Sharing techniques

[tetsuo]

This is a general topic. Maybe you'll find something interesting for you. This is how do learn a new language (right now Spanish), but in my opinion, it works for every language.

If your English is good and you'd like to learn Spanish. Check for similar words first. Write them down. Learn them. Spanish <-> your native language.

Of course this isn't enough. Start with card box, make your own or buy another one. If you like to do both, here's a technique that build up the vocabulary of the words you already learned (checking for similarities): create a mindmap with brainstorming for every word. Find synonyms for it. Learn them. While learning this words, you can add words from the cardbox you may have bought, too.

Hint for the cardbox: pay attention it should be build like this: "not learned / didn't know", "known / learned", 1. repeat, 2. repeat and 3. repeat.
With this technique I am using currently 800 card. I am learning them this way:
Spanish -> German (just the vocab)
German -> Spanish (just the vocab)
Spanish -> German (the additional words / sentences on the card: like if your regular word was to learn "egg" - el huevo - you'll know learn huevo duro (boiled egg)
German -> Spanish (like before)
Additionally after a week I recommend learning the complete site of German -> Spanish, than Spanish -> German
I started with this technique on August.22. 2013. I have already done Spanish -> German completely and I am halfway through German -> Spanish. That took me 9 days. If I am that fast, I can learn 800+ words in 30 days easily. Remember how long it took you, to learn this amount in school. A year or two? If you learn conjugations the next 30 days. You have done pretty well and have basic vocab in just two months. Which took you years in school. Even if you make it in a year with 800+ words Who cares. You still have saved years of time. There's no hurry. Learning can be fun. ;-)

Do lessons from a book (lessons book (school book)), software, app (I recommend Duolingo, it's free and for (native) English speakers, the best way (related to apps), ... Check for free audio lessons, movies with subtitles in your native language and books (novels, or books that have an interesting topic). Do one complete lesson per day and/or read at least 2 sites in the book. Don't forget to learn new cards from the cardbox(es).

If you find time to do at least 30 minutes per day or more you will be faster with these techniques than every technique used in school.

Additionally you can use post-its on every thing in your apartment. Put the word on it, write the translation on the back. Write down something related, not only "el libro / los libros / un libro / unos libros" but also something like "what do I do with the things": Write this sentence down you need the most for this thing (e.g. for the book, you won't throw it in the garbage but it read, you know which language will make more sense, right ;-) ?) . It will make it easier to learn, because you need. Your subconscious mind will make your brain learn it faster, because you are need for this. It will push every time.

Read a wikipedia article that you like, find interesting. If you are reading one in your native language. Write 5-10 sentences in the language you'd like to learn and let's check it by a native speaker.

This is just my experience with vocabulary building and learning grammar etc.

Hope I could help you out and give you some possibilities.

[Villa]

Here's a list of a 100 most important Spanish verbs to go along with your ideas t.


accept aceptar allow permitir/dejar ask preguntar believe creer borrow prestar break romper bring traer buy comprar can/be able poder cancel cancelar change cambiar clean limpiar comb peinar complain quejarse cough toser count contar cut cortar dance bailar draw dibujar drink beber drive conducir eat comer explain explicar fall caerse fill llenar find encontrar finish terminar fit caber fix reparar fly volar forget olvidar give dar go ir have * tener hear oir hurt dañar, herir know saber/conocer learn aprender leave * salir/marcharse listen escuchar live vivir look mirar lose perder make/do hacer need necesitar open abrir close/shut cerrar organize organizar pay pagar play jugar put poner rain llover read leer reply responder run correr say decir see ver sell vender send enviar sign firmar sing cantar sit sentarse sleep dormir smoke fumar speak hablar spell deletrear spend gastar stand ponerse de pie start/begin comenzar study estudiar succeed tener exito swim nadar take * tomar talk hablar teach enseñar tell decir think pensar translate traducir travel viajar try intentar turn off apagar turn on encender type escribir a máquina understand entender use utilizar/usar wait esperar wake up despertar want querer/desear watch mirar work trabajar worry preocuparse write escribir

[tetsuo]

Many thanks.

What would bbe interesting is, which conjugations / form / times are often used in writing / speaking? I could learn all 60-70 conjuations per verb, but I guess it's possible to say this and that is important and do this first. If someone have suggestions that may help me, please post.

[Villa]

Originally Posted by tetsuo

Many thanks.

What would bbe interesting is, which conjugations / form / times are often used in writing / speaking? I could learn all 60-70 conjuations per verb, but I guess it's possible to say this and that is important and do this first. If someone have suggestions that may help me, please post.

Glad you asked this question amigo tetsuo. Probably the three most useful verb tenses to learn in Spanish writing are the past and present tenses. However there are 3 past tenses in Spanish as there are in English. You need to know most importantly the imperfecto and the pretérito. And of course el presente. I can explain these if you want.
Of course there is the future tense and the subjuntive tense but those can wait. You can form the future tense another way.

Hopefully you also know the difference between regular and irregular verbs.

2/3 of all Spanish verbs are regular verbs. So if you learn 3 model Spanish verbs then you can conjugate all regular Spanish verbs.
(For the irregular ones you just have to memorize the most important ones.)

Any way here we go with your three model regular Spanish verbs you need to memorize in order to conjugate all Spanish verbs.

hablar - to speak, comer - to eat, vivir - to live
As you can see in Spanish there are three types of ending verbs. ar, er and ir

Oh, you must also memorize the Spanish personal pronouns.

yo, tú, usted, él, ella, nosotros, (vosotros for those learning the Spanish of Spain) - ustedes, ellos, ellas
Hopefully you know what these personal pronouns mean.

Hablar - to speak or talk

yo hablo - I speak
tú hablas - You speak(informal)
usted - You speak(formal)
él > habla - he speaks
ella - she speaks
nosotro hablamos - we speak
vosotros habláis - you plural speak
ustedes - you plural speak
ellos > hablan - they speak(men)
ellas - they speak (women)

Learn this first verb in the present tense and then in the past tenses. Eventually
in all the tenses. Then you have to do the same with the Spanish verbs comer and vivir.

hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron
hablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablábamos, hablasteis, hablaban

Now you can conjugate any Spanish regular verb.
Examples: amar, cantar, comprar, contar, entrar, borrar, bailar, bajar, bautizar, apagar, adoptar etc. etc.

[chileno]

So, that's what both of you do when you learn a new word in the target language. uh?

You say it work?

[tetsuo]

Originally Posted by chileno

You say it work?

For me: yes, it works.
I learned 800 cards with one word on each in less than two weeks. I am now learn to additional words / sentences that were on 50-60% of the cards.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by tetsuo

For me: yes, it works.
I learned 800 cards with one word on each in less than two weeks. I am now learn to additional words / sentences that were on 50-60% of the cards.

Do you do all that when you learn a new word in your native language?

[tetsuo]

No, but my parents doesnt speak Spanish and I couldn't ask anyone else to explain what this or that is and learn a language intuitively.

@Villa
Yes, I understand it. Thanks!

[chileno]

Originally Posted by tetsuo

No, but my parents doesnt speak Spanish and I couldn't ask anyone else to explain what this or that is and learn a language intuitively.

@Villa
Yes, I understand it. Thanks!

Then read my blog.

[tetsuo]

That's how you get your readers? ;-)

Anyway, in the blog post I found, you are critizing all the bad techniques and don't provide alternatives. At least I haven't found any.
My techniques are - luckily - better than those you use at school. ;-)

[chileno]

Did you read the whole blog?

:-D

[tetsuo]

I read the one you link to from your public profile at Tomísimo, it contains two entries. Yes, I read them both.

[Villa]

Originally Posted by chileno

Then read my blog.

¿Dónde está tu blog, chileno? Quiero verlo.

[Rusty]

Échale un vistazo a su perfil.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by tetsuo

I read the one you link to from your public profile at Tomísimo, it contains two entries. Yes, I read them both.

Then you didn't read well.

[tetsuo]

How do you know? And, if I read them "better", will they be more entries?

And it's no offend, but you're not writing something new and you say, like it works for everyone. And I can say for it doesn't. Or to be more precise it works maybe for everyone but not alone this method will bring everyone else to the point you were after you finished translating the novel, because they are different types of learning method and I can say for myself and I need grammar stuff, just because I love to write and need to know what's behind the sentence structure, and I also need pictures, voices,... everything. With combining all those methods I am closer to learning like I did as a child with my native language than everything else. Did you get all the knowledge of your native language because you did translate a novel at first before you could even speak? No, eventually you were with your parents, relatives, friends and ask like every child what's this or that. But because I am not a child anymore nor do I live close to someone who speaks fluently Spanish, I need to build up a fake environment as close as possible to the natural one I lived in as a child.

There's no one I can ask for what "book", "cupboard", "wardrobe", "map", "shoe", "shower",... etc means, so I build something for me that's close and I extended this natural version and add useful sentences to the word I am sure I need some time in the future. And I am learning Spanish faster than I learned English.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by tetsuo

How do you know? And, if I read them "better", will they be more entries?

And it's no offend, but you're not writing something new and you say, like it works for everyone. And I can say for it doesn't. Or to be more precise it works maybe for everyone but not alone this method will bring everyone else to the point you were after you finished translating the novel, because they are different types of learning method and I can say for myself and I need grammar stuff, just because I love to write and need to know what's behind the sentence structure, and I also need pictures, voices,... everything. With combining all those methods I am closer to learning like I did as a child with my native language than everything else. Did you get all the knowledge of your native language because you did translate a novel at first before you could even speak? No, eventually you were with your parents, relatives, friends and ask like every child what's this or that. But because I am not a child anymore nor do I live close to someone who speaks fluently Spanish, I need to build up a fake environment as close as possible to the natural one I lived in as a child.

There's no one I can ask for what "book", "cupboard", "wardrobe", "map", "shoe", "shower",... etc means, so I build something for me that's close and I extended this natural version and add useful sentences to the word I am sure I need some time in the future. And I am learning Spanish faster than I learned English.

Yes, there are several entries on each of those blogs.

I can talk to you on Skype if you want to discuss all of those point and more. Up to you.

[tetsuo]

Yes, two entries on Spanish blog. Not more. Either you gave the wrong link in your profile or either you didn't publish the other entries and they're still drafts (read to be published but actually unpublished). Or you've given other rights to each of your entry, so not anybody can read them. I visited your bblog the third time today and they're still two entries on the Spanish.

I don't use skype. If you'd like to you can explain the points open for everyone or via PM.

[chileno]

oooh, I hate typing...

Well, that's that.

[tetsuo]

Another source is this site, maybe it will help one or another here at the forum. Anything there is free. http://www.openculture.com/freelanguagelessons

This is how I like knowledge being made available and spread through the web.