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Learning A New Language

gobrowns19gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
edited December 2009 in All Encompassing Trip
Anyone done this?

There is a large Spanish speaking culture in the general area where I live and I figure it will be useful to know in the future.

Have you used any good methods that don't cost an arm and a leg like Rosetta Stone? Any free material from the library or internet?
Happiness is only real when shared
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    edited December 2009
    I just bought something similar to this little thing as a christmas gift (don't pay that much if you get one - it was $65 CDN at Staples)
    http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-Merriam- ... B00006IFTL
    no idea how well they work, or how convenient they are...was a desperation gift ;) You can get speaking ones as well....

    while researching the above, I found this iphone app....this technology is soooooo cool.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ealQk1lX4yw
    Post edited by Drowned Out on
  • barbreyes2barbreyes2 Posts: 16
    Personally I feel if you are going to live in America you should learn English, if you are going to visit or live in another country then you should learn that language.

    Barb
  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    barbreyes2 wrote:
    Personally I feel if you are going to live in America you should learn English, if you are going to visit or live in another country then you should learn that language.
    :roll:
    maybe you should learn cree or cherokee or something?
    surprised you didn't call it 'american'.
  • curmudgeonesscurmudgeoness Brigadoon, foodie capital Posts: 3,991
    Check your library: They might just have Rosetta Stone available for you to borrow.
    All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.
  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    I began studying Italian and started picking it up pretty well....kind of got pre-occupied with other things (school, more job responsibilities, being 21). :(

    I really do want to continue my studies in Italian though...
    7/2/06 - Denver, CO
    6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
    8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
    9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
    9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
    9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    immersion is the best learning tool ... on the assumption you are fairly young or even not - take a few basic classes and then look for a volunteer or work exchange ... all the classes will do diddly squat unless you immerse yourself in the language ... good luck - great idea i say!
  • eMMIeMMI Posts: 6,262
    curmudgeoness wrote:
    Check your library: They might just have Rosetta Stone available for you to borrow.

    always good advice! :)

    I started up Spanish (again) this Fall and really the only advise I have - don't stop! :D keep up the studying. every day, every other day, whenever you have the time. try and keep the language "fresh" in your head. :)
    "Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    gobrowns19 wrote:
    Anyone done this?

    There is a large Spanish speaking culture in the general area where I live and I figure it will be useful to know in the future.

    Have you used any good methods that don't cost an arm and a leg like Rosetta Stone? Any free material from the library or internet?

    I went to my local library branch and checked out everything audio on learning Italian. Helped me for the little bit taht I actually studied. :oops:
    7/2/06 - Denver, CO
    6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
    8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
    9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
    9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
    9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
  • vduboisevduboise Posts: 1,937
    polaris_x wrote:
    immersion is the best learning tool ... on the assumption you are fairly young or even not - take a few basic classes and then look for a volunteer or work exchange ... all the classes will do diddly squat unless you immerse yourself in the language ... good luck - great idea i say!
    so true- I studied French for 4 years and did a study abroad for 6 months-i could bearly understand what people were saying. by the time I left, I was definitely fluent.immersion will help, but continuing to study it afterward is also important. I didn't and now my French is so bad
  • gobrowns19gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
    Good idea on checking the library for Rosetta Stone, I will do that.

    I also agree on immersing yourself...I encounter people on close to a daily basis that speak English fluently but as a second language, so I probably have a bit more opportunity for immersion than most would.

    I'm a few weeks away from 21, and when I visit home my 5 year old brother talks to me about a kid in his pre-school class who only speaks Spanish. I guess while they are teaching him English they are introducing Spanish to the other students. It's funny to hear him say the Christmas tree is 'verde.' [green.] So i'm hoping if I chat with him I'll be able to pick up on basics, like what kids would say.
    Happiness is only real when shared
  • gobrowns19gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
    I also wanted to add that watching a movie you have memorized in English in Spanish doesn't really help all that much, lol!
    Happiness is only real when shared
  • gobrowns19gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
    Oh, and thanks for all the input from everyone, much appreciated. :thumbup:
    Happiness is only real when shared
  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    gobrowns19 wrote:
    I also wanted to add that watching a movie you have memorized in English in Spanish doesn't really help all that much, lol!

    I better return that Italian copy of Wayne's World. :x

    :P
    7/2/06 - Denver, CO
    6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
    8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
    9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
    9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
    9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
  • Who PrincessWho Princess out here in the fields Posts: 7,305
    vduboise wrote:
    polaris_x wrote:
    immersion is the best learning tool ... on the assumption you are fairly young or even not - take a few basic classes and then look for a volunteer or work exchange ... all the classes will do diddly squat unless you immerse yourself in the language ... good luck - great idea i say!
    so true- I studied French for 4 years and did a study abroad for 6 months-i could bearly understand what people were saying. by the time I left, I was definitely fluent.immersion will help, but continuing to study it afterward is also important. I didn't and now my French is so bad
    Or at least have someone to speak it with. When I got out of college I was pretty fluent in German but my husband teased me whenever I spoke it, so I stopped. I didn't have anybody around to speak it with so I mostly forgot it. When I visited Germany several years ago, it was frustrating because a lot of it came back to me but not fast enough! People understood me very well but my comprehension wasn't too good. :? :problem: :think:
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • haffajappahaffajappa British Columbia Posts: 5,955
    I agree with immersion, if you can.
    I have studied Spanish in high school and currently studying Japanese... but you really can't learn it fluently unless you are in a situation where you are forced to speak it most of hte time.

    Im lucky enough that both my parents speak Japanese fluently (my father is Japanese) and my mom can also speak Spanish fluently, AND she is a language teacher, and my boyfriend is from Guatemala (though he rarely speaks Spanish)... regardless, if I spoke more at home I'd pick it up a lot better than I do...
    live pearl jam is best pearl jam
  • mca47mca47 Posts: 13,301
    There was a point where I was pretty conversational in spanish. After 8 years of not using it, it has literally slipped away. It's tough!

    My company has give us free subscriptions to Rosetta Stone. I think I'm going to re-teach myself some spanish!
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