If you are very motivated to learn Spanish fast online, then there are several things to think about first. You can learn Spanish quickly if you follow these simple yet important tips. One important thing to remember when you start to learn Spanish online, is to realize what fast or quick actually means. People tackle language learning at different rates, and what might take years for one person to learn may only take an hour for another. Since life is not fair in this respect, it is easy for you to get discouraged and disappointed rather fast. Avoid setting yourself up for failure by making a goal before you start. Since setting up a goal is probably the most important part of learning Spanish, you must take this seriously. It would be very unrealistic to think that you could be holding long complicated conversations in a few weeks. It just will not happen. What you should do is to take a look at the situation that you will be in and see what parts of the language you will be needing to use. For example, it all you are doing is going on a nice relaxing vacation in a Spanish speaking country, then you should concentrate on vocabulary related to things having to do with hotels, restaurants, car rentals, bank machines, directions and tourist spots. If you are suddenly in a situation where you are moving on a long term basis to a foreign country such as Mexico with very little notice, then you will want to focus on all of the above, plus things having to do with grocery stores, opening up bank accounts, situations having to do with immigration and local customs. The reason for this is that it is impossible to learn everything in one shot. What works is to concentrate on a basis of things you will need right away, and then focus on building on that basis slowly. It is easier the longer you are in the Spanish speaking country as total immersion comes into play. Spanish phrase books can be a big help while you are there, so do not be afraid to use them. Remember that your goal is to make sure you are understood. It doesn’t have to be scholastically correct Spanish. One other language learning technique that you can use is to start reading and watching movies in Spanish. The best way to do it is to by a Spanish version of your favorite magazine and just start reading it. Do not make the mistake of having the dictionary next to it. This is the worst thing you could possibly do. Your goal with this is to try and recognize enough key words that you can figure out the basic idea of the story. You can keep note of vocabulary that is new but after you are done reading, then write them down on a list and every few days or so, look them up. The final word is that you can learn Spanish fast online by knowing ahead of time what you realistically can accomplish. Good luck!
Posts Tagged ‘Total Immersion’
Set Your Goals and Learn Spanish Fast Online
December 19th, 2009Foreign Language Learning Resources – Which is Right for You? Part 1 – Total Immersion Programs
December 5th, 2009Most of you have seen the commercials touting a foreign language program using a very well known Olympic gold medalist swimmer. This popular and very polished software package, known as Rosetta Stone, is an excellent example (but not the only example) of a total immersion language program. But the commercials touting ‘The Fastest Way to Learn a Language – Guaranteed’, don’t necessarily paint the complete picture for the prospective buyer.
What is it?
Let’s start by exploring what is meant by ‘total immersion’. A total immersion system is any program that thrusts you into a foreign language without any (or difficult to access) assistance in your native tongue. The basic idea is to learn by picture/video and audio reinforcement – the same way you learned your native language as a child. The concept is very simple – present a situation, dialog, or group of pictures and challenge the user to (initially) ‘guess’ the native word or phrase that applies to the situation. Variations on this basic theme include audio and picture only, sentence building and grammar reinforcement lessons. Other DVD based programs present common situations in video with on screen clues (sometimes pointers to what the actor is describing), eventually providing the answer with no user interaction. More extensive computer programs include voice recognition to assist you in learning the native accent. Through these methods, the student is expected to easily and quickly absorb the new language. In practice, however, it’s not as simple, nor as fast as advertised.
Where it Succeeds
As you might guess, some aspects of a language are easier to convey with pictures than others. Immersion programs do the best job at teaching object vocabulary – otherwise known as nouns. It’s expected that when someone sees a cat, they will eventually figure out the word that corresponds to the cat over time. A cat is a concrete easily identifiable object, and I am sure you can think of thousands more. Similarly, colors and numbers are easy, because they are easy to represent in pictures. These programs also do a good job at conveying the meanings of action verbs, particularly in the present tense. It’s obvious to the student when someone is eating, drinking or walking and so on.
Immersion is also a great way to introduce a pre-teen to a foreign language. By their nature, kids are more responsive to this type of teaching and tend to soak up that material like a sponge – the younger the better.
Where it Fails.
Naturally, since these types of courses perform well with nouns, action verbs in the present tense, you will see a lot of them. Some of the cheaper programs rely exclusively on the present tense, while some of the more costly programs make attempts at past and future tenses. It’s fairly difficult to represent past and future verb tense using pictures and video, and it’s often done after reinforcing the concepts of ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’, which also require fairly creative pictures! Abstract verbs are also fairly difficult to represent in pictures, such as ‘to have’, ‘to feel’, ‘to believe’, etc… Other problems include object vs. personal pronouns. Specifically, the concept of him/her vs. he/she is almost impossible to convey in pictures.
But, perhaps the biggest issue of all concerns the adult learner. Many studies (as well as personal experience) have shown that adults learn much faster using native language cues and explanations. As adults are already versed in a native language, they can more readily relate native grammar to the differences in the new language. Total immersion programs can actually lengthen the amount of time it takes to learn a language in an adult when used as an exclusive learning tool.
In Summary
Despite these potential shortcomings (particularly for adults), don’t write off total immersion entirely – just don’t expect to use it as your primary language learning source. At the very least, make sure you accompany any total immersion program purchase with a good phrasebook, dictionary, or beginner’s course book – especially if you are dealing with a different alphabet or script. The presence of these native language ‘helpers’ will go a long way to enhance your learning experience, and quell any frustrations you might experience. For even better results, take the immersion course after taking any beginner course with English reinforcement. I will explore these other methods in coming articles, and until then, best of luck!
Visit The Foreign Language Resource for other articles, links, and reviews of foreign language products for the aspiring linguist! Be sure to check out my Visual Link Spanish resource while your there!
By: Chris Katheman
