Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

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Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby Paul Moechner » Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:24 am

Hello my name is Paul. I moved to Mexico from the United States back in June this year and I recently made the decision to make Mexico my new home. I cannot afford to pay for classes but with all the free information that exists on the internet, there is no reason I can't learn Spanish for free. So I found this Spanish class on youtube and I am now using it to learn Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FB1nO6 ... A1NRoaskst


I have learned from some friends I made here in Mexico that the Spanish language can be a little different, depending on what Spanish speaking country I'm in. So I have some basic questions about the Spanish Class I'm taking, who's link I shared above and some basic questions about Spanish in general.

1. I need to learn Spanish in the context of communicating with people who live in Mexico. How can I tell if I am studying the correct version of Spanish? Is there enough of a difference between how Mexicans speak Spanish VS other countries for it to matter? Is the youtube class I'm taking right now teaching me the correct version of Spanish?

2. I have been told by a friend of mine who is Mexican that Spanish in its "written form" can be equally understood no matter what Spanish speaking country you are from. I find this confusing since I ALSO have been told that Spanish is different depending on the country. Does this make any sense?

3. I'm currently using the specific YouTube Spanish class I'm referencing because it has over 400 lessons, thus giving me the impression that it is very thorough, and because it is free (I can't afford to pay for any classes right now due to personal finances). Is there any reason I shouldn't use this class? If so, is there another one anybody would recommend? For now, it seems like a very good class, but I have never learned a second language before so I don't know any better, lol.

4. Is there any advice anyone can offer to a beginner like me who has started the process of learning Spanish?
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby rdearman » Sun Dec 18, 2022 9:20 am

I haven't learned Spanish, so I can't give you any advice there, but I have learned a couple of languages, so I feel I can give you some general observations.

Firstly, one resource will not teach you all there is to know about a language. So I suggest you start looking for more resources. You can find pages and pages of free resources in our Spanish resource thread, https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 19&t=5377/

There are a number of free Spanish textbooks that you can download online. Here are a few options:

"Espanol.net": This website offers a free online textbook for learning Spanish, with chapters covering a wide range of topics including grammar, vocabulary, and culture.

"Spanish Textbook PDF": This website offers a free PDF version of a popular Spanish textbook called "¡Arriba! Comunicación y cultura." The textbook covers a variety of topics including grammar, vocabulary, and cultural material.

"SpanishTexts": This website offers a selection of free PDF textbooks for learning Spanish, including both beginner and advanced level texts.

"OpenSesame": This website offers a number of free Spanish language courses, including a course called "Spanish for Beginners" that includes a textbook with chapters on grammar, vocabulary, and cultural material.

"Duolingo": This popular language learning app offers a variety of free courses for learning Spanish, including a course called "Spanish for English Speakers" that includes a textbook with chapters on grammar, vocabulary, and cultural material.

It's important to note that while these resources can be useful for learning Spanish, they may not be comprehensive and should be used in conjunction with other resources and materials.

You live in Mexico, you should get out and speak to as many people as possible. I figure that will take care of any issues you might have speaking a slightly different dialect of Spanish, since the Mexicans will correct you, or you'll discover your mistakes listening to them.

I would recommend you try to find a library so that you can read. Or failing that you could presumably afford a newspaper, so buy one and read it in conjunction with a dictionary. Also self-talk willl help you. Constantly walk around trying to think "How would I say that in Spanish", keep a notebook and write down the words you didn't know and look them up.

You need to learn some grammar. Here are a few options for free Spanish grammar books that you can download online:

"Gramática esencial del español" by Marcelo Isaac and Lucía Iglesias Kuntz: This grammar book is available for free download as a PDF from the University of Texas at Austin website. It covers a wide range of topics including verb conjugation, noun and adjective agreements, and sentence structure.

"Gramática del español" by Marta Rojals: This grammar book is available for free download as a PDF from the University of Colorado Boulder website. It covers a wide range of topics including verb conjugation, noun and adjective agreements, and sentence structure.

"Gramática de uso del español" by María Moliner: This grammar book is available for free download as a PDF from the University of Salamanca website. It covers a wide range of topics including verb conjugation, noun and adjective agreements, and sentence structure.

"Gramática española" by Juan Kattán-Ibarra and Rafael Monroy-Casas: This grammar book is available for free download as a PDF from the University of Oxford website. It covers a wide range of topics including verb conjugation, noun and adjective agreements, and sentence structure.

Hope that helps some.

Welcome to the forum BTW!

EDIT: I forgot, you should check out this member's log, where they consistently list the stuff they are using to learn Spanish. https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9001
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby piotr » Sun Dec 18, 2022 8:10 pm

It's like if you asked an Englishman if he can understand the speech of Texas. There's no simple, short and definitive answer. You'll get a plenty of different answers depending on what we mean by "to understand" and the type of speech we have in mind. Spanish dialects are just like English dialects. ;)

On one hand, I'd say that the dialect used in a course doesn't really matter. Even if your initial course teaches the Spanish of e.g. Spain, if you live in Mexico, in the long run it's simply improbable that you learn non-Mexican pronunciation, vocabulary or grammar.

On the other hand, I would argue that in your case learning from an Uruguayan is one of the worse options existing on the planet. :| I would definitely pick up a different online course, as the Spanish of Uruguay clearly differs from that of Mexico.

By the way, I'm now working on a phonetic comparison between the Spanish of Montevideo, UY and Ciudad de México, MX, which will be available in my computer program in January. :P
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby Lawyer&Mom » Mon Dec 19, 2022 12:31 am

Do you have access to a library? Kids books aimed at toddlers are great for picking up the basics: colors, shapes, animals etc. I would never suggest buying these books, because you won’t need them for long, but if you can borrow them for free, why not? (Kids books are tricky. Picture books that adults read to elementary school kids aren’t actually that easy. Books that teach kids to read, that will be read by elementary school kids are a great resource.)

In addition to your coursework I would also recommend just adding Spanish content to your daily routine. Turn on the radio when you make breakfast, watch the evening news. You will soak up so much without much effort.
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby Paul_Moechner2022 » Mon Dec 19, 2022 12:50 am

rdearman wrote:I haven't learned Spanish, so I can't give you any advice there, but I have learned a couple of languages, so I feel I can give you some general observations.

Firstly, one resource will not teach you all there is to know about a language. So I suggest you start looking for more resources. You can find pages and pages of free resources in our Spanish resource thread, https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 19&t=5377/

There are a number of free Spanish textbooks that you can download online. Here are a few options:

"Espanol.net": This website offers a free online textbook for learning Spanish, with chapters covering a wide range of topics including grammar, vocabulary, and culture.

"Spanish Textbook PDF": This website offers a free PDF version of a popular Spanish textbook called "¡Arriba! Comunicación y cultura." The textbook covers a variety of topics including grammar, vocabulary, and cultural material.

"SpanishTexts": This website offers a selection of free PDF textbooks for learning Spanish, including both beginner and advanced level texts.

"OpenSesame": This website offers a number of free Spanish language courses, including a course called "Spanish for Beginners" that includes a textbook with chapters on grammar, vocabulary, and cultural material.

"Duolingo": This popular language learning app offers a variety of free courses for learning Spanish, including a course called "Spanish for English Speakers" that includes a textbook with chapters on grammar, vocabulary, and cultural material.

It's important to note that while these resources can be useful for learning Spanish, they may not be comprehensive and should be used in conjunction with other resources and materials.

You live in Mexico, you should get out and speak to as many people as possible. I figure that will take care of any issues you might have speaking a slightly different dialect of Spanish, since the Mexicans will correct you, or you'll discover your mistakes listening to them.

I would recommend you try to find a library so that you can read. Or failing that you could presumably afford a newspaper, so buy one and read it in conjunction with a dictionary. Also self-talk willl help you. Constantly walk around trying to think "How would I say that in Spanish", keep a notebook and write down the words you didn't know and look them up.

You need to learn some grammar. Here are a few options for free Spanish grammar books that you can download online:

"Gramática esencial del español" by Marcelo Isaac and Lucía Iglesias Kuntz: This grammar book is available for free download as a PDF from the University of Texas at Austin website. It covers a wide range of topics including verb conjugation, noun and adjective agreements, and sentence structure.

"Gramática del español" by Marta Rojals: This grammar book is available for free download as a PDF from the University of Colorado Boulder website. It covers a wide range of topics including verb conjugation, noun and adjective agreements, and sentence structure.

"Gramática de uso del español" by María Moliner: This grammar book is available for free download as a PDF from the University of Salamanca website. It covers a wide range of topics including verb conjugation, noun and adjective agreements, and sentence structure.

"Gramática española" by Juan Kattán-Ibarra and Rafael Monroy-Casas: This grammar book is available for free download as a PDF from the University of Oxford website. It covers a wide range of topics including verb conjugation, noun and adjective agreements, and sentence structure.

Hope that helps some.

Welcome to the forum BTW!

EDIT: I forgot, you should check out this member's log, where they consistently list the stuff they are using to learn Spanish. https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9001


Hello, for some reason I was locked out of my gmail account. for some reason inputing my password wasn't enough and gmail wanted to text me some passcode to a phone number I used to have in the USA. ...but I don't use that phone number anymore due to moving to another country haha. I'm the one who created this thread. I was forced to create a new email today and therefore forced to create a new account because for some reason this website wasn't accepting my password either. what a day! haha.

Anyway, thank you so much for the information you gave me! I'll be going through all the resources you pointed me towards. This is my first time learning a 2nd language so I appreciate any help/advice I can get. :)
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby Monk » Mon Dec 19, 2022 6:04 am

Paul Moechner wrote:4. Is there any advice anyone can offer to a beginner like me who has started the process of learning Spanish?


Hi Paul,

Welcome to the forum. I'm new here too, and am also a beginner Spanish learner with a particular interest in the dialects of Spanish spoken in México. You have a great opportunity living in the country to really hone your skills with a local dialect.

Something to be aware of. You don't have to learn the "vos" form of "you", because the Spanish in México uses tú (informal) or usted (formal). You also don't have to worry about the "vosotros" form, which is mostly used in the Spanish of Spain and not in the Latin American dialects.

México has a lot of really colorful idiomatic expressions and slang. I would say, probably don't worry too much about those starting out. Learn some of the basics of "standard" Spanish. Your neighbors will likely understand what you mean and be able to fill you in on how things are expressed differently where you live.

One resource I use for listening practice is Easy Spanish. It's a YouTube channel with short videos of native speakers from various regions that include subtitles in both Spanish and English. It's not a formal course or a series of lessons, but it is great for listening to conversations about various topics and having both English and Spanish subtitles appear on the screen at the same time, especially for beginners. When I use it for listening practice, I will typically watch a single video three times. First time I don't read any of the subtitles. I just listen to the Spanish and see how well I can follow along. Second time I'll read just the Spanish subtitles. This helps me to check how accurately I am hearing the spoken language (even if there is a lack of comprehension on some bits of the dialogue. It's still something if you can distinguish the words, and start to get an ear for the natural rhythm and cadence of the language, along with pronunciation). Third time I read the English subtitles. This is to check for comprehension. Occasionally I might watch a video a fourth time, where again I'm not reading any subtitles, and I compare it to the first time I watched it to see how much more I understand as they are speaking. The videos are typically only 10 to 15 minutes, so watching them multiple times like this is not overly time consuming. I've found that the time I put into doing this has been both beneficial and fun.

Another free resource on YouTube you might be interested in is Butterfly Spanish. Ana is a native Mexican, and she has a series of lessons available to watch online.
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby Kraut » Mon Dec 19, 2022 11:27 am

Some suggestions and tools:

EDGE Browser has an audio tool that reads a text with voices in about 20 Spanish accents


PONS translator in Edge Browser
https://en.pons.com/text-translation/english-spanish
-English-Spanish translation with audio
-click on a Spanish word in the translation to get the vocabulary entry and example sentences with audio in Mexican Spanish

Mexican Spanish podcast

https://www.spanishplayground.net/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... playground
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo4c7MN ... Playground
Easy Spanish Conversations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRRu6lB ... Playground

There is a translation tool for YouTube subtitles called "Language Learning with Netflix and YouTube" (more recent "Language Reactor")

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... fhegkeohbl

Firefox has the "Easy Subs" add-on that does the same.

If there are man-made subtitles, they show three dots "...", clicking on them opens the transcript for further study (repeat single sentences with reduced speed ...).

You could copy the transcript and take it to
https://www.deepl.com/de/translator to get it translated. DeepL is currently the best translator on the market (but not flawless!)
---------------
Simple Translate

Excellent pop-up dictionary

https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/a ... translate/
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... dpplpjiace
Last edited by Kraut on Fri Jan 06, 2023 1:22 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby Xenops » Mon Dec 19, 2022 2:22 pm

I will add a contesting opinion. :D I learned Mexican Spanish in high school, and I cannot for the life of me understand any European Spanish. Is it due to lack of exposure? Probably. So when looking for audio resources, Google "Mexican Spanish" or "Latin American Spanish", as the language of Spain has a couple different phonemes.
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby piotr » Mon Dec 19, 2022 4:14 pm

Monk wrote:
Paul Moechner wrote:You don't have to learn the "vos" form of "you", because the Spanish in México uses tú (informal) or usted (formal).

Although most Mexicans don't use "vos", this form is in fact used in the southernmost Mexico (Chiapas), just like it is in many places of Central America. Mexico is a huge country, the speech varies from place to place... We don't known what part of Mexico Paul has moved to. I think the climate of southern Mexico is more to my liking. :P

Xenops wrote:I learned Mexican Spanish in high school, and I cannot for the life of me understand any European Spanish. Is it due to lack of exposure? Probably. So when looking for audio resources, Google "Mexican Spanish" or "Latin American Spanish", as the language of Spain has a couple different phonemes.

Not surprising. Most accents of Spain are fairly difficult to understand for most speakers of Latin American dialects. But, what is "difficult" for a native speaker, may be impossible for you if your level of Spanish is not native-alike...

Regarding the "exposure", I think there are two kinds of people. Some focus on one particular dialect, e.g. Mexican, and essentially can only understand their own dialect but speak a good, mostly correct Spanish. Others mix all variants, take lessons of the Spanish of Spain, reading Argentinian books, listening to Cuban music, and travelling to Mexico. Their Spanish is impure and sounds rather odd but it's not uncommon that they have the naive illusion of understanding "everything" regardless of the dialect.
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Re: Moved to Mexico and started learning Spanish. Need advice.

Postby Paul_Moechner2022 » Mon Dec 19, 2022 4:24 pm

piotr wrote:
Monk wrote:
Paul Moechner wrote:You don't have to learn the "vos" form of "you", because the Spanish in México uses tú (informal) or usted (formal).

Although most Mexicans don't use "vos", this form is in fact used in the southernmost Mexico (Chiapas), just like it is in many places of Central America. Mexico is a huge country, the speech varies from place to place... We don't known what part of Mexico Paul has moved to. I think the climate of southern Mexico is more to my liking. :P

Xenops wrote:I learned Mexican Spanish in high school, and I cannot for the life of me understand any European Spanish. Is it due to lack of exposure? Probably. So when looking for audio resources, Google "Mexican Spanish" or "Latin American Spanish", as the language of Spain has a couple different phonemes.

Not surprising. Most accents of Spain are fairly difficult to understand for most speakers of Latin American dialects. But, what is "difficult" for a native speaker, may be impossible for you if your level of Spanish is not native-alike...

Regarding the "exposure", I think there are two kinds of people. Some focus on one particular dialect, e.g. Mexican, and essentially can only understand their own dialect but speak a good, mostly correct Spanish. Others mix all variants, take lessons of the Spanish of Spain, reading Argentinian books, listening to Cuban music, and travelling to Mexico. Their Spanish is impure and sounds rather odd but it's not uncommon that they have the naive illusion of understanding "everything" regardless of the dialect.


Oh that is so cool! That's exactly how it is in the United States. I spent most of my life moving around and lived as far west as Colorado and as far east as Georgia. I can tell you that when I moved from Colorado to northern Georgia, the northern Georgian southern accents were so thick it took a month for me to start understand what people were saying even though they were speaking english. it's even worse in Southern Louisiana. Most Americans don't understand a word that they are saying even though it's english haha.

I too am living in southern part of Mexico. I'm about 20 miles from the Guadalajara international airport in a town either called Zapopan or Jalisco or both, I'm still figuring that out lol. In about a year I will be moving to a place called Orizaba which is in a state I think is called Veracruz if I'm spelling that correctly and that's where my permanent home in Mexico will be hopefully.
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