Tried something new to learn Spanish

[Crazy Dave]

I've been trying for years and speak a little but have not had much success in becoming fluent with it. I learned German very easy but Spanish has eluded me. Recently I started watching DVD's of movies I'm familiar with. Just about all of them have Spanish as a voice option or Spanish subtitles. You would not believe how much this has helped as far as speaking the language which is primarily my goal. All the books and tapes want to teach proper sentence structure and teach you phrases that you will never use in real life or on a vacation.

Just a recommendation for those wanting to learn and struggling like I have :hi:

[GRLMGC]

1. Hmm, maybe I should try it with French

I've seen some of my DVDs with French subtitles. I took four years of French in HS but my teacher for three of those years was really bad. I've become interested in learning again. I want to be at least semi-fluent. Thanks for the idea!

[Crazy Dave]

2. Almost all I've seen have French as a language choice

At first it was easier listening in english with the Spanish subtitles but now I listen in Spanish and use the english subtitles unless it's a movie I've watched a lot and know what they're already saying.

Bonne chance :hi:

[GRLMGC]

3. Merci! nt

[Kali]

4. You learned German and have trouble with Spanish?

OMG! German seems as hard as Chinese to me. I have about 5 vocabulary words and I know I don't pronounce them right. And my best friend of 11 years is German.

Movies, radio, television shows are all a good way to practice (get hooked on telenovelas!) Also comic books.

[Crazy Dave]

5. I can't understand it either

Plus my mom is Spanish and I lived in Spain for four years. I only lived in Germany about two and a half but I met and soon after lived with a German woman who spoke no English when we first met. In about seven months we were both speaking each other's language pretty good. That was over twenty-two years ago and my German is still better than my Spanish.

[Kali]

6. Ah, I think I know something. Spaniards talk so fast you can't understand 'em.

Take a couple weeks in Mexico. You will probably pick it up pretty quickly if you stay away from any English speakers.