spanish lessons

Hi Ive just seen an advert for spanish lessons free on here anyone tried it any good? with marcus?

Thanks Tricia

AS A FLUENT SPANISH SPEAKER I RECKON THIS ONE IS GOOD

http://www.learnspanishtoday.com/

 I learnt to speak Spanish fluently with the help of Loles.

She has over 10 years experience teaching Spanish as a foreign language.



Loles gives lessons in the South Costa Blanca area.

Call Loles on 647475442 or visit her website www.spanishtuition.info
 

 I got my Spanish up to a really good level with the Open University - but I know that fees are increasing massively this year. 

Excellent free lessons -try Googling      Coffee Break Spanish

 If you are on the padrón, you may get free Spanish lessons through your local Ayuntamiento.  In Jumilla, we have two lessons a week at the Adult Education Centre.  Our Spanish teachers don't speak English, which made it a bit challenging when we first started!

Sue

PS The BBC website has a wide range of free Spanish courses for all levels.

I hope that was written tongue in cheek Johnzx!   Hardly any Spaniards speak English where our Spanish house is in Almeria.  With a 2 year plan before we head out to spend more time there I listen to downloaded "Coffee break Spanish" in my daily 2 hour commute. On holiday it's great fun stumbling over sentences and I always get a "muy bien" and a big grin.  (I hate to think what I'm saying lol) The non-English speaking restaurants are where the locals eat  which  are usually  better and cheaper.

Have a go, where's the harm.

If we stuck to English-speaking restaurants, we would hardly ever eat out!  We live in a predominantly Spanish town, and although progress is slow, our Spanish is gradually improving.  We take part in local fiestas, we go to local bars and restaurants, and we have to speak Spanish on a daily basis.  It's fun and it's challenging.  I totally agree with mojito that it's worth having a go.  Spaniards are very welcoming and appreciate anybody who makes an effort.  One of our best friends here is Spanish, though she does speak a fair bit of English, but that's unusual.  All our neighbours speak to us in Spanish as most of them don't speak any English.  The children do call out "Hello" or "What time is it?", as they are learning English at school.  Like anything in life, the more you put in, the more you get out of it.

Sue

 Couldn't agree with you more John

Thankfully I haven't had to fill in a police report and the only person beyond sales has been the gas engineer who understood "agua caliente kaput."  The most challenging conversation was at our local Chinese bazaar when trying to find the word for a kettle descaler the owner gave me a Chinese Spanish dictionary.  Johnzx - How did you progress beyond simple everyday phrases when Spaniards seem to speak so quickly?  Michel Thomas, ubiquitous language teacher, regards success as the "ball being returned over the net."  For me, I regard a successful conversation is when they don't reply to me in English.

John, I know that you were talking about Spanish lessons and not just going into restaurants, but I do think that if people make an effort to learn Spanish (after all we are living in Spain, so it is only polite to try and speak their language!) they will get more out of their life here.  As I said, if you live inland in a mainly Spanish town, it is essential to learn Spanish, mainly because so few people speak English - and why should they?!  

A few friends of ours who have lived here longer than us are fluent, others who have lived here longer than us speak less Spanish than we do, possibly because they feel they know enough to get by.  The only time we have used an interpreter was when we were buying our house, though when we saw the notary we discovered that he spoke perfect English too.  However we had a break-in after moving here - stuff was stolen from our trastero - and we managed to complete the police report on our own, we signed on the padrón and sorted out IBI on our own, we arranged to be connected to Gas Natural, went to Iberdrola and the water company without any help.  We are both over 60, so it's not that easy, but over the (almost) four years we have been living here our Spanish comprehension has gradually improved and our conversation is also improving, though more slowly.  Local people call us "vecinos" and tell us what is happening with local fiestas, which couldn't happen if we didn't speak a bit of Spanish.

I understand what John is saying, but I repeat it is well worth making the effort to improve your Spanish, though it's not necessary to take expensive lessons.  Why not try setting up an intercambio?  We have a small group of Spanish people wanting to improve their English and British people who want to improve their Spanish.  We meet once a week and all it costs us is the price of a cup of coffee in the bar where we meet.

Sue

 I slightly disagree with the how to learn Spanish.  But first, yes, I think all the freebies on the net are brilliant and I have dipped in and use a lot - coffee break Spanish is a good starting point.  BUT, for me, the fact that I was paying a fairly significant amount of money kept me at it!! I don't like waste.    If you follow a proper course you have assessments to do which may be a hassle, but they certainly move you on in Spanish - and getting regular feedback on your process is the quickest way to move forward.  My Spanish is good at Diploma Level, but I am still going to a residential school for a week, and as it is expensive - I will be working hard!!!!  

Kaput worked and my Spanish vocabulary is expanding. The idea of a male Spanish friend certainly puts a skip in my step though thinking on some of the Spaniards in our village, maybe not.   Also my husband wouldn't be happy with this arrangement.  I was put off local authority Spanish lessons when neighbours said they'd been attending for a year and gone over the same elementary ground.  I'd like to think my Spanish is better than that.   I take every opportunity to practise over there.

Bri, do you have conversational assessments?  What's the course, I'm almost finished with Cofee Break Spanish.

 Hi mojito - I studied with the OU for 4 years, starting with the certificate in Spanish which takes you up to just beyond A level in two years, and then I did the Diploma which is university level and as high as you can go in UK unis.  After that you have to look at Cervantes courses.   Yes, everything is assessed, and you have access to a huge range of materials and a live conferencing tool via the internet which allows you to practice Spanish any time with anyone anywhere on the course.  I really miss it.  It is very structured, and I know the courses seem expensive, but you get a lot for your money.   I can also recommend LightSpeed Spanish, which is free (though you can pay for some helpsheets) and that would be quite a nice progression from Coffee Break I think.  There is also Ben's Notes Spanish - a similiar thing with lots of podcasts.  

I am going to a one week residential in Murcia in May, and this will be a small group intensive week - everything in Spanish, but we will be taken to vinyards and other local interest points and we will get Spanish food preparation demonstrations.  This is costing about 400 euros per person, and that includes pick up  from Murcia or Almeria and all transport if you need it, as well as food..  I am happy to pass on info if you want it, or wait until I have done it and I will let you know how good it is.  

Going back to the OU, this year my son has gone straight in at diploma level, having spent some time in various language schools in Spain, and he is loving it.  So it seems to have a wide appeal.  Just search the site:   www.open.ac.uk    for Spanish and the info will come up. 

Thank you Bri!  The week's course sounds lovely.  Let me know how it goes.  I'll keep going with the freebie lessons for now as we're planning on moving out there in the next couple of years.  Friends out there attend lessons in our village and are encouraged to chat with local tradespeople and to prepare in advance a line of conversation.  Certainly our regular bank teller is quite happy to chat ( in English unfortunately since he is always trying to improve) all day even though there's a considerable queue forming.  The estate agent who sold us our Spanish house could speak 7 languages, being born in Columbia, living in Belgium with so many neighbouring countries with different languages he maintained it was all the one language.  The Spanish have lovely phrases - Todos el munde, la semana que biene, excuse the spelling.

 We have found the Spanish very happy to help with the language.   Very pacient, but they talk fast and the southern accent is a challenge.  Good luck.