Spanish Learning Strategies

[livingdeb]

One of my plans for things to do when I retire is to finally learn Spanish. I would do all the things I used to do when taking classes:
* go to class
* do the readings
* do the homework
* study for the tests
* be well-rested for the tests
* ask the instructor questions/visit during office hours (didn't really learn that until the very end)

Plus I would do what my old roommate Cissy recommended:
* flashcards for vocabulary learning (and I once found a flashcard ap that looked really good)

And what my old friend Mattias did:
* try to do a lot of my self-talking in Spanish

And what my friend James did:
* try to get a study partner

And my old friend Jack:
* figure out who the smartest and best students are and sit near them and try to do any group projects with them

Plus I would do those things I've been hearing about from by academic advisor co-workers:
* start a study group
* talk to an advisor and see what is recommended
* check out any learning center resources

And what I've heard from other sources about language learning:
* study every day, even if it's just a few minutes--cramming doesn't work
* talk to Spanish speakers, even though you don't sound as good as a two-year-old (maybe--scary--or maybe just try conversation meet-ups and/or an informal class on conversational Spanish, plus at restaurants)

And my own additional ideas:
* pick up children's books from the library
* look at the same topics in multiple texts, not just our required textbook
* become a tutor
* watch familiar movies with the sound and/or subtitles in Spanish

I suck at languages. So even though I had three years of Spanish in high school and have tried to learn it a few times since then, I thought I'd take Austin Community College's placement test cold. And make sure not to answer any of the questions unless I was sure of the answer so I wouldn't look more advanced than I really am. I'm afraid I'll get into a class where there will be a lot of prerequisite knowledge I don't have, and I have enough trouble keeping up as it is. I'd rather start in a class where I already know some of the stuff and then I can learn every single other thing that is taught. And then by the end of the classes I will actually know Spanish--be able to talk to people, read my favorite local Spanish weekly newspaper, and maybe even read Spanish books in the original (though there's nothing in particular I'm looking forward to).

But then I saw a review of duolinguo, which teaches you things bit by bit and you keep score like in a video game that's actually fun. And because the lessons are short and repetitive, you actually learn things and don't get overwhelmed and don't forget last week's stuff while you're learning this week's stuff.

So now I'm thinking maybe I'll learn and re-learn as much stuff as I can on my own and then take the placement test, hoping I'll need at least one more class because group learning is better.

Opinions?

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