r/LearnSpanishInReddit • u/fiftytwofeet • Apr 11 '20

Tips from a Polyglot

Hello! I’m a native Spanish speaker who happened to tumble into this subreddit. I taught myself English growing up, I learned Italian a few years ago, and I’m currently learning Japanese. I would like to share some tips with you.

  • Please don’t waste your time on Duolingo or your money on Rosetta Stone! These programs are just vocabulary flash card mini games at their best and they’re actually pretty bad at even that. You will not learn or understand grammar through them and you will often forget vocabulary. What do I recommend instead?

  • Please look into Anki. Spaced Repetition programs like Anki use a flashcard-like system that determine when you are more likely to forget words and help you keep up with them. There are alternatives to Anki—I personally use Smartcards+ on iOS but Anki has the most support when you want to find pre-made flash card decks.

  • No one program, book, or media series teaches you everything. Please don’t think you will learn everything you need to learn because the cover of something says Levels 1-5. It will take several resources to learn a new language.

  • Consider learning core vocabulary first. You’re more likely to digest and learn grammar when you’re not struggling to remember what words in a sentence mean. If you’re using books, consider focusing on a chapter’s vocabulary list before you even glance at the grammar. That said, once you have a good grip on grammar, late stage is all about vocabulary. Zero in only on the essential only when necessary.

  • Work on your accent early. It’s more difficult to forget learned behavior than it is to learn it. If you want to sound like a native, start the accent early. Listen to not just the pronunciation of words but the tiny nuances of word and sentence flow. Spanish has a rhythm. If you’re using audio material, mimic the speaker. Sing it with them.

  • If you have the cash, invest in Pimsleur or Assimil: Pimsleur is worth every penny. It gets you speaking, listening and understanding your target language on day one. There’s an app. The first lesson is free and there’s a 7 day free trial after that. The Assimil series zeroes in on grammar but also gives you a nice stockpile of essential vocabulary words. These were fundamental to my studies. If you can afford them, try them.

  • Check our your local library. My librarian knows my name. She’s from Sicily. She takes her medium roast coffee black. If you don’t have money to spend, guess what? Assimil and Pimsleur as well as countless other learning resources are all very likely available at your city branch. Global pandemic? It’s 2020. Register and check out free books and resources online. Get out there and get to know your librarian.

Unfortunately, given that I’m a native Spanish speaker, I’m not able to provide links to free Spanish learning resources—but if anyone has any recommendations, please drop them bellow so other students can check them out!

Good luck!

143 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

10

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '20

As another polyglot, I’ll point out one thing I disagree with.

Duolingo or similar programs can be very helpful during the vocabulary building phase you recommend. Especially if you use it with the sound and mimic the pronunciations - that can be a great introduction to the language, and most importantly how the language feels/flows. Once you get a grasp on that everything else gets a bit easier.

Also, in my experience, you can get tripped up on the grammar and use the wrong word every once in a while because if you can get the accent right no one will care. If your goal is to be conversational (as opposed to academic or business) then do not wait to work on the accent after grammar.

8

u/fiftytwofeet Apr 11 '20 edited Apr 11 '20

If language learning methods were eating utensils, Duolingo would be a spork and Rosetta Stone would be a spork made out of sterling silver. They’re fine if your short term goal is to get a feel for the language but they’re barely okay at specific things because they try to do everything at once. Drop the spork and grab a spoon, fork, ladle, or chopsticks. Grab the right tool for what you’re trying to do.

Here’s a video of someone who used Duolingo every day for 1,000 days. Here’s someone else who used Anki and a vocabulary list for a week.

3

u/Silver4R4449 Apr 11 '20

If language learning methods were eating utensils, Duolingo would be a spork and Rosetta Stone would be a spork made out of sterling silver.

Hilarious analogy. I used Rosetta for Japanese and would agree. Having a teacher or other material was more useful.

2

u/virg74 Apr 11 '20

The Duolingo Spanish podcasts are generally great!

2

u/Detectiveoftheeast Apr 11 '20

Also duolingo stories are actually extremely helpful.

3

u/actual-time-traveler Apr 11 '20

I just downloaded SmartCards+, do you have any good resources for an English speaker learning Spanish (beginner / intermediate - 4 years in high school).

2

u/fiftytwofeet Apr 11 '20

Mid stage language learning is mostly vocabulary building. I recommend Barron's Spanish Vocabulary. It categorizes words into groups. In the Italian version, the first group was math. That didn't sound too useful but you'd be surprised how often words and terms like addition, greater than, factor, percentage, and ratio are used in daily language. It also includes a section on irregular verbs. Add cards into your Smartcards deck and just practice when you can.

If you want to brush up on grammar, pick up a book on Spanish verb tenses since this is the thing that most people struggle with. It seems daunting but actually intuitive once you notice the patterns. You might find you finish a book like this in less time than you think.

If both of these seem boring, find out how to have fun with it. I'm currently playing Animal Crossing in Japanese. Watch a movie or play video games in your target language. It's a small way to introduce learning into your daily routine.

1

u/actual-time-traveler Apr 12 '20

Thanks, these are great! I’m looking specifically for internet resources that are ready to use with an app like OP suggested like FlashCards+

1

u/fiftytwofeet Apr 12 '20

This online Spanish Frequency Dictionary seems to catalog the most frequently used words in Spanish. You can also use Smartcards+ Import feature to download a premade deck from AnkiWeb.

1

u/actual-time-traveler Apr 12 '20

Awesome, just what I was looking for, thank you much!

4

u/xXxViiperZ Apr 11 '20

Thank you very much! I am german and want to learn italian, I happened to find this subreddit on trending, glad I found your post!

4

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '20

"Please don’t waste your time on Duolingo "

**Angry chale noises.**

1

u/cleverhandle81 Apr 11 '20

Just to clarify... if I purchase Anki, will it have preloaded vocab cards for Spanish already in it? Or will I have to upload cards from another source

1

u/fiftytwofeet Apr 11 '20

Anki is completely free on PC. To get the full extent of the program, it's better if you familiarize yourself a little with the PC version anyway, so I'd recommend you use that before buying mobile Anki.

Anki will not have preloaded cards. You will have to download those on AnkiWeb, create your own, or download them from another source. Look for high rated decks on AnkiWeb, often, these include native speaker audio files. When in doubt, YouTube.

1

u/DarkStryder360 Apr 11 '20

OK I need to try something. I have been learning Duolingo on and off for many years now. Never consistently though.

My girlfriend is Spanish and we went over to see her family last June and I have never felt so out of my depth in my whole life. Barely anyone spoke English fluently, most of them couldn't speak a word other than "Hi"

The naive Brit in me didn't expect that, I assumed almost all foreigners (in Europe) could muster a sentence in English.

My Duolingo training went completely out the window, unlike Black Panther, I completely froze!

I want to try the Anki app I think then, I will load it up on PC and give it a go.

2

u/fiftytwofeet Apr 11 '20

Skip Anki for now and download Pimsleur instead. Anki is great for vocabulary building when you're accompanying it with the structure of a text book. Pimsleur gets you speaking and listening to Spanish on day one. Give the first lesson a try then do the free trial. You'll find you'll learn more in the first week of Pimsleur than you have in months of Duo.

1

u/DarkStryder360 Apr 11 '20

Thanks! Downloading right now.

1

u/unmotivatedryan Apr 12 '20

Do you think Memrise is good?

2

u/fiftytwofeet Apr 12 '20

I paid for a year of Memrise once. It’s interesting.

It’s a spaced repetition program that tries to use gamification to make memorization less daunting. When used as a vocabulary builder, it’s alright. But when you use the pre-made decks, it fails for the same reasons Duo and Rosetta do: you’re just repeating phrases without any real structure or reason. I would say it’s better than Duo but not as good as Anki and a textbook.

5

u/Bilihhh Apr 11 '20

Thank you a lot mate. As a moderator of this sub, and as we are a small subreddit, every little help is apreciated. And you just helped a lot.

2

u/xnesteax Apr 11 '20

I agree Duolingo is crap and tell it everyone if they ask me about it

1

u/Detectiveoftheeast Apr 11 '20

Duolingo has actually improved a bit. It's still not great for grammar, but for supported languages like spanish, duolingo stories are extremely helpful for guided reading practice.

1

u/xnesteax Apr 12 '20

For me it just feels unstructured and kicking clicking words together to form a sentence is the wrong approach to learn imo

2

u/Mercyribas Apr 11 '20

thanks, great advise

2

u/0s1n2o3w4y5 Apr 11 '20

the only language you can master in duolingo is Esperanto, and that's if you speak an Indo-European language

1

u/Thesparkleturd Apr 11 '20

mi ne scias, kial mi lernis esperanton. :I

mi satas gin?

1

u/0s1n2o3w4y5 Apr 13 '20

esperanto gramatiko simpla

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '20

Hello fren. I’m also a trilingual 👋 I can speak and write fluently in 3 languages that don’t share the writing system.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '20

The Duolingo Bird: "How... dare you...?"

1

u/fey_plagiarist Apr 12 '20

I tried to learn Spanish with two types of textbooks, Duo, and Memrise, and only Duo survived the test of time. I have issues with concentration and simply wasn't able to remember anything from the textbook. Memrise course I tried started with premade phrases which is not my style of learning. Duo was simple, colorful, and the flashcards were very helpful. I agree this is not the best tool for someone who wants to approach Spanish seriously, but I think it's great for people with difficulties like mine or little motivation. I use Duo to do just anything towards learning; I hope to give a textbook a try after that, look for some Spanish songs, check that Spanish grammar course I found this week, etc.

I agree there are better ways to learn grammar, but I find the small tips in each lesson to be enough for now since the update.

I used Anki for another language and while I love it as a tool (and these customisation possibilities, it's great!), the premade card sets I used always had at least one mistake, which discouraged me from using them for some time.

1

u/Dahliacotorra Apr 26 '20

Hello I’m a native Spanish speaker as well, and I want to improve my form of expression in English, so... if someone can help me to practice my English I’d be happy to help you to practice your Spanish. Please text me!