Teaching myself Spanish ...

Just wandering whether anyone has taught themselves a language before? With the use of books and CD's ... If so, does anyone know any good Spanish ones?

This summer I don't have a job and have only really got the gym and swimming to do during the day, and I've always wanted to learn Spanish so this is why I ask.

Thanks in advance :smile:

Reply 1

tinypony

Yes, I taught myself french three years ago. Get an ab-initio cd and a workbook. I am going to learn chinese this summer, so I will be doing the same.

Reply 2

Samio

OP

chrisjorg

Yes, I taught myself french three years ago. Get an ab-initio cd and a workbook. I am going to learn chinese this summer, so I will be doing the same.

Nice one mate :smile:

How long did it take you to learn French?

Reply 3

sarbruis

8

I'd recommend getting the Pimsleur language series and a few books as well.

Reply 4

Vesta

18

Well good on you :smile:

Reply 5

tinypony

I learned as much as possible, and then I found out I could take a course at the local university which I did (for 6 months). I was 14-15 then so that was cool cause all the other people doing the course were university students, so it was really fun and it boosted my motivation.

My advice is to try to emerge yourself into the language of choice, and do so for a couple of weeks. It does although help greatly if you could get someone to either study with or who could help you.

Reply 6

Samio

OP

chrisjorg

I learned as much as possible, and then I found out I could take a course at the local university which I did (for 6 months). I was 14-15 then so that was cool cause all the other people doing the course were university students, so it was really fun and it boosted my motivation.

My advice is to try to emerge yourself into the language of choice, and do so for a couple of weeks. It does although help greatly if you could get someone to either study with or who could help you.

Cheers for the info, big help. I'll look into trying to do Spanish at University as well as the course I am taking then.

And Sarbruis, I'll look into that, thankyou :smile:

Reply 7

Angelica

10

The best way to learn a language is to expose yourself to it. Try watching programmes/films in Spanish (with or without subtitles - it's often useful to watch stuff with which you are already familar with so that you don't have to worry too much about understanding the plot) or even put Spanish subtitles on when watching a DVD in English or reading comics/simple books in Spanish. Even though in the early stages it will be hard to understand anything, I find that it has helped me to develop my understanding.

Even more importantly, get an oppurtunity to practise using the language. Books or CDs are ineffective on their own as you will find that you don't take much of it in as it's quite a passive way of learning. Books and CDs are good for giving you the basics/foundation or for touching up on a few things, but the only real way to learn a language is to use it. The absolute best way would be to be in a Spanish speaking country, and be forced to speak it. However, I imagine that is not practical. An immersion course is the next best person. Or do you have anyone you could practise speaking with? Even someone who's learning Spanish as well?

Reply 8

Hubert Poo

10

Though personal methods of learning obviously vary, Pimsleur are widely regarded as the most thorough - it focuses primarily on accent and retention, whilst the sheer amount of material is far greater than most others. The major drawback is they are very expensive.

Michel Thomas are also very good and quite a bit cheaper, though the advanced courses tend to be slightly repetitive.

Overall you'll need good grammar books that focus on adding to the knowledge you get from the audio courses; in reality you are mainly learning structure and you should be aware of this.

And, of course, actual interpersonal practice is indespensable. Good luck, and enjoy it. :smile:

Reply 9

Samio

OP

Aah, thankyou so much Angelica and Huthbert, you've been great helps! ... I don't know anyone Spanish speaking but I'm sure when I go to Uni in September that I'll meet someone who speaks Spanish a little, so I'll try everything out then.

Again, thankyou!

Reply 10

psychic_satori

1

I've found that listening to music with lyrics in the language really helped me retain what I was learning from books. You might want to try that. Also, watching any sort of sport in the language helps, if you already know about the sport, since you can use what you're seeing on screen to help you figure out what's being said. If you can turn on closed captioning, then it's even better, because you can see and hear the foreign language. I really improved my understanding of French just by watching ice hockey from a channel in Montreal. I'm not sure how much access you have to Spanish-language television in the UK, though. It's something that really helped me immerse myself without actually having to travel, though.

Reply 11

Samio

OP

Thanks for that :smile:

... I know I could get some Spanish channel on the internet and I could watch Spanish football too, so I'll give these things a try. Thankyou.

Reply 12

Vohamanah

16

I've been having a stab at learning French from books and so on, but I find its either too basic (a whole CD on greetings, c'mon...) or just doesn't go in.

So I'm starting French at night school in September. Take a look at some local colleges and see if they do summer courses or anything.

Reply 13

glitterati

Can you do language courses at your university like as a side thing?
I'm doing English Lit. & Lang. and I don't want to take a language as a joint honour or anything, but wondered if they offer it as a plus during your spare time or something.

edit: sorry op, this has nothing to do with your question.

Reply 14

psychic_satori

1

An interesting thing that I've found just recently. My father wants to learn Spanish because it will enable him to earn more money in his field. He asked me to try to find some Spanish language software for him to use in this endeavor. After reading what some others have said in this thread, I looked up the Pimsleur system. Obviously really expensive. However, I found out that the online e-book library NetLibrary has access to it from some subscribing libraries. UK libraries that have access to Athena (or Athens, I can't remember which name it had) may also have access to the Pimsleur online software via NetLibrary. Just a thought that may help those of you who are trying to learn languages that can help you from spending money unnecessarily.

Reply 15

kellywood_5

17

I taught myself GCSE Spanish last year before starting it ab initio at uni this year and I used the Breakthrough 1 course, which was provided bythe NEC because I did a distance learning course, but I'm sure you can just buy it yourself. There's a textbook with a chapter for each topic, and each chapter has key vocab, facts about the countries where the language is spoken, practice exercises and answers. There are also tapes with pronounciation guides and conversations. Keep an exercise book to record vocab, probably another to record grammar and try to learn them as you go along. All the tips other people have given like reading simple magazines/books and listening to the radio/music/watching TV/DVDs are good as well. I'm considering using the Breakthrough 1 course for Italian this summer, but I'm not sure I'll have time.

Teaching myself Spanish ...

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