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Go to a good school here.  I would list them but don't know where you'll be

Exactly sparksmex,

Because this is a group effort, I hope. Could you post those Ideas, and places you have ?

To answer the ' why this again thought' Well because we have new people who might need that information.

What made me think about it again, was a post elsewhere. Someone posted that they wanted to help others because they had lived in an English speaking country.  It was clear to me that they may have felt they spoke English but they didn't

And I thought once again, that new people may feel the same way about Spanish. I learn something new every day. When I was learning Spanish originally  no one told me that  que was not the only response used for "what? No one said that a word that sounds like monday is very common.

I found that out, What other things have people found out ? that might be helpful to those just coming in.

Keeping in mind this is for newcomers who don't know much or any Spanish.

0) Learn common phrases and always greet people with a smile and Buenos dias, Buenas Tardes orm Buenas noches.  Use por favor and Gracias to a greater extent than you might in the US.

1) Get a good phrasebook and dictionary.  You can do a lot with those.  Adapt phrases to other words in the dictionary.

2)Try to take classes equivalent to two semesters of college Spanish, 1 hour, 3 times a week for 26 weeks.

3) Right from the beginning, make an effort to use Spanish as close to 100% as you can.  Listening to it is the way to adapt your hearing to the way it's actually spoken.

4) Don't be afraid to have the dictionary and phrasebook at hand at all times.

5) Your objective is to understand.  Then to be understood and know when you're understood or not.  Perfect grammar is the least of your concerns.  Work on vocabulary to cover all common and many uncommon situations.

I don't speak Spanish as correctly as I learned when aceing 2 years of College Spanish back in the 60's.  I make many grammar and vocabulary errors.  People correct me politely and we talk until understanding is reached.

Being understood is enough of a goal for starters and that may take years for you to feel confident to hold you own in any situation or group.  Constant use will bring progress.

Cultivate bilingual friends and help each other to build fluency, grammar and vocabulary.

Encuentros Cuernavaca


CELEP Patzcuaro

Great information.