Tips to Improve Your Conversational Skills in Spanish
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 มี.ค. 2023
- Join the Qroo Crew for More Content
www.skool.com/qroo
Want to thank me? Buy me a coffee
www.buymeacoffee.com/qroo
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS (I may earn a commission)
VIP Spanish (Unlimited Live Lessons): tinyurl.com/ydmffw6m
Spanish with Nate: tinyurl.com/ybxp694y
Rocket Spanish (Highly Recommended): tinyurl.com/3hf5hwsj
My Favorite Spanish Book (Amazon Affiliate Link*)
U.S. link: amzn.to/3yOpO95
UK link: amzn.to/3mQSdJk
Join the Qroo Crew for More Content
www.skool.com/qroo
Want to thank me? Buy me a coffee
www.buymeacoffee.com/qroo
I just stumbled upon your video a few months ago- I was born in Mexico adopted at 8 and lived here in america since- lost my Spanish around age 10- had no one to speak w and English was priority for everyone and i can't seem to recover my Spanish!
Yes!! The language tutor mixed with this is powerful.
I am one of the 67% who watched your video all the way to the end. I appreciate your work. Thanks for this excellent video!
It was only 33%. You belomg to an elite group, and thanks for that. :)
Yo también
@@QrooSpanishyou gotta get straight to the point and simple.That’s how the OG TH-cam days were and that’s how they got big
@@Jayinjapanesewell, usually self learners do have some patience.
Where did you get those numbers?
This is the first thing my fluently bilingual husband told me about speaking in Spanish: Don’t’ try to translate in your head. Think in Spanish. Once I started doing this, my Spanish improved dramatically. Also, learning Spanish in chunks is very helpful. The Spring Spanish TH-cam channel teaches Spanish this way.
Great advice, that's the key in learning a new language. The most difficult part is the starting point but don't give up. I'm on my way on learning french & russian, so I know the difficulties that there can be.
By the way, I'm also a native spanish speaker, so .... Saludos a todos!
How exactly does one "think" in Spanish though? I have tried but sometimes you get stuck and have to use English for reference
@@pureone8350 that's the hard part, but if you keep practicing and expand your vocabulary, you'll eventually get used to think un spanish.
In spanish (formal): Esa es la parte difícil, pero si sigues practicando y expandes tu vocabulario, eventualmente te acostumbrarás a pensar en Español.
@@KW-12 Muchas gracias
I wish our lives were filled with such articulate and knowledgeable good people like you and Linda. This video really triggered a much better understanding of where I've been going wrong with my spanish conversational skills for the last 50 years. Thank you, Paul.
Wow, thank you.
Last 50 years??? Dude, it's time to know when to say when!
@@andresmeloso8106 ¿Porqué deberíamos parar de pensar y crecer solo porque hemos pasado mucho tiempo en esta planeta? Cada uno tiene la opción de seguir aprendiendo durante toda la vida, ¿no?
@@DCKiraly Así es
@@andresmeloso8106 No! No! No! If he had given up, he wouldn’t have found just the help he needed!
You are the best spanish teacher I have ever had in my life
One tip that I'd give is just start speaking. I'm an intermediate student and I'm sure the people who have heard me speak regretted it later but once you get into a conversation the words just come out. You may have wrong conjugations or use wrong words but as long as your point gets across it's a conversations and it's a great way to grow
One of the hugest hindrances to fluency is not knowing verb forms at the level of speech. It is more than just knowing the forms down cold but knowing the grammatical rules well enough to the point that you can access the correct form for use in daily speech.
The
Wish i could pound thumbs up More than once. 5 years study 1 hour - 16 hours every single day , never went to college nor formal class in spanish . But yeah i can write well and speak eh quizás al B1 , B2 nivel. But it's always not knowing which verb tense and making mistakes with an a or e or incorrect verb form. Hate grinding out verb reviews in Bloks but i imagine that i need to . Put too much Time in to not be More confident and speak without some small error every sentance or two .
@@mathematix-rodcast thank you . Do watch TV and music in spanish . Just not enough . And exactly as you say i make many errores in verb form other than that my vocab and sentence structure Is good . But thanks for highlighting which may get over this b1- B2 Level
"If you know how to handle the verbs, you know how to handle the language. Everything else is just vocabulary." (Michel Thomas, 2001).
It's just like English. Even in English, we don't always know every word that we are about to say before spitting out our thoughts/sentences. We have sentence fragments in English that have memorized and are so used to saying. This is such a helpful approach for learning Spanish. Thanks!
Mexican American who has always dreamed of FLUENCY in Spanish. My mom used to talk to me in Spanish and I to her in English, but now I'm speaking to her in Spanish because I can be confident with her. I
also forced myself to work at a Mexican restaraunt which is still a bit hard but after half a year im able to form better conversations and become more confident. A Spanish speaking environment has helped me learn casual and conversational Spanish so well. I learn the slang and even insults, I gain lots of confidence. Half of these people can't even speak English so I shouldn't ever feel embarassed if I mess up in Spanish, at least I'm trying to be billingual.
I want to learn more languages but Spanish has always been my priority. I want to hold my culture close to heart and teach my children it. I'm learning latin Spanish but I want to work in Spain... so maybe I'll just focus on European Spanish through TH-cam lol
How is your journey ? I’m in the same exact boat but I just struggle with all the grammatical rules
You and the Language Tutor are my favorite Spanish teachers right now on YT. Both teaching as Native English speakers that successfully learned Spanish
Try real fast Spanish as well to complete the trifecta
Yes, love Dr. Danny at the Language Tutor.
I agree with this statement…
Yes, agree!
Estoy muy de acuerdo pero una cosa que haría de tu canal algo mucho más útil sería la utilización de Español en vez de Ingles. Estamos probablemente de acuerdo que la immersión en una lengua extranjera es el camino más adecuado para alcanzar un nivel linguísitica muy elevada. A este nivel, todas esas explicaciones en Inglés me parecen una gran pérdida de tiempo -- y de oportunidades de mejorar de manera significativa nuestra destrezas comunicativas en Español. ¿No sería una opción de hablarnos siempre en Español?
The dual-self dialogue is really funny and accurate! I have noticed that the lag time in my translation is due not only to translating English to Spanish but also first figuring out what I'm going to say in English! I wasn't aware of how little forethought goes into what normally comes out of my mouth. (Not always a good thing, either)
I’m so happy to have found this channel-such a huge help, thanks so much!!❤
These last two videos have reignited me. Thank you!
I love it that you spend so much time focusing on the subjunctive and really appreciated the tip as to how to find these little chunks. Just what I need at my current level of Spanish!
Wow this is exactly what I needed to boost my conversations in Spanish. Great tip!
This is great! I had been doing this piecemeal when I came across a common phrase, but I'd never heard of the term locuciones or ever thought of formally studying such phrases to speed up my verbal Spanish. Thanks so much, Paul.
I'm so glad I found your channel! I tapped out in high school Spanish when it came to conjugating verbs, passed Spanish with a C, lol. I have a Spanish coworker and I've always wanted to learn a second language and I've been dedicating an hour a day for over a year and it's insane how much I've learned, but I still freeze when I try to have a conversation with a native speaker. The tips in your videos are gold, thank you for the amazing content!
Great stuff! Really like the way you identify with our struggles
Paul, you are incredible as a teacher and guide!
This is exactly what happens to me. Thanks for your great advice.
I love your videos. I watch them to learn more ENGLISH. The way you explain our Mexican Spanish, while you compare it to English, have helped me to understand more your grammar.
That's awesome to hear. Thanks for sharimg that. Take care.
Hago lo mismo con videos que enseñan inglés 😅
Again, another helpful video. I’m going to check out the sites mentioned. Plug and say phrases work well for me. What I definitely need is one on improving listening comprehension.
Thanks Paul!
Good video, Paul.
I always like watching videos --by non native speakers-- that give tips and insights into learning target languages.
Yup yup, this is what I have been intuitively doing to just get my mind onto the "Spanish" track, it really does help
You’re a smart man. You’ve taught me a lot.
Mil gracias por todo lo que haces!
You’re a natural when it comes to teaching. I just found you and now It feels like new life concerning my Spanish learning. 👍
Thank you very much for the positive comments. I know it can be frustrating to learn a foreign language -- I've been there. I like to share what worked for me in the hope that It might work for others. Just keep at it and you'll reach your goal.
muy muy bien! gracias por el video. me encanta locuciones! I love the chunks. This was a great video. Adding in those filler phrases was great too.
thank you so much for your videos! They are some of the most useful and valuable lessons I have come across on my Spanish language journey.
Thanks! I'm glad you like them. :)
I just love ur information 🥰🥰🥰
Eres un muy buen maestro.
¡Agradezco todos sus esfuerzos y conocimientos al hacer estos videos!
Your videos are very informative, muchas Gracias
Great video Paul. Thank you for posting these. They are extremely helpful.
Glad you like them!
Thanks Paul. I've used your sentence starters in some of my conversations and it's really helped me. I find that I'm more relaxed because I have a little time to think about what I'm about to say .I also like your advice on becoming more familiar with locuciones. I think that will really boost my speaking and listening. As always, much appreciated!! Thanks again. 😊😊
Glad to hear it. I still use these techniques. They work great.
Well done Paul. I always look forward to your encouraging content.
Thanks for watching.
Hi Paul, It's good to see that you've got your mojo back again doing Spanish. Brilliant! please keep going. Cheers Harry
Thanks. I took a long break from it but I'm back. :)
When things are obvious, and we're clever, but we still don't see them until they're pointed out. And you just pointed out something super obvious, but in the year I've been learning Spanish, I never noticed it. And no-one else pointed it out to me. Your two-way chat with yourself hit me hard. What a brilliant observation. Plus you've put it across so naturally, and stress-less, but without arrogance, which in itself is a talent.
Thank you, my good man. I was just starting to feel very sorry for myself, stuck in 2nd gear, almost ready to drop it all, and you just changed all that, in one simple video. Brilliant.
Thank you.
Gracias Paul, todos los videos son muy utiles.
Excellent, helpful video! Thank you! Exactly what I needed….
Awesome again Paul
Me encantan tus videos hombre! Saludos!
im always here , sometimes i had to watch the video three times so i could make sure to understand and dont miss anything. please continue giving us tricks and techniques . you are such a big help paul ,thanks so much !
Thanks for following the channel. I'm very happy to hear that you often watch the videos more than once. That helps me generate a little extra beer money. :)
Love the English locutions on wordreference and wish they had the same in Spanish - thanks for the tips for finding some
You are a wonderful teacher. You do what all good teachers do. You make your lessons relevant to the student. You provide multiple examples of what to do (say, consider etc.) and explain why. Also, by displaying various backgrounds as you walked, you made us curious about what was going on and therefore engaged. I don't know if you consciously knew the value of that, or if it was something subconcious and intuitive, but it was highly effective. Perhaps being a poor Spanish student in high school is what makes you an excellent Spanish teacher now. Full marks (from a SPED teacher 😉).
I really appreciate your method, it speaks straight to some of my obstacles. I'm new to the channel so looking forward to more of this.
Welcome to the channel. Have a great weekend.
Thank you so much for all your videos. You are a great teacher and have helped me so much! I always look forward to watching and rewatching your material!
Thank yu. In English we often put in these little expressions before we get to the point.makes things more relaxed and natural. Your topics are useful...and appreciated.
QR ❤ your Spanish videos. So happy I found you I love the phrase idea I’m very committed to learning Spanish, you rock.❗️
great (walking) video! i did learn the word "locuciones" and will embrace the idea in my language learning. thanks!
How super helpful this is. Enjoy your walk...I sure did 😊
This is exactly what I knew was slowing me down, I just didn't know how to fix or learn to correct it. This video is a gold mine. Thank you!
Your videos have helped me improve my Spanish as an intermediate speaker AND my husband improve as a super beginner speaker. We have been learning with duolingo, babbel, and a native speaking tutor. Since discovering your channel a few weeks ago, I've devoured your videos and made dozens of notecards, and to say this has been one more tool in my toolbox would be the understatement of the year! If you're ever in Todos Santos, please let us treat you and Linda to some local cuisine!
I'm so happy to hear that you have found my videos useful. It's not easy to learn a foreign language and I enjoy helping others reach their language goals.
These tips are amazing following you!
i have come across many teachers of spanish but keys you provide make it veryyyyyyy simple to remember alot, in a short period of time. you are very much appreciated
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the feedback and I am so glad that you find the technique useful. Take care.
Quite informative, and many helpful ideas. You're teaching method is most effective for me,in that you're 1st language is English., thanks very much for sharing
I appreciate your videos and the information I am struggling with my Spanish, and have been for many many years. you speak Spanish very well. Congratulations.
Thanks for the useful lesson!
I'm so glad I found your channel. I follow several other 'how to learn spanish' channels here on youtube and your way of teaching is different which gives my spanish a new fill to it. Keep up your good work/. Jennie from Sweden
Thanks! Welcome to the channel.
Paul, I’m just arriving at the intermediate level and your videos like this one are just the push I need to get to the next level. It took too long, but I’m glad I found you!
That's great to hear!
Good video-keep them coming!!!
Im glad this video is back
You give me hope, thank you for that. 🌴
Thanks for watching. Take care.
Gracias Qroo Paul por llamarme la atención a las locuciones y su utilidad en ampliar mi vocabulario y fluidiz.🙂
After spending a few months in Mexico I started responding without having to translate in my head first and it was really cool. I didn't increase my vocabulary much but I got way better at actually using the Spanish I already knew.
That's great. That's how it went for me too. I gradually stopped translatimg in my head.
Very useful. Thanks again!
I stumbled on to your channel but I'm learning Brazilian Portuguese. Your methodology is great! So I'm integrating the method into my Portuguese study. E adivinha? Agora estou aprendendo espanhol também! KKKKK! Obrigado e gracias!🤣
You are the best!
Great advice, thank you Paul
I found this helpful, using your chunks for now as I`m a beginner
Your GREAT!!!
Thanks Paul! This video was very helpful and your accent is really good!
Thanks, Lauren.
Qroo- you are an amazing teacher. The material you are sharing is just wha the Spanish doctor ordered! Locuciones ---yessss!!! When I asked my Spanish tutor many months ago about phrases- this is exactly what I meant and she had no idea what to tell me....I'm no longer with that tutor lol. Many thanks for continuing this channel- I have renewed hope for my future learning 🎉🎉I don't know why part of my text was crossed through 🤔
I’ve seen that before in the comments on other sites. It puzzles me too.
Very help tips Qroo. Gracias maestro! 🙏
At 73, I had Spanish in high school and a year in college. I even lived in Mexico for 6 month. My conversational skills are still at grade 1. So so hard not to translate in my head. I loved your video about the personal A. It drives me crazy. I too watch all your videos to the end. They are excellent.
I think your idea of using "chunks" instead of individual words may be a good idea (in addition to using phrases in which the verb is already conjugated so we don't have to think about it as you mentioned in another video). That has much in common with how we acquire our first language (we don't know anything about conjugating verbs when we first learn to speak).
Very helpful, thanks.
Thank you so much! This is very helpful.
Your videos are so interesting and helpful.
I'm glad you liked it.
I've tried several Spanish learning channels, and this is the best I've discovered so far. Thanks!
Great to hear!
Thanks! Paul I really appreciate your videos. It's helping me to supplement my learning Spanish with Duolingo
That's great to hear. Thanks for watching.
I wish it were that easy to teach the subjunctive to my high school students. Without a doubt the best way to learn a language is to speak it. I give them phrases, questions to ask each other so they can practice whatever we're working on. I look forward to seeing more of your videos.
Really useful lessons thank you
Paul. Well done. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it.
I was leaning so much from you,
Cracies.
This was amazing! I plateaued a long time ago and had no idea how to continue. Didn’t want to take yet another class that doesn’t work. You hit the nail on the head here! Now I’m excited again instead of discouraged! Thank you! New subscriber!
Awesome! Welcome to the channel. :)
I find it fun and helpful to practice talking to myself. Running possible conversation interactions through my head and practicing them in Spanish.
That's a great way to practice. I used to do the same thing all the time.
Gracias Paul
Helpful ideas.
Gracias Paul. Tus videos contienen no solo mucha información útil, sino también un montón de locuciones. Mil gracias por todo tu trabajo.
Que consejo tan útil! Tengo cuadernos pequeños llenos de estos locuciones. No tenía ni idea de que tenían un nombre😅
This was great thank you
I'm working my way thru Spanish with Paul free mini courses and I'm able to speak to a senior citizen neighbor that knows no English, but he teaches whole sentences and compound sentences like you are saying. I totally agree with you. Been going at it maybe 3 months now and my god daughter is fluent is Spanish, which helps out too. My wife is German and i found the best way to get fluent fast is living in the country. I lived in Germany 2 years while in the USAF. Love your videos, i put in several hours per day learning at the moment.
Living in the country would be a huge advantage in terms of not just learning but staying motivated to learn. Since you are putting in several hours a day learning now, I have no doubt you will meet your language goals. There are so many free resources online to help too.
Great advice, I see that 2 weeks ago Wayne Yinger mentioned something, that happens to me which causes the slow train effect! i.e. time taking to think of what you want to say firstly in English, then translating it in your head before actually saying it! This I suppose is at the very essence of learning to think in Spanish. The problem is this becomes an elongated train in itself and because that's how we all start it becomes a bad habit to break. I find what helps is to pick a subject you know well like a hobby (e.g. gardening / growing / caring etc etc) then conjure phrases and use masses of repetition. I do this with my native Spanish teacher who luckily loves gardening! The good thing is that you can go straight to Spanish with the initial idea forming activity of what you want to say. Its still also an issue for me though, so thanks for your 'chunking' ideas which is a development from what I have been doing, Saludos Steve
Thank you sir. Very helpful.
You're welcome.
Your teaching is the best
Thank you!
Hi Qroo. Maaaate!!!!! Your vídeos are inspiring. I first started learning Spanish here in Sydney Australia in 2000. I took a few lessons and then stopped after a few months. I then took it back seriously in 2008 and then after a few months I went to BA Argentina and studied at a school for my 3 weeks that I was there. Then in about 2013 i stopped again. I then took it back up in 2017 online with a course online I found from TH-cam. This course was quite good. So for the past 5 or 6 years I log onto an app called Tandem. This is a language exchange app with different people. And now I gave come across your vídeos that have really inspired me. At this point I think I am intermediate but I have a real difficulty with listening comprehension!!! I can read and write it better. It’s good to learn from a non Spanish speaking native because I know that you were once where I am!!! I really need to crack this listening!!!
Thanks for following the channel. Listening comprehension is the toughest part of learning the language. I found that it was helpful to focus on listening to speakers from the target country. That way the "timing belt" in your head gets calibrated to their way of speaking. I equate it to English. I've spoken it my whole life but if I watch a show or movie on BBC, I put on the subtitles so I don't miss something. My ear is just not as in tune to that English.
Thanks Qroo. I do get a little listening practice through my work. I work for the Corrective services and we do get a few Sth Americans coming through. Practicar practicar y practicar!! Poco a poco!!
Thanks for these great videos, keep them up!
Thanks for continuing to watch them.
Muy buen video, explicaciones muy claras.
Gracias. Un saludo.
Loving the videos… wondering if you could do a video describing things you are seeing around your neighbourhood while you’re out on your walks?