Learn me: Learning Spanish

I am doing more and more work in Mexico these days and really want to up my Spanish game.  Fluent would be ideal, but even some light conversation would be great.

I have a few years of French under my belt and I can read Spanish pretty well but can't speak it for much.  I work with a few bilingual Mexican dudes so I do have good resources when I travel and guys that can help me out but it would be a good skill to have.

I spend a lot of time in my car, so an audio program would be ideal.  I am also not opposed to the idea of formal classwork if it gets me where I need to be.  

Any suggestions?   Audio books?  Learning programs?  

I'm using Duolingo, but a friend who taught Spanish for decades recommended pimsleur. They're both learning apps. 

Seriously consider immersion learning. 
 

I learned Spanish in an immersion school in Guatemala. They are pretty common, and very inexpensive. 
 

Basically, you go to classes during the day-one on one. I sat down at a desk with 1 teacher sitting across from me who looked at me and started speaking Spanish. ONLY Spanish.  I didn't know a word. After classes, I stayed in the home of a local family- again ONLY Spanish. 
 

Two weeks later I was conversational. 
 

The schools include day trips for local cultural experiences- Mayan temples, rain forest, marimba performances, merengue  lessons, local shopping. Totally cool experience. And MUCH cheaper than a normal vacation. 
 

Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela) has lots of schools like this. 

I'll add...

Guatemala is easier than some other places (like the Dominican Republic). Guatemalans speak Spanish as a 2nd language. It's a state language, not a first language. Their first language is usually a Mayan tongue (like Quiche, or Mam). They are very tolerant of people who are learning a 2nd language, because they all know what it's like. 
 

Plus, their Spanish is kinda lyrical. Sing-songy.  It was easier for me to learn than Dominican Spanish. 

The cost for immersion training in Xela stars at under $300 per week, which includes room and board and activities. 

I was a welder for a while and worked with a bunch of Puerto Rican, Mexican,  and Cuban dudes who spoke no English.   I gave Duolingo a shot and it did give me a bunch of basics that helped but how I really learned a lot was just being around it constantly.   I would try Duolingo and watch Spanish speaking TV or YouTube videos. I would also buy a Spanish book or two once you get the very minimum basics down.  I can read it way better than I can speak or understand it because I can read forward and put words together out of a whole paragraph and then understand it without knowing every word.  You should be okay talking to Mexican people pretty quickly. It didn't take long for me to understand the Mexican and Puerto Rican guys but I never quite was able to understand Cuban dudes.  They generally talk super fast and their dialect makes them sound like they are talking with a mouth full of food so it's tough to understand. 

How do babies learn?

"I want" and "I need" along with "yes/no"

Think about it, using English, what could you not get done during the day if I restricted you to those phrases?

Figure out how to say the above in Spanish and just add the required noun.

There are on-line tutors who will speak with you in order to build vocabulary and confidence. A Spanish speaking mistress could also work if so inclined.

The immersion courses  in South America are also very good. 

Learn how to cuss. That was my start in Spanish when I was like 4 years old. Seems to have worked.

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

UW Madison has a really good and affordable continuing studies program. Looks like they have Spanish courses. You might get your employer to pay for it, especially if it's relevant to work. Never hurts to ask HR - I'm a scholarship program manager and you wouldn't believe how many people don't take advantage of education perks offered by their employer because they don't know about them.

I've used Duolingo since Duolingo has existed and it's good for reinforcing the language infrastructure in your brain. They've also got a podcast and you can adjust the speed to your comprehension level.

If you want to converse, you should also do *a lot* of listening, even if you can't understand everything. Telemundo is your friend. Something else I've done is pick an English-language TV show I know inside out because I've binged it a thousand times (e.g., Game of Thrones) and put on both the Spanish dubbing and the Spanish subtitles.

(Also can work with books to increase your vocabulary and reading comprehension - I've done it with Harry Potter in three languages.)

Good luck!

No question, immersion is going to be far more effective.

In reply to SV reX :

That actually sounds like an amazing experience. 
 

I learned some basics when taking spanish in high school, but i learned the bulk of what i know from working with a bunch of Panamanian and Puerto Rican guys.  I would ask how to say some new word or phrase every couple days, they made sure i said it right and it was pretty well hammered into my brain.  Tito was probably the best, he didnt know english when he arrived so with my very basic knowledge we helped each other out. 

RBCA said:

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

If you want to converse, you should also do *a lot* of listening, even if you can't understand everything. Telemundo is your friend. Something else I've done is pick an English-language TV show I know inside out because I've binged it a thousand times (e.g., Game of Thrones) and put on both the Spanish dubbing and the Spanish subtitles.

 

Good luck!

I also used simple kids shows to learn Portuguese. Hard to believe Xuxa was hosting a child's show, but the cartoons were  ones I already knew so it was easy enough to follow along.

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to SV reX :

That actually sounds like an amazing experience. 
 

I learned some basics when taking spanish in high school, but i learned the bulk of what i know from working with a bunch of Panamanian and Puerto Rican guys.  I would ask how to say some new word or phrase every couple days, they made sure i said it right and it was pretty well hammered into my brain.  Tito was probably the best, he didnt know english when he arrived so with my very basic knowledge we helped each other out. 

It was one of the best experiences of my life. Far better than any vacation!

I have been watching Spanish TV a bit, and watching TV in spanish with english subtitles.  Unfortunately I dont really have "one show" I watch and know by heart.  Maybe old episodes of The Simpsons.

I asked my coworkers from Mexico how they learned English and they both said "TV and Video Games" so there ya go.  Their english isnt perfect but if I could get my Spanish to their level I would be very happy.  

93gsxturbo said:

I have been watching Spanish TV a bit, and watching TV in spanish with english subtitles.  Unfortunately I dont really have "one show" I watch and know by heart.  Maybe old episodes of The Simpsons.

I asked my coworkers from Mexico how they learned English and they both said "TV and Video Games" so there ya go.  Their english isnt perfect but if I could get my Spanish to their level I would be very happy.  

The Simpsons would probably be perfect. You could rewatch certain episodes in Spanish to reinforce and learn certain words, phrases, sentences, etc.

RBCA said:

If you want to converse, you should also do *a lot* of listening, even if you can't understand everything. Telemundo is your friend. Something else I've done is pick an English-language TV show I know inside out because I've binged it a thousand times (e.g., Game of Thrones) and put on both the Spanish dubbing and the Spanish subtitles.

 

Even better, Pluto.TV has Spanish dubbed episodes of Top Gear running 24-7.

93gsxturbo said:

I have been watching Spanish TV a bit, and watching TV in spanish with english subtitles.  Unfortunately I dont really have "one show" I watch and know by heart.  Maybe old episodes of The Simpsons.

I asked my coworkers from Mexico how they learned English and they both said "TV and Video Games" so there ya go.  Their english isnt perfect but if I could get my Spanish to their level I would be very happy.  

In the Caribbean a major satellite TV provider is DirecTV, which has a lot of Spanish content with subtitles, including all the ads. And if something is in English it has Spanish subtitles. Keeps your Spanish sharp.

Also, fun fact, all those ads are for the South American market and are 90% related to futbol in some way, except during futbol season where they are 100% futbol. Ads for toothpaste where toothbrushes play futbol. Pickups transform into mechs that play futbol. I am not making this up.

If you are 50 or older, you face a huge challenge.  I don't know of anyone that old that has done it. 

lownslow said:

If you are 50 or older, you face a huge challenge.  I don't know of anyone that old that has done it. 

I didn't have to get to 50 to have that problem.  I never had much talent for languages other than English.  Would love to learn Spanish and German but never really got beyond a few words.

 I remember working construction in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Hispanics comprised the bulk of the workforce when Northern California was still mainly white. Now Northern California construction looks like Los Angeles did then, and I really wish that it'd have taken the time to learn Spanish.  I really suck at languages in general, but perhaps a month in Guatamala is exactly what I need.

Well I am 42 right now, I do practice the Spanish that I know, but its not that great.  Gonna give it a throw here I think for a few months and see where it ends up.  

I took a year in Spanish during High School and wish I did not sleep thru it :) 

I think watching TV with subtitles is a great idea , EXCEPT how good is that translation ? 

Is there a stream of Spoken Spanish that is "slow"  , most is way to "Rapid fire" and my brain does not work that fast !

 Slow  would be great for background noise and to get the rhythm of the language , 

I guess I will try a little more .......

Just came across this... if immersion is an option, then yeah, that's the way to go.  I moved to Peru only knowing the basics (in my mid/late 30s), and a month here achieved much more than a couple of years of intermittent classes.  I'm really not good at languages, and Spanish verb conjugation is something else, I had to sit down and write them out, and even after 10 years still make a fair few mistakes.

Subtitles are better than nothing, but quite often subtitles are wrong, Spanish into English and vice versa, we nearly always have subtitles on at home (helping the kids, especially as our oldest is deaf), and now I'm good enough to understand the original, I'm amazed at just how wrong some are (not just details/technicalities, but fundamentals).

There are substantial regional variations both in grammar and accents - practise watching some Mexican shows to tune your ear in - I can understand Peruvian perfectly well now (well mostly), but in Argentina I struggled.  Try and go for a beer with the bilingual dudes, get them to speak Spanish and correct yours - a bit of alcohol can help there too!

Good word on regional variations. I learned Guatemalan first, and had a hard time with Dominican. 20 years later I'm still not so good with Mexican. 
 

Note also that there is a cultural difference between native English speakers and native Spanish speakers.  English is a technical language- it's very precise. Spanish is a relational language- no precision at all. If you ask Spanish speakers to correct you when you make a mistake they will almost always say "No importa".  It truly isn't important to them if you say it right- what matters to them is that you tried. 
 

My 2 year old daughter had a major medical incident when we were in Guatemala. The Dr spoke no English, and I spoke no Spanish. It was terrifying. Then I learned that all medical journals are written in either English or German, not Spanish (because they are more precise).  The Dr could not speak English, but he could read it. He loaned me his medical journals to read to understand better what was going on. 

Last pitch for immersion...

How do all humans  learn to speak a language when they are children?  Immersion. Not books, or classrooms, or apps, or TV. And they don't learn by speaking complete sentences, or conjugating verbs. They begin with simple words, then progress.

Thats the same way immersion works. 

I would go in a heartbeat if work would pay for it.