So how long have you been studying your "new" language?
 

I have been studying for 4 months. And in these 4 months I can easily say I have learned a lot more than if I had taken Spanish classes for 1 hour a day over a couple years. I don't plan to do too much more "studying" of the Spanish language. I went through both Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur. I learned a lot but it is time for more advanced stuff. What I mean by that is actually trying to keep myself around spanish. I have to learn think and speak faster.

It is too many people who have been studying for years and are still not fluent. I am going for rapid results.

Then, transcribe a novel in Spanish to English. Make it a point to speak aloud what you are translating.

Watch, movies, not TV, in Spanish without subtitles. Make it a point to not sleep through them :-)

And report often in this forums...

Eat, sleep and (blank) in Spanish.

DON'T DESPAIR! :)

I can assure you that in a couple of more months you will be even better than you are now, way better in comparison.

I have a few movies that are actually good with original spanish.. I will watch them over and over. It will be a challenge because I will be learning a ton of new words and learning to hear and speak faster as well... Time to begin.......... on Monday.

The result of the Rosetta stone is depending of the volume that you study during the day.

Besides it's kind to study is very expensive.

I studied Spanish in college ... um, ********* years ago. (Think decades......) :erm: I didn't learn much. My mind was ... um, elsewhere..... :hmm:

It feels like I started from scratch again in October of 2008, a little over a year ago. I started with Rosetta Stone. Expensive, yes - but well worth it! I worked through just the first level of RS for Latin American Spanish.

Starting around the same time, and ever since, I have done a combination of the following: reading/writing here on Tomisimo (more beneficial than RS!!), interacting online and in person with Spanish-speaking friends, travel to Spanish-speaking countries (Uruguay and Peru this past summer), reading books in Spanish, writing in Spanish when I can, reading comic strips in Spanish, watching Spanish videos designed for improving listening skills, watching Spanish telenovelas (I'll get around to the movies, Hernan....), listening to Spanish music and radio, reading Spanish news websites, setting my Gmail and Facebook settings to always show the Spanish versions of the sites, etc., etc., etc.

As close as I could possibly come to immersion without actually being immersed...........

How well has it worked for you?

I think that, short of true immersion, I'm doing well. I don't have nearly enough chance to practice my speaking or listening skills. That's where I can try to find the most opportunities for improvement. But for the most part, I am rather impressed with my own ability to create Spanish sentences/ideas and follow Spanish dialogue. I just downloaded some podcasts, and when I previewed them, I was surprised at how much I truly CAN understand! (YAY!!)

Cuidado con Facebook. A veces sus traducciones son horribles. Eso que lo que pasa por no querer pagar un traductor profesional.

THANK YOU for letting me know that! I don't really spend a lot of time reading what they have, but I have just wanted to surround myself with the Spanish as often as possible, in as many places as possible. I'll keep your comments about FB in mind! :)

I've started to learn this past July. I have only my old book from spanish 1 in college and the internet! I have always wanted to learn mexican spanish. I just joined here today and have learned a lot I think! I want to be able to speak fluent someday!I hope to soon!

yo aprendi mucho aqui hoy!
mi gusta it(<--?) aqui!:)