Learn a Language

Learn Spanish Now!

Question:

How do you study a second language for 6 years, come first in your class, go to a city that speaks that language and not be able to order a plate of food!

Answer:

Go to almost any school, college, university, or private institute to learn! Don't laugh, this happened to me. I could read and write french but the heck if I could understand a conversation in french, or watch a movie and understand what they were saying. There are almost no places to go locally where the focus is on learning how to speak and understand the spoken word. Most courses focus on grammer drills (because it is easier to teach and grade I suppose) and not on listening and speaking.

Time in class with an instructor should be used wisely - marking homework does not seem to be a wise use of this valuable resource!

Solution: Immersion! What does this mean though? Many people have immigrated to Canada, lived here for many years, but still are not able to speak english fluently. Spanish is the first language we are developing on our system. Hopefully French, and German will be next..

The devil is in the details

as someone famous once said!

How to immerse yourself in a new language:

Find a boyfriend or girlfriend that speaks the language you want to learn. Preferably they can't speak much English!
Watch movies in the language you want to learn. A Romanian girl I talked to a few months ago said she learnt English only from watching movies in Romania. She had barely been in Canada for a year and was already working in a jewelery store and functioning at a very high level of proficiency with English.
Listen to the radio. There are many stations on line that you can listen to, both chat shows and music in the language of your choice.
Learn something every day in the new language.
Go on line and chat with people in your new language.
Take classes - this can help you stay motivated.

Goal: the ideal language learning system:

Develop a new language learning system to enable anyone to learn another language in the shortest time possible. The emphasis will be on learning to SPEAK another language, and will encourage users to speak with positive reinforcement methods geared to their own learning styles. This system will use all the technologies available today that have not been readily available in the past: computers, sound, music, colour, video, the internet, instant access to reference material, etc. It will be like having your own personal language tutor with you at all times, but better in many ways!

Given the technologies available today, the way second language acquisition is taught is likely to undergo a massive transformation in the next few years!

Available now:

Learn Spanish Now - on line (try it out while it is being developed. It also includes a dictionary, and verb conjugator, and a play button to hear audio on some items, and has the capability of using images rather than words in English.)
Have you had problems learning a new language? Do you have any suggestions for how the language acquisition process can be improved? What has worked for you in learning a new language? What has been your biggest complaint with the methods taught today? Please email me below.
email: colin@learnalanguage.ca

General learning strategies:

Set a goal of what you want to learn and by when
Apply what you learn
Break more complex learning tasks down into more manageable chunks
Learn every day even if for a short time
Make it interesting! Vary what you learn and do often.
Associate with other people with the same objective
Reward yourself often when you reach each goal!

Class Material: Edmonton Hispanic Bilingual Association:

En el muelle de San Blas - Maná: this is a link to the music video.
Spanish Keyboard Layout and shortcuts: learn how to type in Spanish characters
Spanish simple verb tense endings - summary: All the simple verb endings for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs. Updated April 24th, 2007.
Edmonton Hispanic Bilingual Association Event June 2 2006: See and hear the instructors sing!

Other Spanish Resources

Destinos: 52 half hour on-line videos. Sign up for free, and watch them on line. Good practice listening to both 'naturalistic' and 'teacher talk' Spanish. I'd also like to add the vocabulary and phrases for each lesson to our 'learn a language' system above, any volunteers?
La Biblia Reina Valera Speaking Bible: Hear a parrot speak the Bible in Spanish!
LoMásTV

Not so Spanish:

Burn The Fat; Feed the Muscle: OK, this is not Spanish, but I downloaded this last year, and it is the best thing I've seen so far on getting your body into shape. It covers all aspects, eg exercise, nutrition, and attitude. It does NOT promote any special products or devices, just simple down to earth advice. As a vegetarian, it also had a useful free guide for vegetarians, although the book does focus on small portions of lean meats as part of their preferred eating plan.
Vince DelMonte's No Nonsense Muscle Building! What's most amazing is it doesn’t matter how scrawny or chubby you are right now... and yet your new-found MUSCLE MASS will make you “the Man” at your gym… guaranteed! And it can all be yours without any steroids or dangerous potions... and with absolutely no risk whatsoever!
Watch TV on your PC! - No more cable or satelite monthly fees!
PC Satelite TV Box! - No more cable or satelite monthly fees!
Satelite TV for PC! - 4000 plus channels - No more cable or satelite monthly fees!
Easy TV on your PC! - 6,000 channels!

Spanish Movies (me gustan mucho estas peliculas) * * * * *

All About My Mother: Todo Sobre Mi Madre
Brain Drain: Fuga De Cerebros
Solas
Butterfly
Maria Full Of Grace: Maria Llena Eres De Gracia
Valentin
The Crime of Padre Amaro: El Crimen De Padre Amaro
The Motorcycle Diaries
Ojos Que No Ven (What Your Eyes Don't See)
Y Tu Mamá También: And Your Mother Too
The Devil's Backbone
Por La Libre - Dust To Dust
Amores Perros Life's A Bitch
Live Flesh:
Lucia Lucia
Dona Herlinda and Her Son
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown:
Our Lady of the Assassins: La Virgen De Los Sicarios
Sex and Lucia
Mad Love: La Reina Loca
Thesis: Tesis
Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos)
Bad Education: La Mala Educación
Volver
El laberinto del fauno - awesome movie

These ones I didn't like: (no me gustan mucho estas peliculas) * *

Japón: Japan? There is one very strange intimate scene in this one.
Play For Me: Toca Para Mi - The best thing about this movie might be the cover of the DVD!
Chinango: This was a bad movie! Low budget, and poor quality video, sound, and subtitles. There was only one scene that brought a smile to my face, but it was not worth sitting throught the movie for that one scene.

Spanish Books

Spanish Audio CD's & Software

The Verbarrator is here! Conjugate verbs to your heart's content!
Instant Immersion Spanish Deluxe v2.0 Very good software package for beginners, intermediate, and advanced. Also includes audio cd's to listen in your car.
Learning Spanish Like Crazy: This has to be one of the best deals on the internet for learning Spanish. They use an all audio technique, and gradually introduce new words and phrases. You get lots of cd's and/or downloaded material.
Rocket Spanish Levels I & II: Rocket Spanish is another good audio and text based course. I've tried some of their lessons and they are on a par with Learning Spanish Like Crazy above.
Latino Spanish Slang 4 Gringos. I haven't bought this audio cd yet but it looks interesting. UPDATE: I did buy it, but I dont' think it is an essential resource. I was interested in Mexican slang, but there was not that much there to justify the cost of USD$27.00.
Learn in Your Car Spanish Complete : The Complete Language Course. 9 Audio CD's & 3 Booklets - very good for beginners, intermediate, and advanced, I use this a lot - I highly recommend this one and it is quite inexpensive.
Spanish Language Students - Learn Spanish In Just 20 Minutes Each Day. This learning technique includes the use of 2 games. Relatively inexpensive.
FSI Spanish Level 1, 2, 3, And 4

Spanish-English Dictionary