I work at a place where most people speak Spanish, and I want to be able to hold conversations with them. I’ve watched a couple of YouTube videos, but I haven’t been able to retain the information. I need to write down flashcards and notes. I’m wondering, and I don’t mind if it’s proprietary, what is the best and fastest way to learn Spanish?
Live in spain
You can have conversations with offline text gen AI models. They are usually fluent in many languages. It is not a great primary source but you can treat them like a private tutor that can answer your specific questions and it can point you in the right direction.
THE best way would be to go live in a spanish speaking country The second best is getting a latino girlfriend The third best is geting yourself a private tutor.
The cheaper the way the longer it takes.
Are Spanish girlfriends that expensive? Oo
One of the main reasons I’m learning Spanish is so I can talk to the Spanish girl at work, lol. However, I’ve already tried before with another girl who only speaks Spanish, and I honestly didn’t like the fact that we couldn’t communicate much. It was my fault because I didn’t know anything except “Hola” and very basic terms.
Google Translate relationships can be pretty frustrating. I’m wondering if I could reach a good level if I dedicated a full month to studying. So far, I’m doing one hour a day. Maybe this girl at work wouldn’t mind teaching me along the way if we get into a relationship?
Do the girl at your work speaks a little english too? If it’s 100% translate yeah, you can’t keep it, but my take on a latina girlfriend (as someone that was married to a latino mam) is not only her but the whole family.
(in my own experience, yours could be different of course) They are very loud and talkative which can be good when trying to learn. Also the families tend to be closer, emotionally and physically so you live the language and make friends (god knows how much I miss them and their food) but their biggest pro is that they don’t give a fuck. If you are tying to learn they will help you, even when you don’t want them to LOL
Having a latino girlfriend is like living the language no matter where you are in the world.
Just prepare to be fat coz abuela won’t take no mas as an answer! lol
Edit: also where do you work that have so many spanish people? spain?
I work at a laundry place that has atleast over 50+ Spanish women. It’s 90% women and 10% men, I am literally in heaven everyday here.
Thank you for the advice.
Lol! I bet you have some tias and abuelas there. Tell them some day “I would love to learn spanish”. Being “adopted” by the spanish is cheaper than any of the other options
Laziest fast way is to watch a ton of Spanish speaking movies with Spanish subtitles
Use it as much as possible and don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
Picking up a 2nd (or more) language is just going to be hard. There’s not a magic shortcut, or anything you can buy or course to take that will make you fluent in a month.
That out of the way, there are lots of resources out there!
Look up comprehensible input channels on YouTube (eg, Dreaming Spanish). You can find something at your level, even down to the point where they’ll mostly point at pictures and say words. Eventually add in things like cartoons, news, podcasts, or social media when you feel up to it.
There’s debate about whether you need anything besides input. I’m partial to a mixed approach, so I’d say get a good textbook too.
Anki is great for vocab flashcards (but you’ll have to find decks, which can be annoying). Apps like Duolingo can be a good supplement too.
Make a habit through the day or thinking about how to say things in Spanish. Repeat your sentences in your head, or think about what the Spanish version would be of signs you see.
It’s just a long term goal though, to get anywhere meaningful. Engage with your target language every day.
To tack on - if you’re still pretty early, beginner textbook style lessons will be the most helpful at the start. If your main goal is to communicate with folks in a the short term, memorize set phrases and common verbs (along w/ basic conjugation rules).
It’s surprising how much you can get by with when you have limited vocab and speed, but know how to ask someone clarifying questions or ask if they can slow it down.
The best language learning system I’ve ever used is called Language Transfer, and it’s completely free (supported by donations).
It focuses on getting you to use constructs and patterns that you already know in your own language and transferring those to the new language. That way you start off with a good vocabulary and basic grammar.
They have Spanish, as well as German, French, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Swahili.
There is also an app, which is plain but extremely usable.
Learn a hundred words,
The most common ones, or the ones that are most relevant to your vocation.
Use them incorrectly and ask “como se di-se” (how do you say) to those who are multilingual, or trying to learn English
Spanish is my native tongue, so this might not work as well as I expect it to, but Pimsleur courses are GREAT to get quick phrases and learning to think in the language. They try to teach you very close to how native speakers learn it, and because of the repetition you tend to remember most of it.
That being said most of their content is focused on visiting a different country, so you might not need the very basic phrases like “I’m American, I don’t speak <language>”, but they give you an idea on how the language is structured.
Finally, while Pimsleur and many other suggestions here are great, it varies from person to person so you might need to find what works best for you.
Anki or similar for flashcards if you want an app. Physically writing things tends to yield better results for most people, so I used to do flashcards and write my answer and, after a few cards, make a sentence out of that.
Get a book or take a course on grammar (many different ways to accomplish this depending upon budget and learning style that works best for you).
Constantly be getting input, even if you don’t understand it.
Shadowing – what comes out of your mouth might sound very different to what you want to say. Work on that accent, intonation, etc.
All of the above were actually about learning Japanese (my 3rd foreign language) and I guess German (my second) to a lesser degree. The only thing I’m aware of with Spanish is that the varieties can differ a lot between Spain and the new world, so you might want to make sure you consume resources related to that.
A while back I had an hour commute, so I started doing Pimsleur. They’re CDs/audio streams where a native speaker says something, and you repeat it aloud. Each half-hour session covers a conversation, and the sessions build on each other.
They only cover conversations (not writing) so they’re not a full answer, but they’re a great addition to whatever else you’re doing. You can find the CDs in a lot of libraries, and the first session is on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O9Rf02Lxnw
Find a Spanish course, I guess…
Some great suggestions already, also consider flooding your entertainment with Spanish. For example if you were a big fan of the office and know all the episodes, try watching the whole thing with Spanish dubbing and subtitles. Immerse yourself as much as you can
Immersion. Not like half-ass, but pure immersion.
Cross over to Mexico (or Spain if you’re European).
Spit on a soldier.
Your stuff, gone.
Your jailmate wants to kill you.
Youre gonna learn Spanish real fast, hombre.
Haha the first half of this is actually good advice.
Immersion does work, but here’s a more enjoyable version:
Take 4 years in school, don’t learn enough to talk to anyone.
Marry a Latino/a.
Go visit their original country with them.
Feel like an idiot.
Practice with your spouse.
Go back and feel less like an idiot.
This has the advantage of getting a hot spouse, and slightly less likely to be killed before you learn enough.
It won’t be fast, but I’ve had amazing results with Dreaming Spanish.
