Top Tips for 2015 How to learn Spanish …well!

How to learn Spanish well.2015

Both Cynthia and myself (Gordon) have developed a list of Top Tips designed specifically to assist you in learning Spanish faster than ever in 2015.

We’ve been teaching Spanish for many years now and have learnt the hard way about what works and what doesn’t. We’ve seen from personal experience how to learn Spanish well as well as how to make a right old pig’s ear of it. lol

There are many different ways of achieving a great level and, although we don’t claim to know them all, we have discovered some vital Do’s and Don’ts that, if followed, will take your Spanish forward at LightSpeed.

Remember that we offer a wide range of  Free Podcasts designed to build your Spanish forward at the right speed and order.

We wish you every success in what is sure to be one of the most interesting journeys of 2015!

Saludos de Gordon y Cynthia.

Top tips for learning Spanish in 2015

Plan your private study in small chunks of time.

For example, four, twenty or thirty minute slots across the week are far more efficient than studying for two hours. The mind likes chunking things down into manageable pieces. Having gaps in between your self-study allows you to process the information more easily.

Piggy Back your learning.

We all have busy lives and finding extra time to study is not always easy. The solution is to combine other, pre-existing activities with your studies. How many hours per week do you drive? Why not use this time to listen to the podcasts, or even Spanish music. The same applies to when you are doing housework, exercise, walking the dog or literally any other activity which could allow you to listen to some Spanish. All you require is an IPod or MP3 player and some enthusiasm. Go for it!

Be sure to involve all your learning senses.

What we mean by this is that to learn at optimum speed then you should not only listen, but read, write and speak the language. The Internet now affords us an enormous range of interactive learning that you can do everything right in front of your PC. As a taster, here are some sites that allow you to get interactive:

www.espanglishchat.com  A great Chatroom where students of Spanish and English meet.

www.aprenderespanol.org     Enough interactive exercises to keep you busy for years!

Search out and join a Spanish conversation group.

Even if the group is at a much higher level you will benefit from the experience and the more experienced students will help pull you forward faster than ever.

One to one classes are invaluable

If you have the budget for them, of course. Most tutors charge between £25 and £30 per hour here in the U.K. Aim to get a tutor that has been recommended. In our experience, there are many Spanish teachers out there that do not speak Spanish very well.

Become a little obsessed.

Like anything, if you want to be really good at something then you have to get a little obsessed with it. Of course, we don’t mean obsessed like the lady in Fatal Attraction. Just work to build a healthy desire for all things Spanish and become supremely curious!

Have fun.

The journey of learning is the fun part. Learning a language is not a six month project. However, if you throw yourself into it with enthusiasm and energy, times flies and, before you know it, you’ll find yourself chatting on with Spanish speaking people as though you’d done it all of your life!

 

NOW…What NOT to do!

Don’t compare your progress with others.

Each person learns at the rate that’s right for them. Everyone has a different background and things that influence their learning. You will find some people learning faster than you and some learning slower. It really doesn’t matter. Learning is very personal and so you can focus on your own progress. You will get there!

Don’t give up!

Expect to feel frustration, confusion and despair!! It’s all part of learning. Over the years we’ve seen many people give up just when they were at the point of really grasping the Spanish language. Gaining a new language is like rolling a big rock up a hill. The rock’s so big that, sometimes, you don’t actually realise how close you are to the top. Our advice is that you keep on pushing onwards and upwards. Once you reach the top, then it’s a downhill run from then on! (Until you come to the next hill, of course. lol)

Don’t believe the promises that some companies make.

Especially about how quickly you can learn Spanish. Take with a hefty pinch of salt any advert that claims you can “Learn Spanish in a weekend” or “Fluent in a fortnight” or worse, “You only need 300 words to speak perfect Spanish.” If that were true, then we would have been out of work a long time ago. Lol.

 

So, do your best to follow this advice and just keep at it. Have a fantastic 2015 and we wish you the very best in your life and your learning.

Feliz  Navidad y un Próspero Año Nuevo.

 

Gordon y Cynthia 🙂