I thought as a hobby I would try to learn a little Spanish. I took two years of German, but I never tackled spanish. I find learning to read spanish text extremely easy, but trying to listen to fast talking Spanish speakers seems like a nightmare. I hear the first and last word in the sentence when they talk and everything else is fuzzy and I can't make out the words unless I hear it in slow motion. Learning Spanish CD's were easy to understand because they were short phrases the speakers said slowly, but when I try to use what I have learned and try to watch the spanish channel they just talk way to fast for me to even understand anything they are saying. I bought a learn Spanish audio CD's package and found it really easy to listen to coming and going from work, but when I try to watch the Spanish channel or a movie in Spanish they just talk way to fast for anything to be understood.

What am I doing wrong?

I'm hispanic and my parents are fluent spanish speakers but I cannot speak fluent spanish. I can understand most of the language and I can have simple conversations in spanish but I can't speak it as if it was english for me. What can I do to learn how to speak the language? Besides just being around the language at home. Are there any programs that could help me, like rossetta stone? The only problem with that is that i feel like i already know too much.

What is the best way to get yourself accustomed to the spanish language? Is the best way to live in another country and hear the language, or are there other ways? I have a good foundation of spanish: knowing how to use all of the tenses, some good common vocab, etc. but its hard to keep up with spanish speakers because of their elisions. How can I train my brain to learn how to keep up with ANY language elisions in general?

From what I understand, each country and region has its own accent in Spanish. Which accent sounds the best, among the opinion of Spanish speakers?

Hey guys and girls, I'm a big fan of the spanish language and I am really desperate to learn it. I was going to take Spanish in my GCSE options but i wanted to take music. I love spanish music as well, would listening to it make me learn and remember easier, I've already done the mansionspanish.com course and found it pretty fun, I live in a place where almost no spanish speakers are present.
Thanks for reading

Filipinos in Metro Manila don't speak the language where jobs are available vs. San Diego, California. Spanish speakers have big advantages for being bilingual speakers, English and Spanish. It's an A Plus.

So by the end of this year, I will have been done AP French, which is the highest level of French that my school offers.
I'm also going to take AP Mandarin, which wouldn't be so hard for me, since I'm Chinese and alreay know some.
Also, I can understand spoken Thai and speak a little (with an accent) because I lived there for some years as a kid.

I'm wondering if I should take Spanish or not next year. I live in Canada, where there is almost no Spanish speakers around. I'm also afraid that if I start learning it, I might just end up learning for 1~2 years then forget everything. In that case, it would be a total waste of time. And please don't tell me to take Spanish courses after high school. I'm going to learn Mandarin until a very high level for sure, and my French is pretty good (5 years of learning, with the first 2 years in a very intensive program) so if I were to continue an additional language it will probably be French. Also, I'm not planning to major in languages, so its not like I'd be learning languages all day.

On the other hand, I heard that Spanish is pretty easy to learn, so it would be great if I can pick up another language without putting in too much effort.

So...should I learn Spanish or not?

I asked this yesterday, are there any TRUE spanish spanish speakers on here that can talk to me on Yahoo messenger or on MSN so that way i can practice my spanish? Thanks!

Im in AP Spanish in my school, but the course is so stupid, we dont actually learn anything, and Ive realized that Im actually forgetting my Spanish. So I would like to talk to real Spanish speakers, those that are fluent. I love Spanish and I would be so disappointed if I forgot it. So please email me and we can talk!!
Gracias!

Which country's accent is the best to have if you are studying Spanish?
From what I understand, each country and region has its own accent in Spanish. Which accent sounds the best, among the opinion of Spanish speakers? Does the accent from Spain sound nice? What about Puerto Rico?

since there are about 11 million spanish speakers in usa, should everybody learn how to speak it? so we can have better communication with hispanic immigrants?

And why? Did you know that it´s more difficult for you to learn it, that the spanish speakers learn to speak english

I´m spanish speaker, I want to now your opinion

I've been wondering which language of these should I choose ! I love the way Spanish sound , but I feel that it's so hard to learn . German is good because of Germany only !! Germany has a strong economy , thereby it would be great to learn German . However , I've learnt German for 2 years now , and I went to Germany last Summer to study the language , but I didn't like it so much , mainly because of its genders !! :S

However , I have the basics of German and can proceed learning it .
I've bought a Spanish language teaching book recently , and it's great , but I still have many problems with it due to the different way of reading in Spanish than it in English !!

And I felt remorse to buy a Spanish book and not a German one !! So, I'm still not sure which one is better for me , or which one is more useful .

Another thing is that : are Spanish-speakers good ???!!

By that I mean when there are non-Spanish speakers around, at a work environment (coworkers) or similar.
I'm not talking about a public place, like the people at the next table in a restaurant speaking Spanish to each other, for example.
I'm talking about a common area, small-talk type of environment where otherwise it would be normal for anyone within earshot to interject into a conversation.
It seems like it should considered as rude as two people whispering a conversation to each other when it is a common area.
Or any non-English language (in the USA).
And this is obviously regarding people who are bi-lingual and a decent fluency in English.
Although English fluence ought to be the goal for anyone residing in the USA.
Okokok
let me reiterate:
they are here legally
speaking in a common place
example: I work in a Spanish oriented field, some coworkers speak Spanish and English, both with perfect fluency
in our shared office area two of them will start talking to each otherin Spanish when I'm there in the same shared office
if they want to have a private conversation in Spanish then they should go somewhere else
it seems very rude
If I were to learn another language it wouldn't be Spanish- in Texas I'm sick of Spanish
I'd learn sign language, mandarin or Vietnamese
or finish up the French I started learning in high school
but I'd love to order my pho in Vietnamese
Smart Kat <---------- BINGO
you seem to be the only one who understands what I'm talking about, exactly
the other answerers seem to be jumping to conclusions without really trying to grasp what I'm talking about

this idiot is hilarious:
"I question if you would have said the same thing if they were speaking Italian or French, or is it only because they are Hispanics."

I would be talkng about the exact same thing
French, Italian, Korean or whatever

your experience with them talking in the car is exactly the type of thing I'm talking about

it is extremely rude
Getty- get over yourself

this has to do with manners- zero to do with race

95% of my girlfriends have been hispanic- and bilingual
it's one thing if the GF is talking to her no-English grandma, totally different thing if the entirely English-able dinner table excludes one and the rest carry on in Spanish

you are the one being a prejudicial jacka**

I have been debating for such a long time where I should study Spanish. Mexico is the only option I have been really seeing due to cost. I am interested in Mexican culture and due to its nearness to the US, it is probably the most beneficial. Not to mention it is the country with the most Spanish speakers. I have come across programs in Guadalajara, Merida, and Guanajuato. Does anyone know of a program that offers a home-stay option while still taking into account enjoyment? I really want to be near a beach and take advantage of Mexico's landscape. After all, I have never been to the ocean. Thanks!

I have been debating for such a long time where I should study Spanish. Mexico is the only option I have been really seeing due to cost. I am interested in Mexican culture and due to its nearness to the US, it is probably the most beneficial. Not to mention it is the country with the most Spanish speakers. I have come across programs in Guadalajara, Merida, and Guanajuato. Does anyone know of a program that offers a home-stay option while still taking into account enjoyment? I really want to be near a beach and take advantage of Mexico's landscape. After all, I have never been to the ocean. Thanks!

I couldn't believe it. in my city in california there was a recent change that i do not agree with. The people working at the bus terminal usually announce the bus line that has arrived so that people know and can get into the bus they need. But just recently they began to say it also in spanish. VERY VERY stupid. Numbrs from 1 to 20 should not be hard for any spanish speakers and specially since the spanish speakers here who are mexicans have lived here for years, spanish speakers from spain or europe are likely to already know english,, that's not even asking the people to learn english. it's just 20 numbers. I think it's the fault of the dumb bus station or government for that useless nonsense change. It's just making hispanics not want to learn english, cause they don't need it . I'm hispanic mexican and i can't believe they had to have translation for 20 numbers.

Okay, please do not be offended, (no racism intended) but I've noticed that Mexican Spanish speakers tend to talk really fast and I have a hard time understanding them, but I can understand other dialects just fine, (Cubans, Argentineans, Chileans, Spanish, etc.)

So my final two questions are why can't I understand Mexican Spanish as well as other dialects and are Spanish speakers from Mexico known to have the fastest Spanish speaking dialect?

I'm having a hard time with my Spanish and I was just wondering if it would be just as hard for Spanish speakers to learn English? Spanish seems harder to me, but then again, I've been speaking English my entire life so that might be the reason for that. What do you think?

What are some common phrases that you would say in a Spanish speaking country?

i.e. Es un muy buen día hoy. (It's a very nice day out today.)

I'm trying to learn more spanish and I figured I should start with the basics. I'm in Spanish 2 at school so I already know like Como estas? and all of that easy stuff. Any fluent Spanish speakers willing to help me out? Gracias!

I want to learn Spanish. Will watching Spanish TV, listening to Spanish music, and only listening to everything Spanish be helpful? I want to learn Spanish just like I learned American English as my first language.
Yea, what we are taught in school are not the way true Spanish speakers really talk. They use a lot abbreviations and slang.

@Reflections: What are the chat sites?
I'm from NY. I only know little Spanish.

I want to learn Spanish. Will watching Spanish TV, listening to Spanish music, and only listening to everything Spanish be helpful? I want to learn Spanish just like I learned American English as my first language.
Yea, what we are taught in school are not the way true Spanish speakers really talk. They use a lot abbreviations and slang.

@Reflections: What are the chat sites?
I'm from NY. I only know little Spanish.

I'm having a hard time with my Spanish and I was just wondering if it would be just as hard for Spanish speakers to learn English? Spanish seems harder to me, but then again, I've been speaking English my entire life so that might be the reason for that. What do you think?

if i go to google and translate it or if i actally know
what the sentence is saying
the sentence still seems incomplete..
its hard to explain why is spanish like a ..puzzle lol

my teacher told me spanish speakers "get straight to the point instead of saying a long sentence"
is this true..do i have to use context clues?

I have taken 4 years of spanish, but I speak it no where near fluent. I also noticed that a lot of the spanish speakers use slang, and in school, I was taught proper spanish, without slang words, so when I try in converse in spanish, slang is sometimes used,I don't understand what's being said, Help? Suggestions?

im currently in college taking a spanish class. i feel that it is boring and that I can learn the material on my own. however i was thinking about doing a minor in Spanish. many people tell me that I speak spanish well and that I just need to practice it more. i am a french native speaker however i am a non-native spanish speaker. to be honest I think i have problems only with grammar. but it just that spanish is so important in the US that I feel I should take a class you know? should I just im fluent in Spanish on resume? I mean I understand everything spanish speakers say and they understand. we never have a problem of communication. I need help!!! advice!!! please

Spanish speakers! Can you please translate these sentences?

My grandfather is very funny and kind.
He likes to read newspapers and drink coffee.
He does not like dogs or cat.
He likes to sleep a lot.
His favorite food is spaghetti.

Thank you lots for helping me out!
Please try not to use online translaters. . Translaters tend to make sentences sound very choppy.

SPANISH SPEAKERS, Have you ever eavesdropped on people talking about you that didn't know you speak Spanish?
Have you ever been in a room and had a Mexican think you were white and talk about you without knowing that you were Mexican and could understand everything he was saying. This has never happened to me, but I have heard of this happening to other people and it just seems funny.

I'm an American college student who already knows quite a bit of French. The place I live has a good number of Spanish speakers, which is good so I can practice if I really want.

Anyway, I'm not sure whether to learn Spanish in a class or my own. I don't have enough room in my schedule next semester, but I could make room if need be. But there is this really good Spanish book I want to buy if I decided to learn on my own.

Thoughts?