Como se llama?

[minkydog]

I have decided to learn to speak Spanish.

My question is this(for those who have actually learned another language). How would you go about learning Spanish? Since this would be very valuable for my job,i want to be sure I learn to speak correctly.

*Would you go to college for it or take a language school? The local college has a Spanish major with minor in business/cultural relations.

*If you would take a language school, how do you find a school that isn't a rip-off? I don't want to waste time or money.

I've been toying with the idea of going back to college anyway, perhaps finishing my Masters in Nursing, but I don't know if I have the drive to put in 2-3yrs. I thought I'd start with Spanish and algebra and see where that takes me. Who knows, I may be totally brain-dead after all these years.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

There is a small school near here that teaches a few languages. The sign out front often says "YOU WILL SPEAK". Have you looked in the Yellow Pages? I found a listing for the one above under the Schools heading.

 

[DawnCt1]

I would go to a local community college. While you may not be able to advance as far as you would like there, you will get a very good foundation. Pronounciation, personal pronouns and verb conjugation are the basics. You can always build your vocabulary after that. DS 24 took a 6 credit, 4 hours a day, 5 day a week Spanish course last summer at his university so there are very good options that won't rip you off. BTW, Me llamo Dawn

 

[Loubon]

How is my Llama????

 

[hucifer]

How is my Llama????

It hasn't been watered in awhile. Better check on it.

 

[GlennandAnn]

I majored in espanol in college and it was the best decision I ever made- every job I have gotten has been because I am bilingual. It is extremely useful to speak Spanish. I would suggest you look for a conversational Spanish course at a community college. This will give you a feel for the language without having to worry about verb tenses, grammatical rules, etc. Conversational classes are fun and pretty low on the stress scale, IMO. You tend to learn a lot of vocabulary and have fun doing it. I would also suggest watching some TV shows in Spanish and listening to Spanish radio stations just to let your ear hear some Spanish. You can also pick up lots of vocab this way.

Buena suerte!!

Ann

 

[HonestAbe]

Taco Belle? (or is that Italian?)

 

[minkydog]

Working as a nurse, I have very frequent contact with immigrants who speak no English. Just last night I had a call from the frantic father of a newborn who was sick. Thankfully, we have an interpreter, but that method is slow and unwieldy. This turned out to be serious and the interpreter was unfamiliar with the medical terminology the father was using. But I was able to discern the term(thanks to my Latin teacher!) , realized it was a critical situation and packed them off to the Children's Hospital. I can't help thinking how much faster and easier it would be if I was more fluent.

I will contact the college Monday and see what I can find out. If I'm gonna do this, I wanna do it right

me llamo Cathy

 

[Stacerita]

Hola. Me llamo es Stacerita.
Donde esta el bano? Un cerveza por favor!
(the two most important things I ever learned in Spanish)

I would suggest checking out the local community college. The one nearby here has a basic spoken spanish class that sounds pretty good. Gives you the basics you need for conversing. Then the levels go up from there.

I took a few years in HS and then a few more semesters in college but haven't kept up with it over the years so I am pretty rusty about speaking in Spanish. But I can watch Spanish tv and listen with understanding. I too am thinking of brushing up on my Spanish skills to help at work.

You said you were a nurse. Does the hospital you work for provide any Spanish classes? You can check into that. The one I work for does offer then a few times a year since we see a high number of Spanish speaking only and our interpreters are streatched thin. And if they facility doesn't, then check the community college.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I sure wish I knew Spanish, as the city, and everywhere for that matter, becomes more and more Spanish oriented, sure would be helpful in communicating back and forth, rather than us doing Good wishes.

 

[dbarker]

I would go for a "Conversational" Spanish class. What the text books teach and what the locals speak are two different things.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Hola. Me llamo es Stacerita.
Donde esta el bano? Un cerveza por favor!
(the two most important things I ever learned in Spanish)

Yes, I agree-"Donde esta el bano" is VERY important. I live in a part of the US (At least I THINK this is still the US where I live) where I'm sure Spanish speakers outnumber English speakers by far. It's not unusual to go into our local Circle K or McDonald's and get waited on by someone who doesn't speak English. I think it's VERY useful to know Spanish! DS is soon to marry a girl who only speaks Spanish, so although I don't know how to quickly learn the language, I wish I did. DS has a suggestion-fall in love with someone who only speaks Spanish-then you're guaranteed to learn in a hurry!

 

[PixieDust32]

Hola amigas de los DIS Boards! Como estan este dia de San Valentin?

Me llamo Roxy, yo les puedo ensenar espanol. ( I can teach you spanish)

La mejor manera de aprender cualquier idioma es practicandolo, escuchando la pronunciacion y hablandolo. Asi aprendio mi esposo.

Listen to the radio en espanol, watch TV en espanol, speak in espanol as much as you can, read the paper or magazine, books en espanol. My DH learned with me in about 6 months, we ONLY spoke espanol to each other and watched TV for an hour everyday en espanol, we went and got a VERBS book and study and study todos los dias!
And he had to read any of my spanish books to me, the first book he read was EL QUIJOTE and now he is the translator at work ! LOL!

Yo trabajo en una oficina de abogados ahora ( Law office ) soy la unica persona bilingue ahi.

Saludos y que tengan un lindo dia!

Su amiga,
Roxy

 

[minkydog]

my head hurts

 

[PixieDust32]

my head hurts

Porque? (why?)

 

[PixieDust32]

Lo siento. (sorry)