Spanish is important

[Jbarbermd]

Hello, I am jbwriter.  I have been studying Spanish on my own since 1996.  However, I still am at the beginner level.  I hope interacting at this forum will help me to become a better Spanish speaker.  Thank you.

[Lakeisha Brown]

Wow you have been studying a long time. Surely you aren't a beginner like myself. Well I'm a newbie here as well and I hope you get what you are looking for out of this forum.

[Jbarbermd]

Yes, I have been studying a long time.  I have used CDs and books.  I must admit that there was a time in the early 2000s that my Spanish was pretty good, but just on one subject: medicine.  I am a doctor and my Hispanic patients told me that my Spanish was "pretty good".  They did not know that I only knew words pertaining to a physical examination.  Also, there has been a ten year break in my need to know Spanish, so that stopped my progress.  This time, I am using the Pimsleur system and the language seems to be easier now.

[lingvo]

Never is too late to retake a language learning path. You can achieve a great spanish proficiency within 6 months of hard work. And you are not starting with zero knowledge, therefore you're not an absolute beginner. Feel free to write or pm any post and questions related to spanish in the language discussion.

 

Regads;

[darkchild]

Welcome to the forum @Jbarbermd

More communication and practice will help you achieve learning Spanish frequently. Do hang around as much as possible to learn new language apps, websites and suggestions from amazing members here.

[Jbarbermd]

Voya try to learn as much as possible.  I concentrate on the nouns and verbs, the nouns and verbs, and the nouns verbs.  I currently can not have a normal conversation because a person who naturally speaks Spanish seem to me to be talking too fast.  I feel like saying habla mas despacio.

[Tomlos]

I am the same. Been studying off an on for 15 yrs. The speed of native speakers makes it very difficult. I can pull things out of sentences but by the time I translate it I didn't catch the next sentence

[Jbarbermd]

I believe that it is going to be important to find someone who can really speak Spanish and try to communicate with them on a regular basis.  Also, some people have success by looking at Spanish language television shows.

[jaden11218]

I am also working to master Spanish. I have only had three years in the language though, so I am very much a beginner too. I feel like it will take a lifetime to pass the beginner stage. Hopefully this forum will help us all with learning the language!

[LeHolic]

  On 5/31/2016 at 2:10 AM, Jbarbermd said:

Hello, I am jbwriter.  I have been studying Spanish on my own since 1996.  However, I still am at the beginner level.  I hope interacting at this forum will help me to become a better Spanish speaker.  Thank you.

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Totally agree @Jbarbermd. Spanish is becoming increasingly important by the day. As the Spanish-speaking population increases, the need to interact with them in their language is increasing exponentially too.

Good to know you're a doctor serving Spanish-speaking patients in their mother tongue. Your action is very comendable. By the way, if you were at the "pretty good" level in the past, you can surely come back to it and upgrade to "excellent" with practice.

Congratulations! By all means do continue to persevere in your study and learning.

Best regards.

[essennella]

I have been studying Spanish for what will be 5 years soon. I think not only is talking to people, specifically native speakers, important, but so is engaging with Spanish media. What I mean by that is watching television in Spanish, listening to music in Spanish, and reading books in Spanish. My sister and I watch telenovelas, and doing so has exposed us to many different voices, language patterns, and accents and at a higher speed than I can speak. Learning a language isn't only about speaking it but also comprehending it when it is spoken to you.

Nice job with your progress, though! I always find it impressive when someone is able to teach themselves something.