Tips for learning Spanish?
Best thing for learning Spanish is to speak it as much as you can. It is best to go to Spanish classes instead of trying to teach yourself, as classes will have a teacher who will be able to correct your pronunciation and any errors you may make. Ask a friend or a family member to learn it with you and have conversations with them in Spanish, so that when you get stuck, they can motivate you and you can help each other out. Or, you could learn Spanish, and try to teach someone else what you learn at the same time, it will most likely stick in your head more and you can also have conversations with them. Watch Spanish programmes or listen to Spanish songs, the more you associate yourself with the language, the more you'll pick up, and you may learn some Spanish slang as well. Take a visit to Spain or to other Spanish speaking countries, to expose yourself to more Spanish, as well as having a great time. Try to have a conversation to local Spanish people, order your food in Spanish, or ask for help in Spanish. You'll be surprised at how fast you can pick the lingo up. Note that different Spanish speaking countries speak different forms of Spanish. Although, the language is similar, some words mean completely different things. I remember my Spanish teacher told me how to say something but told me to never say it in South America because it meant a swear word down there. Also, different parts of Spain speak mildly different languages. However, wherever you go, you'll learn basic spanish, but remember to learn what form of Spanish the natives speak, although they'll probably understand the main jist of what you're trying to say if you speak a different Spanish to them. Try to find a Spanish pen pal. You can write to them in Spanish and they can help and advise you on how to improve your knowledge. In return, you could always help them with English. Everyone's a winner! Don't get stressed out if you do not get Spanish straight away. Languages are hard to learn if you are not native. If you feel you are getting stressed, take a break and start again later. There is no rush to learn a language. Thank you for reading my answer. Good luck with learning the language. I hope it goes well and that my tips helped =]
Can you recommend Spanish speaking radio shows for intermediate language learners?
I can’t, only because actual radio shows will be spoken by native speakers, at the rate they naturally speak. However, there are a number of radio podcasts you can find on iTunes and you can select a speed of .5x to slow them down. I recommend finding a topic that interests you because you’re more likely to get sucked into it. I frequently listen to foreign language podcasts and if I’m not interested in the topic, I find my mind wandering.That said, if I were an intermediate Spanish learner, I would turn to Netflix rather than the radio. On Netflix, you can choose a show and put the audio track in Spanish. The first time you can watch it without subtitles to see how much you can pick up. The second time, you can watch it with English subtitles, to make sure you fully understand the scene. Finally, you can use Spanish subtitles and that will really help you tease the words apart.When you are listening to solely audio, it’s the most difficult format because you have no visual clues to lean on. That’s what makes telephone conversations so difficult. Hope that helps a little!
Learning Languages: If I listen to Spanish songs and watch Spanish TV shows without understanding them, would it improve my Spanish?
Almost NOT at all. If you want to understand Spanish spoken by natives Spanish people follow my advice given here in Quora in another place. (Trying to understand native speakers by watching TV (at least at a beginner level) is like trying to solve cubic equations before you now how to add. From Manuel Aicart.) Forget about listening to radio or TV programs. It helps, BUT... you will need years and tears. It is very easy to understand Spanish Language spoken by Spanish people. And boring? Probably. My solution to this problem: You have to have an Audio File of Spanish spoken by natives with the text written in Spanish and translated into your mother Language. One hour will be more than enough. But you can start with five to ten minutes. And than get some more till you complete one hour, more or less. You can get it from Internet. Once you have it, start with the first ten to 15 or 20 first seconds. No more. Listen those 10 seconds several times very slowly. At the same time you must be reading the texts written in Spanish while you are listening the Audio. This is very important. You already know what it means. (You are supposed.) When you think you understand very well those ten seconds, NOW listen to them WITHOUT reading. And see if you understand them, every single word. NOW, you must listen to those ten seconds every single day, till you are .... Start again with the next ten seconds. When you understand them very well without reading, join them to the first ten seconds and listen those 20 seconds every day. And keep on learning new seconds till you complete one hour, more or less. I have those Audio files with Conversational Spanish translated into English. All my students love them.
How do you say speaker (like a radio speaker) in Spanish?
A person who speaks on TV or Radio is called a speaker How what interests you is a speaker inside a radio. There are three possibilities.One is BOCINA, the other is ALTO PARLANTE ( Loud Speaker whilst the last is MICROFONO ( Micro Phone ) Different countries use different words and the nuances are somewhat different Hope this helps
What are good Spanish television shows and movies for native English speakers to watch in order to improve their Spanish speaking and listening skills?
Almost NOT at all. If you want to understand Spanish spoken by natives Spanish people follow my advice given here in Quora in another place. It may be boring BUT it will be 100% effective. (Trying to understand native speakers by watching TV (at least at a beginner level) is like trying to solve cubic equations before you now how to add. From Manuel Aicart here in Quora.) Forget about listening to radio or TV programs. It helps, BUT... you will need years and tears. It is very easy to understand Spanish Language spoken by Spanish people. And boring? Probably. My solution to this problem: You have to have an Audio File of Spanish spoken by natives with the text written in Spanish and translated into your mother Language. One hour will be more than enough. But you can start with five to ten minutes. And than get some more till you complete one hour, more or less. You can get it from Internet. Once you have it, start with the first ten to 15 or 20 first seconds. No more. Listen those 10 seconds several times very slowly. At the same time you must be reading the texts written in Spanish while you are listening the Audio. This is very important. You already know what it means. (You are supposed.) When you think you understand very well those ten seconds, NOW listen to them WITHOUT reading. And see if you understand them, every single word. NOW, you must listen to those ten seconds every single day, till you are .... Start again with the next ten seconds. When you understand them very well without reading, join them to the first ten seconds and listen those 20 seconds every day. And keep on learning new seconds till you complete one hour, more or less. I have those Audio files with Conversational Spanish translated into English. All my students love them and understand TV talks from TVE.
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
Should i learn spanish or american sign language?
It depends on what your focus would be... Would you go for a degree that would specifically aim you at the hearing impaired? If not, I would go for Spanish because no matter where you go in the US, you'll encounter spanish speaking people while the chances of you running into a deaf person is much much smaller... Again, unless that's what your specific focus will be.