatting with friends.
When I came to Spain nine years ago I knew a few words but it was only when I joined a Spanish political Party, an LGBT rights group and started working at the perrera that I had to use my limited Spanish or remain stumm.
Wherein lies the first obstacle many Brits face when using their newly-acquired foreign language: the fear of making mistakes.
I'm shameless, I've made awful, obscene even, mistakes in all languages I know. I told a Czech Secretary that I was screwing her boss when I wanted t say I was looking for him and a Pole that I couldn't give him directions as I was an angel. I told a gathering of Spanish trades unionists that I wanted to standardise European penises when I wanted to say I would like to standardise European equality laws. But I'm not a native speaker of any language than than English and people either laughed, ignored the mistake or corrected it.
It's been my experience that grammar exercises are useful if you are familiar with the rules of grammar in English. If you are not then talk of past participles, the passive voice etc. can be confusing. Grammar is useful once you have a reasonable fluency in the language you are learning but can be off-putting in the early stages.
Foreign people, like English people, make 'mistakes' in their own languages. There are French, German and Spanish equivalents of 'you was' and 'I seen'.
But, and this is most important of all, language is a communication tool and if the person you address in Spanish understands you in spite of any grammar 'mistakes' you make....you are speaking Spanish. You have communicated.
I'd also say, ask yourself why you want to learn Spanish and where you will use it. As someone said, ten of thousands of Brits live here quite comfortably with no or little Spanish. If all you need is transactional Spanish, for shopping, doctor's visits, exchanging polite chat with neighbours, then master that and don't worry about the 'deeper' stuff. If on the other hand you want to get involved in politics, local clubs etc. or just want to be fluent, then you need a different approach....more immersion, more time.
I've watched immigrant students in the UK who arrive without a word of English, thrown in the deep end, no formal English lessons, who become so fluent in a few months that they interpret for their parents. They learn by listening, imitating and with a total lack of self-consciousness. 
When I taught French or German I used English only when necessary, preferring visual aids, mime even, to convey meaning.
When you think about it, it's SPOKEN language you want to acquire. You don't get that from a grammar exercise in a book.


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## John Seigal (Oct 21, 2017)

Chica22 said:


> Going to the countryside and cooking a huge paella.


That is from the Comunidad Valenciana.. Not at all a stereotype Spanish tradition..

Wow Mary, teaching english to adult english people.. How does that work? You would not have been so accepted if you were in France with your made-up mistakes in speaking the language.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Agree, always better to communicate. Perfect grammar is no good if you can only write it. Having both is the icing on the cake though.

I started to learn Swahili last year. Lovely language but can take four words to say what we would say in one. Did one to one and the third week she introduced the future tense! I did manage to tell a taxi driver he was very handsome when I meant he was very nice to help us. Once did a 12 week course in Greek for holidays. Took me at least three weeks to write the alphabet but it got me by.

Have noticed most foreigners in shops etc here only use the present tense, but it's adequate, understandable.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Isobella said:


> Agree, always better to communicate. Perfect grammar is no good if you can only write it. Having both is the icing on the cake though.
> 
> I started to learn Swahili last year. Lovely language but can take four words to say what we would say in one. Did one to one and the third week she introduced the future tense! I did manage to tell a taxi driver he was very handsome when I meant he was very nice to help us. Once did a 12 week course in Greek for holidays. Took me at least three weeks to write the alphabet but it got me by.
> 
> Have noticed most foreigners in shops etc here only use the present tense, but it's adequate, understandable.


Once, a teen- aged student asked if she could stay after class to help me put up some displays. I said she should first ask her mother, with whom she usually walked home after collecting her little brother from the nursery.
She shortly returned and said 'Mum come'.
To which I replied 'I take that to mean that you met your mother, explained that you would be late and why and that she was happy with that'.
She stared at me as if I were deaf or stupid and said 'Well, yeah..'
She had, after all, communicated, albeit ungrammatically....but concisely.


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## John Seigal (Oct 21, 2017)

mrypg9 said:


> Once, a teen- aged student asked if she could stay after class to help me put up some displays. I said she should first ask her mother, with whom she usually walked home after collecting her little brother from the nursery.
> She shortly returned and said 'Mum come'.
> To which I replied 'I take that to mean that you met your mother, explained that you would be late and why and that she was happy with that'.
> She stared at me as if I were deaf or stupid and said 'Well, yeah..'
> She had, after all, communicated, albeit ungrammatically....but concisely.


These days I would get written, signed or actual physical agreement with the mother/father or guardian with anything dealing with children.. No matter if you are a women or man.


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## JimmyLocksDad (Nov 2, 2017)

Some people do have more of an aptitude to picking up languages than others, a friend of our attended course after course, lesson after lesson for a good two years and still has no real grasp of the language, where as another friend did the basics and was conversational within six months and now a few years on can hold her own in any situation.


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## Chica22 (Feb 26, 2010)

John Seigal said:


> That is from the Comunidad Valenciana.. Not at all a stereotype Spanish tradition..
> 
> Trying telling that to the Andalucians


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## trotter58 (Feb 8, 2017)

Alank said:


> We will not be living in Spain for at least 5 years when we will retire to Costa Blanca North area. In the meantime, we aim to buy a property to use several weeks of the year and to let out in the summer months.ultimately, we will buy a property to retire to once we have researched the area.
> 
> What is the best way to learn the language. We are currently looking at on line course from Rosetta Stone, any one used this?
> 
> What do people recommend?


You could try this https://www.duolingo.com/course/es/en/Learn-Spanish-Online It's free.


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## Ifn (Jan 29, 2017)

As you can see from the responses, everyone has their own way of learning. If you are absolute beginners then any method that gives you the basics will be fine. I'm the sort who needs to have a grasp of grammar and I do much better in classes cause I have zero self-discipline! I like the Doulingo app, its free and has many features, like recording your voice. There are so many free choices online. Podcasts, like Coffebreak Spanish and Notes in Spanish Beginner are very good. The BBC language page has some resources including a short series set in Spain, called , I think, la vida loca.. Another wonderful language learning series was called Destinos and you can still see it online at
https://learner.org/series/destinos/
Speaking of series there are some on YouTube as well as short films, called cortemetrajas and some of them have subtitles.
Also if there is someone nearby who wants to practice their Spanish there are Intercambios, where you meet for coffee and have half the time in English and the other half in Spanish.
Good luck


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

In high school I took a bit of Spanish’s well as in Undergrad school. In the US that got me by in Texas. After my career, I went back and took two years of undergrad Spanish again, used every free internet study available as well as got certified to teach English and volunteered with ESL classes. All of that and I still had little grasp on the language. My wife and I enrolled in Español para Extranjeros classes for free in our community for four years. Finally, after living in our community and taking classes here we can understand most everything and speak fairly. Everyone is different


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## lee25767 (Sep 22, 2013)

Ive found going on youtube good. There is one on there with a blue background. It's set in 3 grips across the page. I wrote the basics down on a post card and stuck them on my kitchen cupboards and fridge so when making a cuppa I could learn. Getting by but as the rest say, a native to teach you is a better way for more in depth Spanish


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## Carolinesydney (Nov 11, 2017)

I started myself with the Mondly app which I found easy to use. I also have a Spanish radio station news feed come through on Facebook which I think is helping learn a wider variety of words. There is a translate button as well so I can check how close I was. On top of that, I started listening to the radio itself- ear buds in so m actively listening. Being in Aus, they were the late night type discussions. At first I could barely pick it up as they talk so fast! , but I can now get a jist of the conversation. 
I’d still consider myself as basic but I think I could make myself understood as a tourist. A big problem is I’ll find I slip in school French words! 
If I had time , I’d like to attend a Spanish class like my son did to get my conversational abilities up a bit. 
A guess a lot depends on how you learn things. I know at work , I like things written down as my brain is like a sieve these days! Pick a starting place & re assess your needs regularly!


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Actually, what I have learned through education and living here for five years is that they don’t talk fast, we listen slowly, trying to understand what we can. Our brains can only process so much so fast. After five years I can finally understand most of what is said. It makes a difference when seeing Spanish movies, unless they were made in Southern Spain, then the locals here can’t even understand them. We live where very little English is spoken, which also helps. We also speak English at home but text each other often in Spanish. It’s all a learning process one needs to take enthusiastically.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Elyles said:


> Actually, what I have learned through education and living here for five years is that they don’t talk fast, we listen slowly, trying to understand what we can. Our brains can only process so much so fast. After five years I can finally understand most of what is said. It makes a difference when seeing Spanish movies, unless they were made in Southern Spain, then the locals here can’t even understand them. We live where very little English is spoken, which also helps. We also speak English at home but text each other often in Spanish. *It’s all a learning process one needs to take enthusiastically*.


That's a really important point. It's important to have a positive, enthusiastic attitude to learning Spanish and not treat it as a chore. Keep focused on where you want to be!


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Elyles said:


> Actually, what I have learned through education and living here for five years is that they don’t talk fast, we listen slowly, trying to understand what we can. Our brains can only process so much so fast. After five years I can finally understand most of what is said. It makes a difference when seeing Spanish movies, unless they were made in Southern Spain, then the locals here can’t even understand them. We live where very little English is spoken, which also helps. We also speak English at home but text each other often in Spanish. It’s all a learning process one needs to take enthusiastically.


I know what you mean about the southern Spanish - we lived there and yet could understand people from the north much more readily. 

Spanish pop songs are good for getting your ear in. They tend to sing slowly and enunciate.

I wonder is there is a Spanish 'standard' pronunciation for pop songs like in English where many songs are sung in a mid-Atlantic accent.


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## wesdunn1977 (Nov 29, 2017)

The Rosetta Stone is excellent and should give people most of the skills they need to get by. Learning plenty of nouns with a dictionary will also help.. Myself, I learned most of what I know from listening to music, I used to look the words to the song up on the internet and then use Google translate.

You tend to remember the words of songs if you listen to them a few times, you just need to know what they mean and it sticks. It did for me anyway.. Good Luck


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## TVFH (Oct 29, 2017)

*Spanish or Spanglish?*

I have found the Duolingo site to be quite good. Since exploring the possibility of moving to Spain I thought I’d better get on and learn some of the language, so I have been having a go, so to speak.
After a couple of weeks it says I am 25% fluent, which is quite remarkable given I knew only a few small phrases from visiting Spain on holiday years ago. Anyway, I will persevere.

How does speaking the language impact on your daily life in Spain? Is it necessary to be fluent or can one get by with the basics? Do bank staff and shop assistants/restaurant/bar staff etc. or Police/Council officials, Doctors/Dentists etc. expect you to be fluent in Spanish and if there is a variation in regional dialects, what is the best all round Spanish to learn?

Many thanks,

TVFH


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

TVFH said:


> How does speaking the language impact on your daily life in Spain? Is it necessary to be fluent or can one get by with the basics? Do bank staff and shop assistants/restaurant/bar staff etc. or Police/Council officials, Doctors/Dentists etc. expect you to be fluent in Spanish and if there is a variation in regional dialects, what is the best all round Spanish to learn?
> 
> 
> 
> TVFH


It depends very much on the area you live in. In areas where there is a large foreign population, and even more so those which are dependent on tourism, then staff in banks, shops, restaurants, etc. will be used to speaking other languages and people will be able to get by if they speak litttle or no Spanish. On the other hand, if you live in an area where the vast majority of residents are Spanish, then you would find it much more difficult. With doctors in particular, even if they do speak another language they are often reluctant to use them in consultations for fear of misunderstandings arising, so if you did not speak Spanish you could be required to take a translator along with you. In hospitals there are often teams of volunteer translators available, but that is not always the case, and again you are more likely to encounter that in areas where there is a large foreign population as there will be a bigger pool of potential translators to draw upon.

In recent years there do appear to be an increasing number of staff employed in public offices who speak English, for example. When I visited the Extranjeria office (who deal with applications for NIE numbers and residency registrations) nearest to where I live a few weeks ago, there were two staff on duty who spoke fluent English, and that was certainly not the case as recently as two years ago.


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## Ifn (Jan 29, 2017)

TVFH said:


> I have found the Duolingo site to be quite good. Since exploring the possibility of moving to Spain I thought I’d better get on and learn some of the language, so I have been having a go, so to speak.
> After a couple of weeks it says I am 25% fluent, which is quite remarkable given I knew only a few small phrases from visiting Spain on holiday years ago. Anyway, I will persevere.
> 
> How does speaking the language impact on your daily life in Spain? Is it necessary to be fluent or can one get by with the basics? Do bank staff and shop assistants/restaurant/bar staff etc. or Police/Council officials, Doctors/Dentists etc. expect you to be fluent in Spanish and if there is a variation in regional dialects, what is the best all round Spanish to learn?
> ...


I use Duolingo too and definitely think they exaggerate. But just keep on keeping on. They have a lot of lessons. 
But it’s true that it all starts to come together when you are here. I usually have to say it in my head before I say something out loud. And it’s really about listening: when I hear a phrase, if I get the gist I’ll use it. If not, I go home and google it first. I try to watch spanish tv with Spanish subtitles. But if you’re a beginner, start with the English subtitles. Watch something several times, not just once. 
I started going to an Intercambio group, spanish and English. I was surprised that it was mostly Spanish people. But that is good for me. 
I’m a slow learner. Really, dont get discouraged and think you need English speakers. You can get by with the basics and eventually improve.


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## TVFH (Oct 29, 2017)

Thanks Lynn and Ifn....good to know. Practice makes perfect, even a little slowly! 

TVFH


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## Ifn (Jan 29, 2017)

TVFH said:


> Thanks Lynn and Ifn....good to know. Practice makes perfect, even a little slowly!
> 
> TVFH


Like 25 years for me!


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## Alank (Oct 23, 2017)

Thanks for all of your replies. I have started using the Duo-lingo app and I am now apparently 7% fluent which is ridiculous really but it is a very useful tool. 

I think if I could listen to and practice vocabulary whilst driving would be helpful as I commute 40 minutes every work day. Duo lingo is too hands on for that so I will look for a listen then speak cd for driving.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Elyles said:


> Actually, what I have learned through education and living here for five years is that they don’t talk fast, we listen slowly, trying to understand what we can. Our brains can only process so much so fast. After five years I can finally understand most of what is said. It makes a difference when seeing Spanish movies, unless they were made in Southern Spain, then the locals here can’t even understand them. We live where very little English is spoken, which also helps. We also speak English at home but text each other often in Spanish. It’s all a learning process one needs to take enthusiastically.


I've just finished watching La Casa del Papel on Netflix. Apparently it was made for Antena 3 and aired last year. Very good for a terrestrial Spanish production. Very good regardless, actually.

It was fun trying to pick out the accents and place where they were from. I did quite well but really wasn't very confident at all that I had got them right when I went off to IMDB to check. But, one was a dead cert, the guy from Andalucia. Turned out he was from Cadiz. Easy to spot, in that I was half way through the series before I began to understand more than half what he said.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

TVFH said:


> How does speaking the language impact on your daily life in Spain? Is it necessary to be fluent or can one get by with the basics? Do bank staff and shop assistants/restaurant/bar staff etc. or Police/Council officials, Doctors/Dentists etc. expect you to be fluent in Spanish and if there is a variation in regional dialects, what is the best all round Spanish to learn?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> TVFH


I agree with what Lynn said re much depending on where you live.

The short answer to your question about how it impacts on my daily life is enormously.

I'm one of those Brits who never feels comfortable beginning a conversation in English with someone I know is a foreigner. So, if I was in the dining room for breakfast in a hotel in Germany, or the staff canteen at my company's office in Italy, or checking into a hotel in France, I just cringe inside if I have to walk up and say "hello, may i have...." or whatever. I travelled all over the place with my work and always made sure I could ask if a person spoke English and then apologise that I didn't speak their language. And then I would start shrugging and pointing and grinning.

So, having said all that, the most significant impact is that it makes me feel comfortable in whatever situation I find myself in. I never dread discovering that the person I am trying talk to can't speak English, so I don't get all the cringing and awkwardness that goes with it.

That said, certainly where I live, it's possible to survive and get along just fine using only English. In most (not all) places where communication is necessary there will be somebody who speaks English sufficiently well to get whatever it is done. But nevertheless, even in such places, there are advantages. In my bank there is one person who is the designated as the one who will deal with the English speakers. That's fine, if you like queueing. I spend a lot less time waiting in the bank because I can see whoever is available.

It can save money. I've never paid a gestor for translation and all stuff like obtaining and NIE, dealing with the Ayunament (which doesn't always have English speakers), getting emergency treatment in the clinic, etc. I've managed to do myself, and all of which are cases in which I have encountered no English speakers. There's a big clinic in the next town where the xray people could speak English, another specialist could, but try getting past reception without enough Spanish  Another way it can save money is that you aren't limited to only the Brit tradespeople when wanting to get something done.

Finally, there's social circles. Where I live we have the occasional community get-together. This tends to be a gathering of two groups, Spaniards, and people who don't speak Spanish. There's a third category, those who aren't Spanish but do speak Spanish, and they flow back and forth between the two other groups, getting on with everybody.

I have many Spanish friends and we get invited to fiestas all over the place and have learned many things about the culture and way of life that people who have lived there much longer than us have no idea about.

Learn Castellano. I live in the Valencia region and most of my Spanish friends speak the local language to each other, but it isn't a barrier.

In my view your success will be more about your level of motivation than any in-built level aptitude. You can do it, the question is whether you will. It's worth it, vale la pena, como se dice, so get into it and good luck with sticking at it.


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## TVFH (Oct 29, 2017)

Horlics said:


> I agree with what Lynn said re much depending on where you live.
> 
> The short answer to your question about how it impacts on my daily life is enormously.
> 
> ...


Horlics....thank you for that sound advice, I will persevere with it. I’m always up for a challenge.

TVFH


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

TVFH said:


> I have found the Duolingo site to be quite good. Since exploring the possibility of moving to Spain I thought I’d better get on and learn some of the language, so I have been having a go, so to speak.
> After a couple of weeks it says I am 25% fluent, which is quite remarkable given I knew only a few small phrases from visiting Spain on holiday years ago. Anyway, I will persevere.
> 
> How does speaking the language impact on your daily life in Spain? Is it necessary to be fluent or can one get by with the basics? Do bank staff and shop assistants/restaurant/bar staff etc. or Police/Council officials, Doctors/Dentists etc. expect you to be fluent in Spanish and if there is a variation in regional dialects, what is the best all round Spanish to learn?
> ...


I'm using DuoLingo to revise French, which I used to speak quite well until I started learning Spanish. We have some new French neighbours and it would be nice to speak to them in their native tongue. I wouldn't rely on it to learn a language from scratch, but it's a useful part of the overall toolkit.

As others have said, how fluent you need to be in Spanish depends where you live. Where I live (rural Cadiz) there are very few English-speakers so if I weren't fluent I'd have to hire an interpreter every time I needed to get something done. But anywhere with a sizeable immigrant community you'll probably find institutions are more geared up to communicating in other languages - especially English, which is spoken by many Northern Europeans, not just Brits.

I wouldn't attempt to learn a dialect, just stick to Castillian Spanish (as spoken in central Spain), which is the equivalent of BBC English.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> I'm using DuoLingo to revise French, which I used to speak quite well until I started learning Spanish. We have some new French neighbours and it would be nice to speak to them in their native tongue. I wouldn't rely on it to learn a language from scratch, but it's a useful part of the overall toolkit.
> 
> As others have said, how fluent you need to be in Spanish depends where you live. Where I live (rural Cadiz) there are very few English-speakers so if I weren't fluent I'd have to hire an interpreter every time I needed to get something done. But anywhere with a sizeable immigrant community you'll probably find institutions are more geared up to communicating in other languages - especially English, which is spoken by many Northern Europeans, not just Brits.
> 
> I wouldn't attempt to learn a dialect, just stick to Castillian Spanish (as spoken in central Spain), which is the equivalent of BBC English.


Duolingo's very useful but I too think it shouldn't be relied upon. Same with Rosetta Stone. A course with stories about Spanish culture and places is going to keep the interest going whereas it's easy to tire of the short Q&A format.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Horlics said:


> Duolingo's very useful but I too think it shouldn't be relied upon. Same with Rosetta Stone. A course with stories about Spanish culture and places is going to keep the interest going whereas it's easy to tire of the short Q&A format.


Duolingo is a good back up tool, as are most apps - any practice is better than no practice. 

Personally I don't believe that anything can replace proper lessons (but I would say that, wouldn't I..) 

The main 'problem' with most apps & websites is that they are South American Spanish, so the vocab can be very different & they don't use the vosotros.

I'd take what Duolingo tells you about your 'fluency' with a pinch of salt. I've had people come to me for classes who are more than '50% fluent' with Duolingo. They can repeat & answer the Duolingo stuff - but can't adapt it to real life, so often find that they need to go back & start from scratch with me.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> I'm using DuoLingo to revise French, which I used to speak quite well until I started learning Spanish. We have some new French neighbours and it would be nice to speak to them in their native tongue. I wouldn't rely on it to learn a language from scratch, but it's a useful part of the overall toolkit.
> 
> As others have said, how fluent you need to be in Spanish depends where you live. Where I live (rural Cadiz) there are very few English-speakers so if I weren't fluent I'd have to hire an interpreter every time I needed to get something done. But anywhere with a sizeable immigrant community you'll probably find institutions are more geared up to communicating in other languages - especially English, which is spoken by many Northern Europeans, not just Brits.
> 
> I wouldn't attempt to learn a dialect, just stick to Castillian Spanish (as spoken in central Spain), which is the equivalent of BBC English.


Did learning Spanish cause you to lose your French? It did with me.

If I try to speak French now I lapse into Spanish every time - I can't even say YES in French now.

Oddly I can probably understand French as well as I ever could. OH is watching 'Vanished by the lake' which is in French with English subtitles and I can understand a surprising amount of. But I can't talk it.

I defer to xabiachica's experience WRT South American Spanish but the differences don't worry me too much. I don't think I've ever said vosotros anyway apart from when learning.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> Duolingo is a good back up tool, as are most apps - any practice is better than no practice.
> 
> Personally I don't believe that anything can replace proper lessons (but I would say that, wouldn't I..)
> 
> ...


I started learning the South American version so never use the "vosotros" form but, then, neither do my Spanish neighbours who are over a certain age, it is only those who are probably over 70. The worst of the on-line tools is Babbel where the words and pronunciation are hopeless and often wrong.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

jimenato said:


> *Did learning Spanish cause you to lose your French? It did with me.
> 
> If I try to speak French now I lapse into Spanish every time *- I can't even say YES in French now.


I have a similar problem and mine comes out more Franish or Spench. We have several new French residents in the village so the problem comes up quite often - infuriating!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jimenato said:


> Did learning Spanish cause you to lose your French? It did with me.
> 
> If I try to speak French now I lapse into Spanish every time - I can't even say YES in French now.
> 
> Oddly I can probably understand French as well as I ever could. OH is watching 'Vanished by the lake' which is in French with English subtitles and I can understand a surprising amount of. But I can't talk it.


Yep - same here. French words got replaced by Spanish words in my brain. With these new neighbours I get a few words into a sentence then it lapses into Spanish - which they don't speak!

I do admire people who can speak three or four languages and switch effortlessly between them.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Yep - same here. French words got replaced by Spanish words in my brain. With these new neighbours I get a few words into a sentence then it lapses into Spanish - which they don't speak!
> 
> *I do admire people who can speak three or four languages and switch effortlessly between them*.


Me, too. SWMBO is like that and is tri-lingual - English, Spanish and French. Father only spoke to her in Spanish, mother only in English and they sent her to French schools, where that was the only language spoken. However don't ask her the simplest maths or science question unless it is medical.


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## Norton642 (Jan 15, 2018)

*learning spanish*

as someone else noted, you cant really avoid a bit of hard graft if you want to learn the grammar and have a real conversation in spanish. The vocabulary is quite easy however and we found Michel Thomas's course quite good for a basic start and it is really good for dealing with everyday shops/cafe/asking directions and the like. we used to play it in the car or while cooking etc.

good luck


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## Norton642 (Jan 15, 2018)

as someone else noted, you cant really avoid a bit of hard graft if you want to learn the grammar and have a real conversation in spanish. The vocabulary is quite easy however and we found Michel Thomas's course quite good for a basic start and it is really good for dealing with everyday shops/cafe/asking directions and the like. we used to play it in the car or while cooking etc.

good luck


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## smudgy (Jan 25, 2018)

Lynn R said:


> Personally, I found the best method was lessons with a native speaker. I did try CDs, tapes, etc. beforehand but didn't find them very effective. As you give your location as Manchester, I'd recommend signing up for a class at the Cervantes Institute there:-


This is my chosen route and can highly recommend it. Not the cheapest, but still works out at only a little over £5 an hour. I learned significantly more in two 10 week courses than I'd managed on my own in over a year. The teaching is done pretty much exclusively in Spanish and I think it makes a huge difference, although they will occasionally resort to english briefly, to explain a tricky part of grammar. Had it this week with desde and desde hace - a couple of people in the class were struggling with the spanish explanation of point in time and period of time. A quick couple of sentences in english cleared it up for them


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