Best way to learn Spanish?

[kyhawk]

That Rosetta Stone software looks good. Right now I am listening to learn in car series. Lots of stuff on Ebay. Dont know if any of it very good. I think the best way would be immersion by moving to where Spanish is only spoken, but not practical.
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...=learn+spanish

[LastLion]

I have rosetta, it is great if you have an hour a day extra to sit in front of the computer. SOme do some don't! I like Pilsneur for audio. And of course the best way to learn is to go there and get in an immersion class! They have classes from 1 week to 3 months, throughout LAM!!! For total immersion. !

[Jim]

An inexpensive way to take Spanish classes from qualified instructors is attending a community college class. The approach will give you most of the tools in four courses. Then you get to practice.

This generally takes two years and if you make several trips to LA while you're studying, you'll really notice the improvement.

[Ciza29]

Classic Lastlion. Is that a combination of the Pimsleur method and the Pilsner method? My Spanish gets better the more I drink. Or it least it sounds better in my head.

I like the pimsleur method best for being able to understand what people say. However, it is week on grammer, so I supplement with "The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice". I have also heard pimsleur will only get you to a certain level. I haven't had to worry about that yet.

I haven't used it but the FSI Platiquemos method is supposed to take you the furthest in Spanish and is for the serious student.

How good your spanish becomes is a matter of how much you desire to speak spanish. I am usually much more motivated after seeing a beautiful latina.

[HonkyTonk]

"How good your spanish becomes is a matter of how much you desire to speak spanish. I am usually much more motivated after seeing a beautiful latina."

How true it is!

[El Capitan]

...couldn't have said that any better! It is amazing how much you start to REALLY try, once you hook up with a gal that has captured your curiosity.

The Pilsner Method really does work, believe it or not. You stop worrying about the words coming out correctly, and just let it all hang out when your inhibitions are down.

Go find a nice gal that wants to help you learn, take her dancing, have a few Pilsner's, dance your hind-side off, work up a sweat on the dance floor, and talk!!! Go home, take two aspirinas, (hopefully not alone), study a little bit at the Dicionario de Cabelo Largo, sleep well and late into the morning...and you'll be surprised at how much better you speak and understand the lingo in the morning!

For guys that already speak some spanish I recommend www.lomastv.com.

[RexB]

Glad this thread got started up again. I need some help. I am taking classes at the local adult ed center as i have for quite a few months. These classes are based on Spanish grammar. I hate English grammar let alone Spanish but i suffer through it and it has helped. I am actually starting to conjugate verbs now and they are correct. I guess repetition does work. I have Pimsleurs Spanish One loaded on my IPOD and am in need of the next one. Can anyone share the second set with me so that i can load it. Pm me so that we can work out the details. I need to get better at this and the Pimsleurs CD's help with daily study in the car on the way to work.
Thanks, Rex

[LastLion]

Originally Posted by calipro

For guys that already speak some spanish I recommend www.lomastv.com.

Great Link Calipro!!

IMHO each person is going to learn it a little differently. I gave my rossetta stone program to a computer geek and she is picking it up rapidly. I could not stay focused on the computer like her. Although it is a useful tool.

For me the best program is going to LAM and doing immersion classes, because you use it as you learn it. A hot latina is a great motivation, but motivating my tool is not always the same as motivating my brain. Los dos hablan idiomas diferente!

I just returned from meeting with my spanish teacher here trying to get back on a schedule. I have had one class in the last month sicne returning from COLOMBIA. The pilsneur or pilsmur whatever it is called, is in my car and I listen to it daily. It has kept me connected. And i continue to learn more as I review the cds.

If you are travelling LAM for at least a week, you should be able to squeeze in at least a couple of hours a day for an immersion class. I highly recommend them.

The problem for me with audio tapes is that you don't always understand why they say words differently. por ejemplo; poder, puedo, puedes, podemos pueden, all these words can sound completely different and seem like entirely new words, when all they are, are conjugations of the verb "could". Also all the articles o "articulos" le les nos se etc...our version is it, he, she they, us etc.. when you get into conversations some times it is all about who, what, where & it and if you don't understand it, you can easily get lost!

This is why I suggest formal classes and a serious commitment to learning verbs and their conjugations, is also key. Another example "puse", sounds like what you think it sounds like, past tense of poner, or to put, **** when I heard that, my head went straight into the gutter especially coming from my cute and married spanish teacher.

I have a solid 10 months of study with a total of 4 weeks in immersion classes in mexico and colombia, along with a pilneur, and a novia who does not speak englsih. I am positive many a men and women would be farther along than me by now. But I feel comfortable speaking spanish now,although far from perfect, i have personally combined many methods, because that is what works in my life.

EL CAPITAN; said it best a ways back in my studies, " when you start dreaming in spanish, that's when you know you gettin it." This occurred for me quite often during my last trip and occasionally since. I was quite frustrated as many of you remember 3 months ago, but my last trip solidified it.

I am not sure if it is appropriate, but since spanish is key in dating latinas and travelling to Lam, I would be open to having any one interested in communicating there lessons and their experience to PM me as learining spanish is a new passion of mine. I just saw Rex's post and I can totally relate to that!!!!!!!!

The best way to learn Spanish is to hit the streets in any Spanish speaking country, you can't argue with that, it IS the best way! All the other methods mentioned are good but the best way in on the streets.....