10 Methods I used to learn Spanish

Here is a list of 10 things I did when I was learning Spanish. I hope you find something helpful here that you haven't seen before.

1. Found and regularly talked to a Spanish-speaking friend (or two).

I put this one first because it's probably the most important. As you can imagine, there's no substitute for regular, constant practice speaking Spanish with someone else. When I was learning Spanish, I noticed it was more difficult to get my thoughts into correct Spanish sentences than it was to hear something and understand it.

That's where doing a lot of live Spanish conversation helped. It forced me to think quickly, and get the words out and keep the conversation flowing. It might go without saying, but keep in mind that the Spanish-speaking friend is someone you'll want to keep in touch with long-term, in order to keep yourself fluent, not just when you're learning.

2. Listen to Popular Spanish Music on the Radio.

I like music. And listening to popular Spanish music on the radio was a way for me to have fun and enjoy learning Spanish. I recorded the weekly top 40 countdown and listened in my car. I knew all the popular songs and learned a lot of popular Spanish phrases.

3. Used a personal computer flash-card program.

I used a computer program that quizzed me and kept track of the words I missed and gave them to me again until I got them correct. You can get programs like this all over the web.

4. Wore the covers off a couple of dictionaries.

This is true. When I was learning Spanish, I literally wore the cover off the dictionary from looking up so many words.

5. Watched a few Spanish Television Shows

You can watch a Novella (soap opera) or a talk show, or whatever interests you. I liked watching series type shows because I wanted to tune in to see what was happening. Also, be sure to check out the Closed-Captioning to see how the words are spelled.

6. Bought a course.

The course I bought had 2 books and some audio cassettes.

7. Made Lists of Words.

I always carried paper and pen so when I learned a new word or phrase, I would write it down and look it up in the dictionary later. (see number 4.)

8. Did it Completely.

Whenever I learned a new word, I learned to say it, and I learned to spell it. If it was a noun, I learned if it was feminine or masculine. If it was a verb, I learned to conjugate the verb. You won't be sorry if you take the extra time to do this.

9. Bought records and cassettes by popular Spanish musical groups.

This is something that put fun into learning Spanish. Similar to number 2 and 5. Having some fun with it helped me to stay motivated and persevere.

10. Read some Spanish books.

Read something that is interesting or fun. I wrote down the words I wasn't familiar with and looked them up in the dictionary.