¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?

¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?
 

¡Bienvenida, Nicole!

I like your user name. It shows determination. Apparently you want to learn Spanish. You've found a good forum, because we all like to help each other learn. You're off to a good start!

If you don't mind, here's my attempt to correct what you wrote above. (I altered the translation to agree with the Spanish.)

Mi intento a escribir en español: ¡Hola! Me llamo Nicole. :thumbsup: Soy nueva aquí y al español. Aprendo español en la universidad. ¡Busco a un hispanohablante ... ... con quien conversar (usando texto y voz) en MSN!

My attempt to write in Spanish: Hello! My name is Nicole. I'm new here and to Spanish. I'm learning Spanish in the university. I am looking for a native Spanish speaker ... ... to chat with (written and voice) on MSN!

By the way, since you're a female, any adjective you use to describe yourself should take a feminine ending. If you're determined to learn, for example, you're determinada a aprender. :)

Bienvenida! :)

Wow...I made so many grammar errors, but hey! I'm still learning the language.

Sure, my msn is

Don't worry about making mistakes. We all do.
The important thing to do is practice what you're learning and to ask questions. We'll try our best to help you to learn.

Bienvenida Nicole!
I have no time for chatting, but if you have questions write them down (but I suppose Poli or Rusty will arrive first :D )

Nice nickname you´ve got...
Hope you do learn, a lot, I mean with all that determination...:D
Welcome to the forums!

I'm learning Spanish in school. Good luck :)
I'm not very fluent in Spanish.......

!Gracias por ánimo!

Someone please check if the following is grammatically correct?
Ella es la mayor de mis padres hijas.
Soy estudiante de (program) de (name of universty) universidad.

Hi,

Your first sentence needs a couple of small corrections:
¡Gracias por el ánimo!

Ella es la hija mayor de mi padre.
= She is my father's oldest daughter.
(She is the oldest daughter of my father.)
De las hijas de mi padre, ella es la mayor.
= She is the oldest of my father's daughters.

Soy estudiante del/de la ... en la Universidad de (...).
Por ejemplo: Soy estudiante del diseño gráfico en la Universidad de Chile.
There are rules about how to write names of universities. Ask if you're unsure.

For the first sentence, how do you say parents? Does "también" mean "also"?

When writing "I am ___ years old", is it "tengo ___ años" or "yo tengo ____ años"?

As for the second sentence, why did you use "del" and what happens if the name of university is something like "Queen's University" or "Simon Fraser University"?

padres = parents
también = also (too)

(yo) tengo = I have
(yo) tengo ____ años

So you're saying it doesn't really matter if you put "yo" along with "tengo"? Does this also apply for the verb "ser" like it doesn't matter if you put the pronoun/noun?

If your area of study is masculine, you need the masculine form. Examples:
estudiante de la matemática
estudiante del diseño gráfico

Simon Fraser University = Universidad Simon Fraser
Queen's University = Universidad Queen's

The subject pronoun 'yo' can always be omitted in the present indicative tense, since the ending fully expresses the intended person. Likewise, in the 1st person plural form, you can omit 'nosotros'.
You should specify the subject pronoun for the 3rd person, since there is the possibility of ambiguity. After the pronoun is established, however, it can be dropped in subsequent conversation.

How about if you were to write a paper in first person, could you still drop it?

Claro que sí. Of course.
The only exception to this is when the verb ending can be ambiguous, or misconstrued. This can happen in other tenses (and moods) that you haven't used in your questions so far.
There are times when the pronoun is necessary to avoid ambiguity.
It is occasionally added for emphasis, as well.

One more question, how do you know when to use "tener" or "ser"? For example, "I am" can be "Yo soy...." or "Yo tengo....". Does it matter which verb/infinitive to use?

Ser = to be
Tener = to have, to hold, and, in certain expressions, to be

These verbs are never interchangeable.
You'll use tener in certain phrases:
I'm thirsty (tengo sed), I'm cold (tengo frío), I'm ____ years old (tengo ___ años)
In other similar phrases (similar in English), you must use ser:
I'm thin (soy delgada), I'm blond (soy rubia)
And, there is another verb that translates as 'to be' - estar:
I'm sad (estoy triste), I'm happy (estoy feliz)

Unfortunately, when to use the one or the other verb has to be learned. There are rules and lists galore to help you, but they all need to be committed to memory. :(