How can I improve my Spanish? I am studying at level B1.
Listen to Spanish music, also find the lyrics of the music and try to translate it. Read the words out loud.Try to put all the devices you have to Spanish language, this will help you to learn and pick up new words.Set a timetable when you can practice the tenses.One thing I do is to read certain books I like in Spanish. I read it then translate the page and pick out vocabulary i know, past tenses, present tense, future tense and all the other tenses.Watching films and TV series in Spanish can also help. I watch Spanish soaps on Telemundo.Always try to speak in Spanish as well it will help you to practice your pronunciations.
How do I improve my Spanish vocabulary?
There are several good ways!! 1. Use social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace in Spanish. Personally, because I am a Farm Town addict, I know lots of spanish words for foods. You can also use other tools in Spanish as well. Like your cell phone for example. It maybe hard at first, but trust me, you get used to it quickly. 2. Read the news in Spanish! Google News and Yahoo News make this super easy! 3. Use Yahoo Answers en Espanol. The people there are more than willing to help English speakers learn Spanish. 4. www.byki.com, they have a free download for a flashcard program that helps you memorize words in other languages. You can also create your own lists which is useful as you gather vocabulary from News articles. 5. www.spanishdict.com is a great resource! It uses several spanish-english dictionaries, provides Spanish Lessons, and other great stuff. 6. MUSIC! And different types too! Get a broad spectrum, everything from Tejano to Cumbia to Reggaeton to Latin Pop. Different genres tend to use different words, and some artists use broader vocabularies. 7. Instead of using the words you know when you write in Spanish, look up the ones you don't. For example, I was surprised you didn't use the word "mejorar" which means to improve. 8. Watch Spanish movies and TV with Spanish subtitles. As they go, try to write down the words that you don't know. Look them up, and then rewatch the show, without subtitles. As for a penpal, I am sorry! I am not a native speaker, although I speak it well. I am just learning like you and I think you would prefer a native speaker :), try Yahoo Answers en Espanol. The people there are wonderful and very helpful.
Native Spanish speakers, how can I improve my Spanish?
I practice Spanish almost every day, either revising, studying, or speaking with native Spanish speakers to learn more. I still feel that I can do more than that, but I don't know what else to do. I tried to read stories for kids, but it is still a little bit complicated. Reading or listening to the news is a complete disaster! I can catch a word or two out of a complete sentence. I was thinking now maybe by watching cartoons in spanish I could improve. My question is, should i watch cartoons with English subtitles or spanish subtitles. Also, should the cartoon be in English with Spanish subtitles, Spanish with English subtitles or Spanish with spanish subtitles? Anything else could I do to improve? I'm trying my best but it seems my best is not enough. Gracias!
How do I improve my Spanish speaking skills?
In addition to TV and movies, as Daniel Mokrauer-Madden answered, and Nathan Ketsdever's list of strategies, I'd suggest a look at your daily activities for areas where you could switch into Spanish. Could you read the daily newspaper in Spanish? Could you read it aloud for 10-15 minutes daily, to reinforce your oral Spanish skills? Here's a link to on-line media in every country: http://www.kidon.com/media-link/... . This will help you find a Spanish-language newspaper ("es" tag at the end of each entry) that gives you the coverage you want. For listening to the radio, follow your interests. Also, drill down into the Kidon.com website, under USA/California for Broadcast News, to find Spanish-language radio stations. You could also listen to a station from Ecuador on-line. If you prefer classical music or classic rock or almost any genre, try a Spanish-language station. Google (search "streaming radio Spanish more-keywords") will turn up more sites like http://www.listenlive.eu/spain.htmlCould you switch your off-campus shopping to a supermarket or other stores where you can shop and chat with Hispanic employees?Have you "shaken the tree" on campus to find Spanish speakers? Is there an International Students group? Is there a non-political, social group of Spanish speakers? (You could help form one; Consider asking the campus news medium to include a notice.)Does the school have enough Spanish-speakers for the Administration to offer help in the registrar's or Dean's offices, and would you want a part-time job helping in that?Have you gone to the Spanish department to talk to profs and staff about ways you might keep up your competency without switching your major to Spanish? Would you want to minor in Spanish, if it got you the opportunity to take interesting courses in the department? Are you good enough to tutor? (The BEST way to learn is to teach, in any field.) Does the Spanish Department use non-major TAs?Quora has some topics that might be of interest or use to you, even if the Quora is nominally English-only. Spanish (language) . Quora Spanish Community¡Suerte!
What are some excellent methods to improve my Spanish?
¡Hola!I see that you're asking how to improve your Spanish rather than how to learn it, which I assume means that you already have the basics down.In my experience, learning or improving any language is a matter of two things: exposure and structure.You need to be exposed to the language in all ways possible as much as possible. Other have mentioned great suggestions and I have a few as well:Change your phone to SpanishChange your social media accounts to SpanishFollow Spanish speakers or Spanish speaking organizations on social media to get it on your feedsWatch TV, movies in SpanishRead/listen to the news in SpanishGo out into your community and interact with Spanish speakers there (a Latino market or basically any business owned/frequented by Spanish speakers)Travel if you canTalk to yourself in Spanish (turn your inner voice into Spanish as much as possible)Listen to music in SpanishAnd this is why enjoying the culture is important to learning a language!All of the above suggestions work great for gaining valuable input in the language, but you also need structure in order to truly make progress quickly and efficiently.To achieve this, I would work on mastering any grammar which you still get stuck on through exercising the traditional way (repetition of conjugations and so on), but also through conversation with a tutor or a friend.In addition, make yourself a learning plan that you can stick to. This will ensure that you are actively working toward your goals and give your learning structure (which will lead to feeling like you are making progress).Feel free to enroll in my shortcourse on Spanish Self-Study for techniques and print-outs on how to do this!
Does watching Spanish shows on T.V improve your Spanish speaking?
As most that is on our tv in Spanish is rubbish I would say no...lol But seriously you would have to have a pretty good understanding of the language in the first place to follow the programme. See if you can get these two movies: Juana la Loca http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0270480/ El Orfanato http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464141/ both in Spanish but easy enough to follow. Listening to the language is the best way to learn, try the radio I find it better as you have no picture to distract you. Suerte
What is a good way to improve my Spanish listening skills?
I am partial to Stephen Krashen’s Hypothesis of Comprehensible Input. Basically, Krashen says that for language students to make progress in acquiring a second language, oral or written “input” should fulfill two basic criteria.You should be able to follow what’s being said; you should be able to get the gist of the spoken language, but not understand everything. A beginning language student will get virtually no benefit from watching a film in the target language or any other program or video made for native speakers. Being exposed to materials that are incomprehensible or nearly incomprehensible is of little value. If you can’t follow the gist of the spoken language at all, you’re not going to get much out of it. Conversely, input that poses no difficulty for you whatsoever will do little to help you improve your skills. I often use the analogy of tennis. If you’ve been playing tennis for a couple of years, trying to return Rafael Nadal’s serve isn’t going to do much for your tennis game. Similarly, if your tennis partner is a complete novice, you’ll probably win all your matches, but your game won’t see much improvement. A somewhat better player pushes the lesser player to compete, thus “raising their game.” Krashen represents this ideal dynamic as L+1, which represents input as slightly above your current level.What you listen to should be interesting to you. Perhaps you can follow the gist of a program about silver mining in Bolivia during the 17th century, but if you have no interest in the subject, find something else to watch. The challenge is to find level-appropriate input that is interesting; not always easy to do. Two websites based on the concept of comprehensible input are Yabla and FluentU. There is a monthly fee, but they’re not particularly expensive for what you get. YouTube is loaded with videos geared toward language learners, but you have to search around a bit to find what you like and what suits your level. Remember, L+1 and interesting content.Good luck!
What should I do to improve my spanish pronunciation?
A few things to consider: Vowels: Remember that all vowels are always pronounced the same way. A is pronounced "ah". E is pronounced "eh". I is pronounced "ee". O is pronounced "oh". And U is pronounced "oo". Listen to your teacher and make sure you're making the proper sounds, which should be said quickly. English pronunciation has a tendency to sort of distort the vowels as we say them. For example, if you say "yo soy alto" in Spanish and handed the sentence over to a non-Spanish speaker, he would probably say something like "yo-w soy alto-w", if you get what I mean. The vowels shouldn't physically be hard to pronounce, just make sure you're pronouncing them correctly. Make them well-rounded, especially the O. Consonants: Most of the English/Spanish consonants are the same. Remember to make your Spanish Vs lighter so that they almost sound like English Bs. Make sure you slightly roll all your Rs. With double Rs (as in "perro"), roll them completely. If you encounter a single R (as in "pero"), it should almost sound like a very light English D sound. While this is not exactly correct, if said quickly, it comes off much closer to the actual Spanish pronunciation. I find this website particularly helpful (it is also in the sources): http://spanish.about.com/od/spanishpronunciation/Learn_Spanish_Pronunciation.htm AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: Listen to native speakers! If your Spanish teacher isn't a native speaker, you should look up videos of Spanish speakers and listen to them and try to imitate their sounds. Good luck!