3 Tips to Learn Spanish as an Adult
Post 359/365
Here are 5 Posts from the year that people have really liked.
C. The Beauty of Lent Carpets in Guatemala
D. Affirmative and Negative words in Spanish – Parte 2
E. How to say ‘It tastes like…’ or ‘It smells like…’ in Spanish
For today’s Post, here are 3 tips that can help you grow your Spanish skills quickly:
1. Learn in Chunks
a. Whenever you can learn a full phase, do it! It is just as easy to learn a full phrase as it is to learn a single word.
¿Cómo se llama? – This grammar is complex with the use of the reflexive verb, but we don’t have to worry about it because it’s all put together for us.
b. Take the set phrase and expand it.
¿Cómo te llamas? (informal)
¿Cómo se llaman ellos/ellas/Uds.? (plural)
¿Cómo se llama tu restaurante favorito? or when getting information: ¿Cómo se llama el restaurante? y ¿Dónde está?
¿Cómo se llama la película / el libro / la canción / el autor / el grupo? (movie, book, song, author, band)
Other chunks:
¡Qué semana! (¡Qué día! / ¡Qué libro! / ¡Qué fiesta!) = What a…!
Use ¡Qué + a noun to indicate ‘What a…!’
How many other nouns can you think of to add in here?
Tengo
Use ‘Tengo’ to build a ton of other vocabulary:
Tengo…
…2 hijos
…un perro que se llama LokieSet featured image
…una cita el jueves a las 8:00am
…una entrada extra para el concierto esta noche. ¿Quieres ir conmigo?
A single word like ‘¡Qué…! or ‘Tengo’ helps us to practice other vocabulary. It’s a great way to get single words into context!
2. Rote learning
There is no way around it!
Make it a fun game and limit your study sessions to 10 minutes. Do this a couple of times a week…ALOUD!
a. Numbers to a million and the alphabet have to be learned this way.
Put them in context, though. It will help you to learn them faster because you see the practical application.
0-9 – Get Results with Numbers!
b. Verbs and verb tenses – We simply must learn these through rote, but make it a game!
o, as, a, amos, áis, an
3. Dealing with Frustration – Watch/Listen to this to get back on track! NPR Tiny Desk Concert – Bomba Estéreo (This Colombian group is a Must Hear!)
It is a big job learning Spanish or any foreign language. Right when we think we are really getting it, we have a conversation with a native speaker and our words get stuck. We walk away feeling like ‘I haven’t learned a thing’…Which, of course, isn´t true!
Dust yourself off, go have fun with Spanish. Remind yourself of some of the reasons why you wanted to learn in the 1st place.
the dance or The dance Or…The Dance
Remember: Es un proceso. I learned Spanish as an adult and you can, too! ¡Sí, se puede!
poco a poco and above all ¡Diviértete! – Enjoy yourself.
Action steps: Explore some the the past Posts and new Links above. Enjoy!
Muchas gracias y hasta mañana,
Carolina
