After having a few years of Spanish in high school (10 years ago) I am preparing for a trip to Madrid in February. I would like to buy a book or tapes/CDs to help me relearn some of the Spanish. Although I understand I can only learn so much in 3 months, I would also like to keep studying the language beyond the trip to Spain. Can anyone recommend a book/tapes/CDs for teaching yourself? I checked out my local bookstore and saw too many choices. Any help? How is Berlitz and their CDs?

I am actually bought a Berlitz program for German a while back, and am not real thrilled with it, to be honest.

What I did do recently (and should have done to begin with) though, was go to the library and check out a few different programs. I found the one that I liked the best and ordered it. I still use the Berlitz stuff sometimes as a supplement - different vocab words, but not too often. Anyway, that is just my own take on it.

I am a firm believer in tapes, and listening, since that is how we all learned our native languages to begin with. That is why the internet is so cool. If you download a realplayer, you can get channels all over the world. Force yourself to spend ten minutes of REALLY listening every day to the news and later to call-in shows (to start out, then build up), and you will really see a change in your comprehension.

I would also suggest music. It can be hard, but also help a lot. Mi Tierra, by Gloria Estefan, some stuff by Juan Luis Guerra, Luis Miguel and Shakira are decent ones for beginners. The accents are pretty clear. Ella Baila Sola is a good group for that too, except they use a fair amount of expressions and vocab people might not be familiar with.

What dot he other Spanish profs think?

I am in the same situation, except that I have already been to Spain and back this year. I really enjoyed dusting off my rusty high school Spanish, and many Spaniards were more than happy to help me along with thier native tounge. I live in a diverse neighborhood in Chicago, and I often go into small Mexican cafes and restaurants here and ask to speak and be spoken to in Spanish (always w/ my Espanol/Ingles dictionary, of course!). The best (and most enjoyable) way to learn a new langauge is to speak and listen any chance you get. Buena Suerte!!

I used "Speak Spanish with Michel Thomas" It comes in a 2-CD or 8-CD package. I thought the 2-CD package was a good refresher.

If someone is interested I don't mind to spend some time on weekends "chatting" in Spanish. There are many sites in internet where we can chat. The best time for me is weekends in the morning. I know that what you guys need is to listen not to read, but it could be a good start. I would suggest to talk by phone but that might be very expensive. Let me know!

I suggest listening to Joaquín Sabina's CDs. He's one of the best song writers in Spain. His lyrics are great and it's a funny way to learn spanish.

Honestly, the only real ways to learn are from music and Spanish friendships. Books, tapes, classes, are an absolute waste if that is your only source. You have to throw yourself in a situation where you can't speak your native tongue and you will learn 1000 times faster. If you can't live abroad long enough to become fluent you need to go somewhere where Spanish is spoken and you can practice what you know, ie, bars, danceclubs, university etc..

Take it from someone who knows...I complete my Spanish major in a couple months and I learned more in a year of working with Spaniards than the whole four years prior in the university, It doesn't help to know the meaning of Span Renaissance literature if you can't hold an effective conversation. Good Luck.

Of course immersion is the best way to learn a language but sometimes you find yourself somewhere where there aren't many native speakers, so check out Puerta del Sol ( www.puerta-del-sol.com ). You get a tape and a transcription of the tape with all sorts of definitions and cultural and historical footnotes. The recordings are real Spaniards (!!) speaking real colloquial spanish about things like food, music, La Alhambra, Borges, Christina Sanchez (the female torero), politics, etc. So if you want a taste of what Spain will sound like or to keep up with the accent and phrases and keep updated culturally, check this out. This sounds like a commercial, doesn't it? I studied in Spain and have my degree in Spanish and have found it considerably difficult to keep up with the language even though I still speak it almost daily because what they speak in southern California is considerably different from what they speak in Andalucia. Check it out. I think it's well worth it.

(sorry. I just "fixed" your URL to make it clickable)

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 11-29-2000).]

How about listening to music before you go? Try Internet radio at www.batanga.com

For fun listen to Cadena Cope...and try to cope. It's on the real player stations list on your browser. This requires some advance knowledge though, or you'll be like me watching Chinese soaps on KRCA-TV...