Tips for learning basic Spanish

If you know you are going to a Spanish-speaking country, it’s a good idea to start learning basic Spanish. Here are some tips based on what helped me learn some simple Spanish, which helped make my trip more enriching.

Make your Spanish accent sound Spanish

• Listen to a Spanish language course on a portable media player (such as an ipod) whenever you are doing quiet manual labor or out for a walk or jog. This allows you to start familiarizing yourself with the language and still get other things done.

• Buy or check out from the library a children’s book written in Spanish. This is a good way to learn a lot of basic nouns.

• Read or listen to Spanish versions of familiar stories, such as fairy tales or Bible accounts. Since you already know what’s going on, you more easily learn the Spanish words and phrases for simple communication.

• Concentrate on making sure your accent sounds Spanish. Spanish words pronounced the English way aren’t really Spanish at all.

• If you use a language course, keep the player in a convenient location. You’ll have to listen to it over and over and over – so make sure you can grab it and go.

• Take a community education course in Spanish. This is also a good way to find others who may want to practice Spanish conversation with you.