Tuesday, 11 November 2008

How To Learn Spanish Fast

What Are Your Reasons For Learning Spanish?

One of the principal reasons why you may want to learn Spanish is because it is a major language, which is continually becoming more popular. It is therefore a good idea to learn this language and even make it your second language, especially as it is ranked number four as most spoken language by people all around the world. In addition, learning Spanish may help you in your business dealings.

There could of course be a number of reasons to learn Spanish - for example:

- You might want to go on a holiday to a Spanish speaking country

- To move somewhere where Spanish is spoken

- To meet other people who are interested in learning Spanish

- To just learn another language because you enjoy it

Whatever you reasons are, you will probably want to find a course which meets your needs, and in any case, the chances are you will want to find out how to learn Spanish fast. As well, you will also want to find a course which makes it fun to learn Spanish, so that you will be eager to get to your next lesson, rather than having to force yourself to study your next lesson.

Finding A Spanish Course

Compared to the cost of going to a language school, you will find that home study courses, where you can learn Spanish in your own environment, are in fact much better value for money, and besides, you can study at your own convenience, wherever you choose. Or, with some of these courses, you can burn them to a CD or copy them to an mp3 player, and then practice while you are travelling, or waiting somewhere.


Modern Spanish courses are available on various types of media and learning modalities. For example, there is spanish language learning software, there are spanish on line courses, and there are courses which are based on mp3 audio files, which you can take along on your mp3 player.

The type of course you decide on should also be based on the way in which you learn best. For instance, if you are primarily someone who is an auditory learner - then an audio mp3 course might be best for you. Alternatively, if you are principally a visually based learner, then a book, or a software program where you can see the written material might be the best choice.

All in all, it is best to find a course which is very effective, which you will enjoy studying on a regular basis, and which will make it as easy to learn Spanish as possible.

 

Friday, 7 November 2008

Picking Up Helpful Spanish Phrases Effectively

learn spanish fast

Common Spanish phrases found in Spanish phrase books can be helpful and many people buy them before going for vacation to Mexico or Spain. However, in real life, most Spanish learners discover that phrase books lock you into a fixed way of saying something, and life isn't like that at all.

Having the ability to say, "Can you tell me if this is the 10.15 or the 10.30 train leaving for Barcelona?" is all very well. But when you are in Bolivia and it's a bus leaving at midnight you are hoping to catch to some remote village you can't even pronounce, it isn't much help. You need to know more than just easy Spanish words, or at least you need to be able to adapt the Spanish phrases you know.

It is helpful to begin by learning the useful Spanish phrases. Learn how to greet people by saying "good day" (buenas días), "good afternoon" (buenas tardes), and "good evening" (buenas noches). You can always just say "hola" (hello) if you're not sure which one to use.

You can naturally progress from there to a relatively more complicated greeting: "¿Cómo estás?" which means, "how are you?" However, that's a little bit formal and stilted. Actually, most people just say, "que tal?" If someone says that to you, answer them, "bien, ¿y tu?" (I'm well, and you?). They will be impressed with your command of their language, believe me!

In keeping with the infamous Spanish phrase books, you need to also learn how to ask for something if you are in a Spanish café or restaurant. As in most English speaking countries, native Spanish speakers have a variety of courses to their meals. The first is the, "primero plato," the second is the "segundo plato," and the third is the "tercero plato."

You may wish to have a cup of water (un vaso de agua) with your meal, or a coffee (un café). If you want your coffee to have milk, then it should be, "un café con leche." A glass of red wine (un vaso de vino tinto), or white wine (un vaso de vino blanco) may also go down well. Maybe you want an entire bottle of wine (una botella de vino). And now you can ask for one that's either red or white too.

You may have noticed that in all those Spanish phrases I didn't say "please" once. Because we do it usually in English, we assume that it is the same for other languages too. In fact, we typically can't comprehend why anyone would want to be so rude as to not say "please" when asking for something.

It just simply is not a Spanish custom. On the contarary, they regard it as rude if you do say, "please" with everything. For example, if you were to say to a Spanish barman, "un vaso de vino tinto, pro favor," he would probably get a little insulted.

Picture a man who has been standing at the bar in an English speaking country waiting for a long time to be served. Finally, he speaks to the barman in an impatient voice, "a glass of red wine, PLEASE." The "please" at the end is said in a rather sarcastic way, and that's pretty much how it feels to a native Spanish speaker when you add "please" in Spanish. Avoid saying it and you'll keep yourslef out of needless trouble.

Thursday, 6 November 2008

Learn How To Speak Spanish

Simple Ways to Learn How to Speak Spanish

When you decide to learn how to speak Spanish you will find it a challenging journey ahead, especially if you are just beginning, because Spanish is one of the more difficult European languages to master. Learning a foreign language is bound to be difficult in any case, most people may fear that to really become skillful in a foreign language, requires too much of perseverance as well as dedication. If someone tells you that you have to travel to a foreign country where they speak Spanish to correctly learn it, do not believe them because it is not true.

Helpful and Sensible Ways to Learn Spanish

It is not necessary however, to have to travel overseas to a foreign country in order to learn how to speak the Spanish language, because there are plenty of effective alternative methods that can be found locally that will teach you how to speak Spanish adequately. What is needed in order for your efforts to succeed in learning to speak Spanish, is having a strong sense of determination, love for the language and ultimately not give up until you have a good working knowledge of the language.

You could join a lecture class to learn how to speak Spanish, which is a very common method for beginners wanting to learn the language and it has the advantage of communicating with a teacher, who is fluent in Spanish and will teach you the right way to speak the language. Or, you could learn how to speak Spanish by reading books such as any number of the Spanish phrase books where you can learn how to speak conversational Spanish.

Still by far for many people, the best method of learning how to speak Spanish is to purchase a teaching kit that has both audio and book materials, which will give you the opportunity to rewind as needed, because of this, these training materials are very successful. This will give you the advantage of learning at your own pace while also providing you with the materials needed to learn proper grammar, pronunciation, as well as, how to create proper sentence structures, all of which is vital to properly mastering this new language.

Also, you will find numerous Spanish language courses including some like, ’Rocket Spanish’ which go a long way in helping you learn how to speak Spanish, it is very popular and readily available online. With internet resources available, like ’Rocket Spanish’ and many others, you will find that you can easily learn how to speak Spanish in a short span of time and with a good amount of success as well.

Tuesday, 4 November 2008

Ways to Learn French

French vocabulary

French is the first language of approximately 76 million people. Additionally, there are several times as many people, perhaps as many a further 280 million, who Speak French as a second or third language. The largest number of native French speakers can be found in France itself, as well as Belgium, Canada and Switzerland. Additionally, there are native French speaking communities in many other countries such as Italy, Haiti, Luxembourg, and of course, the United States of America.

 

So, you have decided that you want to learn French but do not know what the best way to learn French is. Everyone wants to learn something as fast as possible especially if they are traveling to that country or area soon. You will learn so much more about the French culture if you can speak the language. You will also be able to get around easier as you will be able to speak to more people. This article will show you the best way to learn French.

 

There are many ways how one Learn French Easily

Knowing how to learn French with simple and painless learning techniques can increase your ability to absorb and really understand the language. Many basic learning techniques that are taught in classrooms and independent programs help you to memorize but not retain information. If you want to learn French and be proficient, you have to apply what you 'memorized' in your daily life.

 

When you start learning French, you will find that it is not a difficult language to learn. French language is also based on 26 alphabets as in English language. French language finds its basics in Roman language with German language influence. English on the other hand is German language with influence form French and Latin languages. This makes English and French languages sharing lot of commonality.

You can move on to reading/translating. Take your reading material and translate it one sentence at a time. Add the words you don't know to your vocabulary list. Also, make sure you clearly understand the sentence including the grammar. You need to be able to clearly comprehend it. Next, write. Keep a journal just for French. You can make your own writing prompts, or you can just practice your exercise. Either way, just make sure you at least write several sentences at a time.

 

If you have an audio program, listen to it often. Don't move on to the next lesson until you have the first mastered. If you don't have an audio program, use your software. If you don't have software, watch a French movie. You don't have a French movie? Actually, if you have DVDs, you probably do. Many DVDs offer tracks in Spanish and French. Tackle one movie at a time and watch it several times to see how much more you can comprehend. In addition to listening, speak in French. When you are cleaning or getting ready, talk to yourself in your language. Find someone that speaks French if you can and have a conversation with them.

 

The most popular way to learn anything nowadays is of course, online. Online education has erupted in the past couple of years. More and more online courses are becoming well known and accepted in the education community. There is no reason that you cannot learn French online. You just have to get yourself motivated and find a course that will suit your needs.

 

You need not repent if you lost out on that job because you did not know French. With the number of different French learning programs available today, you can easily go on to become a great French speaker in a very short time indeed. What you need is hard work and some great guidance. For great tips and guidance on how to make the French learning programs work for you, sign up for our free newsletter today !