Learning Spanish online

[CB Jones]

My son (13 you) wants to learn Spanish so he can speak with his friends from South America next summer at the World Champioship he competes in.

We are looking at online sites like Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, +Babbel, and lingoda.

Anyone have any experience or recommendations for him.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Rosetta stone can work, and he can download memrise as well on his phone...it will help with vocab more than grammer, but useful since you dont need a computer for it. Theres a website called futurelearn that i used for their gaelic course, which was cool. It was a lot of material, and is a free online course, and goes into some of the cultural stuff too which most people ignore when learning a language. The course starts off free but if you dont finish it in the time (i think 8 weeks) you have to pay for continuing access.

The other thing id recommend is finding someone that speaks spanish, and have them talk with him in spanish. They dont have to be teaching him anything, but having that conversation is crucial, its the same as learning MA techniques but never practicing them on a resisting person.

 

[ShortBridge]

I'm familiar with most of these. What will work best for your son depends somewhat on him.

For me, any of these + a bit of basic text book (vocabulary, verb conjugation) a children's book or two (not because he's a child, but because it will be linguistically simple) and Spanish language TV. ESPN, Telemundo, whatever you have.

I will say that Pimsleur made some odd vocabulary choices. Not wrong, but not what I'm used to hearing and I tested a few out on Spanish speakers and they understood, but affirmed that they were not the language choices they would have made.

I think that Rosetta Stone at least has European and American versions. Spanish is dialectically different everywhere, so you want to match the program as best as possible to the people he aspires to speak with.

Good for him! Bridging language divides brings us closer together.

 

[Tez3]

their gaelic course,

Is that Irish or Scottish Gaelic? If Scottish there's a poster on here who has the Gaelic.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I will say that Pimsleur made some odd vocabulary choices.

They also do this in Chinese. And I am fairly certain a part of the Pimsleur Chinese program is attempting to teach you how to meet, date and/or pickup Chinese women.

 

[ShortBridge]

They also do this in Chinese. And I am fairly certain a part of the Pimsleur Chinese program is attempting to teach you how to meet, date and/or pickup Chinese women.

Yes, I remember this now too! The Pimsleur conversations seem to always devolve to "do you come here often?"

 

[Deleted member 39746]

Babel seems to work all right. As much as you can get for a online learning in that context anyway, i haven't paid for it though.

I can tell you, the free trial Norwegian course teaching you actual Norwegian, about all i can say for it.


I personally was looking at doing a foundation learning via a actual school then using babbel and other sources as supplements to carry on learning it. That generally fits my way or learning and preference.

 

[pdg]

There's an app called DuoLingo which is entertaining.

Probably best as a supplementary rather than primary resource, but it's free.

 

[oftheherd1]

Rosetta stone can work, and he can download memrise as well on his phone...it will help with vocab more than grammer, but useful since you dont need a computer for it. Theres a website called futurelearn that i used for their gaelic course, which was cool. It was a lot of material, and is a free online course, and goes into some of the cultural stuff too which most people ignore when learning a language. The course starts off free but if you dont finish it in the time (i think 8 weeks) you have to pay for continuing access.

The other thing id recommend is finding someone that speaks spanish, and have them talk with him in spanish. They dont have to be teaching him anything, but having that conversation is crucial, its the same as learning MA techniques but never practicing them on a resisting person.

All good answers I expect, although I am unfamiliar with anything but a Rosetta Stone look-a-like I have. But the best answer is to supplement whatever other learning method is used, with speaking with another Spanish speaker several times a week. . And I would recommend keeping a small pocket Spanish/English dictionary with him. Also set the rule that only Spanish can be spoken. That is what the dictionary is for.

I say the above based on what I found was the best way for me to learn. I studied Spanish for a year in high school and year of college. I learned a lot of vocabulary and grammar. But I did not think in Spanish. You can't really speak a language unless you can think in the language. That includes both speaking and listening. They are separate skills. It was the same for Vietnamese and Korean. What I couldn't think I really couldn't say or understand other than trying to translate word by word. You can get lost in a conversation very quick trying to speak and hear that way. And tell him to expect to be laughed at a lot while he is learning. I would hate to relate some of the mistakes I have made in different languages.

Good on your son @CB Jones for wanting to learn. Just make sure he knows it is hard unless he is a unique individual. But it gets easier the more he learns.

EDIT: I meant to agree with @ShortBridge about a book with conjugation. That is important no only for regular verbs, but more importantly with irregular verbs. There are a ton of books of Spanish verbs, many pocket size. Children's books may help some, but they didn't for me.

 

[oftheherd1]

I'm familiar with most of these. What will work best for your son depends somewhat on him.

For me, any of these + a bit of basic text book (vocabulary, verb conjugation) a children's book or two (not because he's a child, but because it will be linguistically simple) and Spanish language TV. ESPN, Telemundo, whatever you have.

I will say that Pimsleur made some odd vocabulary choices. Not wrong, but not what I'm used to hearing and I tested a few out on Spanish speakers and they understood, but affirmed that they were not the language choices they would have made.

I think that Rosetta Stone at least has European and American versions. Spanish is dialectically different everywhere, so you want to match the program as best as possible to the people he aspires to speak with.

Good for him! Bridging language divides brings us closer together.

All that is very important as well. I have mentioned here before that when in the US Army we once got in about 5 or 6 Puerto Rican soldiers one night. The next morning when I heard them speaking I thought sure they were Germans. I once decided to ask an El Salvadoran friend of mine how the weather (tiempo) was and he was confused why I was asking him about time outside. Had I said (clima) he would have understood immediately.

 

[marques]

I have heard duolingo and Babbel are ok, up to a degree.