[Closed] How long to get intermediate Spanish, and what resources?

Try: https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/coffeebreakspanish/

Their French course is very good.

Personally I'd say find a Spanish teacher for 1 on 1 lessons, as that way you get your material tailored to you and the rate at which you learn. I'm learning French that way, but my teacher has pointed me at lots of online resources as well (inc Coffee Break French). I found my teacher via https://www.firsttutors.com (all lessons via Skype during the pandemic).

My other tips are:

Netflix has subtitles and dubbing in several languages so we watch, say a Nordic thriller, in French just for practice.

You can get just about every radio station under the sun online, so I listen to French talk radio shows.

Graded readers with a CD / MP3 files - useful for aural and reading comprehension. Start at A1 and work upwards...

Dictations - loads of websites have 100s of dictation exercises - great for tuning your ear and testing spelling....

The Dulingo mobile app is worth a look, you can use the free version if you can put up without the advanced features.

What I like is the way it starts off really basic, but you have to read as well as speak, and you get little achivement scores as you progress. Oh and it also bugs you if you don't use it, to harrasss you to keep learning 😀

Worth a download if you ask me. Nothing lost if you don't get on with it. You may want to use it in conjuntion with other learning resourses if you want to get proficient faster, but I like it.

The Dulingo mobile app is worth a look, you can use the free version if you can put up without the advanced features.

I really enjoyed it, took me 6 months to complete their French course. However, I learned a lot of vocab but almost zero grammer, so at the end my French was completely imbalanced, e.g. A2 vocab, A0 grammer. Can't comment on the Spanish version, but I assume the end result will be similar....

After almost a full year of 1 to 1 lessons (1 lesson per week plus lots of homework) I'm probably A2/B1 now - although it varies eg I can read B1/B2 easily but speaking is probably more A1/A2 as it's easy to read a lot on your own but quite hard to pratice speaking.

Talking of which, another resource is https://app.tandem.net/en/signup/login

It's a modern day penpal website, find someone Spanish who wants to learn English and chat to them etc...

Hmm I find that duolingo’s attempting to explode my mind with Spanish grammer but I do like it and the free version makes you work harder.

There was a 60% off offer if you want the bells and whistles.

Moving to Spain and getting a Spanish girlfriend worked for me...

Would it be realistic to learn Spanish to B1 or GCSE standard in 6 months with a couple of hours study a week?

GCSE is afaik a couple of years doing a couple of hours a week, at least it is for kids. That said, I reckon in 6 months you could get to a decent enough level to be able to survive in Spain without too much trouble.

And it's "¡Mil gracias!" 🙂

I am currently 264 days into Spanish on Duolingo.

I’m not even at checkpoint 3 (of 10) and I’ve been doing about 1/2 per day...

Like footflaps, I’m finding it heavy on vocabulary and light on grammar. You definitely need some supplementary on this (I can’t recommend the Collins stuff as I’m finding that a bit hard going. I’ve also picked up the CGP GCSE stuff which is more useable imho).

ETA: Note. Duolingo is ‘american’ spanish (not Castallan)

No way I’d class myself as capable of holding a conversation in Spanish at present. I’d prefer an online interactive course myself. Objective: to be able to travel through Spain on a Camino.

I did try a MOOC a couple years back but wasn’t committed enough to keep it going and failed to be able to pay the course fee due to iOS compatibility issues...

Interested in hearing more about online courses myself...

Oh and ¿Mille Grazie? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Would it be realistic to learn Spanish to B1 or GCSE standard in 6 months with a couple of hours study a week?

Interesting read on the subject...

CAMBRIDGE.ORG "https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/How-long-does-it-take-to-learn-a-foreign-language.pdf"

EXAMPLE 1 ADULT LEARNERS, IN A POSITIVE LEARNING CONTEXT
Adult learner, whose L1 uses the same script as English, with good levels of motivation and access to good learning resources and well-trained teachers.

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51791360897_5cb6fa7a9d.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51791360897_5cb6fa7a9d.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2mUCgde ]Language learning time[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

Another take (based on French, but I suspect applicable to most modern languages).

https://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/paper/2715.html

i can really recommend Language Transfer

i use it for my greek and it helped me get to a reasonable level for speaking to locals over there. i recommended the spanish to my daughter and shes doing well with it.

its free and you can download all the 'lessons' to listen to whenever you like, theyre all about 5-10 mins. its all spoken, and recommended that you dont write anything down, just use your memory.

Im doing Duolingo Spanish paid for the family version (not cheap) as kids wanted it too. Really enjoy it it helps if you’ve learned another language as you can see the gaps for example I’ve been doing it pretty consistently since August and they haven’t done verb endings for we or they yet or numbers past 3. If I have to type Juan come Manzanas again I’ll scream.

listen to French talk radio

+1- I did French A level. Any spoken classes with teachers & language assistants were usually at a speed set to our ability. Tapes* of French radio shows were mind blowing!

*shows how long ago it was!

Even getting 1-to-1 sessions will be down to your level- when you try to speak in the real world it'll be a struggle. A French friend speaks at about half her native speed with me- and that's before she stops to correct my pronunciation!

+1- I did French A level. Any spoken classes with teachers & language assistants were usually at a speed set to our ability. Tapes* of French radio shows were mind blowing!

The interesting thing about watching non French Netflix shows dubbed in French is the dubbed stuff is a bit slower and better articulated than a native French TV show eg Lupin etc, so it's actually a bit easier to cope with....

Would it be realistic to learn Spanish to B1 or GCSE standard in 6 months with a couple of hours study a week?

Quite some time ago (1988 - 1990) I did Spanish a-level "ab initio" - never having done it before, though I had done French to GCSE level.

As I recall they reckoned we'd passed the GCSE materials sometime in feb, thuogh we didn't sit the GCSE exms until may/june with the rest of the exams. We were doing a few hours in classes plus several hour of homework. I think "a couple of hours a week" is optimistic

Doing Japanese with Duolingo, 35 days in - it's fun, the repetition feels nicely balanced so you do learn the words but the bottom is not torn out of it. I suspect it's not a patch on proper, formal tuition, but it feels like a good starting point.

Oh and ¿Mille Grazie? 🤷🏼‍♀️

😉

Been doing German with Duolingo for almost a year - enjoy using it but I do need to supplement it to help understand the grammar. Probably know enough now for basic travelling purposes, but still a long way to go before I’ll be comfortable using it with my German colleagues (who all obviously speak better English than me).

Assuming it’s as good for Spanish, would recommend.

Obvious tip that I wish I’d realised sooner: enable the foreign keyboard on your phone/ipad/other device - saves a lot of time and silly mistakes.

Had a quick go at that duolingo site and really like it.

Question is how sub optimal is it learning yank Spanish instead of proper Spanish....

Kind of like learning American instead of English, to be honest

Question is how sub optimal is it learning yank Spanish instead of proper Spanish….

It'll be fine. There are a few words that are different, but nothing that major. You'd probably be worse off the other way round - the Spanish swear a lot, like really a lot, I mean you might think the Scots or the Aussies or Londoners swear a lot but they're amateurs compared to the Spanish. South and Central Americans don't, they're a lot politer.

Question is how sub optimal is it learning yank Spanish instead of proper Spanish….

There are also many nuances/dialects within spain, much like the uk, liverpudlian, brummie, jordie etc. I'm mostly familiar with Andalucia, but my friend who lives there and is very fluent in spanish as she's lived there so long, says her friends from Madrid take the piss out of her for speaking like a simpleton. hahah

For example, instead of asking 'uno cafe con leche por favor' you just say 'cafe-con-porfa'

I would disagree. I’m learning Spanish with Babbel, my South American Gf and a weekly class.

The people in the class who are using duolingo are struggling with verbs as the the Latino version handles the you plural form differently. There’s some really dedicated people who don’t seem to be progressing much with duolingo.

Thanks to my gf I can make insults either way. There’s not huge differences and it’s more cultural than language though.

Babbel will let you set preferences for which country you want. Argentinian Spanish is different from Mexican for example but the accent is probably the hardest part. When I go to Mallorca there’s a waitress I’ve never been able to understand. It turns out she’s got an Argentine accent.

Summary - get a Babbel trial

Question is how sub optimal is it learning yank Spanish instead of proper Spanish….

TBH I think it’s a bit of a neutral mish-mash but tbh depending where you are in Spain the locals will be murdering it anyway(I speak Bristolian English and struggle with a Glaswegian accent) and they sort of watch Latin American tele shows so they aren’t going to to be phased if you talk like a drug lord.

It’s a helpful tool/stepping stone in the getting a grip on another language,I do like Rosetta Stone as well but prefer having the focus on reading and writing.

A bit of any Spanish goes a long way thou.

I would disagree. I’m learning Spanish with Babbel, my South American Gf and a weekly class.

Getting a native speaker as a GF’s cheating thou, but probably the best/quickest way to learn the lingo 🙂

I really find Spanish Homer Simpson the worst to listen to thou,his Spanish accent is so much deeper than the American English version.

I am on 847 day streak on Duolingo but feel I may need something else to boost me up to the next level. I certainly know more Spanish words than I used to but still struggled when we went to the Canaries earlier in the year.

Im on a 324 day streak on Duolingo French but still only upto unit 5 of 10. I want to 'complete' french, Spanish and German over the next couple of years. I realise its limitations but I've learnt LOADS

I know that only time in country or actual lessons will take me to the next level but anyway I'm really enjoying it for its own sake

The one thing about Duolingo that works for me is that the reward/unlock system really encourages me to put in a steady 3-4 hours a week without fail (must be the gamer in me) which is exactly where previous attempts at regular learning have failed. So , Duolingo, big thumbs up, even though there's nothing to spend your hard won gems on!

It would be good to hear from people who have made the step up from Duolingo (I really like the Leda of a Latina gf but suspect this is not a realistic option for me 🤪🤔😂).

The tip about applying a Spanish keyboard is good (it autocorrects as well which can be handy). I’ve been running spanish and french keyboards for about three years and found it useful.

I think I’m going to give Babbel a try when my current sub to duo runs out. Duo I find has the toddler nag factor and I have only missed 2 days since starting back in April so I understand they have given it some thought. I do find it’s childishness annoying though (my current lesson has me translating ‘what did the horses cook last night’...🤷🏼‍♀️ and there is one character that strikes me as a sleazy paedo rapist, judgemental? me? much?).

I have supplemented my ‘learning’ by listening to the likes of Rosalía (and tried to translate her lyrics), flamenco (el Camarón) and various Netflix shows (both Spanish and latinx). Oh, y las peliculas de Pedro Almodovár (son mis favoritas).

It would be good to hear from people who have made the step up from Duolingo

From my post above...

I really enjoyed it, took me 6 months to complete their French course. However, I learned a lot of vocab but almost zero grammer, so at the end my French was completely imbalanced, e.g. A2 vocab, A0 grammer. Can’t comment on the Spanish version, but I assume the end result will be similar.

Been having a 1 hour 1-2-1 lesson every week for all of 2021 and that made a huge difference as I can't get away with weak grammer. My teacher is French and they are obsessed by grammer (from the French schooling system which conentrates a lot of grammatical examination of sentences).

What I really like about the 1-2-1 option is every lesson is bespoke to me and whatever I'm weakest in, rather than following a set syllabus. We use a set of Grammer Text books for homework, but dart all over the place depending on which point she wants me to get rather than just starting from Chap 1 and working forwards eg if I cock up something in my homework (always) that is what we start the next lesson going over....

The people in the class who are using duolingo are struggling with verbs as the the Latino version handles the you plural form differently. There’s some really dedicated people who don’t seem to be progressing much with duolingo

But if you went to Spain and used the American form ("¿Quieren café?") instead of the Spanish form ("¿Queréis café?") you'd be understood without any trouble at all. It just sounds a bit more formal. I can see it would be a problem in a class where the teacher is expecting you to use the 2nd person plural, but in reality it wouldn't matter that much.

Apps used: Duolingo and Memrise, great to increase vocab, daily reminders etc.
Audio: Michel Thomas, Paul Noble (v. similar) and Pimsleur.

audio listened to commuting to work

thanks above for the Language Transfer link, I will add that to the collection.

https://testyourlanguage.com/ spanish test has me as A1.1...

next steps will either be 1-2-1 teaching or intensive courses...

Duolingo is fab for building up your vocabulary, but utter toss for grammar. Some of the languages have 'tips' for helping you with that, but they're not lessons you have to pass and that sucks. If they had a lesson with grammar tables, that'd be great. I found Memrise was good for consolidating what you'd already learned, because it's timed, but the free version isn't great and I couldn't justify paying for two language apps.
Proper lessons with a native will help massively. As will watching Spanish telly and listening to Spanish radio. Worth searching out a Spanish translation of your favourite book.
You're not going to reach fluency without living there, though. I've been five years in the Netherlands now - and have a five year Duolingo streak to boot - and while I can converse with the locals in Dutch, it's still obvious I'm not native. The first year I was here I had lots of folk speaking back to me in German. After two years it was more 'I can't place quite where you're from. Germany? Denmark?'

Most universities offer reasonably priced evening classes. Quality can vary though. I did Swedish A1+ at Cov uni and found it great, very modern teaching style with a native speaker teacher that got you talking with the rest of the class and learning fast. On the other hand I did Spanish A1 at Warwick uni and it was like being back at school learning from a textbook which I didn't like nearly as much. Was more expensive too... So worth trying to enquire about the teaching style if you follow this route! I personally think it is a better format than 1on1 at the low levels as the group speaking helps a lot

Additional request:
Can anyone recommend me a Spanish grammar reference book please?

No exercise, few pictures, as dry as possible.

Something that I can easily use to lookup specific questions/ queries that I may have.

Ideally exactly tyhe same as the Mach Mit series from the eighties, but Spanish

🙂

I'll check my box of university reference books in the garage to see what's in there

Edit: no joy sorry, just dictionaries

Has anyone tried Rosetta Stone recently?

@generalist

501 spanish verbs might help if that's what you are after

Would it be realistic to learn Spanish to B1 or GCSE standard in 6 months with a couple of hours study a week?

No, that's completely unrealistic to learn any new language. That's about 50 hours of study, which is roughly how much language exposure children get in one week. If you do 50 hours of study and practice per week, you should make good progress in a couple of years. Language is a skill and skills take time and practice to develop.

Rosetta Stone - ive a set of discs, but not been used since i moved onto this laptop (3yrs)
I didnt really get on with it, at that time and my feeling is that it wasnt particularly mobile friendly.... perhaps i will install it and give it a go.

one thing ive always found really difficult is going back to the beginning with any new system. I find it much harder to focus on the learning, when i think i already, probably, know it eg. Michel Thomas vs Paul Noble - same basic learning system, but that doesnt mean you can just jump to, say, disc 4.....

and to build on that point...
Language Transfer relies heavily (first dozen recordings) on the Spanish verb Intentar, similar derivation as Intention/Intend etc.
Ive never come across that one before, but very familiar with Tratar, which is used extensively in the Pimsleur recordings where you will hear 'Trate de decir' repeatedly.

Intentar or Tratar. Might be the same, might be subtly different

The people in the class who are using duolingo are struggling with verbs as the the Latino version handles the you plural form differently. There’s some really dedicated people who don’t seem to be progressing much with duolingo

But if you went to Spain and used the American form (“¿Quieren café?”) instead of the Spanish form (“¿Queréis café?”) you’d be understood without any trouble at all. It just sounds a bit more formal. I can see it would be a problem in a class where the teacher is expecting you to use the 2nd person plural, but in reality it wouldn’t matter that much.

Mogrim, I totally agree and the class demonstrates the problem as the teacher is a Spanish native expecting to say and hear 'Quereis' but the duolingo people don't even know it exists. It's fairly beginner level.

Don't treat second languages as traditional subjects. You could tick all the boxes. You might just end up being crap at second languages. I know I am. Luckily Spanish people are generally using the same body language as Brits so there is some help there. Accuracy and grammar are good for exams, but fluency is where its at. If the locals can't repair your crap speech acts, then its a fault with the language. I'm reminded of French, and Eddie Izzard lamenting how he learnt it's grammar (the monkey story)

Because language is part body language, you'd be amazed at how much is lost in translation when a culture doesn't use international body language. China is absolutely appalling in this area. It's where I'm currently peddling my wares. They don't even have an alternative to what we use. Just frankly lacking in adequate communication skills. Good luck with a fellow romance language.

Mogrim, I totally agree and the class demonstrates the problem as the teacher is a Spanish native expecting to say and hear ‘Quereis’ but the duolingo people don’t even know it exists. It’s fairly beginner level.

My point was more that there aren't really any major differences between the different types of Spanish spoken around the world, it's very similar to British and American English in that way. Americans prefer the active voice over the passive, say "trunk" instead of "boot", but (accent issues aside) we don't generally have any problem communicating. I've not used Duolingo, and have no idea about how effective it is as a means of learning a language, but the fact it uses south/central American Spanish wouldn't be a major reason not to use it.

Yep, no issue with learning Latam Spanish. Occasionally someone from there will address me in Usted and I wonder who they’re talking about for a second haha but after that it’s just a question of adjusting to accent.

Pron is key in Spanish. So many daily interactions are with people not used to talking to non-natives and gaps in your grammatical lexis will be understood but if you can’t make the right sounds or your syllable stress is wrong, you will not be understood!

Also, 50 hours to B1 is optimistic to say the least. I’d expect a very keen learner to go B2 to C1 in 50 but more likely 70 hours. That’s what I do every day, guide students to C1 English.

Duolingo is quite clever in some ways. I expected to be underwhelmed by it like audio CD courses, but it’s fun and I’m learning a fair bit of Welsh. After learning Spanish and Basque more traditionally I’ve got a fair idea of where I’ll need extra resources but for a free app (might sign up but the free version keeps pressure on to be accurate) I’m surprised how good it actually is