Not really that OT Spanish Language teaching DVD's etc

I want to learn some 'conversational' Spanish, as part of my Patagonia
fishing plans. I'm not concerned with perfect grammar, or fluency, just
being understood and understanding simple "where is the good fishing?" and
"how much is that?" conversations, ... with lots of pointing, gestures,
some key words.

Of course, becoming more proficient would be wonderful, but ya gotta start
somewhere.


I'm too late this year for the local adult education course ... so I thought
maybe a DVD or CD might get me started. Anybody know of a good one(s)

Larry L wrote:
I want to learn some 'conversational' Spanish, as part of my Patagonia
fishing plans. I'm not concerned with perfect grammar, or fluency, just
being understood and understanding simple "where is the good fishing?" and
"how much is that?" conversations, ... with lots of pointing, gestures,
some key words.

Of course, becoming more proficient would be wonderful, but ya gotta start
somewhere.


I'm too late this year for the local adult education course ... so I thought
maybe a DVD or CD might get me started. Anybody know of a good one(s)

It's expensive but the gold standard is Rosetta Stone.

http://www.rosettastone.com/

--
Ken Fortenberry

I want to learn some 'conversational' Spanish, as part of my Patagonia
fishing plans. * *I'm not concerned with perfect grammar, or fluency, just
being understood and understanding simple "where is the good fishing?" and
"how much is that?" conversations, *... with lots of pointing, gestures,
some key words.

Of course, becoming more proficient would be wonderful, but ya gotta start
somewhere.

I'm too late this year for the local adult education course ... so I thought
maybe a DVD or CD might get me started. * *Anybody know of a good one(s)

It's expensive but the gold standard is Rosetta Stone.

http://www.rosettastone.com/

As a former military linquist, I would concur. That and couple of
weeks immersion training doing drywall and you would be set.
Frank Reid

--
Ken Fortenberry

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote


It's expensive but the gold standard is Rosetta Stone.

http://www.rosettastone.com/



Thanks Ken ... it is a bit pricey but one thing I notice is "New speech
recognition technology" mentioned

I've tried several speech recognition software dealies and found they just
couldn't understand my 'accent' ... even after serious efforts to train them
I don't have a clue what my accent is... but it must be unique, I'm
constantly calling places ( say fly shops ) where I haven't been in months
.... and having them say "hi Larry" after my first words ... happens to me
all the time, I must have a weird voice.

Anyway I worry that the software wouldn't recognise my best effort to speak
Spanish ... period

"Larry L" wrote in message
...
I want to learn some 'conversational' Spanish, as part of my Patagonia
fishing plans. I'm not concerned with perfect grammar, or fluency, just
being understood and understanding simple "where is the good fishing?" and
"how much is that?" conversations, ... with lots of pointing, gestures,
some key words.

Of course, becoming more proficient would be wonderful, but ya gotta start
somewhere.


I'm too late this year for the local adult education course ... so I
thought
maybe a DVD or CD might get me started. Anybody know of a good one(s)




Look for a little phamplet called "Speedy Spanish".. it's all ya need.
Comprende?

john

"asadi"

Look for a little phamplet called "Speedy Spanish".. it's all ya need.
Comprende?

john


Okay, Larry, let me back up a bit and apologize. Are you gong to be there
for several months? If not, don't worry about it...if you try to learn you
will seem a silly gringo who took a course and now want s to converse with
bad pronunciation and worse grammar.

this is all you will need...

http://www.amazon.com/Speedy-Spanish...51274&sr= 8-2

It's go amounts, dates, weekdays, times, requests for help and in a worst
case scenario you just point to the phrase in the book and hope they can
read....

If you have a guide for fishing, sign language and an open fly box is all
you will need.

The book even tells you how to get to the bathroom..it DOES NOT tell
you...ummm...err...and for that, you just get in a taxi and wave your hands
in an hourglass shape and he will know what you mean.

the only problems you might encounter is those who don't like Americans, in
which case it doesn't matter how well you speak,.

John....been there done that....(carry a pint in your back pocket..it's an
ice breaker...)

In article
, Larry L
wrote:

I want to learn some 'conversational' Spanish, as part of my Patagonia
fishing plans. I'm not concerned with perfect grammar, or fluency, just
being understood and understanding simple "where is the good fishing?" and
"how much is that?" conversations, ... with lots of pointing, gestures,
some key words.

Of course, becoming more proficient would be wonderful, but ya gotta start
somewhere.

I speak quite a few languages and sometimes have to learn them very
fast. You don't need any fancy expensive courses. I learnt Italian,
which I now speak quite well, with nothing but 'Teach yourself
Italian'.


You only need to know about a hundred to a hundred and fifty phrases,
but you need to feel comfortable with them. You can get away with
twenty to fifty (that's all the Croatian I know, and it's served me
well). You can learn them easily at twenty to fifty a day.

You need to use flash cards. These can be either real or virtual. (I
use a palm pilot application called quiz me. The palm is great cos you
can get it out on a subway or bus or whatever).

Assuming you use real cards you put the english on one side, the
spanish on the other. Don't bother learning spanish to english. If you
can manage english to spanish, you'll be okay wth the other way round.

The process of deciding which phrases to put on your cards is part of
the learning process.

Vital a

Greetings and the sort of exchanges you have in the street (where are
you going? where is the....?

Enquiries and answers about family (how many children?)

foodstuffs

buying and money

In your case, probably, hotel rooms.

Numbers



You keep your cards with you all the time. When you have a moment, go
through them, english side. If you don't get the spanish ABSOLUTELY
RIGHT you put it back in the pile. You separate out the ones you keep
geting right. When you've gone through the unknowns once, you do it
again, and again, and agian, and again, till you've got them all right.
Then you put them all together and do it again.

It's not like being at school cos you're the only person telling
yourself off, but you must be a fierce critic.

The other thing you can do is find some local storekeepers who speak
Spanish. Make sure that when you market with them, you speak only in
Spanish. I do this with my local grocers and greengrocers, where I
speak ONLY Dari (the Afghan dialect of Farsi). the guys are delighted
that I'm trying to learn their language, and like to show me off to
their friends. My mistakes give them considerable amusement.

Not only does their help not cost me anything, I'm quite sure I get my
vegetables cheaper. (haggling over the price is a crucial part of any
friendly financial transaction in Dari).

I've also used 'Teach yourself Spanish' - the only spanish text-book I
own. As a result I've been able to work in Nicaragua, El salvador and
Cuba. Also, and more important, I can talk to my eldest
grand-daughter, who was born and lives Barcelona. If you can get
through the twenty chapters of this - and you can - you will be really
comfortable in Spanish. Even the first ten chapters will leave you very
well equipped.

But you must know every single thing in each chapter absolutely before
you move on to the next one.

Lazarus

"Lazarus Cooke" wrote

excellent stuff snipped


thank you ... I will try your suggestions

Lazarus Cooke wrote:

where I
speak ONLY Dari (the Afghan dialect of Farsi).

... As a result I've been able to work in Nicaragua, El salvador and
Cuba.

Lazarus

if i ever knew, i have forgotten...but what is your line of work
Lazarus? your range of travel is remarkable.

jeff

A couple of other things:

Gender

In most Indo-European-based languages, 'thing' words have a gender
(masculine, feminine or -in German and Latin, but, thank god, not in
Spanish- neuter). This doesn't necessarily tie up with what the thing
is. (Thus, in German, the word for 'girl', is gramatically not
feminine, but neuter).

It's a really strange concept for those of us -virtually all- who grew
up speaking English.

So for us, there's no difference between 'el dia', and 'la dia', or 'el
noche' and 'la noche'.

But if you try talking to native people and you use the wrong gender,
they simply won't understand what you're trying to say.

When you're learning a new language, you must get these genders right.
So every thing you learn the spanish for, you must call 'the night', or
'the day' or ' an automobile'. When you test yourself, if you get the
gender wrong - or even if you got it right, but only by chance, cos you
weren't sure - , you've got the word wrong, and you put the card back
in the unlearned pile.

Pronunciation

You do have to make a major effort to get this reasonably right (this
is why i suggested store keepers). Once again, if you get the word
right but pronounce it wrong, local people may not know what you are
talking about. I have never forgotten trying to buy a bottle of Perrier
water in France, nearly fifty years ago, repeating the word over and
over again, watching the glazed look in the store-keepers eyes until I
finally managed to get it (roughly) right.

hth

Lazarus