How to learn a language (specifically Spanish) before studying abroad, and how to maintain motivation while learning?

[madridabroad]

I plan on studying abroad in Madrid beginning next January, meaning I have 9 months to learn Spanish. I took 3 years of (semi-intensive) Spanish in high school, but now that I'm 3 years removed from my last course, I can't say that I remember anything. How would you recommend I go about learning? Currently, I am looking at these options: use Rocket Spanish, take a community college course over the summer (which I am not sure how it would work since I will have a 40 hour/week job), and/or take a 1 semester course next semester at college.

I am also concerned about maintaining motivation. With other everyday activities, and the fact that I won't be in Madrid for nearly a year, I am wondering what it is I should do to not just start learning, but also maintain my motivation. I realize this is a personal struggle, but I feel like there are certain strategies that are used across the board when learning a language.

[eido]

This is just my opinion, but I don't think it should be too hard to take one community college course with a full-time job. 35 hours is technically full time, and I worked that last summer. I took one course and it wasn't too bad. I actually wanted to take more. The only problem you might have is reading. If you have to take part in discussion posts (if it's an online course), those aren't too hard. I can recommend my current CC because it's very cheap. PM me if you like. The only hurtle you might have is some CCs might require test scores for taking classes. Some don't if you say you're only going to take one course, but if you ever intend on taking more, those might be required.

The way I keep up motivation is by picking things I like to do. I watch cartoons. I build off what I already know. I've been told recently to work with FSI, and the way I'll try to do that is use my current knowledge to bolster what's in the content. I think making friends will help too. Or at least finding people you can communicate with.

Just remember that even though Spanish is considered an easy language, it will take time to master. You can probably get the basics of grammatical concepts down, but actually using them is a different story. You need to practice, and learn from the experts at every chance you get.

[Xenops]

I plan on studying abroad in Madrid beginning next January, meaning I have 9 months to learn Spanish. I took 3 years of (semi-intensive) Spanish in high school, but now that I'm 3 years removed from my last course, I can't say that I remember anything. How would you recommend I go about learning? Currently, I am looking at these options: use Rocket Spanish, take a community college course over the summer (which I am not sure how it would work since I will have a 40 hour/week job), and/or take a 1 semester course next semester at college.

I am also concerned about maintaining motivation. With other everyday activities, and the fact that I won't be in Madrid for nearly a year, I am wondering what it is I should do to not just start learning, but also maintain my motivation. I realize this is a personal struggle, but I feel like there are certain strategies that are used across the board when learning a language.

First of all, welcome to the forum! I hope you will find it a welcoming place and that you'll report your Madrid adventures.

My concern with taking a class when you're rusty with a language is that you'll spend lots of time playing "catch up". I contemplated a couple of times picking up Spanish again after a hiatus and a full onslaught of science courses at the same time, and I knew that I'd spend lots of time outside of class reviewing content that I had forgotten. Considering my science load, I decided not to risk it. In your situation, I would probably study on my own time without the constraints of a class. Classes can also vary in quality.

As for maintaining enthusiasm, why not read about things to do in Madrid in Spanish? That's so cool that you get to study abroad! That is something I wish I could have done when I was in college, but the opportunity was always out of my reach.

[Axon]

Hello and welcome!

Props to you for thinking of your language study this far in advance. Even if you only do a few minutes a day consistently, 9 months is plenty of time for your study to stick.

If you took Spanish in high school, you'll likely remember more than you think. Check out some videos on YouTube like Easy Spanish and watch the comprehension start to come right back.

I also suggest reading some articles aloud to get your speaking muscles going again. Spanish has a huge presence on the Internet and I've managed to find articles on just about anything. Do some Google searches in Spanish for some interesting topics and see what comes up. If you have some trouble, PM me and I guarantee I'll find you something

[Decidida]

You can audit a 2 semester College Spanish class at edX that uses the Spain Spanish accent and grammar. You can pay for a certificate, but auditing the courses is free.

Semester 1
https://www.edx.org/course/basic-spanis ... ng-started
Semester 2
https://www.edx.org/course/basic-spanis ... -bsp102x-0

See if your library has free online foreign language resources. In most states, the capital city gives free cards to all residents of the state and they often have extensive online resources for foreign language learning. One trip to the capital city should get you at least a year of online access at home.

Don't be afraid to use resources aimed at children.

[Cavesa]

Welcome to the forum!

Neither of those options is that efficient, I'd say. You are probably going to get lots of advice. I hope something from mine might help too. Based on my personal experience with studying abroad and with preparing for one student exchange in Spain, and with restarting languages after long breaks, I would recommend this:

1.Go through your old resources, the coursebooks, the audio, refresh your memory, and then find the next resources that you could easily continue with. The other option is getting a new course (and now it would be easier to get a monolingual one than back when you were starting from zero) and going through it like a normal beginner, just faster and more easily.

2.Flexible adaptable resources like Gramatica de Uso are awesome. You can do the lessons in whichever order you need.

3.Lots of listening. The best thing I did before going abroad had been watching several seasons of tv series dubbed to Spanish (those are usually easier than originals). Sure, you need the basics first before this, but tv series are a good way to prepare for the natives in real life. Before that, podcasts or audiobooks serve to less advanced learners well. But no matter what kind of resouces you choose, don't underestimate this. Listening is the absolute key, the most useful and important skill in a foreign country. You can say a lot just with coursebookish language and in spite of making mistakes. But natives won't limit themselves just to the basics.

4.Prepare for your studies in the languages. What are you studying? Get a few textbooks in Spanish or try websites and youtube videos for Spanish students in your field, and prepare for using the language in this context. It helps a lot, you'll get to really profit from your classes much earlier. Depending on your field, you might also profit from resources for Spanish highschoolers, to learn the basic vocabulary in maths, biology, geography, etc. but that depends on what you are studying.

5.If you really want a teacher (I don't think they are necessary, but many people prefer to have one), pay for one on one lessons either in person or online. Don't waste time in group classes. On top of all the usual disadvantages, your situation will be another one. It will be difficult to get sorted in the right group, because you are very likely to still have good knowledge of some areas (after a bit of remembering), and huge gaps elsewhere. Also the classes are usually too slow to teach you enough before leaving for the country.

edit:a mistake

[emma22]

In my opinion, if you're planning on learning a language abroad, you're probably a little nervous about taking on such a challenge. This is totally understandable going to another country is intimidating enough even if you do speak the local language. Also you can surround yourself with the language. There's an endless world of music, movies, TV shows, magazines, books, and even radio that you can use to help practice and get used to hearing your language no flashcards necessary. Mock conversations can be great for practicing question-and-answer exchanges and understanding how words or grammar structures may be used in context, but they often center on topics or vocabulary that you're probably never going to use.

[Lisa]

I relearned spanish (after a 20-year hiatus!) using Anki for vocab, kwiziq for grammar, and spanish-language reading and audiobooks mostly from the library. While I probably put in a hour a day on average, it fit easily into my little bits of semi-free time (I have the equivalent of 1.5 jobs), like doing Anki while working out, audiobooks while driving, reading before bed, etc. Within 6 months I was beyond the level I'd reached after 6 years of high school spanish. Unfortunately, at the 8 month point, while I can read almost anything, I can't speak well, but that is much harder to make happen in those little bits of time.

For me, finding books/audiobooks that I really wanted to read/listen to was motivating. As I read/listened, recognizing words and grammatical constructions and being able to untangled them was satisfying. I had some points where I sorta felt like it was never going to be any good, but that's where the knowledge you'll want it soon is very helpful. I arranged a week trip to Mexico to keep myself motivated when it got slow, but you've got something much stronger!