Hello all

I have been thinking of learning Spanish lately.

I have seen many brilliant Spanish films, but it was only when i saw The Motorcycle Diaries that it really hit me, "I want to learn this language"

It felt so similar to my native tongue Arabic, simply by the slip of the tongue of the feminine/masculine tone of the vocabulary, its similarities in English both in sound and in grammatical structure(?).

So anyone here speak it or anything?

I'm interested in your thoughts and opinions and what books to get, etc ^^

i'm sure there are a few members here that are fluent in it... it's the most common language for an English speaker to learn i believe... a large amount of sources are available to learn it as well...

I imagine Spanish would be much easier for a Japanese person to learn rather than English as well...

liosama Wrote:Hello all

I have been thinking of learning Spanish lately.

I have seen many brilliant Spanish films, but it was only when i saw The Motorcycle Diaries that it really hit me, "I want to learn this language"

It felt so similar to my native tongue Arabic, simply by the slip of the tongue of the feminine/masculine tone of the vocabulary, its similarities in English both in sound and in grammatical structure(?).

So anyone here speak it or anything?

I'm interested in your thoughts and opinions and what books to get, etc ^^

if you haven't already, check this site out: http://www.spanish-only.com

It's like the Spanish AJATT but very concise.

Spanish is supa easy. Hola, Amigos was a decent textbook, but really I think something like Assimil would be better. It works really well for French so I'm sure the Spanish version would be equally great. There's also Destinos, a video series which seems pretty decent but I haven't really looked at it.

I learned Spanish in high school so I'm not really sure what all is out there. I know Platiquemos is really good but it's also very dry, and kind of expensive. I really think Assimil would be your best bet, though. After the "With Ease" course, you should be all set to start with native material. The With Ease course teaches 2,000-3,000 words and the basic vocab. According to the website, it brings you to B2 level, which is great considering how quickly the course can be finished.

Here's the definition of B2, for reference:

Quote:Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

I used the French With Ease course for a short time and I have no doubt that the course can take you to that level.

I love you all.

Within 2 hours i have about 52 free videos that are half an hour in size.

A couple of good looking resources, and another ASATT freak

Jen:

I'm not sure, I'll study Spanish when I'm procrastinating with Japanese, so it'll work out in the end.

Hiii!! I speak Spanish, I'm a native speaker. I'm learning Japanese in English, I was wondering if that's bad: learning a language through another language.

Random comment: sometimes it happens I know what an English word means but I can't tell the Spanish correspondent one, like Fathom or eventide (I think it does not exist a word for it in Spanish).

I've taken 5 years of Spanish and in addition to the great material already posted, I'd recommend, as a first Spanish novel, "Nada" by Carmen Laforet (1944), which is what my Spanish professor used to teach us back in H.S.

Not only it is filled with useful vocabulary, but as a commonly used book to introduce Spanish students to Spanish literature, it also has it's own glossary and index in the back of the book with appropriate translations!

Also you'll start to get some Catalan and a tiny bit of Castillian from reading it, which may come in handy if you ever want to go to Seville or to go further into Spanish literature.

armando_amaya Wrote:Hiii!! I speak Spanish, I'm a native speaker. I'm learning Japanese in English, I was wondering if that's bad: learning a language through another language.

Random comment: sometimes it happens I know what an English word means but I can't tell the Spanish correspondent one, like Fathom or eventide (I think it does not exist a word for it in Spanish).

i'm doing this precisely, haven't run into any problems yet. if anything, it'll strenghthen your english. you shouldn't be translating anyway so, as long as you understand the meaning of the words, even if you don't know the spanish equivalent (if such a thing exists) you should be alright. (i'm assuming you are using a monolingual english dictionary by now, right? because you should be.)

Yes, I've been using wordweb for a long time. I hope my English skills get better too.

any good websites on learning spanish in japanese or learning japanese in spanish?

Hey taijuando, a fellow New Yorker! Here's coming at ya from Marine Park!

Here's a website with a "Curso de Japonés". Good luck!

http://www.gorinkai.com/nihongo/

the trueblue...ありがとう。。。muchas gracias...I'm in Japan until the end of August....where's Marine Park....

If you were a New Yorker at heart you'd know where Marine Park was...

Just like you'd know where Chelsea, Gramercy, Jamaica, Forest Hills, Red Hook, Boro Park, and Windsor Terrace were within the city, even if you hadn't been there...

got me there .... i live in chelsea....love the bagels from windsor terrace... but not originally from nyc

ROFL you LIVE in Chelsea? I only go there to practice golf. Well at least you can check out the Art scene whenever you want...

I have a toddler...I check out the diaper scene

Wow a toddler + learning Japanese + going to Japan?

大変そう。。。　まあ，しっかりして頑張って！

Yes, Spanish is super-easy for an English speaker, compared to Japanese or even French. And once you get Spanish, you're well on your way to either Italian or Portuguese. I learned Spanish fairly well in the home growing up. It also helps with Japanese pronunciation. :-)

TheTrueBlue Wrote:Hey taijuando, a fellow New Yorker! Here's coming at ya from Marine Park!

Here's a website with a "Curso de Japonés". Good luck!

http://www.gorinkai.com/nihongo/

Hii, when you get back to Mexico, you should try Curso Intensivo de japonés para hispanohablantes by Miwako Okura, edited by Colmex. You could buy it at Gandhi or at el Sotano.

taijuando Wrote:any good websites on learning spanish in japanese or learning japanese in spanish?

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/spanish/index.html