Learning spanish

[hamster]

My H and I want to learn spanish, and teach the boys as well. Any recommendations for books/programs/etc. I previously failed French so languages are not my strong suit, but I know just enough the foreign words are getting all crossed up in my head.

[wanderingback]

I’ve been learning French for the past few years and I recommend if you’re starting from scratch to take a class. With online classes everywhere these days, it’s pretty easy to find.

After that as far as every day practice, this is what I do:
Duolingo daily (I’m on a 290 day or something like streak)
Watch shows on Netflix in French, if they don’t have it in French I put on French subtitles
When going to the library was a thing I’d read kid books in French
I have a few friends that speak French so I do message them in French at times as well
And when traveling was a thing I’d also try to practice my French as much as possible even if I sucked at it

Also there are language meet up groups, I never joined any, but will think about that for the future.

I would never feel comfortable teaching a child a 2nd language since I’m not fluent, so all the above ideas apply to kids as well. Where I did French lessons had kid lessons as well that has now also converted to online. If I had young kids who needed a babysitter or nanny I’d get one in the language I want them to learn as well.

ETA: and yes I know basic Spanish as well and I do get the words confused as well at times. Sometimes Spanish words come to me more naturally first since I’ve known Spanish longer, but now French words are starting to dominate. I knew zero French when I started several years ago.

[keweenawlove]

I've been slowly working on this as a work in progress. I'm by no means fluent but I'm semi-competent at getting around Spanish speaking only areas.
-Duolingo is great as a start to see words written out. They have a podcast too.
-Pimsleur ($10/month audio lessons) got my confidence actually speaking up with how the break things down and actually get you speaking.
-Listen to the radio/Netflix in Spanish.

I had 2 years of Spanish in high school so I knew the basics. I'd recommend spending some time learning some of the grammar/conjugation basics right away so the apps above make a little more sense. I just used my old textbook to help DH.

[sillygoosegirl]

I think Duolingo is great, although I've been too lazy to do much with it.

My kid is taking Spanish on Outschool and loves it, and seems to be learning a lot. I've not found other good resources for her as most seem to require reading beyond her level.

[Blue Moon]

I use Rosetta Stone with my students. They're learning English; I'm learning Spanish. There is any app they download on their phone/Ipad, or they can access it through a web browser. It's an expensive program, but my school provides it. Our county also has a limited number of subscriptions available for free through our library system. It's great, and not a lot of people know about it. Maybe you can check with your local library to see if they have any similar programs?

[loira]

Maybe set up a language exchange?

Also useful are tons of post it notes. Find the word for a thing and stick it on the thing. Your house may be covered in post its but your brain will begin to associate the word with the object. Make sure to include the article as well. English isn't gendered, but you need to think of (using Spanish as an example) the "el" or "la" as being part of the word. This is a much better way to not mess up the gender than remembering generic rules and exceptions.

I think anglophones have a harder time trying to learn languages because English is basically the big bully on the linguistic playground. Even when you try to immerse yourself, you'll run up against people who would rather practice their English with you. When I moved to Brazil, one of the first phrases I taught myself was "no thank you, I am here to learn Portuguese". Admittedly I also had the advantage of being bilingual (English-French) and living in Rio where, at the time, not many Brazilians spoke English or French.

Once you speak a romance language it is way easier to learn others, so your French lessons may give you a slight advantage. I was fluent in Portuguese in about 8 weeks, and I can also now speak (an admittedly bastardized portuñol version) Spanish and some Italian.

[dutchgirl678]

I use Duolingo, but the thing that bugs me most is that it doesn't help with word order differences.

[AdaraMarie]

I like duolingo for spanish and have been using it for quite a while (my streak is around 550 days!) but I am looking for supplemental instruction also. I thought it was good to remind me all the things I forgot (from several semesters in high school) and learn some new things, but I am far enough into the program now that almost everthing is new and I don't feel like I'm grasping it as well.
Duolingo doesn't really explicitly teach, so much as show you examples to copy.
I am doing well at reading and have gotten a feel for the language to be able to use context for some clues, but my speaking and listening are poor.

[tacokick]

There are podcasts for learning languages

www.afar.com/magazine/15-best-podcasts-for-language-learning

Your local library system might have subs to different lessons you can use for free. I know mine has Rosetta Stone. Or borrow old CDs and burn them.

I think you really need to practice it. My reading and spoken word comprehension is pretty high but I don’t feel comfortable talking to actual people lol

[ellipses84]

Everyone has great suggestions. See if you can do the free trials on a few apps to see what clicks. Once we can travel again, take a vacation in a place you can practice! I took several years of French, a crash course in Italian and lived in Italy for a few months, and my kid goes to a dual language school for Spanish so I’m trying to pick up what I can (and we’ve done some Rosetta Stone and Duolingo). My Italian is way better than my French from living there and IMO Italian and Spanish are very similar and easier than French (I of course can understand a lot but confuse them all when speaking).

[hamster]

loira

I love the post it note suggestion, but so will H. He makes lists on mini post it notes all the damn time at work. One time his coworkers made a bunch of fake post it notes for him including "order more post its"

But yeah, I'm finding my French is way back in my brain and keeps coming out when I'm working on spanish.