subject: Seeking Help Learning Spanish [print this page] Picking up a new language is not as difficult as you might think. The truth is, you can have a great time learning a new language! When you give it some thought, knowing another language can mean many great possibilities. Consider how much more comfortable you'll feel if you do any traveling. Not only that, but you may find you can talk to more people right where you live. Having another language also expands your employment opportunities. Spanish is definitely emerging as America's second language.
Depending on where in the U.S. you are, Spanish may be spoken as much as English, if not more. That's why people who are bilingual and can translate Spanish are highly in demand right now.
Enroll in a course. A lot of people are nervous to take a language course with others. In a class setting, people normally have to speak the language in front of others. This intimidates many people.But it's a great thing to do, no matter how many blunders you make in front of everyone. What better way to learn how to properly speak Spanish than in a class where everybody else is still learning as well? Everyone can participate in making silly mistakes! And you must admit it's much better than learning in the real world where your mistakes could be an insulting comment!
A good technique is to actually have the Spanish names for everything in front of you; you can use tags or stickers with the words written on them. Do this in as many spaces as you can, whether at home, work or even in your vehicle. You will be constantly viewing the words then, without even having to consciously think about it. Nothing is more embarrassing than using one word when you meant to use another! You don't want to be remembered for making a gaffe or even making someone angry by using the wrong word by mistake. When you start seeing all these labeled items around you, the new vocabulary will start to feel more and more natural to you.
Simple flashcards are a way you can easily test your knowledge. Flashcards are an old school way of learning. Teachers in so many different areas still use them because they have proven helpful over the years. Use them to learn about using verbs in different tenses, correctly applying grammatical rules and so forth. Flashcards are a tool that you can take around with you and use whenever you find an extra moment. You can also have someone quiz you.
All you have to do is use one side for Spanish and the other for your first language; it's that easy! There's really no reason to go through a lot of frustration when learning Spanish. You can find a lot of helpful tips to help you with it. One great key to learning any language - an open mind. You can absorb the information much more with an open mind. If you try to force a foreign language to sound like your native language, you'll only make it more difficult.
