What stuff have you used to learn with?

There’s a ton of stuff out there that you can use to learn languages. In the past I’ve tried a lot of different things. Here is a sampling:

-I really like the Pimsleur courses although they aren’t very cheap.

-I’ve done a lot of learning with podcasts as well. I’ll post some of my favorites later but Coffee Break Spanish stands out as being a particularly good one.

-One thing that I like doing is watching a DVD with a language track for the language I’m learning and subtitles in English. It’s a fun to expose yourself to the language more while watching a movie you wanted to watch anyway. Plus, you can pretty much understand everything you would have if you had just watched the “regular” version. :)

I’ll post more in a bit. In the meantime post what you use. I’m interested to see.

One of my favorite ways to help learn a language (especially idioms and street language that they don’t teach you in school) is by finding bands or musicians I like who sing in that language. Paolo Conte is excellent for Italian- he’s quite a poet/storyteller, sort of like a Billy Joel-meets-Frank Sinatra of Italy. For Spanish I’m a sucker for Mana, Juanes, and Julieta Venegas. In French, Carla Bruni (yes, the singer/model who’s dating Sarkozy). Sometimes it’s hard to understand what they’re singing the first (or second, or third) time around, but I find that after listening to the songs over and over, you start to pick up on words you hadn’t understood before. Or you can always find the lyrics online and sing along!

That’s a great idea! If you want to sample some of the stuff from these artists I’ve posted links to their Hype Machine pages below:

Paolo Conte
Jaunes
Julieta Venegas
Carla Bruni

I used Pimsleur too. Loved it. It helped me get through a couple of weeks in Spain.

The only difficulty I had with those CDs is that there was nothing to hold me accountable. So I only got through about 20 lessons before giving up.

That expensive CD collection is in a closet somewhere.

Jill, I did that too. Well, something similar.

I bought some Spanish lessons set to music. What I mean is, the instructor sang each lesson. I heard it often enough that I was able to sing along. I didn’t know many of the words, but it was still a help.

One of my favorite ways to learn Spanish was by watching (and then discussing in class) the Spanish soap opera “Destinos”. It was produced specifically to teach Spanish by keeping us glued to the TV watching all the drama and scandal….while creatively weaving in helpful vocab words, of course. We also learned many catchy little songs to help us remember the words. Yes, I can still sing them today. Here is a short verse: Hace mucho frio, si frio, si frio, y yo no tengo guantes, Ay….Que Lio!

Carrie, that’s hilarious, I’ll have to track down some Destinos on the web :)

I’ve just started listening to Coffee Break Spanish and it’s been great. I’m also getting tutoring by an awesome tutor here in Buenos Aires named Graciela which has been invaluable for answering specific questions that I have and getting talked to in Spanish… I’m finding it’s important to have interaction and be put in a position where you need to think and respond… otherwise it’s just repitition of stuff that you’re listening to.

Carrie’s post reminded me of something else I’ve tried. I’ve rented DVD’s of my favorite TV shows and re-watched them with the language switched to Spanish.

Obviously, it’s not a great way to make progress. But it’s kind of fun.

I totally remember Destinos! Remember when the romantic plot evolves (we found that to be a big deal for a video we were watching in spanish class).

I had a friend who would tune into the spanish radio stations, but I can’t imagine that would be easy to learn that way. They talk so fast it sounds like they’re announcing a NASCAR race.

I haven’t used audio learning yet. I learn well by seeing the words and processing visually.

I do have some French podcasts that I’ve been waiting to get to.

When I was studying for Spanish tests, I used to sing the phrases to help me memorize them. That was helpful!

Yes, Robert! Destinos was kind steamy for Mrs. Rowntree’s class as well. So scandalous!

Andrew, I recently watched Barbie as the Island Princess in English and then watched it a second time in Spanish. It was VERY helpful. And no….it’s not that strange that I chose Barbie. I actually work on the development of the Barbie movies so I don’t always watch them for pleasure. All of you “guys” out there should do the same with something like Anchorman since you can probably quote most lines in English…you’ll immediately understand the context of the Spanish. Fun times.

Oh and songs are THE BEST. I know every Latin American capital from a song I learned in the 6th grade. Very helpful in Trivial Pursuit games at times. I can’t wait to hear the fantastic songs that’ll be posted by the tutors on this site!

I’ve seen a few movies lately. Maria llena de gracia, los amantes de circular polar, azucar amarga and los lunes al sol. I also listen to Bachata and merengue on itunes.
Jon I love Julieta Venegas too.

It’s really interesting that several of you mention watching a TV show or DVD with the English subtitles. My son Matthew is mildly Autistic and has trouble talking like “normal” (whatever) people. He can make himself understood he just chooses phrases and words that we wouldn’t normally choose.

His speech therapist recommended that we do this for him and it’s been a really big help not only to increase his functional language but his social interaction as well. She said that when you are relaxed and enjoying the fun of the movie, your brain retains more information. Then you find yourself recalling and using that information very easily. She also said she picked the idea up from her daughters French teacher!

My daughter has been doing it with Spanish and it’s amazing how much it is helping her. Sometimes we learn better when we stop trying so hard to learn it!

I like LoMas TV

It allows you to watch videos of native-Spanish speakers and allows you to slow the rate of speech to help you understand them. It also includes learning games to play after you’ve watched a video. They have videos on all sorts or topics, including contemporary music videos, documentaries, cooking shows, travel, etc. Try it!

My local public library has begun hosting Spanish Conversation Nights. They are for people who know some Spanish, but need practice with conversation. About 15-20 people show up for each meeting and we get into groups of two or three and just talk or play games in Spanish. The Spanish teacher from the local high school wanders around the room helping when needed. It is great fun!

In the future, the plan is to invite local Spanish-speakers who are learning English to join in. We will speak only English for half of the time, and then only Spanish for the other half.

The idea is to build community as well as learn another language.

Heidi,

That’s a really cool idea. Our population is about half Spanish speakers and I think that would be a great way to build community.

Oh some wonderful ideas! I would like to add another French singer, she had not only one of the most beautiful voices but also a haunting life. Piaf. And you can see the story of her life in the movie, La Vie en Rose.

What I like about Piaf is not only her voice—but she sings her words so clearly it’s easy to understand. I think her voice and songs transcend generations.

Kristin

LoMas TV is great…I totally agree.

I also love www.notesinspanish.com

The first is Spanish pod casts and it is wonderful. Beginner, intermediate and advanced pod casts to practice. You can also purchase the worksheets to go with it. I love them.

Learning English? Visit my site: www.helping-you-learn-english.com

Ah Destinos…hace tiempo….

Yo me llamo Laura. Soy abogada. Arturo y yo somos muy buenos amigos. (It’s really not as funny if you can’t hear her say it.)

I have always found that children’s picture dictionaries (the type that say things like My First Words, etc) are very helpful for useful vocabulary. I have them in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. There are still things in the Spanish ones with day-to-day words that I don’t know. I should really pull those out.

Spanish Movies & Language. My kids Spanish story books. My hubby’s housekeeping staff at work, they are great for practicing, even if they are not really “stuff”. Not much else. I am thinking of using Rosetta Stone though.

They have a version of Spanish Monopoly and you can play bilingual Concentration with vocabulary printed on pieces of paper. Stick two or three associated sentences that you want to learn onto your refrigerator. Read them, say them, write write them every time you open the refrigerator. (This is great for diets.) You can change the sentences after you can say them without looking for at least a couple of days. For words that you need to learn, print them on paper and put them in your pocket. Take them out to read whenever you find the time to sit.

Your library should have free copies of Rosetta Stone for you to use from your computer.
Good luck with your studies, girls.

I never thought about getting Rosetta Stone from the library – great idea!