tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173Fri, 30 Aug 2024 10:55:05 +0000vocabularycoursesgrammarexamspracticepronunciationI've had in mind to publish a book for a while now, but don't seem to have the time to write it all at once. So I guess this is my way to do it a bit at a time! I hope what I write is useful and encouraging - please leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions.http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-2207069600643299788Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:25:00 +00002008-11-25T23:31:49.625+00:00coursesHere's something a bit more positive:http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/index.phpThe OU is brilliant, but expensive. What's really great, though - if I understand the system right - is that now, when they are now publishing a selection of courses online FOR FREE!Now, it's pretty serious stuff and perhaps not to everyone's taste. There's also no tutor support, but (and I do think this is quite clever) http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/11/open-university.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-1616080294169050295Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:20:00 +00002008-11-21T16:32:24.425+00:00Oh dear. I kinda hate to do this, I don't really like to be negative about anything because I reckon that if it helps you or gets you over an obstacle in your language-learning journey, then that's great. Even bad teachers, poorly written courses or whatever can help certain people if for no other reason than being available in the right place at the right time.But this just really irritates mehttp://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/11/amigo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-334457379976389450Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:53:00 +00002008-10-30T20:58:53.788+00:00Oops, just realised that the last two posts basically consisted of links to big lists of words, sorry about that. Don't feel you have to learn them all at once! I mean, if your brain responds well to that sort of thing then by all means memorise them - some people are very target-oriented and just love having a defined task, like learning a specific list of words, to get on with.Others (like mehttp://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/10/and-relax.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-7080440042763674124Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:58:00 +00002008-10-30T14:05:06.292+00:00vocabularyGoodness, it's been a while - sorry about that! ¡Lo siento!Anyway, I had mentioned that we should also have a look at some false friends - words which look the same as an English word but which actually have a different meaning.Once again we find that someone friendly out there in internet-world has done the work for us and you can find a big list of false friends here:http://http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/10/falsos-amigos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-1286460190114750106Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:10:00 +00002008-07-17T11:15:31.476+01:00vocabularyAbout half-a-dozen posts ago, I said I would try to publish a list of Spanish words which are cognates with English words (and vice-versa!). The only trouble is, there's such a heck of a lot of them! This is good - is makes Spanish easier for you to learn!So, I did a quick bit of internet research and came up with this link, which i recommend to you:http://www.latinamericalinks.com/http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/07/spanish-cognates.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-207219223995576568Wed, 28 May 2008 22:16:00 +00002008-05-28T23:26:11.641+01:00Have a day off every week! If you're anything like me, you'll go through phases where you're not only getting a buzz from all the new stuff you're learning, but it's becoming compulsive and habit forming. But this is also stressful, as you try to squeeze some Spanish into every spare moment, and can ultimately become counter-productive. Don't forget that you've got plenty of time. Give your http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/05/have-rest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-3271054088076032404Sat, 17 May 2008 13:43:00 +00002008-05-17T14:53:53.332+01:00examsOk, people are generally surprised at how I, as an educator of young people, have a generally dim view of the usefulness of tests and exams. In fact, I think they have a pretty negative effect. Yet I do have to admit that now that I'm doing increasing amounts of work with adults, I'm beginning to see a certain usefulness to formal examinations.Lets face it, adults are keen; they want to learn -http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/05/exams.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-4223104069162240434Fri, 09 May 2008 11:08:00 +00002008-05-09T12:30:13.554+01:00Well, it´s time for the oral exams in school, so all the students are stressed; I always enjoyed the adrenaline rush, but I guess that´s just me!In a conversation, whether in an exam or in the bar - and not just in Spanish, I´ve seen many pub conversations in English running along these lines - the important thing is not necessarily to fully understand and answer everything the person you´re http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/05/in-conversation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-4117979923202900687Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:13:00 +00002008-03-29T00:21:44.235+00:00coursesThis is a very interesting concept in memory-training. To be honest, I'm frankly very impressed with their system, and I take a lot of impressing. I'm using Pimsleur courses at the minute for both Cantonese and Polish, and am finding them both very satisfying!Realistically, it'll take a lot more than a few hours of CDs to achieve the fluency you're looking for, but for a complete beginner, http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/03/pimsleur.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-8382902492945692068Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:31:00 +00002008-03-29T00:12:30.678+00:00coursesSo, I was reading someone else's blog (I'll post the link here when I can track it down!), also about learning Spanish, and they were answering a point from someone who was unhappy with the progress they had made on a course in Barcelona or somewhere. The answer was that a one-week course wouldn't be enough for real progress and they should do a 4-week intensive course. Here's what I think (I http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/03/intensive-courses-in-spain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-3100832992901688127Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:06:00 +00002008-03-26T10:19:50.633+00:00grammarSo, having already established that if we seriously want to learn the language we really do need to learn some grammar, now I´m about to tell you not to worry about it that much.When you learn all those grammar rules and see all the verb endings, it can cause a lot of stress. We find ourselves considering every word we say, fretting over our irregular verbs and worrying if we´ve chosen the righthttp://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2008/03/grammar-do-i-need-it-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-6349578924522435182Sat, 03 Nov 2007 17:21:00 +00002008-03-27T12:11:01.963+00:00Sometimes people ask me how hard a particular language is to learn, or pass comments like "Spanish is quite easy really, isn't it?" or "German/Polish/Whatever seems very difficult..."Sometimes they have a concern about what their child should choose in school, or sometimes they're interested themselves (indeed, many are probably just making polite conversation!)BUT these types of comments and http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-difficult-is-learning-particular.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-7959692113749134000Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:27:00 +00002007-11-03T17:55:17.632+00:00grammarWell, look, put it this way - if you're serious about learning the language you're going to learn the grammar one way or another, whether you like it or not! There are two main ways of doing this:1) Go to a Spanish-speaking country and live there for several years. Ideally, go while you're still a child, have fewer responsibilities, and maximum language-learning potential. This way you will http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/10/grammar-do-i-need-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-5654268801109627369Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:35:00 +00002008-03-26T10:04:54.210+00:00practiceOK, the school hols are over, but that just means that flights are cheaper again so there´s plenty of folks heading out to the Costas for a late break. If that includes you, here are some handy ideas to get you speaking to the locals: ¿Qué hora es? - What time is it? Take your watch off first, and it´s the perfect excuse to talk to anyone. If you already know the time, you might even understandhttp://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/09/when-in-spain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-8418681643582089285Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:21:00 +00002007-11-03T17:59:45.283+00:00pronunciationvocabularyDO try to get the pronunciation right from the start when you learn new words. Say words out loud. Use a tape, CD or the internet or a friend (a friend on the internet, even); but you must do something. Don´t guess, and don´t just say the word as if it was English. And don´t put too much faith in so-called "phonetic pronunciations" in phrase books. You need to hear it.I´d say that one of the http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/08/more-on-vocab.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-241434918579439991Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:03:00 +00002007-06-08T12:08:12.546+01:00Wow, here´s exciting news:Ben and Marina at Notes in Spanish (I love their advanced and intermediate podcasts) have begun a new podcast for beginners. If it´s as good as their other work, it will be excellent!Here´s the link:http://www.notesinspanish.com/category/beginners-podcast/http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/06/notes-in-spanish.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-1806930168327458634Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:53:00 +00002007-06-08T12:17:28.259+01:00vocabularyWell, when it all comes down to it, a lot of learning a language is to do with learning words! There's a lot of other bits, as well, of course, otherwise all you'd need would be to buy a dictionary; but learning some words would be a good place to start.Now, let's look at two questions:Which words should you be learning?How should you go about learning them?One should generally begin, I feel, nothttp://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/06/vocabulary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-6846557490614123936Sat, 02 Jun 2007 11:17:00 +00002007-06-02T12:35:22.270+01:00Short answer: yes!I've had several experiences of learning a variety of languages, and I have generally found that one can make a certain amount of progress with a book and CD or CD-ROM at home. Indeed, I would encourage you to do just that before joining your class - it can be quite encouraging if you already know a bunch of stuff to impress everyone with!BUT the point always seems to come - http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/06/so-should-i-join-class.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-4381078808210739919Mon, 21 May 2007 08:33:00 +00002007-06-02T16:15:16.375+01:00Sorry for the delay – it’s exam season, so I’ve been busy.Right, after all that musing you’re wondering how to actually get started learning Spanish. What course to use? How much should you pay? Should you join a class?There are LOADS of courses available – a bewildering array, in fact. Books, tapes, CDs CD-ROMS and online. There are so many; which one is best?Well, I’ll tell you!Start here: httphttp://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/05/getting-started.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-5949714107678540125Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:28:00 +00002007-04-26T23:30:24.097+01:00When I began teaching evening classes for adults, I thought it would be a good idea to start with the same question I ask young people: "OK guys, what do you want to learn? What do you want to be able to do in Spanish?" Now, I had done this many times with young people; here’s what they say:I want to be able to...COUNTTELL THE TIMEBUY AN SANDWICHSAY THE ALPHABETGET DIRECTIONS TO THE BEACHBUY A http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/04/why-take-your-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-1938167800963197433Sat, 21 Apr 2007 13:29:00 +00002007-06-02T16:14:34.760+01:00Great book, thoroughly enjoyed it - memoir of young Englishman, disillusioned by love, immerses self in Flamenco and drugs. Apparently Jason Webster has just published a new book about the Spanish Civil war; can´t wait to read it.http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/04/duende.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-5751131849318578664Wed, 18 Apr 2007 21:21:00 +00002007-04-20T00:27:36.505+01:00You know why! If you weren’t at least a little interested, you’d hardly be reading this! You know that Spanish is a supremely important world language, spoken by millions of people worldwide (most of whom speak no English). On top of that, Spain itself has not only a fascinating history, but also a vibrant living culture and one of the best climates in Europe! Now add friendly natives who will behttp://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/04/why-spanish.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-7289915977989999790Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:23:00 +00002007-04-18T23:20:07.475+01:00How old were you when you first thought it would be nice to be able to speak Spanish? Seven? Twenty? Forty? When you first saw someone properly communicate with that waiter or maid and make them laugh, or sort some problem out? I was eleven. It was my birthday; we were in Ibiza and my parents got the music guy (from England somewhere) to play the Chicken Song for me – if you’re over 30 and http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/04/seven-years.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4115714960108791173.post-2766679465974596972Sat, 14 Apr 2007 16:22:00 +00002007-04-17T23:10:08.712+01:00...though some Spanish will probably come up along the way. I figure there are lots of courses and resources out there already, and many of them are very good.What I propose to offer here is something rather different; something that I don't think that anyone else is doing. Part insight from years of teaching experience (with both teenagers and adults), partly drawing on my own experiences of http://how2learnspanish.blogspot.com/2007/04/this-is-not-spanish-course.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2