Hello from Oklahoma

[protojoe]

Hi,

I'm Joe from Oklahoma in the US and I have several reasons that I'm learning Spanish.

I'm 56 and hoping to retire in a couple of years and volunteer at a really great small country school. The parents of many of the students don't speak English. The school wants to have more adults there that can communicate with these parents and even some of the students. I really want to be able to help out with that.

I also have a really sweet daughter who wants to be a speech therapist and work with children. She is getting a minor in Spanish hoping that will allow her to do pretty much the same thing that I mentioned above. I want to be in on this with her.

I've also read that learning a second language is a great way to keep your mind active in your later years and I'm all for that.

I'm a complete beginner so I'm really enjoying reading the posts here. I'm on here today because my wife has agreed to buy me a book (or something) for Christmas so I just have to pick it out.

Right now, I'm torn between "Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish" by Keenan or "Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish". I got to them just by reviews on Amazon but I did read a post here that like'd "Madrigal's".

Thanks for your time.

[Rusty]

Welcome to the forums, Joe!

[wrholt]

Welcome to the forums!

[poli]

You have a good reason to learn. This is always a good start. Is there a community college nearby that offers courses in elementary Spanish? If the instructor is good, a course can be more helpful than a text. There is something about human interaction that facilitates language learning--especially at first.

[aleCcowaN]

Welcome

Originally Posted by protojoe

I've also read that learning a second language is a great way to keep your mind active in your later years and I'm all for that.

It's too late to become a sportsman. And pretty much too late to become a mathematician. But regarding mastering the use of languages, do learn that you're in your prime!

[protojoe]

Thank you for the warm welcome.

I looked into some community college classes but my travel for work is not conducive to taking formal classes at this time. I have seen/heard of some one-on-one personal training options that might be feasible. I'll keep looking.

Right now I'm working on a plan of self-study. I read some really good stuff here that I'm trying to capture in my plan and I'm getting the Madrigal book for Christmas. I think I would get bored soon if I just tried to work my way through one book so I'm combining the book with other material and some audio. We'll see how it goes. If I can keep my motivation this high, I'll learn it whatever the method. My biggest goal is to keep it fresh.

Bad news that I'm not likely to become a world renowned mathematician. I really like math!

Thanks again,

Joe

[poli]

Anyway, although this may be obvious, if you find read things that interest you in Spanish, you will learn them more easily than something that bores you.

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by protojoe

Bad news that I'm not likely to become a world renowned mathematician. I really like math!

Si X es a Y como V es a W, entonces X es igual a Y por V dividido W.

As a joke, a little bit of regla de tres simple to practise your Spanish. It contains more vocabulary and grammar than you think.

[Miguel Luongo]

Hi, Joe. Nice to know you. I'm not taking any classes either but between books, music, TV, CDs, and having lunch each day with a handful of Spanish speaking friends, progress is possible. Good luck!

[protojoe]

Thanks again. More good stuff. I was traveling and couldn't get on the forum.

Today someone said they thought I could get access to Rosetta Stone through work but I'm not really interested. I like doing my own thing. I'm looking forward to having a good lesson book so I have direction. Then I want to just learn words/phrases in what interests me.

I'm an engineer so I get plenty of math practice during the week Alect.

Good to know you too Miguel. Good luck to you too.