subject: Do You Need Help Learning Spanish? [print this page] If you don't speak a second language, thinking about learning Spanish may seem a little intimidating. Perhaps you heard it's best to learn Spanish because it's an easy language. The secret is that almost all languages are fairly easy to learn, you only need to decide what tricks to use for learning. There are many tips and suggestions to make your learning a lot easier. Here are a few tricks that you can try:
Keeping some patience in mind will help. You won't be fluent in Spanish before the end of the week. You could have all your vocabulary and verb conjugations memorized. But you'll still probably have trouble making sentences. If you put too much pressure on yourself to be fluent too quickly you won't get anywhere. Just relax and learn in a slow but sure manner. You'll feel more comfortable with the language. Another good reason to go slowly is that people are far more patient when they know the person speaking to them is still learning the language. If you try to pass yourself off as completely fluent too soon you could offend someone! An important skill to acquire is to practice thinking in the new language. You may find this hard at first, but you can gradually learn how to transform your thoughts into a new language. You will need to start slow with this. Everyone has a certain amount of "mental chatter" in their heads; when you notice this, think how the words would translate into Spanish. The more often you do this, the better you will be at it. The more you do it, the more quickly your mind will be able to convert words into the new language. 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.
You need a certain amount of discipline. Most courses use a very specific approach to teaching languages. That is because it is easier to learn a language in easy steps that make sense. If you start with the fundamentals, like how to pronounce each letter and how to count, you'll have a foundation. If you want to speed up your progress, don't try to learn the language's grammar right away; start, rather, with vocabulary. Whatever method you choose, remain with the program and don't skip from one section to another. You will find that Spanish becomes much easier if you remain in tune with the course you are using. If you jump from one lesson to another you might really hinder your learning process!By trying to change the order, you can become confused. It doesn't make sense to try to change a proven method.
It's great to learn a new language, but many times its not easy to find out the best way.
Perhaps you're thinking about getting a book from some bookstore. You can check out classes, or even start meeting people who are fluent in the language. You'll find many available options for learning Spanish, or any other language. Have fun with it!
