Archive for March, 2009

Some tips for how to learn Spanish at home

Many people wanting to learn Spanish at home do not want to listen to the radio, podcasts or TV in Spanish, unfortunately this is exactly the opposite of what they should do to learn at home. If you follow this tip, it’s important to mention that, you do not always need to pay close attention to the Spanish words being spoken because your brain does this for you automatically at the subconscious level.

I should stress that this is the best way to learn Spanish at home, because over time, common Spanish phrases and usage will come natural to you. While you are listening, try and note the Spanish accentuation and intonation of sentences you hear being spoken.  Of course, you can also buy software to learn Spanish at home from, you can find excellent products such as Rocket Spanish, more on this great product is covered throughout this website.

Also, It’s best to learn 30 minutes a day rather than 3 hours a week because of the consistancy rather than the rare occasion of a 3 hr block. The internet also serves as a wonderful tool to learn your Spanish while at home. For example, you can enter Spanish chat rooms and make friends that can help you learn Spanish that much easier.

Free Online Tutorials to Learn Spanish at Home

There are also a lot of free online tutorials and resources you could use to learn Spanish at home. Types of Spanish lessons online vary, but no matter which method do you choose, it’s perfectly normal if you do not learn much at the beginning, but sooner than later, you can expect to start understanding. This is equally valid to what you read: try reading bestsellers, newspapers, anything published in Spanish you can learn from.

If you do not understand a word or phrase, you don’t need to open the dictionary if you don’t want to.  After you’ve seen the saem word being used 10 to 12 times in different contexts you will learn to understand what it means.  This makes learning Spanish from home easier because you don’t neccessarly have to “try”.

When learning Spanish at home, do not forget to learn all about Spanish verb conjugations and how to use them properly.  This is an important part of the Spanish language and it should be learned correctly.

But one thing you can try to do is to improve your vocabulary with a few words per day, then use them systematically in emails, commenting on a blog, etc…  just start using what you learn!

Also, while at home and outside of home, try to relate the grammar you are learning to practical situations, because grammar alone will not help you speak Spanish and it can become quite tedious.

Spanish verb conjugations are usually a difficult and confusing topic when you are learning Spanish. I have seen people studying Spanish for two or three years who are even afraid to try to use conjugations when they are talking. There’s no need to worry, because Spanish verbs can easily be learned.

English verbs are very similiar to Spanish verbs

One thing people don’t realize is that English verbs are, in many ways, similar to Spanish verbs. This is because a lot of people try to learn verb conjugations using boring grids instead of trying to learn them the same way a Spanish kid would, which is listening to and speaking Spanish naturally.  There are also lots of ways of learning Spanish using software - You can easily learn the Spanish verb conjugations this way.

Looking at three page Spanish verb conjugation grids causes you to forget that we conjugate English words as well. The only difference is that there are diverse forms for more of the “persons”, studying Spanish verb conjugations this way can be a real bore, so close your old school workbook and don’t waste more of your precious time or money because the only real way to master verb conjugations is to use them in context and review them as frequently as possible.

Spanish verb conjugations using the Immersion Method

That is why the immersion method for Spanish verbs is so powerful. You use all the most frequently used verb conjugations over and over again whenever you need to. As you learn Spanish, you will find out how to make the verb endings for each tense: present, past, past perfect, and so on.

You will also discover how to use irregular endings for verbs in each of the different tenses as well as hoe to properly use all three of the Spanish verb tenses. With all this knowledge, along with grammar information, you should be able to use verb conjugations smoothly and be able to carry on an intelligent conversation in weeks, not months or years!

There are many Spanish words and verb forms to remember as well, however immersing yourself in simulated conversations and interactive lessons you will shorten your learning curve or all the conjugations out there.

You should note, however, there is a lot more to understand as you learn Spanish verb conjugations, and the aforementioned problems are just some of the most common problems beginners will face.  Please check out our recommended products on this website for the quickest and most efficient way of learning the Spanish language.