How to Learn Spanish Like a Child

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By Broke College Student
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Children participating in Learning the Spanish Lanugage

Have you ever heard that children have the ability to learn a language better than adults? While it's no secret that children adapt better to new situations, including submersion in a foreign language, that's no reason for adult learners to give up hope. Here a few helpful tips that you may or may not have known on how to learn Spanish, an increasingly popular dialect in the United States, with the ease of a young adult learner.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Optional Computer language learning software or enrollment in a class
Cell phone, GPS system, television, or CD player
Internet access
An open mind

Step 1

Talk to yourself. Ever noticed very young children repeating words over and over again when they're just beginning to get the "hang" of their language? This can even prove a very useful tool for even adults. Every time that you see an item in a store that you're not very sure about, repeat the word in your head until you remember. When you're alone in front of a mirror, talk away to yourself in random Spanish sentences. It doesn't matter the topic - just speak! And think to yourself in Spanish. This can be a very helpful tool in helping you to improve your skills further, and to string together sentences. When you're having a private thought in your head, instead have it in Spanish. Think to yourself, "how would I say this in my new langugage?"
Step 2

Watch TV. Many, if not all basic cable packages these days have at least one channel for you to listen to in Spanish. Not only is Spanish television entertaining, with its bizarre colorful humor and men in giant bumblebee costumes, but watching television in Spanish is a wonderful way to take in different dialects of Spanish that you might not have otherwise been exposed to - Cuban and Castilian Spanish, for example. It's a great listening exercise, and teaches more realistic Spanish speech than the slow, always clear and easy to understand Spanish that may be played in the classroom.
Step 3

Change Your World to Spanish Mode. Sure, most people have probably thought of adding a foreign song or two to their Ipod when attempting to master a language, but have you ever thought of switching your Global Positioning System to Spanish? Or your computer, or your cell phone, or even the captions on your television? Most new gadgets come with other languages installed, and this can be a great way to learn new words that you ordinarily wouldn't have picked up. Just be careful not to get yourself lost, if switching your GPS into Spanish.
Step 4

Read Instruction Manuals. Read Spanish newspapers. Read boxes in Walmart, or anything else that may have a Spanish caption underneath the English. As with the above step, take advantage of products in Spanish that are popping up more and more here in the states for native Spanish speakers. It’s a wonderful way to add words to your vocabulary.
Step 5

Find a friend who Speaks Spanish. Or an enemy. It doesn't matter whether you're discussing politics or having a heated argument in Spanish, the more you speak in "real life" or outside of the classroom, and the more you hear native speakers of Spanish, the better and more natural you'll sound.
Step 6

Try the conventional method of classroom learning, and researching. Sites like wordreference.com are a great resource for not only Spanish, but other languages as well. Just listening to Spanish and "absorbing" the language may not be as efficient to learning as it is when combined with classroom instruction at your local high school or college. For instance, you might become an expert at Spanish slang in a matter of weeks, but a classroom setting teaches basic grammar more quickly. Try becoming an expert on the subjunctive without ever having had a Spanish lesson - almost impossible, trust me.
Step 7

Embrace the culture. I once had a Spanish instructor tell me that language is so important, so pivotal, that you can't take a language into yourself without at least taking a little bit of the culture in. Don't just learn Spanish, but in your spare time, make a little extra effort to learn something about Spanish customs and traditions. You might just find that the language flows more easily to you if you embrace the mindset of it's speakers, rather than someone who is unwillingly told that they have to learn Spanish for the job.