Hi, I'm Brian from Alabama. New here on this forum.

[BrianDeBama]

Hey, I look forward to chatting with yall and hope I can glean some pointers here and there and get some motivation. Maybe I can even help some English students with some details if they ask.

I go to the Latino/Spanish ministry at my church. In our group we have folks from Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Venezuela and maybe a couple of other places. I get to practice my Spanish a couple of times a week maybe. I've dabbled with Spanish for around a total of 5-6 years. My first couple of years studying Spanish was not very efficient. I focused only on memorizing vocabulary and ignored the structure of the language, grammar, and LISTENING skills. The past 9 months or so I have made good progress in improving my listening skills and structure and grammar.

My weaknesses are speaking Spanish on the phone with people and understanding Castilian on the Spanish news & radio.

My tools or study resources:

For Church: I'm using the a bilingual Reina Valera 1960/ King James Version of the Bible. I also have the RV 1960 aduio version of the New Testament on my iPod. I'm currently listening to each chapter 5 times before moving on to the next. I also read each chapter aloud once and silently once or twice.

For General Study: I'm about to finish up Margarita Madrigal's Magic Key to SPanish. After that I plan on finishing Cortina Method's Spanish in 20 Lessons (I'm over half way done with it already). After that I plan on using Assimil's Spanish with Ease with the audio to help me develop an ear for the Castilian accent. I'm also partially done with Living Language's Basic-Intermediate Spanish from the around 2003-2004.

I have some mastering vocabulary books by Barron's and another company that I can't remember right now. I have plenty of other resources but I'll not name them all.

I also try to read some Spanish news sites very other day. I have been dealing with some anxiety/depression issues lately that have been interfering with my studies. I'm trying to get my health issues dealt with and get back into being a more active student.

I look forward to trying to have a good time on here Lord willing.

[chileno]

Anything you do is good, in a sense, but I would recommend you reading my blog (the address is in my profile)

:)

[Rusty]

Hi Brian. Welcome to the forums!

It's interesting how you're using the word Castilian. All the people in your Latino/Spanish group speak Castilian. Spanish and Castilian are one in the same.
If you're trying to isolate a particular accent, each Spanish-speaking country has its own.

[BrianDeBama]

Hi Brian. Welcome to the forums!

It's interesting how you're using the word Castilian. All the people in your Latino/Spanish group speak Castilian. Spanish and Castilian are one in the same.
If you're trying to isolate a particular accent, each Spanish-speaking country has its own.

What I meant was the Spanish spoken in Spain. I hear it often on the SPanish news sites but I don't think I've heard it in person.

[Rusty]

The Spanish spoken in Spain goes by several names, depending, at times, on the context.
Peninsular Spanish is usually a safe bet. It isolates the Spanish to that which is spoken in the Iberian Peninsula, but even so, that Spanish differs from one area to the next. Standard Spanish is the Spanish spoken in Madrid.

Everyone who speaks Spanish calls the language either español or castellano, depending on the area they live in.

My guess is that you're hearing 'th' sounds when words like 'cocina' and 'cesar' are said. If so, you're listening to the Spanish spoken in Spain (but not everywhere Peninsular Spanish is spoken).