Language learning thread

[QuintessentialBM]

What's good, Coli members?

As the title of the thread indicates, this thread is for those that are serious about learning the Spanish language but a lot of the things that will be discussed in this thread can be applied to learning other languages. If you have any questions or need help(NOTE: I won't be doing anyone's homework but I will give advice) PM me or post your question in this thread and I will help you.


As for my knowledge, I'm an strong intermediate(borderline advanced)Spanish speaker. I place importance on grammar because they are the guidelines to understanding why something is written or said.... and without those, it is pretty hard for a person to communicate or construct their thoughts in another language. I have been interested in foreign language all of my life but I have just(admittedly)learned the intricacies and the patience needed to learn another language. Like every other American kid, I knew basic Spanish words and phrases but I decided to become serious about learning when I began middle school. With the knowledge I obtained in elementary, my first year Spanish class was easy but I started losing focus in 8th grade(for school in general)so I barely passed my Intermediate Spanish class. I learned the fundamentals that would eventually lead me to want to seriously pursue learning it later. In 2008, I started back and I've been putting in work ever since.

Ok.... Now links..

FSI Language Courses - Spanish

Resource: Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish

SpanishDict | English to Spanish Translation, Dictionary and Translator | Diccionario y traductor inglés español

Spanish language learning forums

Learn Spanish


Look up Professor Jason on YouTube.... He is the truth.. and he speaks Portuguese too.

Books.... There are many on the market but I would suggest anything made by Barron's. Spanish Now Vol 1 is a large workbook with exercises and in depth walkthrough of the Spanish language from basic pronunciation leading into advanced Spanish. You will eventually own(this is a necessity)Baron's 501 Spanish Verbs, which is basically the Spanish verb bible commentary for English speakers. It explains all verb tenses and their uses along with commonly used verbs. The other series of books that I would suggest is the Practice Makes Perfect series but I would only suggest those books if you have already study Spanish in school and are at least at intermediate level. The downside of these books is that they are broken down into their respective parts of grammar, so while the give central focus to a particular part of Spanish grammar, you will end up paying more to own all of them.

With these resources, Skype, watching TV or listening to music.... 3 years

 

[Fatboi1]

I use Pimsleur approach for Spanish and it's been pretty good. He aprendido mucho de eso.

 

[QuintessentialBM]

I use Pimsleur approach for Spanish and it's been pretty good. He aprendido mucho de eso.

Que lo que pasa.... ¿Te lo has estudiado en escuela?

 

[Fatboi1]

Que lo que pasa.... ¿Te lo has estudiado en escuela?

Without searching I'm assuming "que lo que pasa" is whats happening with you??" No he estudiado en escuela. He aprendido solo con Pimsleur approach. Desde ano pasado yo habia estudiando espanol con esa programa. Unas palabras no entiendo cuando usar esto.

 

[QuintessentialBM]

Without searching I'm assuming "que lo que pasa" is whats happening with you??" No he estudiado en escuela. He aprendido solo con Pimsleur approach. Desde ano pasado yo habia estudiando espanol con esa programa. Unas palabars no entiendo cuando usar esto.

Que lo que pasa = That's what's up


Here's a grammar rule for you to take with you.... Some words that end in -ma are masculine.... por ejemplo... el idioma=language, el programa=program

I can tell that you are learning from software. I have a personal bias against using software because it does such a bad job of teaching from the ground up, which is needed when learning a language. You'll eventually feel like you aren't learning anything or you will become frustrated because what you are learning isn't translating.

 

[Fatboi1]

Que lo que pasa = That's what's up


Here's a grammar rule for you to take with you.... Some words that end in -ma are masculine.... por ejemplo... el idioma=language, el programa=program

I can tell that you are learning from software. I have a personal bias against using software because it does such a bad job of teaching from the ground up, which is needed when learning a language. You'll eventually feel like you aren't learning anything or you will become frustrated because what you are learning isn't translating.

I usually tell if a word is mas or fem by a or o but I didn't know "ma" was a indication.

 

[88m3]

Spanish is important!


I try to study it and keep fresh whenever I can.

 

[QuintessentialBM]

I usually tell if a word is mas or fem by a or o but I didn't know "ma" was a indication.

In every language, there are exceptions.....

words that end in -a, -dad, -tud, -sión, -ción or -umbre are generally feminine

words that end in -o, or a consonant are generally masculine

words that end in -e have can be masculine or feminine(so they have to be memorized)

la pluma= ink pen, la mano=hand, el alá=wing, el hacha=axe


This is why software is limiting......

 

[QuintessentialBM]

Spanish is important!


I try to study it and keep fresh whenever I can.

Drop some gems whenever you can(info, links, ect)

 

[QuintessentialBM]

Here is the Spanish Alphabet.... The Spanish Alphabet(El Abecedario/Alfabeto)

The RAE(Real Academia de España)has changed the alphabet to remove what they feel is unnecessary letters but I feel that these letters were important because they have unique sounds. This is why I posted a old version of the alphabet. The removed letters are ch, ll and rr. At the bottom there are links to individual letters that make special sounds when in conjunction with other letters.

What I used to practice my pronunciation was to compile a list of Spanish surnames then just start saying them one by one... Over time and as your vocabulary becomes larger, you'll improve your Spanish/Latino accent and lose the "el acento gringuito."

 

[Fatboi1]

In every language, there are exceptions.....

words that end in -a, -dad, -tud, -sión, -ción or -umbre are generally feminine

words that end in -o, or a consonant are generally masculine

words that end in -e have can be masculine or plural(so they have to be memorized)

la pluma= ink pen, la mano=hand, el alá=wing, el hacha=axe


This is why software is limiting......

To be fair they have touched up on exceptions. Por ejemplo, ellos dijeron que cuando tu dices "lastima, ohala, o quizas" tu tienes que cambiar el palabra despues como... "Lastima, yo pueda venir a tu fiesta".

 

[QuintessentialBM]

To be fair they have touched up on exceptions. Por ejemplo, ellos dijeron que cuando tu dices "lastima, ojalá, o quizas" tu tienes que cambiar el palabra despues como... "(Es) Lástima que yo no pueda venir a tu fiesta".

Yeah, those are called impersonal expressions. That is getting into advanced Spanish when you start talking about the subjunctive moods. In some instances the subjunctive is used and in some instances it isn't. I haven't completely grasped the concept of when to use the subjunctive but it's coming along for me.

 

[88m3]

Drop some gems whenever you can(info, links, ect)

Maybe tomorrow if I think of anything

I downloaded some torrents/pdf's to read while I'm on the subway.

Films/comics stuff like that are great to keep fresh.

 

[Emperor Sol]

I remember SOHH had a great thread on a resource to learn many different languages but can't find it anymore due to SOHH being

Anyone got any hookups?

 

[dennis roadman]

let's start it here. i'm a language teacher and student. what do you wanna learn, where do you live, how many native speakers of that language do you know?