Effective Language Learning Strategies: From Classrooms to Immersion

Effective Language Learning Strategies: From Classrooms to Immersion So there are definitely pros and cons to a bunch of different methods. I have done every type of learning a second language that there is to offer. I have sat through classes, I have been tutored, I have done Rosetta Stone, I have done the audiobooks and podcasts, I have clearly lived in a different country. There are pros and cons to each and every one of those methods and some are just flat out terrible. Here are some of the ways to learn Spanish: Classes I started with classes when I was in the third grade. I'm not gonna spell out the pro and cons of this time period because it wasn't very intense, but it is the basis for why I chose to study Spanish in high school. I already had that base from earlier.  In high school, I was in a classroom setting for Spanish. Most of us know how that turned out....none of us were fluent. But why? The thing is a classroom setting, especially a large classroom...
1 comment

Top Free Online Resources for Language Learning

Top Free Online Resources!

So we're going to go through what I think are the top applications/websites that will help you with your language learning. All of these websites/apps I have either used or am currently using. A lot of people think you have to buy a 200 dollar program to learn a language. You can get A LOT of education purely through free programs!

 Note: I have linked where you can find the resources so that you can try them out for yourself!

Doulingo - Duolingo


So let's start with Duolingo, this program is AMAZING for the basics. A lot of people want to learn a language but simply do not know where to start. If you are looking for a starting point this is my recommendation. The good thing about Duolingo is that it progresses well, gives you a good starting point, and it's a very easy application to use. It has multiple languages as well. The bad thing about Duolingo is that people think that using Duolingo will get you to an intermediate/advanced level....it won't. Once you finish Duolingo you need to quickly advance to something harder. Something to bridge the gap between beginner and intermediate or else you will stagnate and then lose your motivation/discipline. 

Language Transfer - http://www.languagetransfer.org/


Language Transfer is an AMAZING free resource and I HIGHLY recommend anyone that is learning a language to listen to Language Transfer first or in conjunction with something like Duolingo. This is a program that NEEDS to be at the forefront of your studying regimen. The way he goes through a language dissecting the patterns are some of the methods that I still use today. There will be a word that I know in English that I don't know in Spanish but using this pattern, I'll be able to correctly guess the word in Spanish most of the time. I know this website and program is widely recommended and even if this program wasn't free, I'd still recommend it. He has more languages where he still does the same procedure, but even after I reached fluency I still use some of his methods to "guess" words when I get stuck. I would say 90% of the time (while using his methods) I guess correctly. Great Program. 

Anki - https://apps.ankiweb.net/


Anki focuses on spaced repetition. It is boring, studying, repetitive studying of notecards, but it is necessary if you want to build your vocabulary. What I have noticed from just pure studying is that I need a secondary kind of reinforcement. I need to study the words then see them on a TV show and then it reinforces what I learned. I will say JUST studying vocab isn't enough. I, personally, have to read the word or see it in a Telenovela. Anki has a TON of decks of cards already that you can study from and quite frankly the ease of access to the information and the setup makes it too easy to ignore as a valuable resource. This app is your typical "Sit Down and Study" app. Honestly, I'm not much of a study card guy, but I have tried it and if you are that type of person it is pretty great to use. Easy to download word packs, keeps track of your progress, but very bland.


Memrise - Memrise
Memrise is like a more interactive version of Anki. It has less variety of words and slang, but if you're looking for something that has a Duolingo type of set up in terms of daily challenges and things like that then this is for you. In essence, if you know that you're gonna need reminders and challenges to keep you on track, then you might want to go ahead and skip Anki and come straight to Memrise. 

Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

Comments

  1. Medusa15_tacoNovember 1, 2017 at 5:01 PM

    Great blog! This advice is just what I need to help me learn Spanish. I really hope to become fluent one day

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. El Rey Diego FernandoDecember 18, 2017 at 9:02 AM

      Good to hear that this blog helps! If you like it share it and subscribe up top!!

      Delete
  2. Oscar FernandezSeptember 13, 2018 at 12:57 AM

    Very interesting info

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Study Spanish: Best TV Shows To Learn Spanish

Image
These are my favorite telenovelas that will improve your Spanish. La Esclava Blanca This novela is probably my favorite one of the 4 telenovelas that will improve your Spanish. It's about a girl who grows up as a "slave" in Colombia. Better said, she grow up with a bunch of slaves that have escaped and then are recaptured. This is probably my favorite novela of all time because the drama takes you all the way to Spain and back to Colombia. It will have you on the edge of your seat screaming, "NO DON'T DO THAT" and will also have you crying over the love between Miguel and Victoria. I would watch this telenovela with the Spanish Subtitles on because the way the black people talk at first is a little weird. They always drop the "S" on their words so "como estas" becomes "como esta". It takes a little bit of time to get used to but after that you will get sucked into the story line and you'll binge watch like you've neve...
Read more

Speak Conversational Spanish: Losing Hope

Image
This experience that I'm going to talk about is not something that I have a name for, to be honest, it's just a little thing that I noticed happens. What I'm going to talk about is losing your morale while practicing having conversations. In this post, I'm going to talk about when you'll feel this, how you will probably feel (at least how I felt), and what you can do to get over it.  What You'll Feel I have mentioned in previous posts that you need to learn the basics ( here ) then after you learn the basics you need to start moving on to listening practice, speaking practice, and overall conversation practice. Once you start feeling more it will be even more of a head pain. When I was just getting into the "correct me" phase, my girlfriend and her family really took into that. They would correct me for every little mistake that I made. Even though I wanted this I could feel the fatigue of constantly getting something wrong and thinking through what ...
Read more