This is an extract from my ebook “How To Learn Spanish“:

You can learn new Spanish vocabulary fast, and remember it easily, if you use the right learning technique.

One of the biggest frustrations we all face when studying a foreign language is failing to remember the words and phrases we thought we had learned. How do you stop forgetting the words you came across in previous lessons? Here is the technique my students and I use:

1. Learn new vocabulary with audio material rather than from text only. The difference between learning new Spanish words by reading them in your lesson’s glossary only and by hearing them said by native speakers is abysmal. Hearing the vocabulary said by a native speaker will not only make you familiar with those words substantially faster, but it will also help you understand them better, and you will pronounce them correctly and memorize them easily.

2. Learn new vocabulary in context. Whenever you learn a new Spanish word, make sure you also hear it in context; in you lessons’ dialogs, for instance. Remembering lists of single words without context is practically impossible for most of us, because the human brain works best when it can make associations. In my experience both as a language teacher and a learner, recorded dialogs are the most effective tool for reinforcing your vocabulary.

3. Review vocabulary by listening to your audio material regularly. Listen to the dialogs and flashcards in your lessons as frequently as you can. Repeat them out loud, along with the recordings, with and without the transcript in front of you. In other words, make reviewing part of your study routine. Reviewing always pays off. The more often you review the vocabulary you have learned, the more solid your knowledge will be and, in turn, the faster you will be able to learn and remember new, more difficult, words.

4. Learn all Spanish nouns with their article (“el”, “la”, “los”, “las”) rather than on their own. Whenever you learn a Spanish noun with its article, you are avoiding endless future mistakes. In essence, you are saving yourself a lot of time, and unnecessary, repetitive work. As you may know, the Spanish gender rules can help you “guess” the gender of many nouns, especially those ending in “a” and “o”, but there are many nouns that will let you down if you try to guess their gender. That is why it is safer, and faster, to learn them all with their article when you first come across them.

5. Learn phrases and idioms as a whole, rather than analyzing them word for word. Better still, learn them in context, within complete sentences, and you will not forget them.

6. Redo the vocabulary drills in your course until you can get all the answers right.

You can read these and more tips on how to learn Spanish vocabulary and remember it in my ebook “How to learn Spanish“.

You can get this ebook on:

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There are no miracles when it comes to learning a foreign language, but there are ways of going through your study material that can greatly speed up the learning process.

Here are three exercises I’ve often done myself as a student of English and other languages, and which I always recommend to my students. These exercises are to be done as a form of review, while you move on with the rest of the course. If you do them frequently, you will virtually see the progress you’re making. They really do work.

1. Reading the Spanish dialogs out loud along with the recordings. Whenever you go through a dialog, don’t stop at getting the gist of it and understanding the translation. Instead, read it many times out loud, along with the native speakers, until you can keep up with them while saying all the words clearly. Come back to your dialogs regularly and repeat this exercise frequently.

2. Do dictations from the dialogs in your Spanish course. Open a dialog you’re familiar with and go to the screen or mp3 point where you can hear it but you can’t see it. Have pen and paper or a word processor handy.

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Play the dialog and pause it after a few words or a sentence. Write down what you’ve heard. Then play a few more words, pause the recording and write down the new words. Write down the whole dialog this way. Then play it through and check if you need to amend anything. Compare what you’ve written down with the dialog transcript. Mark the places where you’ve made mistakes.

Review the Spanish words you’ve had trouble with in the dictation. Check that you know their meaning and that you’re saying them correctly. Keep your dictation and repeat it a week or two later. Compare the two and notice the improvement!

3. Translating the dialogs back into Spanish. This exercise will be hard the first time you try it, and you’re likely to make many mistakes. Don’t worry. It’ll soon get a lot better. This is the ideal way of doing it:

Go to the English translation of your dialog. Without looking at the Spanish version, translate the dialog back into Spanish. If you can’t remember a word or phrase, leave a gap. When you’re done, go back to the Spanish dialog in your course and compare it with your translation. Mark the places where you’ve made mistakes.

Keep your translation. Repeat it a couple of weeks later and you’ll see that many of the gaps and mistakes have disappeared, and you can translate the whole dialog faster!

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To get by in Spanish, and to get the information or things you need, you don’t have to be fluent. Even if you know just a couple of hundred words, there’s a lot you can say, and a lot you can understand.

Here are seven tips on how to put your message across successfully, and how to increase the odds of understanding what’s being said to you:

1. Remember to speak loud enough, so people can hear you. When we speak in a language we’re not confident in, we often say things too quietly. Project your voice and don’t lower it when you’re hesitant about a word or expression.

2. Speak clearly. Don’t mumble or put your hand in front of your mouth. If something doesn’t come out right, say it again.

3. Think ahead. Before you go out shopping, to a restaurant or to rent a car, prepare the sentences you may need. Check the main words and make sure you can say them correctly, and in the right order.

4. Think of the possible answers you might get when you ask a question. Write down the words you’re likely to hear and check any you’re not sure of.

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5. Keep it short and simple. Avoid building long sentences.

6. Make sure your pronunciation is good. You may only know a limited number of words, but if everyone can understand them when you say them, those few words can go a long way.

7. Review the numbers. They come up in almost every situation.

My Spanish courses will help you with all the points stressed in this article. They will quickly develop your listening and speaking skills. They will introduce you to everyday vocabulary, practical grammar, and they will help you master the Spanish pronunciation with fun and engaging drills.

You can study Spanish with me wherever you are and at your own pace. I have created a wide variety of courses to suit all your needs: online, mp3, apps, books, cdroms, ebooks and more. Check out the free lessons.

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The way in which you go through your Spanish course is going to be a main factor in how well and how fast you learn the language.

Here are 8 tips to help you develop your listening and speaking skills successfully, and get a good Spanish accent.

1. When you start a new dialog, always make sure you listen to it BEFORE reading its transcript. It’s harder and often you’ll understand very little at first, but it’s also the most effective way to develop your listening skills well and fast.

2. Always read the Spanish dialogs, vocabulary flashcards and pronunciation examples out loud, as if you where talking to someone. Saying them quietly or in your head will sound better, but it won’t help you develop your speaking skills.

3. Make a note of the words you’re having trouble remembering. At the end of every learning session, go back to them. Review them with the vocabulary flashcard by reading them out loud, along with the recordings. That way you’ll avoid gaps in your knowledge and you’ll be able to learn new words faster.

4. Make a note of any grammar points that aren’t clear to you. Put them aside and then come back to them a couple of weeks later. The odds are you’ll understand them much better the second time around, once you’ve made a bit more progress.

5. Listen to the dialogs and all other recorded material in your course not just once, but many times. Every time you listen to the recordings your listening skills are been given a boost.

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6. If you routinely mispronounce a letter, it’s likely that you’ll find it difficult to understand words with that letter. Go through the Spanish pronunciation lessons in your course as thoroughly and as often as you can. Remember: the better your accent is, the easier you’ll find it to understand Spanish speakers.

7. Study at least six days a week, even if sometimes it can only be for ten minutes. The more regularly you’re in contact with the language, the faster you’ll learn. Studying for several hours every so often isn’t nearly as effective as doing half an hour six days a week. Guaranteed.

8. Review your Spanish lessons regularly, even those you find easy. The more solid your basic knowledge of Spanish is, the faster you’ll be able to learn more difficult words, sentences and grammar points.

Here are 10 free iTunes apps you can use for learning Spanish.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or a fluent speaker of Spanish, there are plenty of free apps you can download to your iPhone, iPod and iPad. Some are substantially better than others. The ones here are definitely worth having:

1. Free Spanish Tutor

2. Radio Nacional de España

3. World Nomads Spanish Language Guide

4. El Universal newspaper

5. WordReference.com Spanish-English dictionary

6. El País newspaper

7. Cody’s Cuentos

8. Insta Spanish Lessons

9. Learn Spanish with La Casa Rojas

10. LingusTV: Learn Spanish

Over on iTunes you can also get my free Spanish Podcasts for Beginners.

If you are learning Spanish and you are looking for fun ways of mastering the language, these magazines and newspapers will help you. They are all free and online.

There are many more online publications, and in future posts I will give you links to them, but these are some of the top ones. In this list you will find news sites, sports papers, economy magazines, entertainment and fashion magazines, and even online radio stations.

Here are the ten Spanish newspapers and magazines I have chosen for you:

1. El País – Newspaper published in Spain

2. La Nación – Newspaper published in Costa Rica

3. Elle in Spanish – Fashion magazine

4. People en Español – Entertainment magazine

5. Cadena Ser – Online radio station from Spain and online news site

6. El Universal – Mexican newspaper

7. El Economista – Economy magazine published in Mexico

8. As – Sports newspaper published in Spain

9. Cosmopolitan in Spanish – Fashion magazine

10. COPE – Radio station from Spain and online news site

If there is a free Spanish newspaper or magazine site you would like me to include in future posts, please let me know!

Electronic books, also known as ebooks, are publications which can be read on a number of devices such as computer desktops, laptops and ebook readers. The last five years have seen the launch of many thousands of electronic books with a wide variety of formats. They range from plain publications, with hardly any features, to beautifully developed interactive multimedia ebooks with sound, images, notepads, feedback and hyperlinked menus.

   

The most basic ebooks are no more than digital versions of printed books. They’re a great invention, but they’re far from the electronic books I’m going to concentrate on in this article. Today I’m going to introduce you to fully interactive multimedia ebooks, in particular those that help you learn foreign languages in a flash.

Foreign language learning has been radically improved by multimedia ebooks. They make studying much more fun, and substantially easier. They have also brought the cost of learning down. So, what is it that makes them the powerful tool they are? Here are their top five features:

1. Multimedia ebooks bring the language to life by including audio and/or video. Whether you’re learning verbs, listening to dialogs or practicing your pronunciation, multimedia ebooks allow you to hear the text said by native speakers by a simple click; and you can listen to it over and over. Good ebooks also give you the translation of all the new words and phrases in each lesson, so you never need to use a dictionary.

2. Multimedia electronic books come with listening and speaking drills and exercises to practice the real language. If you’re learning verbs, for instance, you can practice saying and understanding the new forms; if you’re learning vocabulary, you’ll be able to practice all the new words you’ve come across. A good language ebook will also include a set drills at the end to help you review everything you’ve learned, as a whole.

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3. Interactive electronic books give you the exercise and drill solutions. All you need to do is click a button. Good ebooks also let you save your personal scores, an essential feature for monitoring your learning progress.

4. The best electronic books include menus and links similar to those you find on well-designed websites. They make moving from chapter to chapter flawless, and you can quickly get to any lesson, drill or any other content. There are also plenty of external links to the author’s contact page, free resources, blogs, etc.

5. Good electronic books allow you to type in your notes and save them for future reference.

Briefly, interactive multimedia ebooks are self-contained. They provide everything you need, so you don’t have to use a dictionary, notepad, reference book or audio material.

Finally, language learning ebooks cover every aspect of the language: conversation, vocabulary, grammar, numbers, pronunciation, etc. They help you master understanding, speaking, reading and writing faster and more efficiently than traditional methods.

Here are some snapshots from my Spanish language learning ebooks:

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The method you choose to follow your Spanish course, whether it’s a book, software, app or online material, is going to determine how successfully you learn.

Today I’m going to give you 8 tips that will make your Spanish language learning smooth and fruitful.

1. When you start a new lesson, always make sure you listen to the dialog or conversation BEFORE reading its transcript and translation. It’s harder this way, and often you’ll understand very little at first, but it’s also the most effective way to develop your listening skills well and fast.

2. Don’t just read the Spanish material quietly or in your head. Make a point of reading out loud all the Spanish dialogs, vocabulary and examples in your course, as if you had an audience. This will help you develop your speaking skills fast, and will boost your confidence.

3. Keep track of the Spanish words and phrases you’re having difficulty with and come back to them regularly. If your course comes with audio flashcards, repeat the words out loud along with the native speakers to retain them more easily. By reviewing vocabulary frequently you’ll avoid gaps in your knowledge and will acquire a good Spanish accent.

4. Do you have any grammar queries? If your course comes with an online forum, post them there to get an answer. To make sure answers are accurate, check that they are given by experienced teachers rather than other students.

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5. Play the audio material in your course regularly. The more you listen to it, the better you’ll understanding it, and the better your accent will be.

6. A good Spanish pronunciation will not only help you communicate better, but it will also allow you to understand native speakers without trouble. Words you find difficult to say are likely to be also the ones you have difficulty understanding. Work on them as hard as you can to bring both your listening and speaking skills to a higher level.

7. Ideally you should study, at least something, five or six days a week. Sometimes you may only have ten minutes, but that’s OK. Regular contact with the Spanish language will soon translate into fast and steady progress. Cramming several hours of learning in one long session from time to time won’t be nearly as effective in the long term as short and systematic learning.

8. Reviewing the Spanish you’ve learned in the past weeks and months is the key to success. Having a firm knowledge of the basics is essential if you want to get to a high level; without it, progress will be painful.

In my experience as a Spanish language teacher, here are three mistakes that can make you waste precious time, ruin your confidence and eventually give up. As you will see, they are easy to avoid:

1. Rushing through your first Spanish lessons

 

Having a sound knowledge of the basics will determine how fast, and how well, you can learn Spanish.

If you’re a complete beginner, concentrate on each and every lesson of your course, from the beginning, for as long as you need. Do not rush yourself. If a lesson takes you three hours, so be it, but never allow yourself to skip any material.

Basically, the more time you put into the first lessons, the faster you’ll be able to learn later on.

If you’re past the beginners’ level but have some gaps in your knowledge, stop learning new material and go back to the beginning. This may sound drastic, boring, defeating or simply mad, but it will work wonders and no doubt boost your confidence in no time.

To succeed, follow this routine: review all the words you have learned so far. Make sure you understand all the grammar you have covered. Do not allow yourself to make more than one mistake per exercise or drill. Listen to the dialogs until you can say them out loud along with the recordings.

Remember: small gaps at the beginning become enormous holes by lesson twelve. By lesson twenty, giving up will feel like the only way out.

 

2. Not focusing on the Spanish pronunciation

 

Working on your pronunciation might not be the obvious thing to do as a beginner, but it has many great advantages:

• The better your pronunciation is, the better you’ll be able to understand native speakers.
• Having a good accent is hugely rewarding and motivating.
• Having a good accent from the start also allows you to avoid bad pronunciation habits that aren’t always easy to get rid of.

The best way to improve your pronunciation is to concentrate on one letter of the alphabet at a time, and then on words you’re having difficulty with. To get a good Spanish accent, make sure you learn only from native Spanish speakers.

Acquiring a very good accent requires patience and perseverance, no doubt, but once you start working on it you’ll notice some improvement almost from the start. Guaranteed!

 

3. Learning Spanish nouns without ‘el’ or ‘la’

 

Whenever you learn a Spanish noun with its article, you’re avoiding endless future mistakes. In other words, you’re saving yourself a lot of time and unnecessary, repetitive work.

As you may know, the Spanish gender rules can help you ‘guess’ the gender of many words, especially those ending in ‘a’ and ‘o’, but there are many nouns that will let you down if you try to guess their gender. That’s why it’s safer, and faster, to learn them all with their article when you first come across them.

The good news is that any good Spanish course gives you every new noun with its article.

Warning: Unfortunately, there are many Spanish courses that still teach nouns without their article. To avoid wasting your time, make sure the Spanish course you get gives you the new vocabulary with ‘el’ and ‘la’. The simplest way to do it is by checking the free lessons before buying the full product. If there are no sample lessons, get a different course!

Useful Spanish learning material

Free Spanish course
Spanish pronunciation lessons