Reaching the next level in Spanish...

[lisabees]

For the last two months, I have been trying to learn Spanish. I have spent a couple of hours a day, listening and learning.  I have had a tutor three times a week for the past month.

 

Theoretically, I know a lot.  Many podcasts are just too dang fast for me to understand.  My vocabulary isn't extensive enough either.

 

How do I maximize my time in reaching the next level?

 

Should I read transcripts while listening?  Do I find a Mexican grocery store to frequent?  I know what to say much of the time, but the processing speed by which I do is just not fast.

 

I am getting frustrated.  I know I shouldn't know how to listen and understand and speak like a native after only weeks of learning, but I feel like I should be progressing more quickly.

 

Advice?

[chiguirre]

The more you read, the more vocabulary you'll learn, so that's a very good idea. I'd also talk to myself in Spanish. Just narrate your day to yourself as you go along. It takes a while even if you're living in a Spanish speaking country. It took me about six months to feel completely comfortable living in Spanish 24/7 even though I'd taken advanced Spanish courses at university.

 

¡Suerte!

[lisabees]

The more you read, the more vocabulary you'll learn, so that's a very good idea. I'd also talk to myself in Spanish. Just narrate your day to yourself as you go along. It takes a while even if you're living in a Spanish speaking country. It took me about six months to feel completely comfortable living in Spanish 24/7 even though I'd taken advanced Spanish courses at university.

 

¡Suerte!

 

Thank you.  I will try to read more.

 

And talk to myself more!!  :)

 

Thanks for the encouragement!

[Rockhopper]

Telenovelas!

 

Seriously. Simple plots, recurring characters, but fast speech.

 

Also the news. You usually have a good idea of what the story is about which helps decoding.

[Kassia]

Try language transfer on youtube. 

[Matryoshka]

For listening comprehension, try News in Slow Spanish.

 

For vocabulary, find something a bit over your level (not too far) and read, read, read. Use a dictionary, but also try to get words from context.

[lisabees]

Try language transfer on youtube. 

 

This is by far the best thing I've ever done!  Finished it in the last two weeks.  Highly recommended!

 

For listening comprehension, try News in Slow Spanish.

 

For vocabulary, find something a bit over your level (not too far) and read, read, read. Use a dictionary, but also try to get words from context.

 

Just got a subscription to News in Slow Spanish.  It is set at a good pace for me.

 

I don't read much, although I am MUCH better at reading than speaking/listening.

 

Thanks all!

[Renai]

Telenovelas!

 

Seriously. Simple plots, recurring characters, but fast speech.

 

Also the news. You usually have a good idea of what the story is about which helps decoding.

 

For a telenovela with added educational content, try Destinos. http://www.learner.org/resources/series75.html

[Renai]

For listening comprehension, try News in Slow Spanish.

 

For vocabulary, find something a bit over your level (not too far) and read, read, read. Use a dictionary, but also try to get words from context.

 

I remember the first chapter book I read in Spanish - The Secret Garden (I had never read it in English). I felt so good and accomplished when I finished it. Yes, get words in context, using a dictionary when necessary.

[lisabees]

Thanks for the Destinos reminder.  I had started the first ten episodes and dropped it when I started getting tutored.  It is the perfect time to pick it up again!

[Miss Tick]

I remember the first chapter book I read in Spanish - The Secret Garden (I had never read it in English). I felt so good and accomplished when I finished it. Yes, get words in context, using a dictionary when necessary.

True! I started with Sapo y Sepo (Frog and Toad) and now I've moved on to a middle grades book (Ciudad de las Bestias) and although I'm going slowly due to life, I'm not using the dictionary. Yay, me! In between, I read some Geronimo Stilton (Spanish) with my kids. I would pre-read each chapter and look up anything I didn't know (lots) and then re-read it with them with my cheat sheet handy so we could translate on the fly without having to break out the dictionary and disrupt the "flow".

 

For me, teaching my kids what I knew/know has been a nice motivation to keep practicing. It also serves as an excuse for me to watch kids' programs and listen to kids' music and read kids' books, all of which teach and reinforce.

[ElizabethB]

Don Potter has a lot of interesting Spanish links. He teaches Spanish at his school.

 

http://www.donpotter.net/spanish.html