Any Learned Spanish Speakers Here?

[QuintessentialBM]

Las razones que decidí a aprender el español.....

• Las Damas... Parezco que me puedo quedar verdad. Les atraigo a las latinas, sobre todo afrolatinas. Si no me caso con una afromericana entonces será afrolatina. No me importa de cuál país que sea ella.

• El futbol... para comprender lo que dicen los comentaristas.

 

[Spiider]

I'm at an intermediate level. So far the only benefit I've gotten from it is that I can eavesdrop on conversations when people talk in Spanish

 

[Carolina Slim]

yeah...it's honestly not that hard, but don't rush it and immerse yourself in it...go to sleep with Univision playin in the background...listen to the music...look up the lyrics and translate them...try to sing along to the songs...if you gonna do Pimsleur, do that, but don't dismiss other shyt either...grab a Spanish for Dummies book and go through that even if you done already learned the shyt on Pimsleur...d/l the Duolingo app on your phone and hit a lesson or few a day everyday (it only takes about 5 mins per lesson...do it on your lunch break)...download the Google translate app and translate random sentences...grab them free newspapers en spanish and read them...

i was honestly lucky cause i live in a latin area and had people to talk to...still ain't 100% but i'm impressed with my skill and spanish speaking people are even more impressed...

edit: actually, the best thing i've done to help me learn the language is text with people in spanish using the Translate app...it'll help you put words to real live conversations that you actually have, not the touristy shyt the language learning programs will teach you...you catch on from there...

I did the same thing; I was exposed early on. I had a homie that lived in my building, Puerto Rican cat that I grew up with. His family was mad cool, they would take me places with them, and I was always invited to stay for dinner. His mother didn't speak English very well at the time, so she eventually got tired of trying to make herself understood to me. So one day I go to their house, and he tells me, "my mom said you gotta learn Spanish" She forbade everyone from speaking to me in English, and the radio and television was always on the Spanish stations. I'll never forget that night, we was watching Sabado Gigante, and Don Francisco brought out (as usual) some bikini clad models. So I asked my friend "so your mom says I have to watch this to learn?" "yeah" "OK I think I can handle this " I thank her to this day for doing that.

I wouldn't say I'm fluent, I'm probably more conversant. I can understand more if I'm writing in a text conversation. My understanding of a conversation usually depends on how slowly the person is speaking to me. I got enough to where my Puerto Rican wife thought I was Dominican when she met me lol

 

[Mike Nasty]

I started as a hobby. Went at my own pace, I guess I would call myself intermediate, I started by watching TV, Univision, Telemedellin, TeleAntioquia..... There are a lot more streams now on YouTube than when I started and there's also alot of Novelas on Netflix. There's so many free resources now. Another good place to start is Duolingo. But like others have said you can only get so far without speaking to people.

 

[TallMan_J]

.

 

[Nature's Fury]

I did the same thing; I was exposed early on. I had a homie that lived in my building, Puerto Rican cat that I grew up with. His family was mad cool, they would take me places with them, and I was always invited to stay for dinner. His mother didn't speak English very well at the time, so she eventually got tired of trying to make herself understood to me. So one day I go to their house, and he tells me, "my mom said you gotta learn Spanish" She forbade everyone from speaking to me in English, and the radio and television was always on the Spanish stations. I'll never forget that night, we was watching Sabado Gigante, and Don Francisco brought out (as usual) some bikini clad models. So I asked my friend "so your mom says I have to watch this to learn?" "yeah" "OK I think I can handle this " I thank her to this day for doing that.

I wouldn't say I'm fluent, I'm probably more conversant. I can understand more if I'm writing in a text conversation. My understanding of a conversation usually depends on how slowly the person is speaking to me. I got enough to where my Puerto Rican wife thought I was Dominican when she met me lol

this...most people assume i'm Puerto Rican...i even had somebody tell me i spoke well for a Puerto Rican

 

[Cave Savage]

Spanish is like the second most widely spoken language....

I just like knowing wtf people are talking about so I learned....


You ain't gonna learn Spanish unless you surround yourself with Spanish speakers or move to a Spanish speaking country....

I'ma try to hit up Panama in the summer...so I can get better...

Not true necessarily. Learning the grammatical rules is very important and can give you a good base.

And the average Hispanic in the US is not going to have patience or even ability to teach you what you need to know. You need to learn most of the grammatical rules, and then once you have that base knowledge then you can learn a lot through immersion and the internet as well.

 

[Cave Savage]

I learned Spanish after I gained an interest in high school. I actually paid attention and took the class seriously. I learned most of the grammar rules I need to know, and many vocabularly words. That gave me a good base, from there I expanded my vocabulary through my own research and through asking Spanish speakers. I'm not quite fluent, but I can read and write in Spanish pretty well and I know how to say most things that I would need to say. The hardest part for me is understanding spoken Spanish, however if they slow it down for me I can hold a conversation.

You will not learn Spanish just by hanging out with Hispanic-Americans, I'll tell you that much. Even immigrants who speak more English than you do Spanish will only be able to help you so much if you have no base knowledge of the language. Going to a Spanish speaking country would help of course, but even then you have to put in effort.

The good thing is that Spanish is likely the easiest language in the world to learn.

 

[AlainLocke]

Not true necessarily. Learning the grammatical rules is very important and can give you a good base.

And the average Hispanic in the US is not going to have patience or even ability to teach you what you need to know. You need to learn most of the grammatical rules, and then once you have that base knowledge then you can learn a lot through immersion and the internet as well.

My point isn't about being taught, I am talking about being required to speak the language you are trying to learn...

Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn, it's just that the average English speaker isn't forced to use it...and schools teach it in a weird academic way that is more about knowing about the language than using it...

Going to a foreign country or surrounding yourself with Spanish speakers, by like...idk going to Miami or LA, New Mexico or just avoiding English by shopping at Latino stores, reading Latino newspaper watching Latino TV, listening to nothing but Spanish music, eating at Latino restaurant.

Live like a Native Spanish Speaker is my point if you wanna be fluent and be able to do things like order food at a restaurant or hold conversations or pass a Spanish language exam.

 

[Cave Savage]

My point isn't about being taught, I am talking about being required to speak the language you are trying to learn...

Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn, it's just that the average English speaker isn't forced to use it...and schools teach it in a weird academic way that is more about knowing about the language than using it...

Moving to another country is not feasible for most of us. Living in a heavily Latino neighborhood can help, but despite right wing stereotypes, most Latino immigrants can speak English. In New York at least, maybe not in other parts of the country.

Going to a foreign country or surrounding yourself with Spanish speakers, by like...idk going to Miami or LA, New Mexico or just avoiding English by shopping at Latino stores, reading Latino newspaper watching Latino TV, listening to nothing but Spanish music, eating at Latino restaurant.

Live like a Native Spanish Speaker is my point.

I definitely think those things would help someone who already knows the basics of Spanish. Once you have an idea of the structure of Spanish, then learning new vocabulary words helps out a lot, but without any idea of how the language works, it would probably all be gibberish.

Like if I watched Japanese movies for a year with no subtitles, it wouldn't be of much help to me because I don't know anything about Japanese. But if learned basic vocabulary and grammar, then it could be of use.

 

[Carolina Slim]

this...most people assume i'm Puerto Rican...i even had somebody tell me i spoke well for a Puerto Rican

I've been told that I sound either Dominican or Panamanian when I speak Spanish... I used to eat well when I would venture up to Washington Heights.

 

[intruder]

You ain't gonna learn Spanish unless you surround yourself with Spanish speakers

This is key for any language.

The reason i was able to learn english so quickly is because when i first moved is because i was in a school where there werent a lot of Haitians or french speakers at the time. So i was in a position where i had to learn. When i was working in Costa Rica my spanish improved vastly in that year and half. I've since regressed but i learned that the key to any language is to put yourself in a position to have to speak it

 

[ChuckTaylor84]

Si

 

[Poitier]

Is anyone interested in a thread where we write entirely in Spanish?
I can read pretty well, write ok, and have basically given up on speaking well until I do some immersion.
Been learning Spanish since 6th grade so my foundation will always be very intuitive.

 

[606onit]

Proficient speaker. What helped me was hearing/reading/speaking Spanish 90% of my day.

I even put in a good chunk of hours having what are called "Idioma Intercambios" and that was 1:1 with this married woman. Since Im back in the USA I fell off a bit but I still read a lot of Spanish.

I'd say google "radio garden" and pick a country and start listening to them.