Best thing about learning Spanish back in my 20's (I'm 70 now) was learning how to learn a language. So maybe I can offer another technique (in addition to your excellent video suggestions) for intermediate to "advanced" students: It's a really good goal to be able to hear and understand Spanish, and later to speak it, WITHOUT any translation going on. To achieve this, I started READING Spanish -- from magazines, newspapers, whatever I could get my hands on, then reading FAST. Without even trying to understand every little thing. No time for translating in my head -- just read at breakneck speed, almost skimming. After a while, yes, the meaning begins to sink in, with greater and greater clarity! It's a great exercise. Equally valuable: do a similar thing when listening. I try to listen to really fast-delivered news reports or sports commentators. It can sound like total gibberish at first, but a few words get in. Then sometimes a whole sentence or thought pops clearly in. And at times, after more practice, a whole paragraph or more! It's amazing how well it can happen -- but does depend on a certain basic vocabulary, etc -- so it's great as you mature in your journey. The other way, speaking, isn't so easy -- but it does come from lots of practice, and lots of applying the above technique which helps indirectly. The trick with speaking, I find, is again, to avoid translating -- but to think in CONCEPTS, not sentences. A particular CONCEPT is often approached differently in Spanish than in English, often in a more explicit and wordy way. If you're having trouble expressing your idea going down one path (one that resembles the English approach most likely), try instead going down a different path that gets to the same goal, your CONCEPT. Hope that helps in some way. 😊
Super great idea. I will apply reading more. Been living here in Bogota for over a year and it's coming along. I have been practicing duo lingo, it has helped. I listen to a lot of radio, watch a lot of movies in Spanish with english subtitles, but reading a news paper i need to brush up on. Thanks for the tips.
@@bernardbarbour You should start watching them in the Spanish subtitles instead, because with the English, your mind is just going to focus on what it already knows and the Spanish in the program becomes background noise.
Being married to a Panamanian girl for ten years who never spoke one word of English to me caused me to become fluent in Spanish. I never studied Spanish but living in a home where only Spanish is spoken gradually caused me to become fluent. At the present time most of my friends can't speak English. I live in Panama.
Im not even gonna ask how the fuck you pulled a person that speaks spanish without speaking spanish yourself you most be gorgeous or some shit cause what
When I was studying Spanish in Guatemala, my teacher explained that “El español es el idioma de los sueños. El inglés es el idioma de los negocios. (Spanish is the language of dreams. English is the language of business) That is why we use the subjunctive most of the time, because, “who can say for sure?” I loved this distinction and why I love the language and people so much. We could be more dreamy and they could use some certainty! Thank you for this great video!
Remember that the language of Shakespeare and Dickens are shining and enduring examples of a language that in its essence lends itself to poetry and dreams.
I'm 65. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, and minored in it in college. I totally agree with you! I learned from a book, and I applied what I learned EVERY CHANCE I got, even talking to myself in Spanish and thinking in Spanish when there were no native speakers available to speak with. Understanding the grammar rules is key to speaking (and understanding) well. It is a foundation that will speed up the learning curve as you practice and use this beautiful language.
@@AndreHarrisIi-zb8tx You just choose to think in Spanish. You might say to someone, “Good night. I’m going to bed.” But in your mind you think, “Buenas noches. Hmmm. Let’s see. Yo voy a cama. Is that right?” Nowadays you have the luxury of having a translation app on your mobile phone so you look it up. “Wait. It says, ‘Me voy a la cama.’ OK, I wonder why it says ‘Me voy,’ or why I have to say ‘la’ before cama. I’ll have to ask about that at my next Spanish class.” It’s a choice, and a discipline, that you instill in your own mind.
@@mediamannaman hi, could you please explain the difference between saying, voy a cama or me voy a cama... You started the topic and placed a nice common doubt between new Spanish learners and didn't really clear the doubt...
It’s funny because I’m a native Spanish speaker and I love watching videos like this.😀 I think it’s because I’ve been learning English for many years and watching this kind of content just gives me more motivation and tips to improve my English. In the end the learning method is basically the same.😊
Great lesson! What worked for me was memorizing “dialogos” from textbooks, as though I were an actor who had to memorize lines for a TV show. I repeated them faster and faster until they were ingrained, just like an actor does. (A voice recorder is great for getting feedback on your accent, too.) Once you have a single dialog memorized, your brain will AUTOMATICALLY start substituting phrases as needed. “Qué pasó en la esquina?” becomes “Qué pasó en la fiesta? en el carro? en Nashville?” …. “Con tanto tráfico, ya no me gusta manejar” becomes, “Con tantos enfermos, ya no me gusta tomar el bus,” etc. This works MUCH faster than trying to build sentences brick by brick, and you start to SOUND fluent right from the start.
I read a lot of beach reads after I moved to USA, zeroing in on dialogues. I also recited newspaper articles and read a whole lot of different magazines. It took me 7 years to converse in English without pause or formulating. It was quite magical because one day I simply opened my mouth to let English come out. It took 7 years of constant absorption to make me an English speaker.
I speak a bit more Spanish than most white guys. The hacks you use are what I do. I like your boxcar analogy. I'm going start using it more to keep the momentum of my conversational 'train' going. One thing that has helped me is to not be afraid of making mistakes or worrying how you sound. Of course your spanish is going to sound halting and broken. People from Mexico are always gracious and delighted to hear me try.
This is absolute gold. I find myself locking up whenever I try to say anything because I am trying to form the entire sentence in my head before speaking. It’s been very discouraging. This technique look like just what I need. Thank you Qroo!
I'm glad to hear that you found it useful. I am certainly familiar with that feeling of discouragement when it comes to learning a language. Maybe this little tip is just what you need to push through that. :)
Out of all of the videos I’ve watched over the course of 10+ years, this was by far the most helpful of them all. I feel like I’ve been in this stuck / peak-progression status and no longer making any progress with this, but you just gave me the renewed hope I was needing. Thank you so much for your time and effort!
I have to say that your lessons/videos are the most succinct and helpful explanations of Spanish language learning that I have come across. I'm at 10 months of daily duolingo, and while a good beginning, I am struggling in exactly the areas you discussed here. A couple of light bulbs went on today. Thank you. I also appreciate your calm reasonably paced delivery. ❤
Thank you so much for helping me. I'm a stay at home mom of 5 that simply wanted to start learning Spanish on my own. I thought it would be useful to know. Since then, I've fallen in love with the language, the culture, the people and their kindness. This is my second year of learning, and I want to reach fluency the way you describe in this video. Grateful for your channel. Thank you!
Soy un principiante en español mexicano. Yo también hablo ingles con fluidez y entonces aprender español con tu perspectiva es muy muy útil!Todos tus videos son increibles. Muchisimas gracias por lo que haces
Entonces hablas bien, tengo fluidez en español pero soy nigeriano como tú, pienso que si y sí tú quieres practicar, pues pásame un inbox en Instagram sabes?
@@sentientistvegan "Ingles" no es lo mismo que "inglés". El inglés es una lengua, la ingle (plural "ingles") es la parte de la entrepierna donde están los órganos genitales.
@@tzerpa9446 Claro. Gracias por corregirme! Pero sabías que estaba hablando del idioma "inglés", ¿verdad? En inglés, no se usa los signos diacríticos, así que yo no estoy acostrumbado de usarlos. Creo que esta es una manera muy extraña de decir que escribí esta palabra mal
Hey! I'm setting up a small community group for Spanish learners, if you are into it if you'd like to join just respond to this message and I'll leave my whatsapp so we can contact!
I completely agree with you about the subjunctive. It is a mystery to me why formal Spanish classes treat the subjunctive as a subject to be taught only if there is enough time left in the semester. I studied Spanish for more than 7 years, starting with junior high. In that entire time period, I doubt that more than 2 weeks total was spent on the subjunctive. Another problem was the way teachers stressed the importance of the Formal You. The Informal You was mentioned, but not considered important. Yet in real life it is the Informal You that is used constantly. Anyway, thank you for your suggestions about starter phrases. It is very helpful to have this information.
I'm a native Spanish speaker from Mexico and I can relate to your experience using the subjunctive since it also happened to me but the other way around. Although I had been told to avoid translating at school, sometimes I had to do it, as a result, the subjunctive skilfully showed up in my mind and I every time it happened I wondered what the heck was that "tense" and how to translate it into English then I started practicing along with Americans and Canadians (30 min of English 30 min of Spanish that was our deal) and they used to ask me how to use the subjunctive and I always told them that I didn't know what the subjunctive was, it wasn't till they gave me an example that I realized that the subjunctive was that "tense" that sometimes showed up in my head which I didn't know how to translate thus, I started studying my own language in depth and I did my own research which led me to know what is the equivalent of the subjuntive in English. What I'm trying to say is that it is confusing for both sides and don't be discouraged. As a final note, I think English really push me to be more aware about the gramar of my own language so that it's also cool.
Subjunctive mood has a lot of interesting discussions on the Internet. Some people say that "subjunctive" doesn't exist in English, which is false. English DOES have subjunctive, but it is a *mood*, not a different conjugation (tense), like we have in Spanish. They do the subjunctive sometimes with the past tense of auxiliary or regular verb: If I had gone there ... / Si yo hubiera ido allí (had = past of have). Usually we have to infer the subjunctive by the character/context of the sentence rather than by the tense used. Some say that the subjunctive is "disappearing" from English in the context of native conversations, .... I don't know if that is even true. It'd be really sad if subjunctive is eliminated from the English language, as it is useful to confer certain special meanings to the sentence, and also a *heritance* from our ancient languages: Greek and Latin. There is a lot of discussion about depth grammar topic of the English language, and I find them really interesting to read. I like to read them and compare with the similar situation in our (Spanish) language.
That was outstanding! Wow, I'm so impressed by your tenacity in learning Spanish for yourself AND by the way you shared the "traincar" idea and spoke about the indicative and subjunctive moods. I took six years of Spanish in school (many years ago) and wondered why I still struggled to speak the language effectively. Now I'm dying to watch more of your videos.
It makes a huge difference learning it yourself at home and never actually NEEDING to use the language, than living, working, or holidaying in a Spanish speaking location. If you see and hear Spanish every day you pick it up WAY faster.
I keep seeing YTers saying they are "fluent" and then I listen to them (in Spanish) and honestly, they don't sound fluent. They often DO sound intermediate, and conversational, which is probably all you need, but the word "fluent" keeps getting thrown around without people realizing what it really means.
The definition is "able to express oneself easily and articulately" to me that's sounds like conversational. Do you mean to be fluent you need to sound like a native speaker?
@@pandaoveryander3505 Many define fluency as the ability to understand, read and speak in a foreign language, in a wide variety of areas, as one would in their own language. That doesn't mean reading scientific papers, but it does mean that you should be able to function in all areas of your life, in the foreign language, as you would in your primary language. So I agree with the OP that I see many people claim to be "fluent" that are likely not anywhere near that level of comprehension or articulation (and would not be perceived as such by native speakers), nor level of comfort. Just my take as a bilingual speaker who has lived and traveled throughout the US and LatAm.
I once had a Spanish teacher REFUSE to teach me subjunctive until I had mastered all the other verb tenses....so I got another teacher 😆 So glad to see you validate the need for subjunctive early on! Terrific video, loved the sentence starter tip, I did something similar when I began and I've had trouble articulating it so I will definitely be referring back to this vid, thank you
We never even learned it and after this video I'm no longer wondering why I keep being like??? At verb conjugations that I don't recognize while watching TV shows 😂
This video has been very helpful to me. Thank you. I have been studying Spanish for 13 months with Duolingo and have been wondering about how to become less halting when I speak. Great tips! Also, instances of the subjunctive mood have been introduced in the app leaving me puzzled with no explanation of the conjugations. It's much clearer after this video. I'm certainly glad that I'm not behind. It seems that your exposure to Spanish spanned far longer than 2 years before you became fluent having started in school and interacting with native speakers in your job. When I heard you truly became fluent that fast, I thought that I wasn't learning enough. Now I'm encouraged. Your content is an excellent reference.
I've been learning languages for years in an out of elementary school, college, etc and this might be THE best language learning video I've ever seen. Thank you so much for making this !
Hey, I was reluctant to check out another Spanish tuition video but I’m so glad I did. I’m also an ex Police Officer (31 years in UK) so I really respect and appreciate your advice and opinions on the topic of language learning for the average person. I moved to Spain a few years ago and am still struggling to reach fluency so I’m looking for tips from somebody that has been in a similar situation. Great advice so far, I’ll keep practicing. Thanks.
Thanks for checking out the video. Spain sounds like an awesome retirement destination. Enjoy your retirement and I wish you luck on learning Spanish. :)
Gracias. He estado aprendiendo Espanol por 15 meses. Esta video es Perfecto. I feel stuck....and not making any progress lately. AND your video has inspired me. Gracias!!!
¡Tú puedes! Aún estás usando estructuras más avanzadas. Es normal sentir que no estás mejorando una vez que llegas a un nivel intermedio. Pero si continúes vas a poder ver que tanto mejoraste en algunos meses.
hi paul i am quite a novice at spanish and at the age of 74 i find it so difficult to learn but these videos are very useful as i am desperate to learn as soon as i can , thank you
You and I have a lot in common. I passed HS Spanish with a D as well, mainly for my efforts. I am a retired cop. Despite not doing well with academic Spanish , I became conversational by immersing. I made many friends and did not allow them to speak English around me. It worked out great!
I'm about 9 months into picking up where I left off in highschool hace veinte años. I'm at the point where hearing "1 and a half to 2 years" is a relief; that alone made me feel and behave more fluent -- on top of just finding and subscribing to your channel. Thanks for your work here and in the communities you serve!
I've been trying to learn Spanish on and off for about 3 years. These videos are really helpful -- you provide learning methods that work. Just recently I was in Mexico and had a broken conversation with a bus driver who spoke a little English. When I say broken it was really broken but at least a start for me since I have no one in my circle that I can speak with in Spanish. My goal for this year is to become say at least 50 to 60 percent fluent. Thanks for these videos and please continue making them.
Yeah it's tough to learn but gotta start new somewhere! That's how I look at it. 😎 I've been studying it for close to a year now. So far only tackled the basics. Weekdays, restaurants, dining out things like con azúcar just the basic stuff. Stuff I never thought I'd remember but wound up learning and now know some of the words without using translate which makes me excited 🧠to learn more! 😎
I tried for 7 yrs to learn French and never achieved fluency! I got so frustrated i just stopped trying! Then i met my Colombian girlfriend and decided I had to learn Spanish, but I was reluctant because of my failure with French. (There was no internet back then!) I am now learning Spanish and in less then 90 days I am better at speaking Spanish then I ever got speaking French!! I am able to do that because of the exact same techniques you are describing. (I started using techniques like these because I knew what I had trouble with in French and did not want to repeat my failure). You are the first person I have come across that suggested this method. I wish I would have found you when i was learning French instead of having to spend 7 yrs of failure before I learned there was a better way to do things! I am now a Subscriber and looking forward to continuing my Spanish journey with a guy that knows what the heck he is talking about!! Thank you!
Paul, I continue to really get a lot out of your videos and I'm very happy that you have begun focusing on your Spanish videos again. I love your approach to learning and using Spanish in a very focused way that allows one to "supercharge" their learning at the advanced beginner / early intermediate level. Really appreciate you doing this to help others behind you in the Spanish language journey.
Thanks. I took a break from making Spanish videos for awhile to focus on my main channel (Qroo Paul & Linda) and to travel. I enjoy helping others and sharing what has worked for me on my own journey to learn Spanish.
Thanks Paul, I started watching your animated learn videos. In my sixties and small town Alberta Canada, not a lot of chance to "speak" with someone. I about fell off the chair when you said 1.5-2 years to be fluent. Appreciate your lessons, the tips, everything. Keep making them please.
I am a 76 year old retiree who has decided to learn Spanish as brain PE, and have just discovered your videos. I am slowly wading through the Pimsleur CDs which are fun, but I need to see stuff written down, so I am constantly stopping to see things in print. I am hoping that with more practice, I can graduate to some of the slow Spanish story videos, and then find a group to converse with. Your tips on having "catch phrases" in your head and embracing the subjunctive are real gems. As a kid living in the UK in the 1950s and early 60s I was subjected to six years of Latin which I'm sure has helped with verb conjugation, but I am annoyed because those six years could have been better spent learning a modern practical language like Spanish or Italian. I live on Vancouver Island, Canada, where there are not too many Spanish speakers, but TH-cam is great!
I’ve watched several of your videos and really enjoy your style. I really like your idea about memorizing several sentence starters, or phrases for set ideas, then dropping in the rest of the sentence. I’m already finding that helpful.
I love your opening comment about defining fluency. As a language learner myself, I say the same thing to people who ask. I agree with your definitions and have also found, a level of fluency is understanding jokes and actually being witty myself, it shows I’m grasping both the language and some cultural nuances too 😃
Yes, I studied Spanish in college and the grammar I learned gives me a basis to understand what Spanish-speakers are saying. I learned Castilian Spanish and was able to communicate with people in Mexico. For sure, sometimes I used words that not common in Mexico. My problems are speed and lack of confidence.
So refreshing to find an authentic person on YT who doesn't "sell" ' AI language learning.' ( which seems not to have teaching ( or learning) skills . This is so much more realistic, analytical and helpful. From real experience. The comments are too 😊
I studied and was able to read and listen. So I was fluent in a passive way not active..basically not fluent to speak... For 25 yrs. After a few months in a speaking group, I improved dramatically. And yes.. There are many tenses in Spanish. Some only written others spoken and written.
Great lesson, I also learned Spanish by working in Law Enforcement in a Latino bario in NYC. Most of the sentences were in regards to legal situations. Now I’m living half the year in Colombia, and married to a Colombia . Thanks brother for reinforcing my self learned Spanish.
I didn't learn Spanish "on the job", but while on shift at "the job" I found, then (quickly) married a Colombian-American lady, from Bogota. She only spoke Spanish to her family, but the way the Colombian Spanish was so beautifully pronounced, with clear vowels and all, I decided to teach myself Spanish. After I retired, I transitioned from the NYC subway system to south Florida, and took up work (uniform again) in downtown Miami - where there was more Spanish (largely Cuban) than rice and beans. I did fall in love with Cuban bread, cafe con leche, fried maduro plaintain and Charascco! My Spanish was not great, but my appetite for non-gringo food grew!
El m Australian and have been learning Spanish since 99. Yep you read that right. I have learnt more from you than I have in that 23 min than I have with years of lessons. Wow. Am eager to tune into your videos for sure. Thank you. Xoxox ❤
I live in Mexico City and I used to teach English for ESL students but since English is not my native language I'm going to teach Spanish to foreigners. I remember how easy it was to memorize the verbs in English but the pronunciation was hard, and Spanish is the other way around, pronunciation is super easy but you have a lot of conjugations to memorize, but still, Spanish is not that difficult.
Omigosh!! I had two years of high school Spanish and another two semesters of Spanish in college. This guy just crammed more practical real-world Spanish into my head than I learned in the old school approaches. I have always been very timid about speaking Sp[anish in paises hispanohablante. To top all of that off...I have worked extensively throughout Mexico and six countries in South America. It is truly a thrill to learn Spanish this way! A genuine thrill. I am going to take detailed notes on everything that he has to teach!
Amazing how native Spanish speakers don't even realize they are speaking in the subjunctive, even though they are using completely different words! Pretty awesome advice and encouragement from Paul.
EXCELLENT Pointers!!! Bravo! Honestly, this video offered some of the most helpful tips I have ever come across in my slow attempt to learn Spanish on my own. I am going to review each section and take notes. This video was first rate! Thank you!!!!
Fluency is what I want. To be able to have a conversation with people of hispanic heritage. To enjoy having a moment of learning more about them and being able to talk without them wondering what the heck I'm saying outside of just a tourist language to get by. Thanks for your thoughts on how to learn "the best way" to grasp the intricacies of Spanish.
You said some things that made me reconsider my position on language learning, however I dont think the things you suggested result in "true" fluency. You shouldnt have to think about conjugations when you are fluent, it should be instantaneous. That sort of fluency can be achieved by immersing yourself in the language, ala comprehensible input that you look down upon. English is my second language and I have no problem thinking in english, hell, sometimes it comes easier than my native language! Now, your suggestion to memorize these common phrases reminds me so much of the very thing you deemed to not be fluency, going to a shop and ordering something in their native language. Thats also one of the most basic things you can learn. Might as well learn the 'x' most common words in a particular language, no? Dont get me wrong, if your objective is to be able to utilize the language, like when you were a cop, that is a perfectly valid way to do it. Ultimately, different people have different goals when they learn a language.
I am from the UK but now living in Portugal. I have acquired a reasonable level of Portuguese. As you may know Portuguese and Spanish are very closely related. I too rapidly came to the conclusion that it would make far much more sense to teach the subjunctive alongside the indicative from the beginning. As you rightly point out it immediately enriches your ability to be able to express yourself in the language. I am not sure about Spanish but the conjugation of the subjunctive in Portuguese also underpins the imperative mood which is also very useful to have under your belt. As a bit of a grammar nerd that I am, I am so pleased to hear you validate the usefulness of knowing grammar. It does give you a model of how to structure your thoughts so you can independently construct your own sentences. Like you I have grown tired of these so called polyglots who claim to speak 5 or whatever number of languages.... when in fact they have simply learnt a few set phrases. I agree that fluency in a language is when you can fully interact with that language. I still have a way to go to hit that high bar in Portuguese! Thank you for your video. It was a truly down to earth appraisal of language learning.
Just as you mentioned with Portuguese, the imperative (usted[es]) in Spanish is also super closely related to the subjunctive in conjugations. They tend to use the same roots in the present. The past subjunctive (I believe) also shares roots with the preterite for most irregular. I have a theory (and I can probably confirm or deny this with just a Google search) that the spanish imperative comes from the subjunctive. It's not uncommon to say -que tenga([]/s/n) un buen día- or something like that, where it's implied that the speaker is the one who wishes that upon the listener. I believe that the imperative simply shortened this to just the verb, which would explain why it's only present in formal commands. Again, I have no evidence for this, but it just might be an explanation for these parallels.
Great video! I'm an Aussie and have been studying Spanish for around 4 years. I started learning after visiting through South America several times and becoming interested in learning the language. I'm now planning to spend a year in Mexico in 2024, and achieve the level of fluency I'm after.
@@neilpatel7707 I'll figure that out when I get there 🤣. I actually do have it all planned out and in general the plan is to simply spend a year away from work as a physical and mental reset. I'd like to go out walking every morning/evening, do a few gym sessions a week, do some volunteering... and just enjoy a nice slow-paced year. I'll base myself in one place but will visit other areas of the country, and I plan to take a small group tour through the central American countries as well. Above all I want to spend time getting to know the locals and taking my Spanish to the next level. After a year, I'll either return home or take an early retirement and go somewhere else.
Hi Qroo, first time watcher, I’ve been trying to learn Spanish for a few weeks and this video is really helpful. I look forward to watching all your videos. It’s been the best thing I’ve seen so far. Thank you so much. Please keep it up! Jim
This is my first video of yours and initially I didn’t know what to expect but your perspective is very refreshing and I’m excited to apply it & continue my Spanish journey!!
Wow! May I just say, this is one of the best videos I've seen on learning Spanish. I agree 100% with what you said. I've been living in Colombia for a year, studying and practicing and speaking with locals every day, and I still am not even close to conversational. I've watched tons of TH-cam videos. The best I've found so far are Notiloca, Pro Spanish, Destinos, Mimic Method, and Language Transfer. I also use old school Pimsleur. But your methodology just "clicked" with me. It totally makes sense. Thank you for sharing your experience. You have a new fan and I will be watching more of your content.
Oh man oh man. I REALLY like the idea of using pieces of sentences or sayings versus singular words. Now, I am studying with Duolingo, and I'm getting to the point I can almost read and understand the words in Spanish as fast as I can translate them, so I'm almost to the point of not needing to translate, just understanding the Spanish, but I'm definitely gonna be checking out more from your channel. Considering I just learned something on my drive to work from you, I'm willing to bet your channel is a gold mine. Saludos!
It's so funny, I never learnt Spanish because I speak Portuguese. Very similar but with some major differences, although to be frank I have conversed with some Spanish friends in Portuguese while they replied in Spanish and we still understood each other perfectly.
Super inspirational video. I’ve been teaching myself Spanish for right at 1 year now. Native speakers I know tell me I’m doing exceptionally well, and strangers I run into (that I have the courage to talk to in Spanish, haha!) are always impressed with my accent and my level of Spanish in the short time I’ve been learning. But inside I know I’m still a long way from FEELING fluent. I love how this video describes the actual learning process, and how real people progress in the language. I sometimes get discouraged with the “fluent in 30 days videos” but have come to learn they’re almost all fake. Fluency takes enormous amounts of time and dedication, exposure to the language and passion to learn, especially when starting from zero, as an adult. I keep plugging away at it and this video has inspired me that I really can be “fluent” even if it takes me another year to feel that way…I think I’m doing ok :) Thank you! (New subscriber) 😊
Thanks for watching. It's easy to get discouraged along the way. I've been discouraged many times during the journey to learn Spanish. There were some aspects of the language I just didn't think I would ever really understand. Later down the road, I was using them without really thinking about it. You have the right approach, just keep plugging away at it. My goal was jut to be a little better at Spanish than I was the day before. That kept me on track. Good luck on your journey to reach fluency. You sound like you have the dedication and passion for it. I'm sure you will meet your goals.
You have the best method, Paul. I've watched your channel for years from Lake Chapala. A couple of points I make to people about the subjunctive: [1] we do use it on English too, and [2] you don't have to learn a whole other set of endings, you've already learned them. To "hear" the subjunctive in English, you must make the subjunctive phrase in the 3rd person singular...you just drop the s, it's so simple but you can hear right away that it sounds right: It would be better that he go. I suggest that he be quiet. It's important that he study hard. Subjunctive verb endings: Take the stem of the 1st person singular and switch the ending to the "wrong set" For -ar verbs, use the -er/-ir ones For -er/-ir verbs, use the -ar ones Learn that 1st and 3rd persons take the same endings in subj. Learn the irregular ones separately like ser, ir, saber, etc. There aren't that many.
hola , empece a estudiar espanol durante el confinamiento de la covid como pasa tiempo . nunca he escrito nada durante mi aprendisaje pero lo que hice es escuchar mucho el idioma (noticias, peliculas,filosofia,partidos de futbol con comentarios espanol)y ahora despues de dos anos mas o menos entiendo y hablo perfectamente . Escuchar es la clave amigos.saludos
I’ve been learning Spanish for a couple months. The easiest way to progress is really finding the right course. I tried the big second language apps and never found them useful. They work okay if you understand the grammar already but if you don’t they’re pretty useless. Taking the right course that teaches you the grammar and phrases in a way that makes sense then sprinkles in new words makes progressing faster and easier. If you can’t grasp the grammar which is complicated compared to English you will really struggle.
This is the first video of yours I have watched and wow….it’s like you read my mind and knew my exact frustrations with Spanish (after working on it for early 3 years). Thank you! Also, my dad was a deputy sheriff in Southern California in the 70s and he used his (fluent) Spanish a lot. I loved hearing his stories!
This was a very helpful video. I started teaching myself Spanish in my teens, (now86) and never encountered the subjunctive in any text book. Your videos have helped me so much in improving my fluency. You give me hope I may yet reach the level I want. Thank you.
I was listening to another TH-camr who was discussing what he thought was the best way to learn a new language. One of his tips was to first get a good, thorough source of information about the language's rules of grammar and to learn it all. His point was that no part of it is really more or less important than any other part,...it's all important. And, there is only so much to learn which can all fit in a single book....so, learn it all.
for me, I realized you need to know, the language that describes the rules. so it's the language within the language and when I say that to people they look at me like I'm crazy but that is what is needed you have to learn the language that teaches you how to speak in my case Mexican Spanish.Sample: What does ("past tense subjective, Indicative Mood, Imperative,) what are these words telling me? ser vs esta , (the list goes on & on) If you have El or E'l, what is the difference when a tilde (') what make is used or not used El or E'l gives the word a different meaning. That is when I started working on l learn the language you need to know in conjunction with learning to SPEAK Spanish. Yep have to learn it ALL! Thank you Qroo Paul you helped with giving that message over and over again.
I speak 5 languages. I agree with you that learning grammar is very important. I remember when I began learning the 3rd language I decided to learn it by listening, I gave up after 6 weeks. Grammar is the best way. One has to learn to build sentences. Yes there are ways of learning grammar faster but you have to find out for yourself.
Hi Paul. Interesting approach you've got there. I am an English/Portuguese/Spanish teacher from Brazil. Of the three languages, Spanish is the one I'm the least fluent in. I've received an invitation to teach it, and I must be ready by august. It's challenging, but I'm confident that it can be done. I've been studying it three hours a day for the past year. I agree with everything you said. Even though Portuguese and Spanish are similar in structure and verb conjugation, I figure it's going to take me anywhere from one to two years to become really fluent. Any program shorter than this shouldn't be taken seriously. Also, looking at the language as "chunks" is crucial. When you consider using chunks rather than words you can learn three or four times faster. The subjunctive is also very important because, very often, it goes together with the present indicative in sentences. And the "learn like a baby approach" Oh please.... give me a break. We have just one chance to learn like a baby, and we already used that chance.
The part about learning like a baby with only input does not address the fact, babies grow up and have years of input all together. Aside from that, they are not in the position to be doing many other activities outside of the input for language learning, in the real world. Strange there are advocates of this for adults which would take years and even with that the pronunciation might not be very good.
Thanks for this excellent, introductory yet advanced, lesson. I plan to share it with my Mexican tutor. My path towards fluency continues, but I see numerous parallels between your path and mine. You referred to the subjunctive as a blueprint; I use skeleton. Please do more of your conversational breakdowns. Keep 'em coming.
you know what you are talking about thats why i just subscribed to your channel... im Haitian btw and i live in chile. The chiles spanish is really weird but still im trying to speak the way they do. thank u for this video
Paul…dude, you are spot on. I’m here in Jacksonville Florida, and I relate so much to your experiences and frustrations with learning Spanish in the past. That’s pretty much where I am now. This is the first video of yours I have watched and I am subscribing to your channel immediately. Your presentation and delivery is so perfect and pleasing to watch….and it’s so satisfying to digest all of your material.
Great video. It’s good to see you make a new video. I’ve been speaking Spanish for a little over 3 years, and it was hard to form sentences before I knew the subjunctive. I’m around a lot of Puerto Rican Spanish, and I got pretty good at understanding that, then when I hear Mexican Spanish like watching the el chapo series, it’s hard to hear every single word they say. The hardest thing about Spanish is that it’s spoken extremely fast for the most part, and it’s rarely spoken super proper, as it’s taught to us. Puerto Ricans drop the S and combine words together in different ways
When watching a series -- even in English -- I tend to like to click on the subtitles these days so I don't miss anything...lol. It's funny that you mentioned how Puerto Ricans speak. In the early days when I was translating at work, deputies would sometimes call me and ask if I could do it over the phone. My response was always, "If they are from Mexico, I can do it on the phone; otherwise, I need to drive there to do it in person." The reasonIt was that it was easier to work through missing letters and words mashed together when I could see the person's lips. I have always had the most trouble understanding Cubans. We had very few of them in the county where I worked and I never developed an ear for their Spanish pronunciation.
you were absolutely right in saying that expressions or words commonly used together should be thought of as on word assuming your conjugation is correct then just drop in your verbs.
Great insights. I rarely use my native language (Swedish), and I speak Spanish as my sixth language in order of fluency. English, Japanese, German, Norwegian would be others. I've only seriously used Spanish for right under a year. It's starting to feel comfortable. I can make phone calls, have lengthy conversations etc, no problems. I never translate in my head. In fact, I don't think in ANY language, I just speak, and words come to me automatically. It might be something that happens after you're deeply fluent in more than 3 languages. I autocorrect myself a lot once I hear what I just said. I think that's a critical ability to focus on. I just speak and listen to myself. Continous improvement.
Such useful information! I love how you break things down, and the comments you make, it is really how all native English speakers think and makes me feel not alone!
I'm in love with Mexican and Venezuelan Spanish😂😂😂. I love how the language flows when they speak. Filled with so much passion!! I grew up watching the telenovelas and listening to the music. I still watch the telenovelas and movies and listen to the music. I want to one day be a fluent speaker. It is one of my favourite languages.
Thank you so much. I'm in aspanish 1 in college at 72 years old. Your videos are really helping me. I have listened to the first 3 over and over. Appreciate you.
I've been studying pretty consistently for a little over a year and it's coming along well. I watch a lot of videos, shows and teachers who speak only in Spanish. I can understand most of it if I have subtitles on. I struggle a lot without the subtitles because spanish is spoken so quickly. If I hear people on the street I often can't understand any of it because they speak so fast and blend the words (often dropping off sounds). Based on where I'm at, I'm guessing it will take another year and half to reach fluency. You getting to fluency in 1.5 years seems incredibly fast- especially without the benefit of youtube that has so many resources. Well done!
It takes a normal human 1800 hours of dedicated study. That could be 6 years of an hour per day which feels to them like a lot and can be discouraging when comparing to someone who learned for work. If you are learning for the military or the CIA you’re putting in enough hours to hit 1800 in a single year. Big difference!
Hi Paul , great work by the way. How do I get better at understanding Spanish ( besides the fact that Mexican speak so fast ) . I can have a conversation but have more problems understanding than speaking, I would say. We spend 2 months now in Mexico and would love to be fluent with the natives but this breaks me a lot.
Regular interaction with other Spanish speakers speeds things up. Grammatically accurate Spanish requires study. Intense study and interaction with speakers helps, preferably native speakers. Internal mental processing slows everyone down. Exposed saturation to a second language can achieve understanding even if they feel uncomfortable speaking the second language.
Same for me. It was my 2022 resolution, and I'm still at it. I don't focus too much on trying to speak. I'm happy to increase my comprehension abilities through videos designed for learners, cartoons, and simple writings. I also use an app (spanish dict) and a textbook. I plan to start speaking when my level of comprehension is higher.
@@TysonJensen this is true! I started studying Spanish while I was working full-time and also studying for a 16-hour licensing exam. I got discouraged and quit but now that I have more time I'm going to treat it like my prior licensing exam.
Genius single-video exposure to Spanish learning/usage for US audience - most take Spanish for 1 to 2 years in high school - and forget it in 6 weeks after high school (despite so many of us who have Spanish speaking housekeepers, gardeners, friends!) Thanks.
I am so happy your video popped up on my feed. I have been attempting to learn Spanish via Duolingo and am enjoying it, but need some extra help. Thank you so much for making these videos, Paul. I will be working through them.
También soy oficial de policía jubilado (de New England). Estos fueron algunos consejos excelentes, especialmente sobre el aprendizaje de pequeñas "frases fragmentadas" en lugar de simplemente aprender palabras de vocabulario individuales. Ahora estoy suscrito. Gracias.
You have changed my life in eorking on my Spanish....i have spoken Spanglish for years. With your video i have become way more motivated....thanks so much. I am a life ling learner (78). I flunked high school Spanish as well.! Gracious
My friend who is a native Spanish speaker said that fluency was the moment when he realized he could flip his internal monologue between languages, when he was speaking in English and not translating in his head.
About 8 months into hardcore spanish studying. Ive seen some of the other videos and its good know ive progressed, and at this point im working on the subjunctives, and getting more comfortable with the conditional past tenses. Its always good to have more than a hammer in the toolbox. I learn a lot from this channel, and others.
Hi Paul. You triggered a memory in my learning journey. I was in Spain (my 3rd language ie English, Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish). My language professor and I were having a conversation while hiking. I remember starting a sentence and suddenly realized I had left out either the ‘se’ or ‘le’ or ‘la’ or ‘lo’ & I said ohoh because I knew once again I had forgotten the rule. She said 'don’t start a sentence until you have the whole sentence formed in your mind’. I didn’t think that was great advice due to the pause it would create. I felt a lot of pressure after that. Mind you I was in a high intermediate low advanced class so maybe I should have been able to do that 🤔. I still to this day tend to forget the redundant, direct and indirect pronouns and se for pronominal verbs when saying or typing. When reading I still tend to read ahead to after the verb and then know why the pronoun/se is there. How did you overcome this?
The forming the whole sentence in your head thing before speaking thing definitely limits your ability to keep up with a conversation in real time. As far as remembering to use the direct and indirect object pronouns (since they appear before the conjugated verb in most cases), never gave me much trouble except when it was more complex (SE LO, SE LA etc), like: Se lo di. (I gave it to him/her) I would slow a bit on those. When it comes to remembering LE, just from repetition (I suppose)I learned to include it whenever I used verbs like DAR, DECIR, PEDIR. Even today at a restaurant, I asked my wife - ¿Quieres que le pida la cuenta? The le just sounds right to me now.
Soy Español, 54 años y llevo toda la vida intentando aprender inglés y no hay manera, pero sigo intentandolo 😅, un saludo y espero que tengais mas exito con vuestro español que yo con mi inglés 😂
Thank you so much Paul. After many many months you have put the building blocks into my learning and understanding the subjunctive which will help with my speaking
I think that the argument towards immersing yourself and listening is that it helps you start to really know spanish and think in it, not to translate. I don't believe you'll ever be truly fluent if you are translating. Languages are lenses and you'll be speaking from an English lens in a language that doesn't see the world the same way. You'd be speaking only on a surface level for a long time, and missing the deeper meanings in language that no grammar book or course will be able to teach you. Of course, that is a more advanced level of Spanish, once you have some basics down. I appreciate hearing your process and your accent is very good! Thanks
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Best thing about learning Spanish back in my 20's (I'm 70 now) was learning how to learn a language. So maybe I can offer another technique (in addition to your excellent video suggestions) for intermediate to "advanced" students: It's a really good goal to be able to hear and understand Spanish, and later to speak it, WITHOUT any translation going on. To achieve this, I started READING Spanish -- from magazines, newspapers, whatever I could get my hands on, then reading FAST. Without even trying to understand every little thing. No time for translating in my head -- just read at breakneck speed, almost skimming. After a while, yes, the meaning begins to sink in, with greater and greater clarity! It's a great exercise. Equally valuable: do a similar thing when listening. I try to listen to really fast-delivered news reports or sports commentators. It can sound like total gibberish at first, but a few words get in. Then sometimes a whole sentence or thought pops clearly in. And at times, after more practice, a whole paragraph or more! It's amazing how well it can happen -- but does depend on a certain basic vocabulary, etc -- so it's great as you mature in your journey.
The other way, speaking, isn't so easy -- but it does come from lots of practice, and lots of applying the above technique which helps indirectly. The trick with speaking, I find, is again, to avoid translating -- but to think in CONCEPTS, not sentences. A particular CONCEPT is often approached differently in Spanish than in English, often in a more explicit and wordy way. If you're having trouble expressing your idea going down one path (one that resembles the English approach most likely), try instead going down a different path that gets to the same goal, your CONCEPT.
Hope that helps in some way. 😊
Great advice…..it’s all about knowing where to divide one’s interest all to learn to speak Spanish fluently. Isn’t it a beautiful language?
Thanks I needed this
Super great idea. I will apply reading more. Been living here in Bogota for over a year and it's coming along. I have been practicing duo lingo, it has helped. I listen to a lot of radio, watch a lot of movies in Spanish with english subtitles, but reading a news paper i need to brush up on. Thanks for the tips.
@@bernardbarbour You should start watching them in the Spanish subtitles instead, because with the English, your mind is just going to focus on what it already knows and the Spanish in the program becomes background noise.
Mucho gracias senor. I do that with Korean.
Being married to a Panamanian girl for ten years who never spoke one word of English to me caused me to become fluent in Spanish. I never studied Spanish but living in a home where only Spanish is spoken gradually caused me to become fluent. At the present time most of my friends can't speak English. I live in Panama.
🇵🇦🇵🇦🇵🇦
I learned a lot of Spanish in Panama, especially the slang. It's been years since I left. I live in Houston, and I don't get to practice much 😢
Im not even gonna ask how the fuck you pulled a person that speaks spanish without speaking spanish yourself you most be gorgeous or some shit cause what
@@divatee9705Go on tandem, i talki and find a partner!
How long did it take?
When I was studying Spanish in Guatemala, my teacher explained that “El español es el idioma de los sueños. El inglés es el idioma de los negocios. (Spanish is the language of dreams. English is the language of business)
That is why we use the subjunctive most of the time, because, “who can say for sure?”
I loved this distinction and why I love the language and people so much.
We could be more dreamy and they could use some certainty!
Thank you for this great video!
Thanls for sharing that. I like that comparison. :)
"Subjective"?
@@mickeencrua Thanks . I’ll change it now. Love me an eagle-eyed copy editor!
Remember that the language of Shakespeare and Dickens are shining and enduring examples of a language that in its essence lends itself to poetry and dreams.
Yeah, Spanish has more than one way to say the same thing, some of them are very subtle, other are more direct (I'm a native speaker).
with every new show on netflix, hbo max, etc. being available in multiple languages, immersion has never been easier y'all
That's true.
I'm 65. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, and minored in it in college. I totally agree with you! I learned from a book, and I applied what I learned EVERY CHANCE I got, even talking to myself in Spanish and thinking in Spanish when there were no native speakers available to speak with. Understanding the grammar rules is key to speaking (and understanding) well. It is a foundation that will speed up the learning curve as you practice and use this beautiful language.
hola, que buenos escuchar que s un beautiful language, saludos desde Miami, Fl, where r u from ?
@@Jaang29 Vivo en el centro de Texas, así que tengo la oportunidad de practicar de vez en cuando.
how did u start to think in spanish? i am currently learning it
@@AndreHarrisIi-zb8tx You just choose to think in Spanish. You might say to someone, “Good night. I’m going to bed.” But in your mind you think, “Buenas noches. Hmmm. Let’s see. Yo voy a cama. Is that right?” Nowadays you have the luxury of having a translation app on your mobile phone so you look it up. “Wait. It says, ‘Me voy a la cama.’ OK, I wonder why it says ‘Me voy,’ or why I have to say ‘la’ before cama. I’ll have to ask about that at my next Spanish class.” It’s a choice, and a discipline, that you instill in your own mind.
@@mediamannaman hi, could you please explain the difference between saying, voy a cama or me voy a cama... You started the topic and placed a nice common doubt between new Spanish learners and didn't really clear the doubt...
It’s funny because I’m a native Spanish speaker and I love watching videos like this.😀 I think it’s because I’ve been learning English for many years and watching this kind of content just gives me more motivation and tips to improve my English. In the end the learning method is basically the same.😊
His videos give me inspiration too. I hope I can get enough of it to learn Spanish. Learning a language is a hard but very rewarding journey
I took two years of high school spanish, tried DuoLingo, Babbel, etc. This method feels like a breath of fresh air. Signed up.
@@btwitsssahileffort and consistency
What I got from this: learning requires dedication.
Great lesson! What worked for me was memorizing “dialogos” from textbooks, as though I were an actor who had to memorize lines for a TV show. I repeated them faster and faster until they were ingrained, just like an actor does. (A voice recorder is great for getting feedback on your accent, too.) Once you have a single dialog memorized, your brain will AUTOMATICALLY start substituting phrases as needed. “Qué pasó en la esquina?” becomes “Qué pasó en la fiesta? en el carro? en Nashville?” …. “Con tanto tráfico, ya no me gusta manejar” becomes, “Con tantos enfermos, ya no me gusta tomar el bus,” etc. This works MUCH faster than trying to build sentences brick by brick, and you start to SOUND fluent right from the start.
That's a good technique.
I read a lot of beach reads after I moved to USA, zeroing in on dialogues. I also recited newspaper articles and read a whole lot of different magazines. It took me 7 years to converse in English without pause or formulating. It was quite magical because one day I simply opened my mouth to let English come out. It took 7 years of constant absorption to make me an English speaker.
That's how I did it. I would read Wikipedia Spanish articles faster and faster and voice record myself.
If someone want to keep a conversation with me in Spanish, told me...
I learning English now
I speak a bit more Spanish than most white guys. The hacks you use are what I do. I like your boxcar analogy. I'm going start using it more to keep the momentum of my conversational 'train' going. One thing that has helped me is to not be afraid of making mistakes or worrying how you sound. Of course your spanish is going to sound halting and broken. People from Mexico are always gracious and delighted to hear me try.
This is absolute gold. I find myself locking up whenever I try to say anything because I am trying to form the entire sentence in my head before speaking. It’s been very discouraging. This technique look like just what I need. Thank you Qroo!
I'm glad to hear that you found it useful. I am certainly familiar with that feeling of discouragement when it comes to learning a language. Maybe this little tip is just what you need to push through that. :)
Out of all of the videos I’ve watched over the course of 10+ years, this was by far the most helpful of them all. I feel like I’ve been in this stuck / peak-progression status and no longer making any progress with this, but you just gave me the renewed hope I was needing. Thank you so much for your time and effort!
you're a lot better than those spanish teachers in school. the way you explain everything and your tips are really effective.
I have to say that your lessons/videos are the most succinct and helpful explanations of Spanish language learning that I have come across. I'm at 10 months of daily duolingo, and while a good beginning, I am struggling in exactly the areas you discussed here. A couple of light bulbs went on today. Thank you. I also appreciate your calm reasonably paced delivery. ❤
Wow! The information in this video and the editing with the multicolor indications for the words are phenomenal.
Thank you so much.
Finally a clear and straight answer on how long to fluency.
That’s right about fluency. Thanks for your service.
Thank you so much for helping me. I'm a stay at home mom of 5 that simply wanted to start learning Spanish on my own. I thought it would be useful to know. Since then, I've fallen in love with the language, the culture, the people and their kindness. This is my second year of learning, and I want to reach fluency the way you describe in this video. Grateful for your channel. Thank you!
Soy un principiante en español mexicano. Yo también hablo ingles con fluidez y entonces aprender español con tu perspectiva es muy muy útil!Todos tus videos son increibles.
Muchisimas gracias por lo que haces
Entonces hablas bien, tengo fluidez en español pero soy nigeriano como tú, pienso que si y sí tú quieres practicar, pues pásame un inbox en Instagram sabes?
Eso de hablar ingles suena como una habilidad medio porno propia de un circo. 🤔
@@tzerpa9446 No te entiendio. qué estas tratando de decir?
@@sentientistvegan "Ingles" no es lo mismo que "inglés". El inglés es una lengua, la ingle (plural "ingles") es la parte de la entrepierna donde están los órganos genitales.
@@tzerpa9446 Claro. Gracias por corregirme! Pero sabías que estaba hablando del idioma "inglés", ¿verdad? En inglés, no se usa los signos diacríticos, así que yo no estoy acostrumbado de usarlos. Creo que esta es una manera muy extraña de decir que escribí esta palabra mal
“Do I have to do it?” Si. Cracked me up.
Hey! I'm setting up a small community group for Spanish learners, if you are into it if you'd like to join just respond to this message and I'll leave my whatsapp so we can contact!
One of the best learning Spanish video I have seen, zero BS. Thank you.
Thanks for the feedback.
I completely agree with you about the subjunctive. It is a mystery to me why formal Spanish classes treat the subjunctive as a subject to be taught only if there is enough time left in the semester. I studied Spanish for more than 7 years, starting with junior high. In that entire time period, I doubt that more than 2 weeks total was spent on the subjunctive.
Another problem was the way teachers stressed the importance of the Formal You. The Informal You was mentioned, but not considered important. Yet in real life it is the Informal You that is used constantly.
Anyway, thank you for your suggestions about starter phrases. It is very helpful to have this information.
Yes please do another video of practice stringing together sentences thank you this is fantastic!
I'm a native Spanish speaker from Mexico and I can relate to your experience using the subjunctive since it also happened to me but the other way around. Although I had been told to avoid translating at school, sometimes I had to do it, as a result, the subjunctive skilfully showed up in my mind and I every time it happened I wondered what the heck was that "tense" and how to translate it into English then I started practicing along with Americans and Canadians (30 min of English 30 min of Spanish that was our deal) and they used to ask me how to use the subjunctive and I always told them that I didn't know what the subjunctive was, it wasn't till they gave me an example that I realized that the subjunctive was that "tense" that sometimes showed up in my head which I didn't know how to translate thus, I started studying my own language in depth and I did my own research which led me to know what is the equivalent of the subjuntive in English. What I'm trying to say is that it is confusing for both sides and don't be discouraged. As a final note, I think English really push me to be more aware about the gramar of my own language so that it's also cool.
Subjunctive mood has a lot of interesting discussions on the Internet. Some people say that "subjunctive" doesn't exist in English, which is false. English DOES have subjunctive, but it is a *mood*, not a different conjugation (tense), like we have in Spanish. They do the subjunctive sometimes with the past tense of auxiliary or regular verb: If I had gone there ... / Si yo hubiera ido allí (had = past of have).
Usually we have to infer the subjunctive by the character/context of the sentence rather than by the tense used.
Some say that the subjunctive is "disappearing" from English in the context of native conversations, .... I don't know if that is even true.
It'd be really sad if subjunctive is eliminated from the English language, as it is useful to confer certain special meanings to the sentence, and also a *heritance* from our ancient languages: Greek and Latin.
There is a lot of discussion about depth grammar topic of the English language, and I find them really interesting to read. I like to read them and compare with the similar situation in our (Spanish) language.
Como hablante del español tampoco sabia esto del "subjunctive"
I didn't know very much about English grammar until I started learning German.
@@YoelMonsalve The subjective in English is inherited from its Germanic roots that in turn is inherited from Proto-Indo-European.
The subjunctive is not a "tense" (like present or past tense), but a "mood" (another verb mood is the imperative).
That was outstanding! Wow, I'm so impressed by your tenacity in learning Spanish for yourself AND by the way you shared the "traincar" idea and spoke about the indicative and subjunctive moods. I took six years of Spanish in school (many years ago) and wondered why I still struggled to speak the language effectively. Now I'm dying to watch more of your videos.
It makes a huge difference learning it yourself at home and never actually NEEDING to use the language, than living, working, or holidaying in a Spanish speaking location. If you see and hear Spanish every day you pick it up WAY faster.
I agree. I feel the same way. I guess I have to really immerse myself in the language .
I keep seeing YTers saying they are "fluent" and then I listen to them (in Spanish) and honestly, they don't sound fluent. They often DO sound intermediate, and conversational, which is probably all you need, but the word "fluent" keeps getting thrown around without people realizing what it really means.
The definition is "able to express oneself easily and articulately" to me that's sounds like conversational. Do you mean to be fluent you need to sound like a native speaker?
@@pandaoveryander3505 Many define fluency as the ability to understand, read and speak in a foreign language, in a wide variety of areas, as one would in their own language. That doesn't mean reading scientific papers, but it does mean that you should be able to function in all areas of your life, in the foreign language, as you would in your primary language. So I agree with the OP that I see many people claim to be "fluent" that are likely not anywhere near that level of comprehension or articulation (and would not be perceived as such by native speakers), nor level of comfort. Just my take as a bilingual speaker who has lived and traveled throughout the US and LatAm.
I once had a Spanish teacher REFUSE to teach me subjunctive until I had mastered all the other verb tenses....so I got another teacher 😆 So glad to see you validate the need for subjunctive early on! Terrific video, loved the sentence starter tip, I did something similar when I began and I've had trouble articulating it so I will definitely be referring back to this vid, thank you
You were right to get rid of that teacher! That's crazy. :)
We never even learned it and after this video I'm no longer wondering why I keep being like??? At verb conjugations that I don't recognize while watching TV shows 😂
This video has been very helpful to me. Thank you. I have been studying Spanish for 13 months with Duolingo and have been wondering about how to become less halting when I speak. Great tips! Also, instances of the subjunctive mood have been introduced in the app leaving me puzzled with no explanation of the conjugations. It's much clearer after this video. I'm certainly glad that I'm not behind. It seems that your exposure to Spanish spanned far longer than 2 years before you became fluent having started in school and interacting with native speakers in your job. When I heard you truly became fluent that fast, I thought that I wasn't learning enough. Now I'm encouraged. Your content is an excellent reference.
I've been learning languages for years in an out of elementary school, college, etc and this might be THE best language learning video I've ever seen. Thank you so much for making this !
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
I decided I had achieved fluency when I began dreaming in Spanish.
I have started talking in my sleep in Spanish 😅 But I am nowhere near fluent…
@@elderfitnatch Well, neither am I anymore. Those dreams were over 40 years ago.
I dream in Spanish sometimes but only know a few things
Hey, I was reluctant to check out another Spanish tuition video but I’m so glad I did. I’m also an ex Police Officer (31 years in UK) so I really respect and appreciate your advice and opinions on the topic of language learning for the average person. I moved to Spain a few years ago and am still struggling to reach fluency so I’m looking for tips from somebody that has been in a similar situation. Great advice so far, I’ll keep practicing. Thanks.
Thanks for checking out the video. Spain sounds like an awesome retirement destination. Enjoy your retirement and I wish you luck on learning Spanish. :)
Gracias. He estado aprendiendo Espanol por 15 meses. Esta video es Perfecto. I feel stuck....and not making any progress lately. AND your video has inspired me. Gracias!!!
¡Tú puedes! Aún estás usando estructuras más avanzadas. Es normal sentir que no estás mejorando una vez que llegas a un nivel intermedio. Pero si continúes vas a poder ver que tanto mejoraste en algunos meses.
Vas muy bien, felicidades! Saludos desde México 🇲🇽
Práctica y sigue aprendiendo gramática. Y si tienes la oportunidad busca alguien que hable español.
hi paul i am quite a novice at spanish and at the age of 74 i find it so difficult to learn but these videos are very useful as i am desperate to learn as soon as i can , thank you
You and I have a lot in common. I passed HS Spanish with a D as well, mainly for my efforts. I am a retired cop. Despite not doing well with academic Spanish , I became conversational by immersing. I made many friends and did not allow them to speak English around me. It worked out great!
How long did that take?
I'm about 9 months into picking up where I left off in highschool hace veinte años.
I'm at the point where hearing "1 and a half to 2 years" is a relief; that alone made me feel and behave more fluent -- on top of just finding and subscribing to your channel. Thanks for your work here and in the communities you serve!
I've been trying to learn Spanish on and off for about 3 years. These videos are really helpful -- you provide learning methods that work. Just recently I was in Mexico and had a broken conversation with a bus driver who spoke a little English. When I say broken it was really broken but at least a start for me since I have no one in my circle that I can speak with in Spanish. My goal for this year is to become say at least 50 to 60 percent fluent. Thanks for these videos and please continue making them.
Claro que puedes lograrlo. 😊Saludos desde México 🇲🇽
Yeah it's tough to learn but gotta start new somewhere! That's how I look at it. 😎 I've been studying it for close to a year now. So far only tackled the basics. Weekdays, restaurants, dining out things like con azúcar just the basic stuff. Stuff I never thought I'd remember but wound up learning and now know some of the words without using translate which makes me excited 🧠to learn more! 😎
¡Muchas gracias por estudiar nuestro idioma!
How often do you immerse listening to content?
I tried for 7 yrs to learn French and never achieved fluency! I got so frustrated i just stopped trying! Then i met my Colombian girlfriend and decided I had to learn Spanish, but I was reluctant because of my failure with French. (There was no internet back then!)
I am now learning Spanish and in less then 90 days I am better at speaking Spanish then I ever got speaking French!! I am able to do that because of the exact same techniques you are describing. (I started using techniques like these because I knew what I had trouble with in French and did not want to repeat my failure). You are the first person I have come across that suggested this method. I wish I would have found you when i was learning French instead of having to spend 7 yrs of failure before I learned there was a better way to do things!
I am now a Subscriber and looking forward to continuing my Spanish journey with a guy that knows what the heck he is talking about!!
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am sure it will be helpful to people who struggling to learn themselves. Also, welcome to the channel. :)
Paul, I continue to really get a lot out of your videos and I'm very happy that you have begun focusing on your Spanish videos again. I love your approach to learning and using Spanish in a very focused way that allows one to "supercharge" their learning at the advanced beginner / early intermediate level. Really appreciate you doing this to help others behind you in the Spanish language journey.
Thanks. I took a break from making Spanish videos for awhile to focus on my main channel (Qroo Paul & Linda) and to travel. I enjoy helping others and sharing what has worked for me on my own journey to learn Spanish.
This is great, clear advice from a pragmatic person and not too over academic like some other vids on TH-cam. This is a compliment. Thanks man
Thanks Paul, I started watching your animated learn videos. In my sixties and small town Alberta Canada, not a lot of chance to "speak" with someone. I about fell off the chair when you said 1.5-2 years to be fluent. Appreciate your lessons, the tips, everything. Keep making them please.
I am a 76 year old retiree who has decided to learn Spanish as brain PE, and have just discovered your videos. I am slowly wading through the Pimsleur CDs which are fun, but I need to see stuff written down, so I am constantly stopping to see things in print. I am hoping that with more practice, I can graduate to some of the slow Spanish story videos, and then find a group to converse with. Your tips on having "catch phrases" in your head and embracing the subjunctive are real gems. As a kid living in the UK in the 1950s and early 60s I was subjected to six years of Latin which I'm sure has helped with verb conjugation, but I am annoyed because those six years could have been better spent learning a modern practical language like Spanish or Italian. I live on Vancouver Island, Canada, where there are not too many Spanish speakers, but TH-cam is great!
I’ve watched several of your videos and really enjoy your style. I really like your idea about memorizing several sentence starters, or phrases for set ideas, then dropping in the rest of the sentence. I’m already finding that helpful.
Awesome, thank you!
I love your opening comment about defining fluency. As a language learner myself, I say the same thing to people who ask. I agree with your definitions and have also found, a level of fluency is understanding jokes and actually being witty myself, it shows I’m grasping both the language and some cultural nuances too 😃
Yes, I studied Spanish in college and the grammar I learned gives me a basis to understand what Spanish-speakers are saying. I learned Castilian Spanish and was able to communicate with people in Mexico. For sure, sometimes I used words that not common in Mexico. My problems are speed and lack of confidence.
So refreshing to find an authentic person on YT who doesn't "sell" ' AI language learning.' ( which seems not to have teaching ( or learning) skills .
This is so much more realistic, analytical and helpful. From real experience. The comments are too 😊
I studied and was able to read and listen. So I was fluent in a passive way not active..basically not fluent to speak... For 25 yrs. After a few months in a speaking group, I improved dramatically.
And yes.. There are many tenses in Spanish. Some only written others spoken and written.
Man clear simple straight to the point I like your style of teaching
Thanks.
Great lesson, I also learned Spanish by working in Law Enforcement in a Latino bario in NYC. Most of the sentences were in regards to legal situations. Now I’m living half the year in Colombia, and married to a Colombia . Thanks brother for reinforcing my self learned Spanish.
I didn't learn Spanish "on the job", but while on shift at "the job" I found, then (quickly) married a Colombian-American lady, from Bogota. She only spoke Spanish to her family, but the way the Colombian Spanish was so beautifully pronounced, with clear vowels and all, I decided to teach myself Spanish. After I retired, I transitioned from the NYC subway system to south Florida, and took up work (uniform again) in downtown Miami - where there was more Spanish (largely Cuban) than rice and beans.
I did fall in love with Cuban bread, cafe con leche, fried maduro plaintain and Charascco! My Spanish was not great, but my appetite for non-gringo food grew!
El m Australian and have been learning Spanish since 99. Yep you read that right. I have learnt more from you than I have in that 23 min than I have with years of lessons. Wow. Am eager to tune into your videos for sure. Thank you. Xoxox ❤
Welcome to the channel. :)
I live in Mexico City and I used to teach English for ESL students but since English is not my native language I'm going to teach Spanish to foreigners. I remember how easy it was to memorize the verbs in English but the pronunciation was hard, and Spanish is the other way around, pronunciation is super easy but you have a lot of conjugations to memorize, but still, Spanish is not that difficult.
Omigosh!! I had two years of high school Spanish and another two semesters of Spanish in college. This guy just crammed more practical real-world Spanish into my head than I learned in the old school approaches. I have always been very timid about speaking Sp[anish in paises hispanohablante. To top all of that off...I have worked extensively throughout Mexico and six countries in South America. It is truly a thrill to learn Spanish this way! A genuine thrill. I am going to take detailed notes on everything that he has to teach!
Amazing how native Spanish speakers don't even realize they are speaking in the subjunctive, even though they are using completely different words! Pretty awesome advice and encouragement from Paul.
Native english speakes also don´t realize what tense they are using when they speak, they just do it.
@@bautista1990 absolutely not true.
EXCELLENT Pointers!!! Bravo! Honestly, this video offered some of the most helpful tips I have ever come across in my slow attempt to learn Spanish on my own. I am going to review each section and take notes. This video was first rate! Thank you!!!!
Fluency is what I want. To be able to have a conversation with people of hispanic heritage. To enjoy having a moment of learning more about them and being able to talk without them wondering what the heck I'm saying outside of just a tourist language to get by. Thanks for your thoughts on how to learn "the best way" to grasp the intricacies of Spanish.
Yes this for me!❤
You said some things that made me reconsider my position on language learning, however I dont think the things you suggested result in "true" fluency. You shouldnt have to think about conjugations when you are fluent, it should be instantaneous. That sort of fluency can be achieved by immersing yourself in the language, ala comprehensible input that you look down upon. English is my second language and I have no problem thinking in english, hell, sometimes it comes easier than my native language!
Now, your suggestion to memorize these common phrases reminds me so much of the very thing you deemed to not be fluency, going to a shop and ordering something in their native language. Thats also one of the most basic things you can learn. Might as well learn the 'x' most common words in a particular language, no? Dont get me wrong, if your objective is to be able to utilize the language, like when you were a cop, that is a perfectly valid way to do it. Ultimately, different people have different goals when they learn a language.
English and Chinese actually share a lot of constructions. Way easier than you think! 你应该学习中文！@@niunmonstruomas.9924
I am from the UK but now living in Portugal. I have acquired a reasonable level of Portuguese. As you may know Portuguese and Spanish are very closely related. I too rapidly came to the conclusion that it would make far much more sense to teach the subjunctive alongside the indicative from the beginning. As you rightly point out it immediately enriches your ability to be able to express yourself in the language. I am not sure about Spanish but the conjugation of the subjunctive in Portuguese also underpins the imperative mood which is also very useful to have under your belt. As a bit of a grammar nerd that I am, I am so pleased to hear you validate the usefulness of knowing grammar. It does give you a model of how to structure your thoughts so you can independently construct your own sentences.
Like you I have grown tired of these so called polyglots who claim to speak 5 or whatever number of languages.... when in fact they have simply learnt a few set phrases. I agree that fluency in a language is when you can fully interact with that language. I still have a way to go to hit that high bar in Portuguese! Thank you for your video. It was a truly down to earth appraisal of language learning.
Just as you mentioned with Portuguese, the imperative (usted[es]) in Spanish is also super closely related to the subjunctive in conjugations. They tend to use the same roots in the present. The past subjunctive (I believe) also shares roots with the preterite for most irregular.
I have a theory (and I can probably confirm or deny this with just a Google search) that the spanish imperative comes from the subjunctive. It's not uncommon to say -que tenga([]/s/n) un buen día- or something like that, where it's implied that the speaker is the one who wishes that upon the listener. I believe that the imperative simply shortened this to just the verb, which would explain why it's only present in formal commands. Again, I have no evidence for this, but it just might be an explanation for these parallels.
Great video!
I'm an Aussie and have been studying Spanish for around 4 years. I started learning after visiting through South America several times and becoming interested in learning the language. I'm now planning to spend a year in Mexico in 2024, and achieve the level of fluency I'm after.
What will you do in Mexico for a year ?? 😅
@@neilpatel7707 I'll figure that out when I get there 🤣.
I actually do have it all planned out and in general the plan is to simply spend a year away from work as a physical and mental reset. I'd like to go out walking every morning/evening, do a few gym sessions a week, do some volunteering... and just enjoy a nice slow-paced year.
I'll base myself in one place but will visit other areas of the country, and I plan to take a small group tour through the central American countries as well.
Above all I want to spend time getting to know the locals and taking my Spanish to the next level. After a year, I'll either return home or take an early retirement and go somewhere else.
You’re a great story teller. I love the intricacies of the Spanish language which is deceptively way more difficult than what people think.🎉
Thank you so much!
Hi Qroo, first time watcher, I’ve been trying to learn Spanish for a few weeks and this video is really helpful. I look forward to watching all your videos. It’s been the best thing I’ve seen so far. Thank you so much. Please keep it up! Jim
Thanks, Jim.
This is my first video of yours and initially I didn’t know what to expect but your perspective is very refreshing and I’m excited to apply it & continue my Spanish journey!!
So happy to see this! I am self teaching with your help and this is exactly the system I realize I have started in my brain. More please 😊
Wow! May I just say, this is one of the best videos I've seen on learning Spanish. I agree 100% with what you said. I've been living in Colombia for a year, studying and practicing and speaking with locals every day, and I still am not even close to conversational. I've watched tons of TH-cam videos. The best I've found so far are Notiloca, Pro Spanish, Destinos, Mimic Method, and Language Transfer. I also use old school Pimsleur. But your methodology just "clicked" with me. It totally makes sense. Thank you for sharing your experience. You have a new fan and I will be watching more of your content.
Oh man oh man. I REALLY like the idea of using pieces of sentences or sayings versus singular words. Now, I am studying with Duolingo, and I'm getting to the point I can almost read and understand the words in Spanish as fast as I can translate them, so I'm almost to the point of not needing to translate, just understanding the Spanish, but I'm definitely gonna be checking out more from your channel. Considering I just learned something on my drive to work from you, I'm willing to bet your channel is a gold mine. Saludos!
Thanks! Keep up the great work!
Thank you very much!
It's so funny, I never learnt Spanish because I speak Portuguese. Very similar but with some major differences, although to be frank I have conversed with some Spanish friends in Portuguese while they replied in Spanish and we still understood each other perfectly.
I'm considering learning Portuguese in the near future. Should be a peace of cake, but first I'm working on Russian.
my favorite Spanish teaching TH-cam channel
Super inspirational video. I’ve been teaching myself Spanish for right at 1 year now. Native speakers I know tell me I’m doing exceptionally well, and strangers I run into (that I have the courage to talk to in Spanish, haha!) are always impressed with my accent and my level of Spanish in the short time I’ve been learning. But inside I know I’m still a long way from FEELING fluent. I love how this video describes the actual learning process, and how real people progress in the language. I sometimes get discouraged with the “fluent in 30 days videos” but have come to learn they’re almost all fake. Fluency takes enormous amounts of time and dedication, exposure to the language and passion to learn, especially when starting from zero, as an adult. I keep plugging away at it and this video has inspired me that I really can be “fluent” even if it takes me another year to feel that way…I think I’m doing ok :) Thank you! (New subscriber) 😊
Thanks for watching. It's easy to get discouraged along the way. I've been discouraged many times during the journey to learn Spanish. There were some aspects of the language I just didn't think I would ever really understand. Later down the road, I was using them without really thinking about it. You have the right approach, just keep plugging away at it. My goal was jut to be a little better at Spanish than I was the day before. That kept me on track. Good luck on your journey to reach fluency. You sound like you have the dedication and passion for it. I'm sure you will meet your goals.
You have the best method, Paul. I've watched your channel for years from Lake Chapala.
A couple of points I make to people about the subjunctive: [1] we do use it on English too, and [2] you don't have to learn a whole other set of endings, you've already learned them.
To "hear" the subjunctive in English, you must make the subjunctive phrase in the 3rd person singular...you just drop the s, it's so simple but you can hear right away that it sounds right:
It would be better that he go.
I suggest that he be quiet.
It's important that he study hard.
Subjunctive verb endings:
Take the stem of the 1st person singular and switch the ending to the "wrong set"
For -ar verbs, use the -er/-ir ones
For -er/-ir verbs, use the -ar ones
Learn that 1st and 3rd persons take the same endings in subj.
Learn the irregular ones separately like ser, ir, saber, etc. There aren't that many.
hola , empece a estudiar espanol durante el confinamiento de la covid como pasa tiempo . nunca he escrito nada durante mi aprendisaje pero lo que hice es escuchar mucho el idioma (noticias, peliculas,filosofia,partidos de futbol con comentarios espanol)y ahora despues de dos anos mas o menos entiendo y hablo perfectamente . Escuchar es la clave amigos.saludos
"ano =asshole" but "año = year"
I’ve been learning Spanish for a couple months. The easiest way to progress is really finding the right course. I tried the big second language apps and never found them useful. They work okay if you understand the grammar already but if you don’t they’re pretty useless. Taking the right course that teaches you the grammar and phrases in a way that makes sense then sprinkles in new words makes progressing faster and easier. If you can’t grasp the grammar which is complicated compared to English you will really struggle.
This is the first video of yours I have watched and wow….it’s like you read my mind and knew my exact frustrations with Spanish (after working on it for early 3 years). Thank you! Also, my dad was a deputy sheriff in Southern California in the 70s and he used his (fluent) Spanish a lot. I loved hearing his stories!
This was a very helpful video. I started teaching myself Spanish in my teens, (now86) and never encountered the subjunctive in any text book. Your videos have helped me so much in improving my fluency. You give me hope I may yet reach the level I want. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
I was listening to another TH-camr who was discussing what he thought was the best way to learn a new language. One of his tips was to first get a good, thorough source of information about the language's rules of grammar and to learn it all. His point was that no part of it is really more or less important than any other part,...it's all important. And, there is only so much to learn which can all fit in a single book....so, learn it all.
for me, I realized you need to know, the language that describes the rules. so it's the language within the language and when I say that to people they look at me like I'm crazy but that is what is needed you have to learn the language that teaches you how to speak in my case Mexican Spanish.Sample: What does ("past tense subjective, Indicative Mood, Imperative,) what are these words telling me? ser vs esta , (the list goes on & on) If you have El or E'l, what is the difference when a tilde (') what make is used or not used El or E'l gives the word a different meaning. That is when I started working on l learn the language you need to know in conjunction with learning to SPEAK Spanish. Yep have to learn it ALL! Thank you Qroo Paul you helped with giving that message over and over again.
I speak 5 languages. I agree with you that learning grammar is very important.
I remember when I began learning the 3rd language I decided to learn it by listening, I gave up after 6 weeks. Grammar is the best way. One has to learn to build sentences. Yes there are ways of learning grammar faster but you have to find out for yourself.
Hi Paul. Interesting approach you've got there. I am an English/Portuguese/Spanish teacher from Brazil. Of the three languages, Spanish is the one I'm the least fluent in. I've received an invitation to teach it, and I must be ready by august. It's challenging, but I'm confident that it can be done. I've been studying it three hours a day for the past year. I agree with everything you said. Even though Portuguese and Spanish are similar in structure and verb conjugation, I figure it's going to take me anywhere from one to two years to become really fluent. Any program shorter than this shouldn't be taken seriously. Also, looking at the language as "chunks" is crucial. When you consider using chunks rather than words you can learn three or four times faster. The subjunctive is also very important because, very often, it goes together with the present indicative in sentences. And the "learn like a baby approach" Oh please.... give me a break. We have just one chance to learn like a baby, and we already used that chance.
The part about learning like a baby with only input does not address the fact, babies grow up and have years of input all together. Aside from that, they are not in the position to be doing many other activities outside of the input for language learning, in the real world. Strange there are advocates of this for adults which would take years and even with that the pronunciation might not be very good.
Look up AJATT.
Yes!! Please do a video where we, your students can have practice with these principles through dialogue.
Thanks for this excellent, introductory yet advanced, lesson. I plan to share it with my Mexican tutor. My path towards fluency continues, but I see numerous parallels between your path and mine. You referred to the subjunctive as a blueprint; I use skeleton. Please do more of your conversational breakdowns. Keep 'em coming.
you know what you are talking about thats why i just subscribed to your channel... im Haitian btw and i live in chile. The chiles spanish is really weird but still im trying to speak the way they do. thank u for this video
Paul…dude, you are spot on. I’m here in Jacksonville Florida, and I relate so much to your experiences and frustrations with learning Spanish in the past. That’s pretty much where I am now. This is the first video of yours I have watched and I am subscribing to your channel immediately. Your presentation and delivery is so perfect and pleasing to watch….and it’s so satisfying to digest all of your material.
Thanks. I appreciate that.
Great video. It’s good to see you make a new video. I’ve been speaking Spanish for a little over 3 years, and it was hard to form sentences before I knew the subjunctive. I’m around a lot of Puerto Rican Spanish, and I got pretty good at understanding that, then when I hear Mexican Spanish like watching the el chapo series, it’s hard to hear every single word they say. The hardest thing about Spanish is that it’s spoken extremely fast for the most part, and it’s rarely spoken super proper, as it’s taught to us. Puerto Ricans drop the S and combine words together in different ways
When watching a series -- even in English -- I tend to like to click on the subtitles these days so I don't miss anything...lol.
It's funny that you mentioned how Puerto Ricans speak. In the early days when I was translating at work, deputies would sometimes call me and ask if I could do it over the phone. My response was always, "If they are from Mexico, I can do it on the phone; otherwise, I need to drive there to do it in person." The reasonIt was that it was easier to work through missing letters and words mashed together when I could see the person's lips.
I have always had the most trouble understanding Cubans. We had very few of them in the county where I worked and I never developed an ear for their Spanish pronunciation.
you were absolutely right in saying that expressions or words commonly used together should be thought of as on word assuming your conjugation is correct then just drop in your verbs.
Great insights. I rarely use my native language (Swedish), and I speak Spanish as my sixth language in order of fluency. English, Japanese, German, Norwegian would be others. I've only seriously used Spanish for right under a year. It's starting to feel comfortable. I can make phone calls, have lengthy conversations etc, no problems. I never translate in my head. In fact, I don't think in ANY language, I just speak, and words come to me automatically. It might be something that happens after you're deeply fluent in more than 3 languages. I autocorrect myself a lot once I hear what I just said. I think that's a critical ability to focus on. I just speak and listen to myself. Continous improvement.
Six languages? Wow, that is very impressive. You clearly have a gift for learning languages.
Do you have any tips?
Such useful information! I love how you break things down, and the comments you make, it is really how all native English speakers think and makes me feel not alone!
Thanks. You're not alone. We all go through it. ;)
I'm in love with Mexican and Venezuelan Spanish😂😂😂. I love how the language flows when they speak. Filled with so much passion!! I grew up watching the telenovelas and listening to the music. I still watch the telenovelas and movies and listen to the music. I want to one day be a fluent speaker. It is one of my favourite languages.
Your passion tells me that you have the dedication necessary to meet your goals. :)
Thank you so much. I'm in aspanish 1 in college at 72 years old. Your videos are really helping me. I have listened to the first 3 over and over. Appreciate you.
I've been studying pretty consistently for a little over a year and it's coming along well. I watch a lot of videos, shows and teachers who speak only in Spanish. I can understand most of it if I have subtitles on. I struggle a lot without the subtitles because spanish is spoken so quickly. If I hear people on the street I often can't understand any of it because they speak so fast and blend the words (often dropping off sounds). Based on where I'm at, I'm guessing it will take another year and half to reach fluency. You getting to fluency in 1.5 years seems incredibly fast- especially without the benefit of youtube that has so many resources. Well done!
It takes a normal human 1800 hours of dedicated study. That could be 6 years of an hour per day which feels to them like a lot and can be discouraging when comparing to someone who learned for work. If you are learning for the military or the CIA you’re putting in enough hours to hit 1800 in a single year. Big difference!
Hi Paul , great work by the way. How do I get better at understanding Spanish ( besides the fact that Mexican speak so fast ) . I can have a conversation but have more problems understanding than speaking, I would say. We spend 2 months now in Mexico and would love to be fluent with the natives but this breaks me a lot.
Regular interaction with other Spanish speakers speeds things up. Grammatically accurate Spanish requires study. Intense study and interaction with speakers helps, preferably native speakers.
Internal mental processing slows everyone down.
Exposed saturation to a second language can achieve understanding even if they feel uncomfortable speaking the second language.
Same for me. It was my 2022 resolution, and I'm still at it. I don't focus too much on trying to speak. I'm happy to increase my comprehension abilities through videos designed for learners, cartoons, and simple writings. I also use an app (spanish dict) and a textbook. I plan to start speaking when my level of comprehension is higher.
@@TysonJensen this is true! I started studying Spanish while I was working full-time and also studying for a 16-hour licensing exam. I got discouraged and quit but now that I have more time I'm going to treat it like my prior licensing exam.
Genius single-video exposure to Spanish learning/usage for US audience - most take Spanish for 1 to 2 years in high school - and forget it in 6 weeks after high school (despite so many of us who have Spanish speaking housekeepers, gardeners, friends!) Thanks.
Thank you for your content it keeps me motivated
Happy to hear that!
I am so happy your video popped up on my feed. I have been attempting to learn Spanish via Duolingo and am enjoying it, but need some extra help. Thank you so much for making these videos, Paul. I will be working through them.
También soy oficial de policía jubilado (de New England). Estos fueron algunos consejos excelentes, especialmente sobre el aprendizaje de pequeñas "frases fragmentadas" en lugar de simplemente aprender palabras de vocabulario individuales. Ahora estoy suscrito. Gracias.
You have changed my life in eorking on my Spanish....i have spoken Spanglish for years. With your video i have become way more motivated....thanks so much. I am a life ling learner (78). I flunked high school Spanish as well.! Gracious
My friend who is a native Spanish speaker said that fluency was the moment when he realized he could flip his internal monologue between languages, when he was speaking in English and not translating in his head.
That makes sense.
About 8 months into hardcore spanish studying. Ive seen some of the other videos and its good know ive progressed, and at this point im working on the subjunctives, and getting more comfortable with the conditional past tenses. Its always good to have more than a hammer in the toolbox. I learn a lot from this channel, and others.
It's nice to have access to so many resources to help you learn these days.
Hi Paul. You triggered a memory in my learning journey. I was in Spain (my 3rd language ie English, Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish). My language professor and I were having a conversation while hiking. I remember starting a sentence and suddenly realized I had left out either the ‘se’ or ‘le’ or ‘la’ or ‘lo’ & I said ohoh because I knew once again I had forgotten the rule. She said 'don’t start a sentence until you have the whole sentence formed in your mind’. I didn’t think that was great advice due to the pause it would create. I felt a lot of pressure after that. Mind you I was in a high intermediate low advanced class so maybe I should have been able to do that 🤔. I still to this day tend to forget the redundant, direct and indirect pronouns and se for pronominal verbs when saying or typing. When reading I still tend to read ahead to after the verb and then know why the pronoun/se is there. How did you overcome this?
The forming the whole sentence in your head thing before speaking thing definitely limits your ability to keep up with a conversation in real time. As far as remembering to use the direct and indirect object pronouns (since they appear before the conjugated verb in most cases), never gave me much trouble except when it was more complex (SE LO, SE LA etc), like: Se lo di. (I gave it to him/her) I would slow a bit on those.
When it comes to remembering LE, just from repetition (I suppose)I learned to include it whenever I used verbs like DAR, DECIR, PEDIR. Even today at a restaurant, I asked my wife - ¿Quieres que le pida la cuenta? The le just sounds right to me now.
This has to be the most helpful video ever for a beginner in the language.
Thanks, I'm glad you found it helpful!
Soy Español, 54 años y llevo toda la vida intentando aprender inglés y no hay manera, pero sigo intentandolo 😅, un saludo y espero que tengais mas exito con vuestro español que yo con mi inglés 😂
I have been having progress using two apps, Duolingo and Memrise.
intenta con el método pimsleur, lo tengo pero x cuestiones de derecho de autor no te comparto el enlace.
Thank you so much Paul. After many many months you have put the building blocks into my learning and understanding the subjunctive which will help with my speaking
I have several videos about the subjunctive but it is such a big topic that I plan to do several more.
I think that the argument towards immersing yourself and listening is that it helps you start to really know spanish and think in it, not to translate. I don't believe you'll ever be truly fluent if you are translating. Languages are lenses and you'll be speaking from an English lens in a language that doesn't see the world the same way. You'd be speaking only on a surface level for a long time, and missing the deeper meanings in language that no grammar book or course will be able to teach you. Of course, that is a more advanced level of Spanish, once you have some basics down.
I appreciate hearing your process and your accent is very good! Thanks