Por favor, ayúdame a aprender Español!

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MyAwkwardAccent
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Por favor, ayúdame a aprender Español!

Postby MyAwkwardAccent » Tue Apr 04, 2017 7:38 pm

Hola a todos!

Hi, I'm currently two months deep into intense(ish) study of Spanish and my goal is to challenge myself to become conversational by Christmas this year (2017) I'm doing at least an hour every day, listening to Spanish music, studying grammar and also supplementing my learning with the language hacking Spanish book by Benny Lewis.

However where I live there is a distinct lack of Spanish, and so I have turned to the internet to help and to try immerse myself, I hoped that videoing my progress/attempts might help as the internet can hold the cruellest of critics and thought that would be a good way to be picked up for my mistakes, however I don't appear to be getting views or opinions from anyone so don't know where I'm going wrong!

I would be crazy grateful if people on here would give my spanish updates (which i will continue on here) a watch and point out anywhere I am going wrong, of course if people want to they are welcome to subscribe to follow my progress on youtube, but that isn't my goal, my goal is to learn Spanish.

Thank you for your harshest of criticisms in advance :) Also apologies that my Spanish is at a very poor level!

HERE IS THE LINK:
https://youtu.be/cG9OXjptFt8
Last edited by MyAwkwardAccent on Thu Apr 06, 2017 6:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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mjfleck2000
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Re: Por favor, ayudarme para aprender Español!

Postby mjfleck2000 » Wed Apr 05, 2017 3:08 am

Welcome to the forum. This website is a wonderful resource to help you with you language journey.
I did follow your link to youtube and I have to say you are doing VERY well for someone with only two months of study.

You asked for help to learn Spanish by writing Por favor, ayudarme para aprender Español.
I would suggest instead Por favor, ayúdame a aprender Español. There are two words that I changed here. You are making a request/order and the correct format is the two words ayuda and me joined together (with an accent mark to place the stress on the correct syllable). I also changed "para" to "a".

Mike
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MyAwkwardAccent
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Re: Por favor, ayudarme para aprender Español!

Postby MyAwkwardAccent » Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:40 pm

Thank you very much for watching and for the advice :) I hope this website will help me alot.

Ahh I see, so is "ayúdame a aprender Español" more of the request I wanted whereas "ayudarme para aprender español" is more of a 'to help me in order to learn Spanish' kind of translation?
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Re: Por favor, ayudarme para aprender Español!

Postby iguanamon » Wed Apr 05, 2017 7:45 pm

Welcome to the forum! I also suggest that you edit your first post to change the title as mjfleck2000 suggested. I can give you some general advice on language-learning. There are many ways to learn a language. When learning the first second language it's important to be as consistent and persistent as possible. Being consistent helps to build momentum. Being persistent when it isn't easy to be consistent keeps a learner in the game until they can become consistent. Try to have fun, too, along the way. I would also suggest that you drop by the Spanish Group here on the forum where you can connect with other Spanish learners, find resources and pose questions related to learning Spanish specifically.

In my signature block below this post is a link to a guest post I wrote which describes my learning technique and why I think it's a good way to learn a language. Also, read other learner's logs, even if the language they're learning isn't your target. Self language-learning is a bit like a Chinese buffet- try to take a little from here, a little from there and you may end up with a satisfying meal. None of us have THE answer... but many of us have some answers. Don't expect a straight path. There will be obstacles and detours along the way. Keeping your eyes on the prize will help you get to where you want to be, as long as you're focused on being consistent and persistent.
¡Suerte!
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MyAwkwardAccent
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Re: Por favor, ayudarme para aprender Español!

Postby MyAwkwardAccent » Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:15 am

iguanamon wrote:Welcome to the forum! I also suggest that you edit your first post to change the title as mjfleck2000 suggested. I can give you some general advice on language-learning. There are many ways to learn a language. When learning the first second language it's important to be as consistent and persistent as possible. Being consistent helps to build momentum. Being persistent when it isn't easy to be consistent keeps a learner in the game until they can become consistent. Try to have fun, too, along the way. I would also suggest that you drop by the Spanish Group here on the forum where you can connect with other Spanish learners, find resources and pose questions related to learning Spanish specifically.


Hi! Thank you for the advice, I'm trying to keep as persistant as possible but one of the biggest problems I'm finding without a tutor is deciding what topic to study/what vocabulary I need.

Here is my latest attempt at describing where I live:

https://youtu.be/eEUyru0_AC0
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Re: Por favor, ayudarme para aprender Español!

Postby AndyMeg » Wed Apr 12, 2017 4:13 pm

MyAwkwardAccent wrote:Hi! Thank you for the advice, I'm trying to keep as persistant as possible but one of the biggest problems I'm finding without a tutor is deciding what topic to study/what vocabulary I need.


For that I think it is important to be clear about one's objectives and reasons. You said you want to be "conversational by Christmas this year (2017)". Who do you want to be able to talk to? What topics would you like to talk about? Why especifically spanish and no other language?

I would suggest to study the topics that interest you the most. About vocabulary, I like to use frecuency lists and combine them with extensive (and semi-intensive) interaction with native material that I enjoy.

And just for practice, almost the same from above, but this time in spanish:

Para eso pienso que es importante que tengas claros tus objetivos y razones. Dijiste que querías tener un nivel conversacional para la navidad de este año (2017). Entonces considero que es importante preguntarse cosas como: ¿Con quién quieres poder hablar? ¿Sobre qué temas te gustaría hablar? ¿Por qué decidiste estudiar específicamente español y no otro idioma?

Lo que sugeriría es estudiar los temas que más te interesen. Respecto al vocabulario, a mí me gusta usar listas de frecuencia y combinarlas con interacción extensiva (y semi-intensiva) con material nativo del cual disfruto.

Some quick pointers about the youtube video:

"Yo vivo en la ciudad de Colchester" (here you could omit "Yo" to sound more natural)

"campos de agricultura", no "campos de agricultures". You could also say "campos de agricultores".

"Echo de menos vivir del mar" --> "Echo de menos vivir cerca al mar"

"Algun día me gustaría a comprar" --> "Algún día me gustaría comprar"

"una casa en frente del mar" is fine but, at least in my country, it is more usual to say: "una casa frente al mar"
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the1whoknocks
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Re: Por favor, ayúdame a aprender Español!

Postby the1whoknocks » Thu Apr 13, 2017 2:52 am

MyAwkwardAccent wrote:Hola a todos!

Hi, I'm currently two months deep into intense(ish) study of Spanish and my goal is to challenge myself to become conversational by Christmas this year (2017) [...]


Even after only two months of study, you seem pretty comfortable in your YouTube videos. I look forward to following your progress.

I read that you spend at least an hour a day on Spanish using music, grammar study and Language Hacking Spanish. Your general approach seems like it would act as a nice segway to the Multi-track approach that Iguanamon mentioned earlier.

Would you mind sharing a bit more about what you’re doing to advance? What grammar book are you using? Other than the videos you post, do you speak? Considering how well you seem to be progressing, I just think it would be cool to know how you’re making it happen.
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Re: Por favor, ayúdame a aprender Español!

Postby the1whoknocks » Thu Apr 13, 2017 4:12 am

I am learning Spanish myself, so I probably wouldn’t be the best to 'criticize' your videos but, I can offer my thoughts on possible topics and vocabulary you might study next.

----------------------
Things to Study:
----------------------

I would second reading Iguanamon’s post on his multitrack method. I found I was doing following a variant of that approach before I even knew what it was. It seems like you’re headed in that direction, too. If I had to boil it down to a few sentences, I’d say the essence is to choose one or two courses, and listen and work with native materials that you find interesting, early.

---------------------
About Courses:
---------------------

Using a course will, I think, provide the guidance you might be looking for. I’ve never used Language Hacking Spanish, but browsing through it’s table of contents, it seems like a decent beginner’s course. Generally speaking, most courses aimed at beginners teach the same basic vocabulary and sentence structures. Anything with dialogs, audio and perhaps a light sprinkling of grammar will probably be a good candidate for you, at this stage.

I’ve tried many but ultimately, the ones I stuck with are:

-Pimsleur - Used for probably the first couple months. Helpful with pronunciation and rudimentary vocabulary.
- FSI Spanish - I had reached the intermediate level before I started using the entire course, but the first two chapters are really worth working through to nail Spanish pronunciation. The other chapters are great, I just found it too much to commit to, starting out.
- Assimil - I milked these dialogs for all they were worth. I listened to each one multiple times, transcribed them, shadowed some of them, modified them to fit situations I was likely to find myself in, role played them with a tutor. Definitely got my money's worth.
- SpanishPod 101 - Same deal as Assimil, but more colloquial language and with an emphasis on Spanish as spoken in Latin America. I think I started with their, “lower intermediate series - season 3” since these podcasts were primarily in Spanish (my preference) and I liked the style of the podcasters for this season. I subscribed for a while and, at the time, the podcasts and accompanying pdf’s could be downloaded. They have sales all the time - I wouldn’t pay full-price.
- Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Verb Tenses by Dorthy Richmond - It was a push to get through, and there's no audio, but the major verb tenses are presented in a logical order, and explained/drilled very well.
- Language Transfer - Spanish- Free Spanish grammar course on YouTube, very similar to Michel Thomas. Well worth your time.

Edited to add Language Transfer - Spanish.
Last edited by the1whoknocks on Sun Apr 16, 2017 4:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
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the1whoknocks
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Re: Por favor, ayúdame a aprender Español!

Postby the1whoknocks » Thu Apr 13, 2017 4:15 am

-------------------------
About Vocabulary:
-------------------------

What AnyMeg said about following your interests, and working to understand native material related to those interests is solid advice.

I can see frequency lists as helpful but, beyond a few pre-made Memrise decks, I can’t admit to using them for anything other than general reference. learning vocabulary often seemed overwhelming but in retrospect, the majority of my vocabulary study came from a four main places:

1. Situations that I was likely to encounter.

In my case, it was clear that if I could do nothing else in Spanish, I needed to be able to communicate at work. In addition grammar study and constant listening, I did a lot of work in this arena. About four months in, my tutor and I started aggressively practicing common work situations. I took pictures of things at work and would work to describe them and explain why they were useful to me. We would work to write very short speeches and they would record them for me. I treated these speeches as I did the dialogs from Assimil and SP101 … I milked them for all they were worth.

By talking and getting help to write mini speeches that I would actually use at work, I quickly found the words that I needed to learn. Of course, I did much more than this, but I hope it gives you an idea.

2. Dialogs from my courses.

Assimil and SpanishPod101 dialogs provided a wealth of useful vocabulary. There are many ways to use the courses, and if a lesson was particularly boring, I skipped it if I felt I didn’t need the vocabulary. Luckily, this usually wasn’t a problem. In many cases, Assimil would word things differently than someone from Latin America generally might. In these cases, friends and exchange partners were able to tell me what sounded ‘werid’ to them, and how they would say it. I would record it, add it to Anki, and move on.

3. Skype conversations

Disclaimer: I don’t mean to suggest that Skype conversations are necessary in the beginning. I don't think they are. Plenty of listening, and solid study on pronunciation, I would say, should be a healthy part of one’s day before even thinking about attempting conversation. With that said, for better or worse, I started speaking fairly early. It seemed to fit well with my goal, so I tried to start speaking as soon as I felt I could. I was also listening a lot and if I didn’t need to talk at work, I might have considered waiting a few more months before attempting conversations. I also explicitly study grammar, a lot. Again, not that what I did is necessary ... I'm only being honest about what I did. /caveat

In the beginning, language partners were good, but not for general conversation. I was lucky to find two find two great tutors who I was able to work well with, fairly early. Their experience is what made the difference between me improving and just quitting frustrated (while trying the conversation thing, not with Spanish). There were lessons, but a large part of our interaction was just focused conversation. Any vocabulary suggestions or written corrections they gave were added to Anki. I tended to study the vocabulary and repeat the conversations with them and because I also often said these those things at work, I learnt them fairly quickly.

4. Native Materials, ‘kinda’:

Here, passion and interest had free reign. I studied what I wanted, when I wanted for the mere fact that I wanted to. The only limiting factor would be something that was just waaay too hard. Too hard, for me, meant something I did not enjoy working to understand.

--- Music - Seems like you’re already doing this. I studied my first song a few weeks after I started learning Spanish. I printed the lyrics, studied all the words, pondered over weird grammar points, understood it the best I could, and moved on. I didn’t always understand everything. Example: A friend was studying, “A dios le pido” by Juanes for her Spanish class and although I had been studying Spanish for about a month, I decided to do the same. I noticed that many of the words had ‘the wrong’ ending but couldn’t figure out why. I left it alone. Months later I discovered that I was dealing with something called the subjunctive. By then, I already knew the vocabulary, but it wasn't until them that the song truly made sense. Anki might have been helpful, but I opted to create a playlist in Spotify and just play that playlist often. Anytime I forgot the meaning of a word I studied, I’d just look it up. I also enjoyed the challenge of trying to rap or sing along with the songs ... everything from Calle 13 and Maluma to Juan Luis Guerra, Victor Manuel and Heroes de Silencio; my interests are pretty random so no artist was off limits.

---- Destinos- I didn’t really study this series. I just watched an episode, as often as I could, until finished.

----Xtra Spanish- … - Same deal as Destinos

--- Podcasts meant for learners - Preferably those with transcripts. Notes in Spanish, Podcasts in Spanish, Spanish Obsessed, and VeinteMundos are four that I have experience with. However, forum member Reinke compiled a great list of resources here

--- Something suggested by my tutors or that I stumbled upon.-

--- Silly cat videos like this and other random videos. Sometimes I had to slow down the audio, and it may not have been the suggested n+1 (listening to something only slightly above one’s level), but I enjoyed working with videos like this. Since I couldn’t have the conversations I wanted, after I would say all I could during an exchange, I would ask partners to help me confirm my transcriptions.

Anyway, I apologize for the long posts. Good luck on your journey.

EDIT: Forgot to add RadioAmbulante.com. They have many enjoyable podcasts. I'm hesitant to suggest it since it's definitely an advanced podcast but you might like it many months down the line.
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