Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Learning Spanish

So, yeah, with my impending trip to Madrid this summer, I'm trying to learn Spanish. I've been using the DuoLingo free app which I love, but I'm having a hard time staying focused and keeping up with it. I've never had a Spanish class formally, so this is brand new learning for me. Thankfully, there is some crossover/similarity between French and Spanish. I think this has helped me thus far. At this point, I'm at 17% fluency according to DuoLingo, but I'd really like to strengthen my skills significantly before I travel in June.

Other than spending more time practicing, do any of you have specific suggestions for me to increase my retention and speed my learning? Do any of you have any suggestions about apps or sites to use? Is there a particular area you'd focus on in studying Spanish if you were me?

Thanks in advance all! Mucho gusto!

7 comments:

  1. Have you listened to the Coffeebreak Spanish podcast, Tiffany? It's something my friend recommended and it's easy to do in the car - if you don't mind people thinking that you're talking to yourself! ;)

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  2. This makes my Spanish teacher heart so happy!!!! One thing I'd recommend is focus on phrases vs single vocab words. Having the desire to learn makes all the difference! If you need to practice conversation let me know- I'd love to help! ¡Buena suerte amiga!

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  3. Google hang out in Spanish with som crafty chicas, lol! Anyway we can help.....just let us know. Jenny :)

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  4. Love the Duolingo, started french 106 days ago and are at 49% I do about 40/60 xp everyday and I just think it's so much fun, but hard... :)

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  5. Love the Duolingo, started french 106 days ago and are at 49% I do about 40/60 xp everyday and I just think it's so much fun, but hard... :)

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  6. i don't know if this would work, but maybe try watching some spanish speaking tv with the closed captions on. i did this when i was in mexico visiting, & it helped me. also practice speaking spanish with people that speak even if you tell them you only know a little. when you try words they're usually willing to help you, or ask them how to say certain words. also my biggest tip is study your vowel sounds, for example the letter A=ah, E=eh, I=ee, O=oh, U=oo, take those sounds in the letters i just mentioned, and now say quesadilla. oh, & remember the d=th, ll=y. lastly practice rolling your R's. i'm sure the fella will enjoy you speaking spanish phrases with him.

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  7. oh, and you can get those spanish/english children's picture books at the library, & practice reading them outloud.

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