language

I live in Lebrija, province of Seville. I would like to learn Spanish, but cant get my head around how fast they speak to each other.  I have tried my local library but to no avail.  I am a pensioner and I dont feel confident enough to make long journeys by public transport, I am managing for now using Google Translate on my laptop and printing it out.

Any help / tips would be much appreciated.

I've only just noticed this!

Have you tried looking on ebay or Amazon for cheap books/cds to learn Spanish?  There's lots of first level material.  If you start with something like this to get a feel for the language you can back it up by listening to people around you, even if it's odd words here and there.  This gives you a basis to work frrom.

Get a good dictionary and read short articles on a subject that you enjoy.  At first, you'll be forever looking up words, but the same words will keep cropping up. We learn by repetition - hearing the same thing over and over again.  Orseeing it in print over and over again. Don't let the spoken language overwhelm you at first. 

Be careful with Google translate.  It tends to translate things literally.  Try Spanish.dict.  It translates thing literally at times, but it's better.  It might be better than getting a dictionary.

Thank you for the message, I have since found a small group, lady speaks English & native Spanish.

Also we have a couple of friends, both native Spanish, we are slowly learning, so thank you for your suggestions.

siegfried

if you have smart phone or a tablet try down loading duo lingo it is free and  I know a few people who use it.

Many good books, CD's etc around

Please be aware that the Spanish often can't get their head around how fast the English speakers speak to each other

Good luck and enjoy, learning is fun at any age and making mistakes is simply part of the fun