Suggestions for learning outside a classroom?

[BMG]

Hola everybody.

I've been taking Spanish for two classes at my University, currently in my third (my university requires completion of an intermediate level foreign language class, which requires two introductory classes). I feel I've learned a lot, but as I'll be focusing on my other graduation requirements next semester (my last), I won't have any time to take another Spanish class.

I'd still like to learn the language, though! Unfortunately, I don't have any Spanish speaking friends (although there are plenty of hispanics in my area, I just don't happen to know one who I can practice with). I might consider taking more classes once I graduate, but that's a few months away and I'd like to continue my learning until then.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have a copy of the Rosetta Stone, but I feel that's only good for teaching vocabulary (at least so far), and is not great at teaching grammar. What else could I use? What have you used that helped you learn another language?

Thanks in advance!

[maromad]

Hi BMG,

Here´s some tips I always found very useful (and enjoying too!) when I learned other languages:

Choose some songs you like in spanish, if you don´t know any just go to any spanish music networks sites and pick the hits of the moment, download the lyrics and match them with the song, translate the words and sentences you don´t understand, or just try to catch what they say without reading. Listen to spanish radio in the car.
Watch dvd movies in spanish, first with subtitles, then without them
If your level is not very high there´s something that might help you a lot: watch cartoons; the language used is veeeeery simple and they repeat a lot so it´s a good way to start catching the spoken language with no stress at all.
Try to find a bar, canteen, pub, club that´s mainly spanish and just join it, that´s the best way to get started to real spanish (or any real language actually) when you want/need to comunicate in a fun, relaxed environment, I tell you, your brain just start working!
Of course, visit forums as this one, they´re really worth it and they´re fun, and you´ll always find something new to learn, surprises are endles!
I too found very useful the language learning sites that are targeted to people with a special native language, that way they just explain you the rules or how to tell something relating its differences or similarities to your own language, so that you don´t need to do the extra-exhausting effort of learning a language based on a grammar that´s never been in your brain before, and you just don´t get! And they have loooots of exercises and practices with all their explanations and rules. Comite yourself and do them. Practice, practice, practice.
A very very important one: Be always alert and try to catch new things, remember those things and then use them next time you speak, from now on whenever you listen to any spanish person, be a radar. Success on learning any language lies in an 80% on the determination to do it and the confidence of just knowing that you´ll succeed. That´s the difference.
Oops, I almost forget the most practical of them all: get a spanish girlfriend/boyfriend! You´ll love learning spanish

Anyways, congratulations for your decission, have fun and practice!!!!

[CrOtALiTo]

I can suggesting you something different, for example I always learnt in this form, always I red a lot of all the time only I read in English, and I recover my voice, so I can listen me later and I do quickly test of as I'm doing that if I'm bad or a little well.

Later I found a website where several teachers help you in everything I need, for example if I have a question I record my voice with the question and later I send to review the question of course in voice made for me.

So they can hear me and later they correct me, that is my form to learn English for the moment, also I practice in speaking way with the people who knows this language.

Greetings

[elgrego]

A great way to practise and expand your vocabulary is by using it. Playing online games on the Spanish servers is a fun way to expand your knowledge of the language. One which I play is travian.

Have fun!

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by elgrego

A great way to practise and expand your vocabulary is by using it. Playing online games on the Spanish servers is a fun way to expand your knowledge of the language. One which I play is travian.

Have fun!

I didn't try it before, I don't know if really that can works in my case, because as I don't like the video games, and later in the games coming some phrases very weir inclusive for the most great teacher, for example I have seen before the Resident Evil game, and when I played that game, I can't grasp understand the words, because they coming in phrases incomplete and they can be understood.

Therefore my prefer method continue being the reading and the writing at least here in the forums and of course now I have been practicing much more in my speech in spoke way.

Regards.

[Caballero]

Here's what I've been doing. I've set my phone and computer to Spanish, read Wikipedia only in Spanish, and read the news only in Spanish, read factual books that use mostly formal, academic language, and talk to all of my friends that have taken even a little bit of Spanish in Spanglish. I only read things in English that are too difficult for me to read in Spanish, like novels and poetry. So, anyway, all of this has helped my passive knowledge of Spanish quite a bit.

[asiabird01]

Originally Posted by BMG

Hola everybody.

I've been taking Spanish for two classes at my University, currently in my third (my university requires completion of an intermediate level foreign language class, which requires two introductory classes). I feel I've learned a lot, but as I'll be focusing on my other graduation requirements next semester (my last), I won't have any time to take another Spanish class.

I'd still like to learn the language, though! Unfortunately, I don't have any Spanish speaking friends (although there are plenty of hispanics in my area, I just don't happen to know one who I can practice with). I might consider taking more classes once I graduate, but that's a few months away and I'd like to continue my learning until then.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have a copy of the Rosetta Stone, but I feel that's only good for teaching vocabulary (at least so far), and is not great at teaching grammar. What else could I use? What have you used that helped you learn another language?

Thanks in advance!

There is SO much you can do outside of the classroom! Movies, books and music are all really great! I like playing Spanish scrabble, and finding ways to incorporate learning spanish into my daily life. You can do a language exchange on Skype - which is like having a pen pal, except you talk via skype. I like listening to podcasts because I can pause and rewind them. There are also some really great programs for teaching yourself spanish, like Warren Hardy. Also, check meetup.com for groups in your area also learning Spanish or that are spanish speakers!