More Learning Spanish Tips
Distribute your study time¹
Study in 15 to 30 minute increments, rotating between vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, and so on. That way you will cover all aspects of the new language.
Learn the grammar of your native language if don’t already know it¹
Grammar forms the basic structure a language, and therefore is critical to learn. Brushing up on your native language will make it easier to learn the parallel grammar of your new language. For example, if your native language is English and you are trying to learn the past participle in Spanish, it will be helpful to understand what the past participle is in English. (Note: this tip is especially important if you are using a more traditional learning technique e.g., classroom instruction).
Give yourself permission to make mistakes¹
When learning a language you will make mistakes or forget vocabulary words. Don’t let a fear of making a mistake hold you back from practicing speaking in your new language. Making mistakes is part of the learning process.
Remember you can go a long way with a little language²
You may not have perfect grammar or be able to form complete sentences when you begin trying to communicate in a new language, but don’t let that stop you from trying. You’d be surprised how few words you really need to get your point across. You may get some things wrong, but people will appreciate your effort to learn their language and the more you communicate in your new language, the more your confidence and skills will grow.
Language learning is also about intuition²
When listening to a new language, pay attention to more than just the words. Listen for emotional cues. Does the speaker sound happy or sad? Excited or Angry? The emotion of the speaker provides clues to the meaning of the words, so don’t overlook the importance of voice tone and inclination when practicing your listening skills. Also, languages from similar language families have a lot of words with common origins. Many of these words will sound similar across the languages with related foundations. After studying for awhile, you will be able to identify common patterns between words, for example, English words that end in -ly, often end in -ment in French.
Get the right supplementary tools²
Regardless of the learning technique you choose, you may want to invest in a good bilingual dictionary to help you translate new words and phrases. Make sure that you dictionary provides plenty of information on usage and illustrative examples to help you understand the proper usage and translation. You may also want to use a vocabulary builder to help you expand your vocabulary.
¹Language tips from the University of Texas Learning Center
²Language tips from AskOxford.com
