SteffiL

Duolingo is great for the start I think... it is nothing for "learning" a language well, but it gives you a really good idea about it and is also nice in order to review grammar topics. Moreover, there exist tons of softwares- and internetsites. Many friends of mine love babbel (I haven't tested it yet). Furthermore, you could check groupon regularely. They often have offers for learning a language online. But I think that softwares and learning alone won't make you fluent in any language. You need to attend at least some classes or look for intercambios in the internet. I have learned tons of grammar and vocabulary, but I absolutely lacked in conversation skills. Thus, I went to Spain and learned at a language school, where I improved a lot- a Spanish immersion is always the best way to go. Ailola, my language school in Madrid, offered high quality lessons for a reasonable price. The course was demanding and thus, I learned a lot, although it was a bit exhausting at times. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Spain I can absolutely recommend Madrid. It's an international city and people are simply lovely

Hey! I think there are plenty ways of learning Spanish or any other language! First of all, you should be ambitous (as you have to be for everything else in life) about it. Get started by learning some small and often used phrases, build up your vocabulary (yeah, without words you can't start speaking well!). I started learning Spanish by myself with a software and Duolingo. It really helped me to get a bit of a feeling for Spanish and Duolingo was perfect for reviewing. I also build up a basic vocabulary knowledge and got to know some grammar. My reading and writing skills improved, but I wasn't able to speak well. And in my opinion, that problem can't be fixed alone. I also didn't "feel" the language as I do now- although I wasnt aware of that back then. Since I wanted to improve very fast, I chose to go to Madrid to a language school for some weeks. There, I stayed with a host family who spoke Spanish with me, were very patient and recommended beautiful places and things to do. Furthermore, I learned a bunch of new things about Spanish culture and finally started to speak Spanish. Day in, day out I learned many things at Ailola Madrid and went out with other students on great activities! The courses were cheap and efficient. I should have done this step before struggling alone for two years!

Vivo en España (Madrid) desde enero y me parece que mucha gente aquí no quiere hablar en inglés. Aprende inglés en la escuela y en teoria puede hablar, pero no le gusta mucho. Otra razón puede ser que la pronunciacion es difícil (pero tengo el mismo problema con español :D). Pero muchos dicen que se cambian en este momento. Las personas que son mayores no hablan inglés, pero los jóvenes hablan bien.

I can't imagine learning a language only by listening. In order to improve I am watching TV in Spanish, go to Intercambios and have conversation classes, BUT some parts of the Spanish grammar should be learned and let's not talk about all these irregular verb forms in Indefinido... In my opinion only a combination of both can make your Spanish level high. A combination of learning vocabulary, grammar and being around Spanish-speaking people will make you improve rapidly!