Best way to approach learning Spanish?

A small update here. I'm now using both Babbel+ and Duolingo. I like how Babbel explains a lot of things. I'm just working through a set of lessons about the pronunciation of the different letters for example. I don't think Duolingo does as well explaining things. But, I like Duolingo's repetitive methods, it really beats words into you. So, now I do a couple of lessons of one and a couple of lessons of the other...

I've cancelled Lingopie. I just couldn't keep up with the videos.

It's funny though, I've gone back to finish off an Italian TV show (Gomorra) and I recognise some of the words they say now and then. I guess some Italian and Spanish is similar? Is there a decent Spanish TV show I could get into and maybe pick up some words/practise listening to Spanish?
 
Duo gets a lot of flack but the main thing is that you can't ever rely on a single source/tool to learn from. The more tools the better. 15mins on Duo a day helps gain some volcab and reinforce grammar, it doesn't do a good job of teaching you grammar and is terrible for listening.

Bussu is also a nice free app, and no adds. More details than Duo, and some slightly longer videos and natural audio clips, and more useful sentence (Duo can have completely random nonsense, just to test some volcab or grammar point).
But again, in itself is not at all complete.

Pimsleur is better for listening and speaking .

LingoClip can be fun to improve listening.


I also use podcast, like Coffee Break French. Duo podcasts are good.

Watching actual TV is a challenge until you get very competent. YouTube is better because you can reduce the play back speed
 
Yeah, I like Busuu so have signed up to that at £39 for 12 months too!

So, I see it like this -

Duolingo
+ve I love the repetition
+ve most practice/learnings are sentences, not just learning a word
-ve I think it's actually slightly more expensive than the others.
-ve I'm told it's a little more Latin America rather than Spanish
-ve you're on a set path, learning what they want to teach, in the order they want to teach in

Babbel+
+ve love how it explains things. It took me through pronunciation for example
+ve you can tangent off onto classes that suit your needs.
-ve probably not enough repetition for me. If you have a good memory and being told just once or twice is enough, this is the best one.
-ve whilst there is some, maybe not enough actual conversational learning

Busuu
+ve quite a good mix of the other two - good repetition and explanation and you can kinda jump about in different classes although it does have a set path
+ve love the community. Record your answers and get feedback from native speakers. Do the same for those learning English


I think Babbel is the only one without a free version. A tip for anyone using Duolingo or Busuu. Using the app is quite limiting (DL - 5 lives, Busuu 1 lesson a day) but do them on their website, there are no limits!

As it is, I've bought Babbel+ and Busuu for 12 months, but I'm doing a little bit of each of them, each day.
 
I downloaded Busuu last night, it was weird as the opening test to check level seemed quite advanced, so it set me at a the second lowest level, which was fine, but then my first lesson was all about "Hola" or "Me Llamo" etc which i'd say was the most basic of basic learning.

@AndyCr15 Guess £39 was a decent price, especially if you can review each year at the BF price. Not sure it's worth £80 for me, without knowing i'll use it.

I've joined some Facebook groups (Learning Spanish), seems really good and has a good mix of stuff.
 
Martynt74 said:
@AndyCr15 Guess £39 was a decent price
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I think this was like an introductory price that popped up in the app. It may get offered to everyone in their first week? I'm kind of hoping I'll have learnt as much as I want to in a years time and wont need to re-sub, but I guess we'll see how I get on.
Martynt74 said:
I've joined some Facebook groups (Learning Spanish), seems really good and has a good mix of stuff.
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Interesting. How do you use these? Asking questions? Reading Spanish phrases?
 
Ah right, will keep an eye out to see if i get anything.

I mainly read the facebook groups, but generally it's people asking questions, like when would you use X over Y. Example below
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The other main posts relate to people asking for help with Duolingo where they think they've used the right answer but been marked wrong. It's then useful where some people will confirm their answer is right and Duolingo is rubbish, or advise where they've gone wrong

The main issue with groups like this is that people either:
a) Don't read the question and reply with something completely unrelated
b) People disagree and say the opposite of other answers which leaves you even more confused


Some of the stuff seems to be decent discussion though, and sometimes people post questions to the group. There was also a Whatsapp group posted but i joined but have no idea what's going on :p
 
How is everyone getting on? I'm still using the three apps, which seems to be working quite well. I've 'completed' Beginner A1 now. The last couple of weeks I've focused more on 'Reviews' than learning new stuff and it's progressing nicely I think.

I've watched all of Money Heist too now, but definitely needed the subs, but could pick out a few words here and there :)

The latest thing I've done is set my phone to Spanish, which is interesting. You can often work out what a notification says, but often I need to look the word up to know exactly what it says. Oh and I bought a Spanish desk calendar, to help with months and days. I could do with a good way to get on top of the numbers, 50 upwards really.

My bro's g/f is aslo learning and I recently met her friend that lives in Spain. We're going to set up a weekly Google Meet where we can practice together.
 
I haven’t really done much except watch “Elite” on Netflix in its original Spanish. It seems a great way of learning lots of slang. I will rewatch it again with Spanish subtitles to pick up on unfamiliar words and phrases.
 
I gave up with Duolingo, they changed the structure of how the courses worked and I wasn't a fan personally.

But my main complaint was the league system, I was penalised for learning new stuff and trying to take my time and actually understand it. I could farm double xp repeating old lessons which I had to do to avoid getting relegated every week.
 
I think it is up to you how much you care about the 'gamification' in Duolingo? I decided not to care too much. I intentionally stopped for a few days to break my streak. Having said that, I've got a streak going again. Duolingo is rather behind Babbel and Bussu though, so I just see it as good practice and repetition. It's not often I get anything wrong in Duolingo, but will often not know things in the other two, as they are further advanced.

Every now and then I do one of those tests to jump ahead in DL, but as I say, even if it's easier stuff, it's good to just get the reps in.
 
LOAM said:
Duolingo is a great app for learning languages
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I hated it. I don't know if it was due to my existing level of understanding, but my experience was that it just chucked words at you and you didn't really get a chance to genuinely learn what they were.

In answer to the OP, immersion really is best I'm afraid.
 
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I've been listening to 'Fluent Forever' audiobook, which basically gives you tips, ideas and reseaning around the best ways to learn languages. There are a few interesting points, for example... the author of this book states the first thing to do is to nail the pronunciation. You can't learn, hear, speak a language quickly and efficiently if you don't use the accent and pronounce properly. He does then go into many reasons for this. I thought it was very interesting tbh.

There was another point he was talking about nouns and genders in German and listed about 12 and what gender (male, female, neuter) and siad 'You'll know them all in 3 minutes time too'. Imagine all male nouns exploding (eg head) imagine all female nouns being on fire (eg hand) and all neuter's freezing and shattering. He then said once what each one was, so you visualize and hand on fire... sure enough, he then said, 'so what is a X' and went through them and I could remember if they were male, female or nueter. Not so necessary in Spanish, as it's a bit easier, but an interesting idea that worked really well.

Another point was constant repetition isn't necessarily the best for memorising. Being made to remember just before you forget is best... it's just hard to judge when you're about to forget!

Anyway, on another point, I've been wondering about spending more time in Spain this year. How crazy would it be to book an AirBnB for a month and drive down there? Stick my bike in the back of the car, take my work laptop and off I go! Anyone done similar? AirBnB's can be had for anywhere from £350 upward for a month, so not silly money.
 
AndyCr15 said:
I've been listening to 'Fluent Forever' audiobook, which basically gives you tips, ideas and reseaning around the best ways to learn languages. There are a few interesting points, for example... the author of this book states the first thing to do is to nail the pronunciation. You can't learn, hear, speak a language quickly and efficiently if you don't use the accent and pronounce properly. He does then go into many reasons for this. I thought it was very interesting tbh.

There was another point he was talking about nouns and genders in German and listed about 12 and what gender (male, female, neuter) and siad 'You'll know them all in 3 minutes time too'. Imagine all male nouns exploding (eg head) imagine all female nouns being on fire (eg hand) and all neuter's freezing and shattering. He then said once what each one was, so you visualize and hand on fire... sure enough, he then said, 'so what is a X' and went through them and I could remember if they were male, female or nueter. Not so necessary in Spanish, as it's a bit easier, but an interesting idea that worked really well.

Another point was constant repetition isn't necessarily the best for memorising. Being made to remember just before you forget is best... it's just hard to judge when you're about to forget!

Anyway, on another point, I've been wondering about spending more time in Spain this year. How crazy would it be to book an AirBnB for a month and drive down there? Stick my bike in the back of the car, take my work laptop and off I go! Anyone done similar? AirBnB's can be had for anywhere from £350 upward for a month, so not silly money.
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I'd spend the entire spring working from Portugal if I didn't have the cats.
 
@AndyCr15

Exactly what I’m doing. Currently at the Holiday Inn for the channel tunnel in the morning.

We’re paying €700 a month for a1 bed flat with private pool/grounds but it’s not a cheap area. Go near Almería and can pay much less.

Bikes are on the back and laptops are packed. Only difference is we’re here 3 months.

You can apply for a digital nomad visa to work remotely.
Shoot me a message if you wanna chat about it.
 
@AndyCr15 Have seen a few houses for sale with unrenovated cave houses on the plot which are prime for airbnb. I'll give you a shout :D

I've recently been listening to the Accelerated Spanish podcasts and using the website. Seems a really good platform and is free (although you can subscribe for expenseiveness)
 
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