Need to learn Spanish FAST! How?

[lioness]

What is the best way to learn a new language quickly? It would be beneficial and profitable to me if I could speak Spanish at my new job that I start on Monday... as is, I'm going to have to hand off a lot of business to a colleague.

 

It's a pretty small office, and at least 2 of the 7 of us can speak fluently, so I figure I'll pick a lot up just being around them. I took high school Spanish (did anybody learn ANYTHING in high school Spanish?) so I at least have a grasp on verb conjugation, somewhat.

 

Any ideas? Do CD's work? Or do I just break down and take a class at the university?

[moimeme]

Watch a lot of Spanish TV if you can. Get Spanish newspapers and read them with a dictionary by you. You probably don't have to take a University course - often community centres have language classes. Try the phone book and see what classes may be available. Sometimes clubs offer lessons, too.

[Barby]

Being around Spanish speaking people could really be helpful in learning. That's basically how I learned. I dated only Hispanic men and through listening and them teaching me...I learned now I can speak, write, and understand Spanish very fluently.

 

Spanish is a really easy language to learn and getting a translation dictionary and keeping it handy is a really good idea.

[evergreatful]

Usted necesita aprender español mas rapido!!!

 

 

I agree with everyone else. It will definately help being surrounded by people who speak the language. I work for a French company as an intern and the only French I had was back in high school. I've some spanish now in college so I really forgot French, but being around employees who speak french has really helped me. So I wouldn't worry at all.

[tokyo]

"Breaking Out of Beginner´s Spanish"

by Joseph J. Keenan

University of Texas Press

 

That´s my personal favorite, it´s very good and fun. There are sections about false cognates, invectives and obscenities, grammar, the subjunctive (he explains it really well), the most important verbes, etc. I teaches you the phrases and words to really sound fluent and speak like a native. As you already have knowledge of Spanish I think this one will serve you pretty well.

 

"Spanish vocabulary handbook"

Berlitz

 

It´s ok for improving your vocabular, contains long lists with new words and is a bit boring.

[tiki]

add an 'el' at the beginning of everything and an 'o' at the end. For instance:

 

ding-a-ling = el ding-a-lingo.

 

 

Haha, sorry, hadta. I did take 3 years of spanish in high school. Can't you tell it really helped?

 

 

P.S. Sometimes you can just look at the word and be able to break it down to see what it means. *I* think it's pretty darn similar to English.

[quankanne]

know anyone who teaches ESL (english as a second language) classes? They usually have a good stockpile of bilingual material to use with their students if those students' primary language is Spanish.

 

There are a lot of good materials out there, but the best way to get pronunciations down is to either watch TV or listen to music done in Spanish. You'd be amazed at how much of it seems familiar, because as someone has pointed out, there are a lot of words that are the same in English, just pronounced a bit differently.

 

now, if someone tells you "'pendejo' means 'my good friend,'" ignore them – they're just trying to get your butt kicked for you!

[shamen]

Hablo espanol tambien! Es un idioma bellisimo y me gustaria aprender aleman. Cachais? (OK, I don't know how to put accents in LS...)

 

If you want to learn the basics, going through your local community Latino center is always a good idea for a language exchange with a native speaker. If you don't have a Latino center in town, go to the closest University with an ESOL program and you can probably find a language partner there.

 

Community college classes are helpful too.

 

Get your hands on as much music, newspapers, TV stations that you can. Read, watch and read and watch some more.

 

Language skills are like any other skill: if you don't use it, you lose it. Does anyone out there remember their chemistry or their calculus? What the heck is sine, cosine? Or is it sin and cosin? I have no idea. But I did take calc, and chemistry 2.

[Greenl]

Soap Operas in Spanish...are funny and entertaining. You'll really learn from them if you can

grab the basics

[re3rocks]

do what i do, watch spanish soap operas with english subtitles. fasted way is to take a class.

[Paul]

Hola a todos,

 

Si siguen enviando listas de palabras vulgares, se encontrarán desautorizados.

 

Saludos cordiales,

Paul