Here are 3 keys to learning Spanish that I’ve learned through experience.

I still have a long way to go, but I have learned a few things along the way. I took some Spanish courses in college to get my teaching degree and just fell in love with the language. I took 3 semesters of Spanish. When I graduated and started teaching, I tried to use some Spanish with some of my Spanish-speaking students. I learned more in those informal conversations than in all three semesters put together! So here’s where I figured out the first key:

1 – Speak with native speakers informally, regardless of how much Spanish you know. Simple greetings is a place to start.

Last summer I went to Costa Rica. Most Costa Ricans (at least in the city) know English so they often would help me out. However, many of the taxi drivers only spoke Spanish. I was on my own down there so I had nobody to rely on. I HAD to speak some Spanish to tell them where I needed to go. I actually surprised myself that I could have a conversation with a driver. Sometimes we had to find something very basic to talk about, but still…I could at least communicate something. Here’s key #2:

2 – You know a lot more Spanish than you think you do when you HAVE to use it. If you HAVE to use it, you will improve your Spanish language skills.

I also got onto a forum called badoo where you can chat with people from all around the world. There I practiced chatting with Spanish speakers. It’s not as good as being face to face, but it still helps improve your vocabulary and sentence construction by seeing the words written. This is also where I met my husband! My goal was to be conversational in Spanish before I met him, but now that goal is even more important to reach since he is Hispanic and we want to converse in both languages.

3 – Improve your vocabulary by listening and communicating in various forms (written, spoken, listening).

All this being said, my time spent in classes wasn’t a waste, but it was only a part of what I needed. It isn’t a waste to learn vocabulary lists if you take those words and put them into action. There are some great Spanish programs to help you on your way to being conversational, but in the end you have to put yourself on the line and try it with real people, making mistakes sometimes, but coming out with a better understanding in the end. I’m part way there, but I need to continue pursuing this goal if I am going to get there.

Here is a course I’ve found that can give a boost to getting past the vocabulary to actually forming conversations:

http://gogreen33.rspanish.hop.clickbank.net/

I need to start having real conversations to practice speaking. Thats the only way to improve!

Try joining a conversational group, look online for a weekly meeting nearby.

A drink or two will loosen you up! Seriously! Make you feel more comfortable/confident even when you make errors.

I can speak and understand basic spanish, but I wont speak it because I am not totally comfortable and I am afraid of mispronounciation and bad conjugations. I Know a lot of words, but I don’t always put them together correctly. I also hate being constantly corrected on my conjugations by my hispanic friends. I guess the answer is for me to take a course in conversational Spanish, which my boyfriend suggested for both of us. I don’t know, we shall see.

God Bless

Migrate, immigrate, emigrate … learn Spanish.

raz w tygodniu w weekendy. znalazlam juz nauczyciela

I took Spanish in high school and in college, but I still don’t feel like I could hold a decent conversation. I’d really like to learn how to be fluent and be able to communicate effectively.

hello there. this year i have to learn spanish as a class. as a senior in middle school u r forced to take either everyday or everyotherday spanish and i am takin everyday. i am kinda excited but yet very nervous. i am afraid im gonna fail but i hope i dont. i will leave updates after i start learnin it!

I recently purchased a 5 CD-Rom set called Instant Immersion Spanish that is put out by Topics. The web address is www.topics-ent.com. I purchased mine at wal-mart for about $20. So far I have found it quite helpful as it has a disk that allows you to listen to the pronunciation of the words! Hope this helps anyone out with the same interest of learning spanish.