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The question how to learn a language the easiest
way is discussed widely. Thinking about the practical
part of it, the answer is quite easy.
| If
you want to learn a language you need to do
three things. |
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One:
Two:
Three: |
Get
used to the sound of the language
Learn vocabulary (as boring as it might
sound)
Study the grammar of this language |
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How fast you can
get used to the sound of a language,
depends on the difference between your
mother tongue and the language you are
about to learn. French find it easier
to learn Spanish than they find it to
learn German or English. With more technical
support it is faster and easier to get
used to the sound of a language. |
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A language consists
of (what a surprise) of vocabulary,
approximately 40 000 words. This sounds
quite a lot, but learning vocabulary
can be trained. If you are used to the
sound of a language it is possible to
learn about 20 words per hour. If you
study for one hour a day, you have 20
words a day. Within a year you get 300
x 20 = 6000 words, which is about the
double the words you need to manage
every day life or even read a newspaper.
There are people thinking about the
importance of a word, whether it is
necessary to learn it or not. During
this time the person thinks about this,
it could be saved in your mind. A useful
method to learn a language is for instance
to read a newspaper, i.e. 'El Pais',
to write down the unknown words. Newspaper
usually use the actual vocabulary, which
is not necessarily true for literature.
'Don Quijote de la mancha' cannot be
considered a contemporary book. You
might be surprised how fast you'll be
able to read quite fluently.
You can also use any creative idea you
have. For instance some put the Spanish
vocabulary of the all the things in
a house on this thing, on the mirror
in the bathroom, the fridge, the computer
etc. You can read them aloud or learn
them before going to bed (perfect sleeping
pill!).
You'll need some disciplin a bit time
and a good dictionary. Then it's only
up to you and your creativity how fast
you will be able to talk in Spanish. |
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The question about
grammar is not that easy. How much grammar
does a man (respective woman) need?
This manual has analysed the grammatical
structure of the Spanish language. We
know that grammar is already overused
at school, in universities and other
courses. We know that a child does not
learn a language this way. We also know
that the human brain does not work in
a chaotic but a quite structured way.
So why not using this to bring some
order in the chaos of a language. If
not knowing at least part of the grammar,
all you can do is repeat what you hear.
Producing own thoughts can only succeed
if the structure is clear.
How much of this is needed is another
thing. Some will notice that they find
the correct way just automatically,
some things need to be trained longer.
We suggest to get an overview over the
grammatical structure and to find the
similarities and differences to your
own language. If you know them passively
and recognise them in a sentence you
have already managed the first step.
A second step is to finetune the details
of the grammar and use them actively
when talking and putting your own thought
into your own words.
However there is this allround truth
that you only learn a language if you
speak it. There is no use in all the
grammar in the world. If you don't use
the language, you will forget it.
There is also the possibility to read
original literature. Here you find some
interesting works that are easy to read
and still recommendable: Mario Vargas
Llosa (La ciudad y los perros), Gabriel
Garcia Márquez (Crónica
de una muerte anunciada), Pio Baroja
(El árbol de la ciencia), Miguel
de Unamuno (Niebla). |
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| An
suggestion for learning: |
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step
1: |
Something
is said and the possibilities of answers
is limited. Typical for situations as
a tourist, in a hotel, a restaurant,
at the beach etc. |
| step
2: |
An abstract topic
is discussed. Since the other person
knows your possibilities of talking
in his language he/she will be careful,
speak more slowly. You have the chance
to steer the discussion since you are
part of it. |
| step
3: |
Read some newspapers.
It might be a bit more difficult, but
you have time enough to search for the
missing words. |
| step
4: |
Read some good
literature. You can enjoy the literature
part and you have time enough to find
the words you need and to follow the
string of narration. |
| step
5: |
Understanding news
on TV or the radio. They are spoken
usually very clearly and without saying
that might change. They do not use slang.
They are close to the written language,
and you can understand without really
understanding because usually one gets
the idea. |
| step
6: |
Listen to a discussion
of two native speakers. It will be much
faster than if they discuss with you.
The language will be full of sayings
and maybe even slang or dialects. You
don't have the chance to influence the
topic, you only can follow. |
| Stufe
7: |
Watch movies in
the orinial versions. It might be about
a difficult topic and the string of
narration can be difficult. It's fast
and you have no chance of influence.
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The main thing about languages is not about grammar
or vocabulary. In any language of this world you
have the chance to say something nice or interesting
or important. The ability to do this has nothing
to do with the way you learnt the language, but
only with you.
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