Job Discussion Forums

[suite1718]

Although I realize I won't be able to fully grasp the language until I move to Mexico in the fall, I would really like to spend some time learning the basics before the move.

I've found so far that immersion in television and radio has really helped to pick up phrases that I recognize from my background with French, but I was wondering if anyone has used any particular materials or books that did a good job of helping with the basics.

Thank you so much!

[jillford64]

I'm assuming that you are from the US and I appologize if this is not the case. I spent a lot of time and money comparing and buying learn it yourself and reference books when I was starting out. The books that I have found most helpful and the books that I brought with me to Mexico are:

1. English Grammar for Students of Spanish by Emily Spinelli - This little book compares the grammar of the two languages so you know where they are similar and where they are different.

2. Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions by Dorothy Richmond in the Practice Makes Perfect series.

3. Spanish Verb Tenses by Dorothy Devney Richmond in the Practice Makes Perfect series.

These three books are readily available at Borders and Barnes & Noble or you can order them online.

4. For verb conjugations, 501 Spanish Verbs and The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs (among others) are OK, but obviously you are limited to those particular verbs. The be all, end all verb book is the Collection Bescherelle "El Arte de Conjugar en Espanol." The publisher is Hatier and it is published in France. This book is small and thin but it provides the conjugations in all tenses of 12,000 verbs. It costs about $35 (I think) and it is difficult to find in the US. I was lucky enough to find mine in a bookstore in Quito, Ecuador. If you are not from the US, you might have better luck. I did recently order the equivalent book for conjugation of English verbs from an affiliate on the Barnes & Noble website. I think they were located in New York.

The beauty of this little book is that it gives you 90 patterns for verb conjugations (3 regular and 87 irregular) and then you look your verb up in the list of 12,000 to see which pattern it follows. You go to the page with the pattern and, voila, you just do it the same way. This book will not tell you how to use the verb like 501 and Big Red, but you can get the usage out of a good dictionary. If I had to only have one book with me, it would be this one.

Speaking of dictionaries, it is big and a PITA to carry around, but The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary is excellent. I think it is the only full-size dictionary specifically for Latin American Spanish and it is far more thorough and informative than a pocket dictionary. Actually, I have two dictionaries with me, a pocket dictionary (Larousse) and the American Heritage. I keep the pocket in my backpack. I keep the American Heritage on my desk and use it when I really need to know the meaning and usage of a word.

[jillford64]

The school where I study Spanish often gives worksheets from two books that I ended up buying as well because it was easier than having a bunch of xerox copies. These are:

Spanish Three Years by Nassi/Levy

Repaso: A Reveiw Workbook for Grammar, Communication, and Culture by Gordon/Stillman.

[cgage]

This site is excellent. Although they are trying to sell a package, the free lessons are great and have audio. Click on "free stuff"
http://www.studyspanish.com
501 Verbs is great -just stick to the basic tenses at first.Skip the subjunctive for a while

[MikeySaid]

[TOA]

Hello!

The creators of chinesepod.com have recently launched spanishsense.com.
I haven't tried Spanish Sense yet because I'm busy learning mandarin but it is the same concept as ChinesePod and CPod is pretty great so I recommend you try it. I will definitely use it before I go on my next trip to Mexico
See a ChinesePod review here: http://www.slate.com/id/2139939/

With the free membership you receive free daily podcasts and you can discuss the lessons with other users. If the hosts are as fun to listen to as Ken and Jenny on ChinesePod, Spanish Sense will do really well I think. You can try a lesson before you sign up: http://spanishsense.com/learnspanish/good-morning/discussion

[ls650]

For beginners, I strongly recommend Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish by Margarita Madrigal, the thick yellow paperback with illustrations by Andy Warhol. Great, great book.