Words or phrases

[SayItAll]

I'm ready to start learning Spanish! I was wondering if you should begin by learning individual words first or phrases. My teacher (a few years ago) gave us a few words and then jumped right into phrases and said we'd learn faster that way. I'm not sure though because back then it use to just make me more confused. Which way is better?

[Trellum]

For me the phrases worked best, specially useful with idiomatic expressions that one their own don't make a lot sense (if you separate each word and try to find the meaning of each one).  That's how I learnt english, first phrases, and if I really wanted to know the meaning of a word I used the dictionary, or asked a friend.  Learning phrases can be a bit tricky tho, but sooner or later you will need to expand your vocabulary.  Have you thought of making your own materials?? 

I liked to search for images, so I could later print them... I'd also write the name of the object in the language I wanted to learn. Because I'm a visual learner!

[bonniea]

I think phrases are much more useful because it helps to put words in context. It also is better when you get around to creating sentences. While you need to build a solid vocabulary of nouns and verbs, phrases will help you advance in your language learning.