Hello to all of my native spanish speakers and people learning the language. What is the best way to become fluent? Also I am learning that there are different ways to speak the language according to where you live. For example, it seems like people from Spain speak the language slightly different than people from Colombia.
I just pointed out to a friend some resources here:
http://www.italki.com/discussion/79175
You might also want to check out the Pimsleur Method. It's excellent. I don't like duolingo.com but others seem to. There are lots of youtube video courses too.
A really good book for beginners is Madrigal's.
Here's a discussion on the definition of fluency:
http://www.italki.com/discussion/78496
You could hire a teacher here or get a language partner. You can listen to songs while reading the lyrics. You could join a meetup group in your area.
Another resource not mentioned in that conversation above is Michele Thomas.
Once you get a few of the basics, this cartoon for kids to learn languages is actually nice: bookbox.com
Whatever you like to do, if you can figure out a way to do it in Spanish, that really helps.
Don't sweat the accent at first AS LONG AS THEY DON'T USE VOCABULARY THAT IS TOO REGION SPECIFIC. I discussed that with my friend in the link here at Italki above.
Most of all.... Have fun!
Afemanda, wouldn't learning lots of different accents at once just make you sound kind of confused and weird? I ask that for myself because Aaron has no bars next to his Spanish which means he hasn't even started yet, so he just needs to pick a study tool or two and get going, but I'm at the phase in my Spanish where I feel like I really need to pick an accent or person to settle with and emulate or my Spanish might come out sounding like a Frankenstein creation. lol
As a native speaker I find tense usage is more of a cultural barrier than slang or various verbose for like things. In Cuba so much is present tense its hard to explain bit contextually and grammatically it is all correct, just as I find that my mother being from Mexico among many different areas likewise there is a greater use of the past tense or conditional varieties. I like my Spanish because I make sure no one can tell what Latino country I was born in, the two my "parents are from, and the one I was raised in by choosing what suits me best vocabury wise. I always use several accents when learning languages: it can bridge the gap of awkwardness between sounding too professional, not educated enough. Etc and you choose what sounds right by different countries. Spain and Cuba share a lot of the same love for specific insults. Watch some telenovelas and you realize. Pay attention to verbs too. Like my parents should have a mettle for speaking what is not a dialect but more like mutual ebonics regarding Cuban and.Mexican Spanish. Like to me those countries are Microsoft and Mac with no parallels.lol
Hi Aaron the best way to become fluent I think is speaking all the time with a friend. And as you say, there are several accents according the places, each country has different accents. I recommend if you are thinking in travel to a specific place, is better that you learn with a native speaker.
yes it is. Spanish of Spain is very different from Spanish of Latin America but don't worry if you learn one of two you will be able to understand and to learn the second very quickly.
answering your question, in my opinion there isn't exists a best way to learn a language. Every method can be useful if you find it funny when you do. Buena suerte Aaron :)
