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Monday, October 3, 2011

Useful Tips for Learning Spanish Swiftly

By Margaret Guerrero

Learning Spanish can be accomplished by anyone, no matter what their prior experience with languages. Learning languages seems like a daunting task but everybody is capable of doing it. Having the ability to converse in another language is a valuable skill to have nowadays. Learning a new language will help you if you travel outside of the country. Today, however, it can be just as beneficial even if you never leave your own region. For people who are planning to learn another language for the first time, Spanish is a wise choice for several reasons. There are some things that you can do to make your study faster and more enjoyable.

Many people living in America today do not even speak English; many of these people are Spanish speaking. Knowing how to speak and translate Spanish into other languages is a valuable skill to have.

Hiring a tutor is a great idea. CDs/books can be very helpful. But with a tutor at your side, you can receive help and answers you just can't get from a book or CD. Tutors are generally fluent in what ever language they're teaching. They should be able to teach you about specific dialects within the language.

Find a Spanish course available on CD. A course on CD is really great for anyone who feels shy about taking on a new language. You'll hear a fluent speaker use the words and sentences together. The learning material is as good as any classroom. But with a CD you won't have to worry about making mistakes in front of the classroom. Another good reason to invest in a good CD course for learning Spanish is that you can take the courses with you! You'll be able to listen to them on a CD player, or you can also download them to an MP3 player and take them anywhere. You're not tied to one location to learn. If you really want to learn another language, you have to get to the point where you can actually think in it. It may not be easy when you first try, but take any thoughts you can and turn them into Spanish. Don't expect to do this perfectly right away. In your everyday life, consider how various phrases that occur to you would sound in Spanish. This is something you have to practice regularly to get comfortable with it. You will get faster at the translation. At some point, you will become so accustomed to this that you won't even have to make an effort; you'll just find yourself thinking in Spanish. If you know how to think in Spanish you can work on saying those thoughts out loud--the key to truly interacting in Spanish.

Try putting tags on things in your environement. Do this in as many spaces as you can, whether at home, work or even in your vehicle. This way you will get used to associating the correct words with the correct items. If you start to form a good vocabulary in the new language, you'll reduce the risk of making socially awkward errors. When you don't know what you're saying, you can end up confusing similar sounding words that mean very different things. The reason this method of tagging works is that your mind immediately begins to think using the new language rather than your native one whenever you look at the labeled items.

Take a course. Some people are uncomfortable to learn Spanish with other people. In a class setting, people normally have to speak the language in front of others. Lots of people find this intimidating.

Even if stumbling through the new language out loud makes you uncomfortable, it's still a good idea. There's no better way to learn it because everyone is making mistakes, as well! All of you can join in and make mistakes! It's certainly better than committing your mistakes in front of a stranger who may be less prone to forgiveness.

Be sure to work on your listening skills for any language. A lot of languages tend to be more 'oral' than written. If the language is 'alive,' then it will be important to learn how to listen to it. Knowing how to correctly write a sentence or the alphabet will produce limited results. Of course you'll still have to understand what is being spoken to you. The best approach is to listen to the language as much as you can. If, after hearing just a few spoken words of Spanish you know what language it is, you're on the sure path to learning success.

Surround your self in your new language.

And remember that practice makes perfect. Even if you feel silly you should practice speaking your language as often as possible. Even if you aren't great at putting together whole sentences, using the words you know in place of your native language regularly will help commit those words to memory. For Spanish, replace "one" with "uno" and "dinner" with "cena." If you practice this, the new language words will feel quite natural for you. This way you'll be able to understand the words when you hear others speak them. You'll find that to be very helpful when you converse with people in the language you're learning. If you need help in your study of Spanish, there are quite a few tools available that can be of use. There are many sources of assistance; look online or in your local community. Different styles work better for different people. Your best bet is to look around and try out as many methods as you can find. Be patient with yourself and use the tools that work best for you; sooner than you think, you'll find that you can speak, read and understand Spanish.

Learning a language does not have to be difficult. Keep in mind that Spanish is much easier to learn than many other languages. In today's information age, you can find a variety of options to choose from for achieving this goal. You don't have to try something that doesn't feel right to you; figure out which system seems best for you. It becomes much easier to learn when you find a teacher, course or system that really appeals to you. Just take a step by step approach to learning Spanish and one day you will find that you are speaking and understanding it fluently!

Learning Spanish is a great idea, but maybe the hardest part is finding good ways to learn it.

You may consider buying a language book from your favorite bookstore. Classes are great, as are meeting and getting to know people fluent in Spanish. There really are many options to learn Spanish or other languages. Just have fun!

There is no good reason to suffer frustration while learning Spanish - or any language. You can find so much help online. The key to it all is maintaining an open mind for learning. The more open you are to the process, the better you will absorb the knowledge. And this... the more you try to make Spanish sound like English, the harder it will be for you.

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