Dec 24

Teach Yourself Spanish

Learning to speak Spanish, for example, has many advantages. Many people want to learn to speak Spanish because of the large number of places it is used. And it is possible to teach yourself Spanish quite easily with the right help.

Many people are forced to learn to speak Spanish - for school or college, for example. For example, I grew up in Ireland, and all children were required to study Irish. Ireland has two official languages. English is the language everybody uses. But there is an Irish language also, and they are trying to keep it alive. One of the ways they used to do that was to require you to pass an Irish exam in order to graduate, and in order to attend university. Or course, I wish the requirement had been to learn to speak Spanish – that would have been more useful to me now. Instead, I have had to seek out “teach yourself Spanish” resources.

For work also, learning to speak Spanish can have great value. Many businesses conduct business internationally now, whether by selling their products outside of the home country, or by sourcing supplies in other countries, or outsourcing labor to other countries. Accordingly, if you teach yourself Spanish, it can be an advantage to be able to communicate with vendors, contract employees, and customers, some of whom may only speak very rudimentary English, if any at all. The Latin American markets are opening up now, and many large companies see the advantages of having bilingual employees, so it can be good for career advancement. So if you teach yourself Spanish……

Vacations take on a whole new level when you can converse in the local language, and this is another reason why many people learn to speak Spanish. Nobody would argue that being able to speak the local language is very helpful. Simply being able to ask for directions, or hold basic conversations can open up the vacation to a whole new level. So again, demand for “teach yourself Spanish” resources is increasing as people strive to learn to speak Spanish.

Some people learn to speak Spanish just because they want to. Others do it to discover their roots – perhaps their ancestors emigrated from another country a generation ago, or many generations ago. You, or your ancestors, came from somewhere else if you are now living in the United States. As you discover your roots, sometimes the desire to visit the old country is strong, and many people learn to speak Spanish in preparation for the eventual trip to discover their roots.

No matter why you want to learn to speak Spanish, it is easier than ever. Traditional classes are still an option to teach yourself Spanish. These have been the way that people have learned a new language for many years. There are limitations to only spending an hour a week, especially with others who don’t speak the language either. Do you really want to have the pace set by the slowest student in the class - the one who is there because his boss made him. Many local schools and colleges offer language classes in the evenings. An option perhaps - but it is not the best option.

A private tutor is an option - an expensive one. But, your schedule is limited. If you see the tutor once a week, or twice a week, you still need to practice and study in between, and you rarely have the tools to help you, so your level of self-motivation comes into play to a huge extent. Yes, you want to learn to speak Spanish, but you have work, family, social commitments….

Today however, another great option is teach yourself Spanish software. These have come a long way over the past few years. Originally comprised of largely audio courses, on CD or DVD, they have evolved into interactive programs which attempt to simulate immersion in the language. And immersion is the only way you are going to successfully teach yourself Spanish. Accumulating lists of words, learning verbs and conjugation, and mastering tenses for verbs is OK in a school setting. It will not get you very far in terms of being able to hold conversations. So if you can’t move to Spain or Latin America for a month to immerse yourself to learn to speak Spanish, then you really should look at the many on-line programs available.

A word of caution – many of the established language software companies have old products at this point. Some of them have been diligent in updating their products and incorporating great interactive tools and features. Others have treated their product as a cash cow, milking an out of date product as much as they can. These companies typically prefer to spend their money on marketing and advertising to get as many customers as possible instead of spending on product development. In other words, they prefer to reel in more customers instead of developing the best product possible.

So you need to carefully evaluate the components of any program you are considering. Let the buyer beware, as they say!!

The author operates Language-Fast.com and you are welcome to review his learn to speak Spanish recommendations.

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