Hi,
I am living in the Costa Blanca in an urbanisation that has a mainly English population. I am early retired and trying to learn Spanish at home. I am using the Pimsleur speak & Read Essential Spanish tapes and am onto the middle of the 2nd course.

I have lots of grammer books, but I am not using these at the moment as I find it confusing following too many different teaching methods.

In your opinions, do you think that this is a good way to learn? I have a very basic understanding of the background grammer being used, having had some private lessons to start with, but the grammer is not explained on the tapes. Instead, it uses a listen and repeat method, much as a baby/child would learn their native language.
My plans are just to learn enough to hold a decent conversation and be able to read and write a little, not to take it any further than that. Is there any other teaching method that you would recommend that I could do from home?

Jan

If you're in Spain, I suggest the Baptist/Mormon method: TOTAL IMMERSION...take a bus to the "non-mostly English" areas and just start talking to people. My experiences in Spain, spanning more than 15 years, have taught me that the effort alone is enough to get incredible help and cooperation from the locals.

Spaniards want to help you learn their lanaguage, grammar, etc...and the culture that accompanies it. Don't stay home! Get out there and "live amongst the 'natives'" or you'll regret it! All of us elsewhere are totally jealous of your great opportunity. Make the most of it!

Hi Jan,

Look, I spent my primary school and my high school times choosing English as second foreign language…grammar, dictionaries, teachers and all this stuff…

Which was the result? Well, I leaved the high school at 18, without speaking a word in English.

Now I am 27, and two years ago, I could not write this post for you. I spent 6 months in Antwerpen, where the people know how to speak English.

OK, my English is not so good, but I can follow a slow conversation quite well.

Which is the best method to learn? To talk to talk and to talk, and to read to read and to read, and to write to write to write in the language that you want to learn.

Hey, you live in Spain. You have TV channels to hear Spanish, you have many people around you who speak Spanish (try with them), and you could try to type in Spanish.

This is the best way to learn a language. Forgive the grammar (well, just study the basic grammar) and go to the supermarkets and the bars in Spain, there you can learn the best way.

Thanks you two. I know you are right as in my twenties I learnt French this way, by total immersion. I never did get to grips with the grammer, but was able to easily hold a conversation, and to this day-30 years later, still feel more comfortable with French (talking and viewing TV) than I do in Spanish. Yet, to my shame, I have been living here two Years now and still don't have any Spanish friends to chat to

If I go out to the local places here to try out my Spanish, the Spanish people simply answer back in English as they are far better and quicker than me All my neighbours are English or German. I know I should get into the Spanish areas and get talking, but I haven't the confidence to, stupid I know. I would love to have a few Spanish friends locally so that I could feel more comfortable in just getting to know them and talking. I have tried to set up a Spanish only forum on my site, (can't say where as its not allowed here) the idea being that if some Spanish people join in I could then ask if we could meet up for a coffee and I could at last get some Spanish friends here, but only a couple of English people have joined in so far

If I go out to the bars, restaurants etc. the Spanish people are very kind and try to help me along with my struggling Spanish, but they are too busy working to stay and talk to me for long. Here I am, living in Spain, and finding it hard to make Spanish friends

I think what I must try to do is go to the Town Hall and see what activites are available for the local community. If I can choose an activity that looks like it is geared towards Spanish women, perhaps by joining in I can make some Spanish friends this way.

Sorry for the long-winded response.

Jan

Landlady.
Make no mistake learning a foreign language is harder than a lot of people may think.
Spanish is an easy language to speak from day one and you can learn some basic phrases etc. pretty easily but to make any progress you must study the grammar, this is the real motor of the language. To do this you have to get out the text book and learn the irregular verbs, the past and future, conditional and subjunctive tenses (the last one is interesting!)This means hard study and commitment, not just listening to a tape
while you drive to the supermarket. You have got to get yourself on a course where there are people like yourself and you will learn from each other and push yourself more.Learning your spanish in the local bar is all well and good, but some of the locals dont actually speak castellano that well anyway, their accent can be so thick as to be difficult to follow.Its like a spanish friend of mine who went to Dundee and returned perplexed. She spoke and understood English very well but the accent completely lost her! (apologies to any Jocks reading this)

Thanks for your reply Steven. I think its a mixture of all. I have spent some time learning the grammar via the text books and lessons and plan to do so again in the future, but for now I just feel that I am at the stage that I should be actually trying to speak the language instead of worrying too much whether I get the grammar exactly right. If I make the effort to speak to the Spanish tradespeople, then they are all too willing to forgive my mistakes and try to understand what I am trying to say. Once the confidence and ability to talk and listen in a quicker way comes, (normal dialogue speed) then I think by going back to the text books afterwards - the grammar of the language would be so much easier to comprehend and learned.

I am in the very fortunate position of being able to do this, living in Spain as I do. I am just very frustrated at not being able to make some Spanish friends to practise with (I cannot keep practising with the waiters or check-out girls ). Perhaps this is because of my age and being a woman I can't just go into bars etc. Perhaps it would be easier if I was younger and out and about more in the evenings, I don't know. Or more likely it is just that this part of Spain has seen such a huge influx of (mainly) English people. Sometimes I wonder if there are any Brits left in the UK

Landlady,
How I envy you - I practice total immersion not nearly often enough!
Like you, I studied French in school - and never spoke it until my first trip to Europe as a teenager. In other words - I could read and write - understand a great deal - but nnot open my mouth as I only learned to speak the language when surrounded by it.

First - there are strong similarities beween Spanish, French & Italian - use your french (even if you think you have forgotten it - it comes back as a base if you try to read in Spanish, etc.) That should help you as you read the newspapers, etc.

TV and radio are excellent - even if you think you aren't 'getting it' - words sink in - and slowly you will get it.

As far as the Spanish kindnes is practicing their English vrs. letting you practice your Spanish - I have found that, when I'm in Spain and going for a cafe con leche at the same place for a more than two days allows you to become enough of a regulare to use that bumbling Spanish and receive some gentle correction - buts lots of patience -from the waiter, etc. you are practing your linguistic skills (?) on. However haltingly, explain you are trying to elarn their language and ask for corrections -
That has always brought smiles, often laughter from some of my errors - but patience, help and friendship from my various "teachers".

And if you are asked to help with their English - do so - it's the start of a two-way help situation and often the start of a friendship as well.