Learning a language is always interesting but it can also be difficult and frustrating if we cannot see progress on it, or we do not have realistic objectives. The best way of learning a language is to follow the advise of language experts; teachers, or language schools.
Here we give some advise to learn Spanish, but this list can be expanded using your own ideas because learning a language is a very personal and changeable task focused always on the students' needs.
First of all the most efficient way of learning a foreign language is to enrol a course. There are two options:
a) To do a course in your own country.
b) To enrol a course in the country where this language is spoken.
If we choose option a) we should take into account that these courses have usually one or two lessons per week only, so the learning will be slow and relaxed. You learn little by little. Some students find this an advantage, but some others loose motivation due to the slow rhythm of progress. This kind of course gives you the opportunity of assimilating very well grammar, although some students could find them too grammatically focused. But mainly, this courses have the great disadvantage of lacking practice, because all the students speak the same language and this makes difficult the communication in the second language that they are learning. Sometimes the teacher is not a native speaker. These kind of courses are perfect for students that do not want to loose contact with the language they have already studied and for those students that do not have the possibility of visiting the country.
The best of the advices to learn Spanish is to enrol a course in a Spanish speaking country. This is a very enriching experience because in this type of course we get to know people from very different countries, not only European ones but also from America or Asia. The atmosphere of the course is always very friendly and it is easy to make friends and to go out with they to experience the Spanish culture: tapas , bares , eating in restaurants etc. In short, to enjoy the Spanish way of life that so many people desire to experience once. Furthermore, in this kind of course which entails a situation of immersion within the Spanish culture the practice of the language continues after the lesson because we need the language to manage daily situations in a real and communicative context: shops, restaurants or in the host house. The Spanish character and personality; opened, easygoing and communicative, is another advantage. The student will find easy to speak with Spaniards because in Spain to start a conversation with people ,even if you do not know them very well, it is very common.
In these courses the learning progress is very fast and students speak Spanish from the first day. We recommend the student to get enough information about the school. It is very important to check the quality stamps of the school (CEELE , Ole , IALC , FEDELE ; etc.) that are the best guarantee.
In addition to the course these are good advises to consider:
-To buy a good dictionary and use it in an intelligent way, i.e. as a tool to help me. Not as a “sacred book”. If we have doubts it is always a good thing to ask your teacher or a native speaker.
-To create a vocabulary notebook with the most frequent words and work on it daily.
-To read newspapers or magazines in Spanish, this is a very good way of learning and reassuring vocabulary.
-To listen to the radio, watch TV or a DVD, to go to the cinema. It is coral to understand that it is difficult to get everything, the daily contact with the Spanish language will help us to get used with the rhythm of speech, intonation and vocabulary of Spanish. We need to be constant and patient. And overall we have to avoid the feeling of frustration at the beginning.
-To read books for students of Spanish. Books for children are not the best choice. Books with a topic of interest to you are the best choice, because otherwise we will loose motivation. It is also advisable no to use too much the dictionary.