Monday, November 29, 2010

Six keys to help you learn to Spanish online

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This article consists of six tips to help

you learn Spanish online. If you follow these

six tips, you can be sure that you will

learn to speak Spanish online much easier.

Key Numero Uno to Learn Spanish Online:

"Stay motivated"

I think everyone that studies

a foreign language will experience

a time when they are becoming less and less

motivated. You may feel that you are

losing your desire to learn Spanish online

around the same time that you have reached a plateau.

If you feel that you are losing your desire

to learn to speak Spanish online,

try planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country.

Since you will want to get the most out of

your trip, this should motivate you to study.

Here's another tip to help you stay motivated and

to make you want to learn to speak Spanish online.

Find a native speaker that you are romantically interested

in. Since you will probably want to impress him or

her with your Spanish, this should motivate you

to keep studying and make you want to learn Spanish

online. You will also notice that you

are making progress quicker by practicing your

Spanish with a native speaker and that should also

motivate you to keep studying and practicing Spanish.

Of course, this tip only applies to single people

or other people without a significant other.

Key Numero Dos to Learn to speak Spanish Online:

"Don't Be Afraid of Making Mistakes"

Make lots of mistakes. And then after you have made

lots of mistakes go make some more mistakes. And then

go make some more mistakes.

Many people are afraid of making mistakes

when learning Spanish online. If you really

want to learn to speak Spanish online, then you

have to accept the fact that making

mistakes is part of the learning process.

The more mistakes you make, the quicker

you learn to speak Spanish online.

If you are not making mistakes, that's probably

an indication that you are not making

the effort to learn Spanish online.

Some people will try to learn to speak Spanish

online by ONLY listening. Their reasoning is

that once they learn enough Spanish that's

when they will begin trying to speak Spanish online.

But I can I assure you that it doesn't work that way.

It works in reverse.

That is, once you start trying to speak Spanish

and making mistakes that's when you will begin to

learn to speak Spanish online. Not the other way around.

So go ahead and make mistakes. The mistakes

aren't there to embarrass you. The mistakes

are there to help you master Spanish.

Key Numero Tres to Learn Spanish Online:

"Focus on how to speak Spanish"

Don't focus on "why Spanish is Spoken

the way it is"

Many people have sent me emails with questions

such as why is it "me gusta" (I like) instead

of "me gusto" or why is it "me toma" instead

of "me tomo"

Of course, I could easily answer these questions.

(And I do) But the objective is not to try equate everything

in Spanish with English or your native language.

Accept the fact that Spanish grammar is different

from English grammar. And focus on the objective

of any language -- which is to communicate effectively.

And in order to communicate effectively, you only

need to understand and be understood. It is not

necessary that you understand each and every

grammatical facet.

Trying to do so will only hinder your learning and make

it difficult to learn Spanish online.

Imagine trying to teach a 4 yr old the definition

of a direct pronoun vs. an indirect pronoun.

We would never attempt such a thing. But the

4yr old child is still fluent in his or her

native language.

So make your goal to understand and be understood.

Focus on "how to speak Spanish"

Don't focus on "why Spanish is Spoken

the way it is."

Key Numero Cuatro to Learn to Speak Spanish Online:

"Master the Fundamentals"

Many people spend their time learning

a bunch of Spanish vocabulary that they could

go a life time and never use. That's

because the words are hardly used

in normal everyday conversation.

If you want to learn to speak Spanish online without

Wasting anytime, I advise you to master

the fundamentals. When I say the

"fundamentals" I am referring to

the basic vocabulary and basic grammar.

I know adults that have studied Spanish

for a few years and they know thousands

of words in Spanish. Although they may

be proficient in Spanish, I would not

consider them fluent. On the other hand,

a three or four year old native Spanish-speaking

child can speak Spanish fluently. It is not

because the child knows thousand of words in Spanish.

The child may only know about a thousand words

or less in Spanish. But the child has mastered the fundamentals.

Mastery of the fundamentals is what separates

the proficient from the fluent.

If you really want to learn to speak Spanish online

make it a priority to master the fundamentals.

Key Numero Cinco to Learn Spanish Online:

"Take Advantage of downtime"

Finding time to study can be a challenge.

Many people just don't have the time

to sit down and study. But who said that

you have to be sitting down? If you are

waiting in line at the bank or waiting at the

doctor's office, turn on your mp3 player

or ipod and listen to an audio Spanish lesson.

If you drive to work everyday, that's

an excellent opportunity to practice your favorite

audio Spanish course. If you like to jog or

exercise on a stairmaster or treadmill,

bring your mp3 player or ipod with you

and listen to your favorite audio Spanish course

Instead of watching the 10' clock News. Watch

"Las Noticias" Instead of watching a movie

on HBO, watch a movie on HBO Latino.

So to those that say "I just

don't have the time to learn Spanish online."

My response is that you can make excuses

or you can learn to speak Spanish online.

But you can't do both. The choice

is yours.

Key Numero Seis to Learn to speak Spanish Online:

"Become an Imitator"

Some Spanish courses do not put much emphasis

on pronunciation. I think that is a big mistake.

If you really want to be understood, you must try

to mimic native speakers.

Have you every experienced someone that

asked you for directions or some other question

and you were unable to assist the person because you didn't

speak her language. And then you suddenly

realized that the person was actually speaking

English but her accent was so thick that you

thought the person was speaking another language.

The same thing happens to Spanish ears. If

you do not develop good pronunciation, you will

not be understand.

If you say the word "dad" in Spanish and you do

not stress the appropriate syllable, a

native Spanish speaker may think that you are

talking about "french fries." To English ears

the difference may be very subtle. But to the

Latin American its the difference between

"dad" and "potatoes".

So focus on mimicking native Spanish speakers.

I hope that you enjoyed these 6 Tips to Help You

Learn Spanish Online and that they truly help

you in your journey to learn to speak Spanish online.

Patrick Jackson








Patrick Jackson is a self-taught speaker of Spanish and the founder of the Learning Spanish Like Crazy method. Webmasters, feel free to republish this story. It must remain unedited and whole. All resource/footer copy including this statement must remain intact and unedited. All links must remain clickable. Learning Spanish Like Crazy makes it quick and easy to learn Spanish. Download free audio Spanish lessons at: http://www.learningspanishlikecrazy.com


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