Licence update

Has anyone tried out the "Michel Thomas" learning Spanish cd's.They are reckoned to be terrific and therefore I will stoically persevere -but I have to say the first half an hour of the intro. cd sent me to sleep.

What have other people used ? 

A desperate plea from two people keen to learn Spanish but with little time (a good excuse)

Hi Gillian

Michel Thomas is good but has faults as you will find but it does work and you will always 'remember' what he say's; he does make you think how to make up sentences.  I think the key is to live it every day whether you live in Spain or elsewhere, listen to music sung in Spanish that sing clearly like Mana, Alex Ubago (at least you can enjoy the music) and a host of others, tune into Spanish radio tv and radio channels on the net, buy mags and books in Spanish, get a pen pal etc. I have been learning for a few years and it is the doing something everyday that improves skills. We are not going to learn Spanish overnight.

Kind regards

that is very good advice from Chipmonk.

I couldnt say my spanish is very good, but i found that it was not until i invested in a spanish tutor that i really saw a difference.  Having to speak to a native spanish speaker every lesson made a big difference to me ... i now find that i understand a lot more spanish, and am begining to get a little fluency.  Like Chipmonk my tutor said that i must surround myself with the spanish language by listening to music, tv, radio etc, which i have tried to do as much as possible ... at first it was all... well like a foreign language really LOL ... but then i started to find that i was able to pick out words, then whole phrases, and sometimes i even know what they are talking about!  I have impressed my family by singing along to spainish songs while working around the house (not the singing that is impressive i must add, just the fact that i knew the words!).  im sure that i still talk a lot of nonsense at times and like a 4 year old, but i am much more confident now and feel that i will be able to at least make myself understood in spanish. 

My spanish tutor has gone home to spain for  a few months so it is harder to be commited and sometimes days slip past and i havent practiced my spanish, and that is fatal.  So I know from experience that you must be willing to put in the effort on a daily basis if you want to get anywhere.  There is no easy solution.

Thanks everyone,

Your enthusiasm has inspired me to keep bashing on with it and love the idea on listening to as much Spanish as possible.I think I will also get some childrens books to read once I can do a little more than ask for a coffee with milk !! 

PS. Auntie Em I want sparkly shoes too !!!  (and that's just John !)

Aquí están algunos zapatos. Espero que le gusten ellos 

 (i think i said "here are some shoes, i hope you like them", but i cant promise that its not something rude! LOL)

John's shoes are a bit large ... and there's only one of them ... so either he can fit both feet into one, or he will have to hop ... but hey they are sparkly!

Oh thats made my day and believe me I needed it !!

Thanks,

Gilly

I have the Michael Thomas cd's but I couldn't get beyond the first one.

I have done one year at an adult educational class.  The teacher there was Spanish and married to an English man.  She said that when she first learnt English when listening to people speaking English she thought all the words were running in together.  It's the same with Spanish, I'm getting better and can normally get the gist of a conversation but am not confident in speaking.

I listen to Spanish Radio when I'm there and sometimes watch the news on Spanish tv.  Don't like tv 5 station though.

Very good at telling the ladies on the fish counter that I want the fish filleted  - with my hands

hi semijubilada

you are right it does sound all run together ... its great when bits of it start to make sense, isnt it?

I think half the battle in speaking another language is learning phrases as well as single words - i still try to translate literally from English and that is how i end up saying some really odd things because of course the Spanish dont use the same idioms as we do.  But we just have to keep going and hope for the best! 

I do say some odd things and get some really strange looks from the Spanish ... but even worse is when i say something right and then they launch into full flow thinking i am conversant with their language! My most used phrase is " i only understand a little spanish, please speak more slowly"

Hi Gilly & John

You just can't have one pair each now, can you ?

Mmmm - wish you could see John,if I just say he is an ex rugby player then that will give you some idea of what he might look like in his sparkly shoes !!

and as for me - well I think my flatties are never going to look the same !