NationStates Jolt Archive

So since I'm going into the medical field, I decided that I should learn Spanish since A. I live in North Carolina and B. probably a third of my patients will have Spanish as their primary language. C. If I know Spanish, then I'd be more marketable. However I've tried to learn Spanish in the past and it just never sticks. I tried classes, and I tried the self taught CD, which is basically me repeating sentences in Spanish, which didn't help. So, what's the best way to learn a new language?

Immersion. Do a year of med school abroad in Spain or some Latin American country. In my class there was a USA girl who'd done a year in Guatemala before she moved to Sweden* and her Spanish was very good. Her Swedish grammatically impeccable, although with a very cute accent.

*Unfortunately for her, our powers that be didn't accord her recognition of her earlier education in the USA or Guatemala and she had to redo everything when she came here. Sucked a lot for her and taught her a lesson to document everything.

There are people who speak Spanish living in North Carolina?

There are people who speak Spanish living in North Carolina?

:D

There are people who speak Spanish living in North Carolina?

http://www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/trendpage_Population.asp

During the 1990s, North Carolina had the fastest growing population of Hispanics in the U.S., 394 percent, representing over 300,000 new residents.

So since I'm going into the medical field, I decided that I should learn Spanish since A. I live in North Carolina and B. probably a third of my patients will have Spanish as their primary language. C. If I know Spanish, then I'd be more marketable. However I've tried to learn Spanish in the past and it just never sticks. I tried classes, and I tried the self taught CD, which is basically me repeating sentences in Spanish, which didn't help. So, what's the best way to learn a new language?

For me it's to match the words based on meaning. I matched what with the spanish word for what "que" and that worked. It worked for many other words I learned too.

What Fass said. The best way to learn a skill is to use it.

http://www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/trendpage_Population.asp

During the 1990s, North Carolina had the fastest growing population of Hispanics in the U.S., 394 percent, representing over 300,000 new residents.

Sounds like an invasion.

http://www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/trendpage_Population.asp

During the 1990s, North Carolina had the fastest growing population of Hispanics in the U.S., 394 percent, representing over 300,000 new residents.

Yes, yes, I know that. I was just making a silly joke.

Sounds like an invasion.

Only in a xenophobic sense.

Yes, yes, I know that. I was just making a silly joke.

Joking or horseplay in this thread is frowned upon.

Yes, yes, I know that. I was just making a silly joke.

I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now. Why would Spanish-speaking people in North Carolina (which I actually had to google to find out where it is, it's not a very famous state like, say California or uhm... yeah) be funny?

I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now. Why would Spanish-speaking people in North Carolina (which I actually had to google to find out where it is, it's not a very famous state like, say California or uhm... yeah) be funny?

Sorry but it seems to be a inside joke.

Sorry but it seems to be a inside joke.

Dommage.

I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now. Why would Spanish-speaking people in North Carolina (which I actually had to google to find out where it is, it's not a very famous state like, say California or uhm... yeah) be funny?
Maybe because it is part of the South?

Dommage.

It is a shame.

Joking or horseplay in this thread is frowned upon.

Neigh, that's not so.

Wilgrove, one way to learn a language is to pay for it. If it's your very own hard-earned you're doling out to a tutor, there's a lot of incentive to get value for money. (This doesn't apply if it's parents' money, though.)

Do you want really basic advice at the level of "write out the Spanish for every object in your house in black letters on yellow paper and stick it on the object", or are you after slightly less primary school stuff?

'Cos one trick is to chase up a news story you're interested in, in the publications of the language you're trying to learn. You may pick up one word in 10, but you absorb a lot about the construction of the language in the process.

(Looking forward to pics of your word-adorned patients.)

Neigh, that's not so.

Wilgrove, one way to learn a language is to pay for it. If it's your very own hard-earned you're doling out to a tutor, there's a lot of incentive to get value for money. (This doesn't apply if it's parents' money, though.)

Do you want really basic advice at the level of "write out the Spanish for every object in your house in black letters on yellow paper and stick it on the object", or are you after slightly less primary school stuff?

'Cos one trick is to chase up a news story you're interested in, in the publications of the language you're trying to learn. You may pick up one word in 10, but you absorb a lot about the construction of the language in the process.


Well if one is going to pay for expensive lessons wouldn't it be cheaper to take a long vacation and immerse themselves as suggested earlier in the language?

Maybe because it is part of the South?

But wouldn't that make it more probable to have Spanish-speaking people?

But wouldn't that make it more probable to have Spanish-speaking people?

Yes, and that is the subtle joke. Wasn't real funny but worth a smirk.

Yes, and that is the subtle joke. Wasn't real funny but worth a smirk.

Oh, like an attempt at a sort of comédie absurde. Avant-garde!

/Putain de merde, qu'est-ce qu'il me faut dormir...

Well if one is going to pay for expensive lessons wouldn't it be cheaper to take a long vacation and immerse themselves as suggested earlier in the language?

Sure. But I was thinking like a wage slave who can't afford to leave a job for a year. Plus, I was thinking cheap lessons, the sort of thing a high-school kid who spoke the language would be happy to provide at low cost. Or old people might give in exchange for lawn-mowing. Or a single parent might swap for baby-sitting.

Once you get the basics of a language, you can take yourself further. It's not as good as immersion, but such is life.

But wouldn't that make it more probable to have Spanish-speaking people?
Yeah, um, I guess so.

... or you could just hang out with your patients,... brush up on your bedside manners as well, kill two birds with one stone.

Unless you're the kind of :

a. elitist doctors (ze creme de la crop of snootiness)
b. misanthropic doctors (very popular these days, but who should back that up with your mad physician skillz)
c. plain idiotic doctors (quacks).

its not enough to try to learn a language in the privacy of your own home. you have to take what you learn outside and try it out on spanish speaking people.

once you get that basic "hi how are you today?" kinda spanish under your belt you need to focus on medical spanish. things like "does this hurt?" and "when did you get your knee replaced?" and to understand the likely answers.

maybe a local community center or church program might be able to help you. they have spanish speaking members so they might have a fun conversational spanish class.

I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now. Why would Spanish-speaking people in North Carolina (which I actually had to google to find out where it is, it's not a very famous state like, say California or uhm... yeah) be funny?

It's location in the United States as well as the general tendency of Southerners to be regarded as racist bigots. The joke is that no Hispanics would want to move there since it's too far away from Mexico and everyone would hate them.

Maybe because it is part of the South?

And because there are no Spanish-speaking people in my part of NC?

I'm serious, I've only met 3 people (a woman and her two sons) who speak Spanish, outside of those who take Spanish at school. Maybe the rest of the Spanish-speakers are in like Raliegh or something.

It's location in the United States as well as the general tendency of Southerners to be regarded as racist bigots. The joke is that no Hispanics would want to move there since it's too far away from Mexico and everyone would hate them.

And that's assuming all Hispanics come from Mexico, which is false. I get the joke, I laughed a little... but come on, "Hispanic" is not interchangeable with "Mexican", no matter how many NCians (and others) think that.

But wouldn't that make it more probable to have Spanish-speaking people?

Perhaps in cities like Raliegh, Charlotte, or Elizabeth City. Not so much in rural areas like where I live. People in my area loathe Hispanics.

And that's assuming all Hispanics come from Mexico, which is false. I get the joke, I laughed a little... but come on, "Hispanic" is not interchangeable with "Mexican", no matter how many NCians (and others) think that.

Of course it's not. That's part of the joke.

Of course it's not. That's part of the joke.

I see....

sorry, it's late.

And because there are no Spanish-speaking people in my part of NC?

I'm serious, I've only met 3 people (a woman and her two sons) who speak Spanish, outside of those who take Spanish at school. Maybe the rest of the Spanish-speakers are in like Raliegh or something.
I've met more people who speak Swedish than that...

I see....

sorry, it's late.

No need for apologies. It was, after all, a rather silly joke.

Learning spanish is easy. Yes is Si and you have to add "o" to the end of every word. I'd just like you say you're welcome-o in advance.

And because there are no Spanish-speaking people in my part of NC?

I'm serious, I've only met 3 people (a woman and her two sons) who speak Spanish, outside of those who take Spanish at school. Maybe the rest of the Spanish-speakers are in like Raliegh or something.

Perhaps in cities like Raliegh, Charlotte, or Elizabeth City. Not so much in rural areas like where I live. People in my area loathe Hispanics.

What county are you in? Or, well actually just look here (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37000.html). That is a few years old, so you know the pop has went up. Can find more up to date info at your local county page probably.

In 2005 my county was at around 10% Hispanic. It's higher now. I checked some of the bigger cities, Charlotte was pushing 10% but Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill and Wilmington were lower than many of the more urban counties. And Elizabeth City doesn't even come up on the city search, but the county Pasquotank was at 1.8%.

Immersion is the best way to learn a language. If you can't take a vacation in Mexico, one thing that I do is watch my DVD movies in the spanish dubbing. (Do you really need to see "Disorganized Crime" in english again?) Webstreaming spanish radio while you're online is another idea.

The key to learning Spanish is understanding verb conjugation, which is actually really easy (most of the time). Most verbs there's a definitive base with a suffix which determines it's meaning.

-o First person singular (I)
-amos First person plural (We)
-a Second person familiar (You)
-as Third person (He, She, It, You[formal])
-an Third person plural (they)


Take the word Trabajar, which translates to English as "To work":
Trabaj is the root.

Trabajo = I work
Trabajamos = We work
Trabaja = You work
Trabajas = They work/You work
Trabajan = They work



'Least I think that's right, been ages since I took Spanish class, once you figure out the various suffixes for different tenses it's all a matter of vocabulary. Oh and of course irregular verbs. Ir, Ser, Esta, and all those.

You mixed that up. -as is informal you, -a is formal you and he/she/it.

And you forgot vosotros. Ser is the irregular verb. Ir and esta are conjugations.

Immersion. Do a year of med school abroad in Spain or some Latin American country. In my class there was a USA girl who'd done a year in Guatemala before she moved to Sweden* and her Spanish was very good. Her Swedish grammatically impeccable, although with a very cute accent.

*Unfortunately for her, our powers that be didn't accord her recognition of her earlier education in the USA or Guatemala and she had to redo everything when she came here. Sucked a lot for her and taught her a lesson to document everything.

Fass is correct, immersion is the best way to learn a language

I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now. Why would Spanish-speaking people in North Carolina (which I actually had to google to find out where it is, it's not a very famous state like, say California or uhm... yeah) be funny?

It's a sourthern state, the popular view is that people living there are a bit dumb, and backwards

And you forgot vosotros. Ser is the irregular verb. Ir and esta are conjugations.

Vosotros isn't used in Mexico, so it's pretty irrelevant. Ir is a verb (to go) but you're right about Esta, should of put Estar.

So Mexicans are the only Spanish people he'll treat? There are South American countries that use Vosotros. Ser is the more common infinitive.

You have to re-train your brain. My children have no problem understanding that chair is also silla and chaise. My brain though, if you say silla subconsciously my brain is like "NO! It's a chair!" and so it disregards it. When I had to learn Spanish, mostly I hung out in Mexico and got better as I tried to speak it coherently. My kids have had good luck with me teaching them, and flash cards, and conversations with people who speak Spanish as a native language. We have gotten to the point that I forget what language I am speaking sometimes.... in fact a while ago my child and I had an entire conversation in the grocery store check out line in Spanish and I didn't realize we weren't speaking English.... until someone said something about it.

I don't know what to tell you though, some people have little problem learning new languages. Some people, just can't. I hear those Rosetta Stone things are good.

Fass is correct, immersion is the best way to learn a language

Quite. I'd suggest finding a program in a Spanish speaking country (Mexico preferably, as he'd probably want to learn that dialect) for foreigners to be immersed in that language. I went to a such a program in France.

So Mexicans are the only Spanish people he'll treat? There are South American countries that use Vosotros. Ser is the more common infinitive.

Be the vast majority of them. Up til 6 years ago I worked with immigrants constantly, didn't have to use Vosotros tense once. Though the people furthest south I'd ever encountered was Guatemala.

I read 'ir' as 'er'. The Norwegian I'm learning is mucking up some of my Spanish.

I read 'ir' as 'er'. The Norwegian I'm learning is mucking up some of my Spanish.

it happens, Spanish fucked up my French. I would be in Spanish class answering the teacher's questions in French and completely confused as to why she was getting pissed off at me.

It's still good to learn all the tenses. There were lots of Chilieans in my area so I've used it frequently.

I wouldn't mind learning Spanish, but I don't really have many occasions to use it. Sure, random people at the grocery store speak it, but I don't talk to random people. Nor do I use it in my job, and I certainly don't have time for formal classes.

I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now. Why would Spanish-speaking people in North Carolina (which I actually had to google to find out where it is, it's not a very famous state like, say California or uhm... yeah) be funny?

It's not that hard to find. Just start at South Carolina and go up. :)

As to learning Spanish, pretty much what everyone else has said. I would still recommend taking a class or a self-teaching CD just to understand some of the basic structure, but a bulk of the vocabulary and phrases will only stick if you are in a place where you have to use them.

it happens, Spanish fucked up my French. I would be in Spanish class answering the teacher's questions in French and completely confused as to why she was getting pissed off at me.

I bought Harry Potter in Spanish so I could keep the two straight. It's hard because there's really similar spelling conventions in both languages, but they are used differently. For example, the infinitive in Spanish ends in -ar, -er, or -ir. The present tense in Norwegian ends in r. I have a really hard time remembering not to drop the r.

Words like "ir" also give me grief. "Ir" in Norwegian is the present tense of "to be" (am/are/is) and it's an irregular verb. In Spanish "ir" is the infinitive "to go" and it's irregular. And there are other words that totally get jumbled in my head.

I must say, it's still easier learning a third language than a second.

My advice for Wilgrove; get a good grammar book and a friend who is fluent or a skype account. Make it a point to speak it as much as possible. And it isn't easy, and your friend will giggle from time to time. But learning it and speaking it are two different things. And if you can't speak it, it's worthless.

Rent movies in Spanish, read books in Spanish. Turn Spanish subtitles on for English movies. Talk to people on Skype in Spanish.

I took four years of Spanish in high school and I always did the bare miminum of conversing. When I got to Puerto Rico I realized what a mistake I had made. I had a huge vocabulary, knew grammar inside and out, but couldn't speak it if my life depended on it. I forced myself to converse in Spanish and that's when I became fluent.

Immersion really is the best, this is just the next best thing.

I bought Harry Potter in Spanish so I could keep the two straight. It's hard because there's really similar spelling conventions in both languages, but they are used differently.

Uhm, no. Just, no.

"Ir" in Norwegian is the present tense of "to be"

Nope, neither in Bokmål nor in Nynorsk.

It's a sourthern state, the popular view is that people living there are a bit dumb, and backwards

People here are indeed dumb and backwards.

What county are you in? Or, well actually just look here (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37000.html). That is a few years old, so you know the pop has went up. Can find more up to date info at your local county page probably.

In 2005 my county was at around 10% Hispanic. It's higher now. I checked some of the bigger cities, Charlotte was pushing 10% but Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill and Wilmington were lower than many of the more urban counties. And Elizabeth City doesn't even come up on the city search, but the county Pasquotank was at 1.8%.
Oddly enough my county was just barely above Pasquotank. That's amazing...

People here are indeed dumb and backwards.those are people in general. people in the north don't think for themselves with any greater regularity, they just blindly follow people who happen to have been better thinkers at some point. I don't know why I'm quasi-defending the south though, I hate it, I can't wait to move back to new york. *sigh*

and I might recommend that the OP find spanish-language music and get it stuck in his head, preferably with a parallel english translation he can memorize. if he were going for french I'd recommend Notre Dame de Paris and Emily Loizeau...go listen to Aterciopelados, Mecano, Chetes, and any other half-decent spanish language music you can find, Wilgrove. music will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InZvXKjAr28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3REPMDSCh4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDL4zqcCdHc

spanish is relatively easy to learn for english speakers, a lot of the idioms are parallel in weird ways (the verb "going" has the same uses, for example), not nearly as bad as learning russian or a dead language...though those are the only others I have any experience with.

it happens, Spanish fucked up my French. I would be in Spanish class answering the teacher's questions in French and completely confused as to why she was getting pissed off at me.

I speak 3 different languages myself and find times when I cross two or three languages. Normally when I am tired and not fully alert. I don't think your problem is to uncommon.

it happens, Spanish fucked up my French. I would be in Spanish class answering the teacher's questions in French and completely confused as to why she was getting pissed off at me.
Quite.

I managed to accidentally get some Italian, which I haven't spoken in about 5 years, into a Spanish oral exam. Good times, good times.

yes fass is right immersion is the best way to learn a language, but for those that cant just pack up everything and go live in another country for awhile its up to you to immerse yourself in the language. if you actually want to learn the language you have to spend time to learn it. get a friend who is also interested in learning it or already knows it. or use it to talk to yourself. read books written in said language, you will most likely have to start with children books

just do what you can to use the language in your everyday life

Quite.

I managed to accidentally get some Italian, which I haven't spoken in about 5 years, into a Spanish oral exam. Good times, good times.

When I was in high school, I already spoke Spanish fluently so I picked a foreign language that was different enough to avoid that. I chose Russian. I figured with having to learn a new alphabet and all...

Uhm, no. Just, no.
I didn't have much of a choice at Borders and I really didn't feel like reading the Chronicles of Narnia again or anything by Paulo Cohleo.

And yeah, the present tense ending -r in Norwegian is similar to the infinitive ending in -r in Spanish. Especially since they both, you know, are verbs and end in r.


Nope, neither in Bokmål nor in Nynorsk.
Yeah, I can't spell before my coffee when I've had 3 hours of sleep. I spelled it right a few posts above. I know the Swedish are born being able to speak every language on the planet fluently, but for us lowly Americans it takes a little more than two months to master a language.

I'm thinking of doing an immersion program for German, as I've forgotten every last bit of the language I grew up on after I moved to the US at two.

So since I'm going into the medical field, I decided that I should learn Spanish since A. I live in North Carolina and B. probably a third of my patients will have Spanish as their primary language. C. If I know Spanish, then I'd be more marketable. However I've tried to learn Spanish in the past and it just never sticks. I tried classes, and I tried the self taught CD, which is basically me repeating sentences in Spanish, which didn't help. So, what's the best way to learn a new language?

Well, I don't know about everybody else on this thread, but I learned what Spanish I know from taking a semester of it in college, and from reading some of my mother's old Spanish textbooks.

I can read, write, and pronounce the words, and I have a basic knowledge of Spanish vocabulary and verb conjugation, but I cannot understand it very well when I hear it spoken.

Because of this, whenever I speak to a Spanish-speaking person (which is not very often), I try to persuade him/her to speak English, if s/he can ("¿Habla usted inglés?").

¿Qué es este "español" sobre que ustedes hablan?

¡ARRODÍLLATE ANTE ZOD!

You mixed that up. -as is informal you, -a is formal you and he/she/it.
Yes that's right :)

It's still good to learn all the tenses. There were lots of Chilieans in my area so I've used it frequently.
Yes, I took spanish classes for 3 years but I didn't learn the vosotros tense so I taught it to myself through a book and after I learned enough I started practicing with a few friends. :)

And yeah, the present tense ending -r in Norwegian is similar to the infinitive ending in -r in Spanish. Especially since they both, you know, are verbs and end in r.

Wait, so that's why they're "similar" - they end in -r, but aren't even the same tense; one isn't even a tense but an infinitive - and you'd make the claim that a Germanic and a Romance language have "really similar spelling conventions"? That's so, so... plain old inaccurate. Norwegian and Spanish simply do not have "really similar spelling conventions" at all, and your example is not supportive of your claim at all in any way.

Yeah, I can't spell before my coffee when I've had 3 hours of sleep. I spelled it right a few posts above. I know the Swedish are born being able to speak every language on the planet fluently, but for us lowly Americans it takes a little more than two months to master a language.

"Ir" and "er" don't even sound alike in Norwegian, and it's not very surprising that I know Norwegian seeing as it's mutually intelligible with Swedish and I've of course been to Norway many times... but, even for people in the USA it should not take two months to learn the conjugation of the most common copula of a language.

Yes please don't let the fact that I spelled it right in the post above that one spoil your elitist chiding. Please, do pick more on spelling errors. It so proves your point. I'd say I'm sorry my spelling isn't spot on when I've slept three hours, but I'm really not that broken hearted I'm not perfect like you.

Yes, I took spanish classes for 3 years but I didn't learn the vosotros tense so I taught it to myself through a book and after I learned enough I started practicing with a few friends. :)

Yeah, from what I remember of my Spanish classes, the vosotros tense is seldom, if ever, used anymore, except MAYBE in Spain.
(The approximate English equivalent would be "ye", because "ye", like vosotros, is a second person plural pronoun, and you won't find "ye" today outside of a King James Bible.)

For the second person plural, both familiar and polite/formal, ustedes is commonly used, and it conjugates like the third person plural.

I started a Spanish lesson thread eons ago...

Spanish Lessons for NSers (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=438943)


Edit: at the time I'd recorded some audio clips that are no longer available...most of the links are to still available web resources though.

Yes please don't let the fact that I spelled it right in the post above that one spoil your elitist chiding. Please, do pick more on spelling errors. It so proves your point. I'd say I'm sorry my spelling isn't spot on when I've slept three hours, but I'm really not that broken hearted I'm not perfect like you.

Your reading impediment is interesting. It seems to have the consequence not to let you see or understand my contesting of your claims of "really similar spelling conventions", and instead allows you to get hung up on a really awkward spelling mistake you made and your passive-aggressive response to having been called on it, without the slightest thought about the fact that when making claims of "spelling conventions" your spelling does matter. No, no, you'll try to make it look like someone was remarking on something completely irrelevant, instead of calling you out on your miserably poor knowledge of Norwegian (and seemingly Spanish), which you were trying to sound oh, so educated in.

I'm sorry I exposed your true lack of knowledge on the subject. That's a lie. I'm not really.

I started a Spanish lesson thread eons ago...

Incitement of necromancy!

Why you never on MSN no mo'?

Incitement of necromancy!

Why you never on MSN no mo'?

Well I put a lot of work into that, I'm sure Wilgrove could make some use out of it.

Don't waste your time and don't pander to these people who think they can come here and be all accommodated. My great-grandparents didn't have Russian everywhere for them to use, speak, read. They learned English or relied on someone who did know English, such as a younger family member.

Don't contribute to this continuing spiral. I don't think it'll keep going this way forever, but just in case and to stop it quicker, please help by not elarning Spanish.

Don't waste your time and don't pander to these people who think they can come here and be all accommodated. My great-grandparents didn't have Russian everywhere for them to use, speak, read. They learned English or relied on someone who did know English, such as a younger family member.

Don't contribute to this continuing spiral. I don't think it'll keep going this way forever, but just in case and to stop it quicker, please help by not elarning Spanish.


And what makes you think the Spanish have Spanish everywhere for them to use, speak and read? In NC there aren't road signs in Spanish and English, and government offices? They also accomodate Russian immigrants/aliens, French-speakers, Italian-speakers, anyone else who might not have the best grasp of English. Besides Hispanics are going to emigrate here anyway regardless of our attitude toward them, because our country has jobs that they need. Being total pricks toward anyone of Hispanic descent- just like our ancestors were complete pricks toward Irish and Chinese immigrants- is not going to help anyone, especially Americans who just as ignorant as ever about the rest of the world.

And if you're talking about the directions on everything printed in other languages, nearly everything then is printed in English, Spanish, AND French... And if you're tired of reading Spanish and French directions avert your eyes to the English directions.

And what makes you think the Spanish have Spanish everywhere for them to use, speak and read? In NC there aren't road signs in Spanish and English, and government offices? They also accomodate Russian immigrants/aliens, French-speakers, Italian-speakers, anyone else who might not have the best grasp of English. Besides Hispanics are going to emigrate here anyway regardless of our attitude toward them, because our country has jobs that they need. Being total pricks toward anyone of Hispanic descent- just like our ancestors were complete pricks toward Irish and Chinese immigrants- is not going to help anyone, especially Americans who just as ignorant as ever about the rest of the world.

And if you're talking about the directions on everything printed in other languages, nearly everything then is printed in English, Spanish, AND French... And if you're tired of reading Spanish and French directions avert your eyes to the English directions.Only English, Spanish, and French?

Yeah I wanted to do that to! But with Polish...;) So I got a tutor (as a christmas present paid by my parents) got a book of Polish phrases and went and lived in Poland for a year. So now I am fluent! :)


Wasza matka ona jest.......... what's the word for turtle?. :D

Don't waste your time and don't pander to these people who think they can come here and be all accommodated. My great-grandparents didn't have Russian everywhere for them to use, speak, read. They learned English or relied on someone who did know English, such as a younger family member.

Don't contribute to this continuing spiral. I don't think it'll keep going this way forever, but just in case and to stop it quicker, please help by not elarning Spanish.yeah, doctors shouldn't have any idea what their patients are saying - for sake of maintaining cultural purity. :headbang: because my great great (X11) grandfather learned algonquin, should I expect everyone to do that, too? cultures are not static. what immigrants 100 years ago went through is not relevant. the US would be a better place if those immigrants had been treated better, anyway. I hate when people play the "my family immigrated here first" card. mine was here 100 years (not counting native americans and the swedes in pre-pennsylvania) before the damn revolution (which they fought in), and they accommodated *your* ancestors. leave dead people out of it.

So since I'm going into the medical field, I decided that I should learn Spanish since A. I live in North Carolina and B. probably a third of my patients will have Spanish as their primary language. C. If I know Spanish, then I'd be more marketable. However I've tried to learn Spanish in the past and it just never sticks. I tried classes, and I tried the self taught CD, which is basically me repeating sentences in Spanish, which didn't help. So, what's the best way to learn a new language?

You need to use it constantly -- so what you need is a workshop where they speak nothing but Spanish, or a tutor that will drill you in nothing but Spanish.

If you can afford it, immersion -- travel to Spain, or a Latin American country, and stay there.

Perhaps in cities like Raliegh, Charlotte, or Elizabeth City. Not so much in rural areas like where I live. People in my area loathe Hispanics.

People in your area are not impressing me just now.

Don't waste your time and don't pander to these people who think they can come here and be all accommodated. My great-grandparents didn't have Russian everywhere for them to use, speak, read. They learned English or relied on someone who did know English, such as a younger family member.

Don't contribute to this continuing spiral. I don't think it'll keep going this way forever, but just in case and to stop it quicker, please help by not elarning Spanish.

How... blissful.

Only English, Spanish, and French?

They're the most common, anyway. Some directons come in German, Chinese, and Japanese.

Don't contribute to this continuing spiral. I don't think it'll keep going this way forever, but just in case and to stop it quicker, please help by not learning Spanish.

So learning is a bad thing?

also spelling fixed