December 15, 2007 How to Learn Spanish by Getting the Most Out of Classes
How to Learn Spanish by Getting the Most Out of Classes
By Li Ming Wong
After you enroll in a Spanish class, you expect to learn Spanish right away. You might leave it up to the teacher to drill the words and conjugations into your head. You will get more out of it, though, if you do your part to get more out of the class.
As soon as you enter the room for the first time, begin to get to know the other people. You might not think this is necessary to learn Spanish. After all, you didn't come to socialize, right? The truth is that knowing these people will make it easier to interact and communicate with them. Your learning experience will be much more pleasant.
If the class goes in the traditional way, the teacher will start with a few basic Spanish words. To learn Spanish, begin thinking correctly about these first few words and you will set a precedent that will carry through all your language learning.
To do this, look at the object and think the Spanish word. Don't think the English word and then translate it in your head. That's a bad habit to get into and it won't help you learn Spanish much either. If you start out learning correctly, the rest will go much smoother.
Some things when you learn Spanish are just easier than English. Your teacher will soon get into going through the alphabet. Pay attention. The sounds of the Spanish alphabet go by very strict rules that rarely change. If you want to learn Spanish, it's easy to spell if you have mastered the alphabet rules.
To learn Spanish, you must learn to conjugate verbs. Learn the standard conjugations once. As you learn new irregular verbs, write down their conjugations. Then, assume that every verb is a regular verb unless you know otherwise.
Many classes these days, especially adult classes, are conversational classes. It is an advantage to learn Spanish this way because you are prepared for dealing directly with people when you finish. There are some ways to make your conversational class go better.
Listen to the other speakers when it isn't your turn to talk. People often make the mistake of thinking so hard of what they want to say that they get lost to the conversation that is going on. If you listen, you will have to speak without premeditation, but this may help you to think faster in any situation as you learn Spanish.
Remember, even though it's a conversational class, it doesn't mean that you can't take notes. You won't want to spend much time with them. Focus on the conversation to learn Spanish, but take the time to doodle words or phrases that you want to remember. You can write them down later, or better yet, speak them into a recorder.
Merely being enrolled in a Spanish class doesn't guarantee that you will learn Spanish. You need to bring your whole self into the process and be ready for anything your teacher throws at you. If you are, you will no doubt learn some Spanish by the end of the class.
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