DuaneBidoux
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Fri Nov-02-07 07:11 PM
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Any Spanish speakers out there who learned it late in life? What way is best. |
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I know immersion is great, but I can't move anywhere. I've wondered about this "Rosetta Stone" that I see everywhere.
I do speak fluent French (minor in French) and I did it the old fashioned way of congugating verbs and repeating sentences over and over, etc. It was pretty rapid. Within about two years I could function in Paris.
But now I'm nearly 50 and think my brain may not have what it takes for such a rigorous method.
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riderinthestorm
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Fri Nov-02-07 07:27 PM
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1. I did a spanish immersion course in Guatemala |
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in Quetzeltenango with a program called ICA. I was there for 4 weeks - the program even arranged a home stay with a really great family in a lovely home (I will say that I cheated a bit and paid for my instructor and I to head out and do some touring during my stay. For two weeks we went to Antiqua, Tikal, etc. With hotel rates at about $4/night, I could easily afford a room for her and I, while getting the instruction daily that I needed PLUS seeing the sights). When I got home I had an excellent start (I really needed to go deep into immersion territory to ensure I actually HAD to speak it in public - there are very few english speakers in Guatemala so you are forced to speak it for every transaction).
After that, I found you have to overcome your embarrassment at your terrible spanish and just practice it with anyone you come across who is fluent in the language!
I was 42 when I did this so I know you CAN learn a language when you are well past school age - don't let the brain drain fiction stop your quest! Never stop learning. I will tell you that being fluent in French will help you enormously - even if that fluency is in the distant past. I was/am also reasonably fluent in French and I found that helped a lot with Spanish.
Finally, I have to admit that I did try Berlitz for the spanish but I was always cheating since I never felt compelled to really put it into practice every day. That was why I had to absolutely go. away. to. force. myself. I would bet you are much more disciplined than I was and would probably fair well with some of the latest teaching aids.
:hi: Good luck!
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Pale Blue Dot
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Fri Nov-02-07 07:31 PM
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2. I'm a nearly 40-year-old teacher, and many of my students speak Spanish. |
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I realize that I'm going to have to learn it, if only to understand what they're saying about me. :-)
I think total immersion is my only option.
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DuaneBidoux
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Sat Nov-03-07 03:45 AM
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6. That is exactly my situation: I teach in Houston |
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I don't really care what they say about me but I do feel I would help them much more if I could speak Spanish.
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malta blue
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Fri Nov-02-07 07:31 PM
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3. Once you know French, Spanish is a simple jump., and |
Colorado Progressive
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Fri Nov-02-07 07:41 PM
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4. Before I go to a new country I always get those Instant Immersion cd sets from Amazon. |
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They are fun, its like playing a video game. Splurge and get the 6 or 8 cd set, not just the 2. I'm currently using the Spanish one and having a great time. (After a trip to Mexico I realized it would have been nice to have understood the bus driver when he told me I was on the wrong bus, etc.)
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QMPMom
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Fri Nov-02-07 07:44 PM
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5. Spanish should be easy after the French. |
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My husband learned French by the immersion method (it was his third language). He would do summer courses in Quebec and then moved to study at University in France for 2 years in the early 1980's.
Good luck!
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Recovered Repug
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Sat Nov-03-07 04:28 AM
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7. My younger brother swears by The Rosetta Stone program. |
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He used it for spanish and claims it's great.
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DU
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Tue May 07th 2024, 06:13 AM
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