Six Keys to Help You Learn Spanish Online
By Patrick Jackson
Sep 26, 2005, 03:34
Six Keys to Help You Learn Spanish Online
This article consists of six tips to help
you learn Spanish online. If you follow these
six tips, you can be sure that you will
learn to speak Spanish online much easier.
Key Numero Uno to Learn Spanish Online:
"Stay motivated"
I think everyone that studies
a foreign language will experience
a time when they are becoming less and less
motivated. You may feel that you are
losing your desire to learn Spanish online
around the same time that you have reached a plateau.
If you feel that you are losing your desire
to learn to speak Spanish online,
try planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country.
Since you will want to get the most out of
your trip, this should motivate you to study.
Here's another tip to help you stay motivated and
to make you want to learn to speak Spanish online.
Find a native speaker that you are romantically interested
in. Since you will probably want to impress him or
her with your Spanish, this should motivate you
to keep studying and make you want to learn Spanish
online. You will also notice that you
are making progress quicker by practicing your
Spanish with a native speaker and that should also
motivate you to keep studying and practicing Spanish.
Of course, this tip only applies to single people
or other people without a significant other.
Key Numero Dos to Learn to speak Spanish Online:
"Don't Be Afraid of Making Mistakes"
Make lots of mistakes. And then after you have made
lots of mistakes go make some more mistakes. And then
go make some more mistakes.
Many people are afraid of making mistakes
when learning Spanish online. If you really
want to learn to speak Spanish online, then you
have to accept the fact that making
mistakes is part of the learning process.
The more mistakes you make, the quicker
you learn to speak Spanish online.
If you are not making mistakes, that's probably
an indication that you are not making
the effort to learn Spanish online.
Some people will try to learn to speak Spanish
online by ONLY listening. Their reasoning is
that once they learn enough Spanish that's
when they will begin trying to speak Spanish online.
But I can I assure you that it doesn't work that way.
It works in reverse.
That is, once you start trying to speak Spanish
and making mistakes that's when you will begin to
learn to speak Spanish online. Not the other way around.
So go ahead and make mistakes. The mistakes
aren't there to embarrass you. The mistakes
are there to help you master Spanish.
Key Numero Tres to Learn Spanish Online:
"Focus on how to speak Spanish"
Don't focus on "why Spanish is Spoken
the way it is"
Many people have sent me emails with questions
such as why is it "me gusta" (I like) instead
of "me gusto" or why is it "me toma" instead
of "me tomo"
Of course, I could easily answer these questions.
(And I do) But the objective is not to try equate everything in Spanish with English or your native language.
Accept the fact that Spanish grammar is different
from English grammar. And focus on the objective
of any language -- which is to communicate effectively.
And in order to communicate effectively, you only
need to understand and be understood. It is not
necessary that you understand each and every
grammatical facet.
Trying to do so will only hinder your learning and make
it difficult to learn Spanish online.
Imagine trying to teach a 4 yr old the definition
of a direct pronoun vs. an indirect pronoun.
We would never attempt such a thing. But the
4yr old child is still fluent in his or her
native language.
So make your goal to understand and be understood.
Focus on "how to speak Spanish"
Don't focus on "why Spanish is Spoken
the way it is."
Key Numero Cuatro to Learn to Speak Spanish Online:
"Master the Fundamentals"
Many people spend their time learning
a bunch of Spanish vocabulary that they could
go a life time and never use. That's
because the words are hardly used
in normal everyday conversation.
If you want to learn to speak Spanish online without
Wasting anytime, I advise you to master
the fundamentals. When I say the
"fundamentals" I am referring to
the basic vocabulary and basic grammar.
I know adults that have studied Spanish
for a few years and they know thousands
of words in Spanish. Although they may
be proficient in Spanish, I would not
consider them fluent. On the other hand,
a three or four year old native Spanish-speaking
child can speak Spanish fluently. It is not
because the child knows thousand of words in Spanish.
The child may only know about a thousand words
or less in Spanish. But the child has mastered the fundamentals.
Mastery of the fundamentals is what separates
the proficient from the fluent.
If you really want to learn to speak Spanish online
make it a priority to master the fundamentals.
Key Numero Cinco to Learn Spanish Online:
"Take Advantage of downtime"
Finding time to study can be a challenge.
Many people just don't have the time
to sit down and study. But who said that
you have to be sitting down? If you are
waiting in line at the bank or waiting at the
doctor's office, turn on your mp3 player
or ipod and listen to an audio Spanish lesson.
If you drive to work everyday, that's
an excellent opportunity to practice your favorite
audio Spanish course. If you like to jog or
exercise on a stairmaster or treadmill,
bring your mp3 player or ipod with you
and listen to your favorite audio Spanish course
Instead of watching the 10' clock News. Watch
"Las Noticias" Instead of watching a movie
on HBO, watch a movie on HBO Latino.
So to those that say "I just
don't have the time to learn Spanish online."
My response is that you can make excuses
or you can learn to speak Spanish online.
But you can't do both. The choice
is yours.
Key Numero Seis to Learn to speak Spanish Online:
"Become an Imitator"
Some Spanish courses do not put much emphasis
on pronunciation. I think that is a big mistake.
If you really want to be understood, you must try
to mimic native speakers.
Have you every experienced someone that
asked you for directions or some other question
and you were unable to assist the person because you didn't
speak her language. And then you suddenly
realized that the person was actually speaking
English but her accent was so thick that you
thought the person was speaking another language.
The same thing happens to Spanish ears. If
you do not develop good pronunciation, you will
not be understand.
If you say the word "dad" in Spanish and you do
not stress the appropriate syllable, a
native Spanish speaker may think that you are
talking about "french fries." To English ears
the difference may be very subtle. But to the
Latin American its the difference between
"dad" and "potatoes".
So focus on mimicking native Spanish speakers.
I hope that you enjoyed these 6 Tips to Help You
Learn Spanish Online and that they truly help
you in your journey to learn to speak Spanish online.
Patrick Jackson
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Patrick Jackson is a self-taught speaker of Spanish and the founder of the Learning Spanish Like Crazy method. Webmasters,
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