I'm frustrated by my inablity to learn Spanish

Is there any hope for the non-drinkers amongst us???

No need to panic. Fortunately there are many language learning software programs available that can really help you to get out of this trouble. And the best part is that you can do all these at your own home comfort.

This is an old thread but still relevant.   I cannot emphasise enough how much more you get out of Spain if you speak Spanish.   I studied with the Open University (can study anywhere but now VERY expensive like all UK degree courses) and then Cervantes - which you can do on line.   Speaking personally - I had to have a course to follow.  Just left to myself, I would always just do the minimum so that is the advice I would give anyone.   Find a course, don't expect it to be easy (in spite of common assumptions you will not simply absorb the language by some sort of osmosis), and stick to it!!  It is a challenge in Andalucia, but your ear will tune in. 

    Valdrá la pena.  

** EDITED - Against forum rules **

Just came across this, and thought it worth sharing: http://www.babbel.com/magazine/favorite-spanish-words?slc=engmag-a15-info-favoritespanishwords-ob

Just for fun!

Team GB/Linguaphone: I agree.  I've used different tools, including the expensive Rosetta Stone, and find Linguaphone the best quality and most thorough - at a fraction of the price.

I also agree with other posts - be realistic/pragmatic, and be happy with communicating.  That alone is a huge step forward.

Many Brits I bump into here in England aren't speaking quality English...

There are plenty of free, online tools, including YouTube and others.  I find listening to Spanish news very useful from an immersion perspective.  I understand 10% of what's being said at this stage, but the tones and accent are invaluable.

I was going to suggest the Michel Thomas CDs and then saw that you have them!  I credit him with my ability to communicate before arriving here, and I credit about 3000 Spanish people who have helped me in large and small ways for reaching the level I have now (still trying to improve all the time though).  A good one-to-one intercambio partner is a joy, once found.  Try some intercambio groups, but the conversation is usually quite superficial so try and find someone there who you hit it off with, and fix one-to-one weekly meetings.  If it's of any interest, I finish most of my blog posts with a "language point" which may help!

Tamara's reply makes an extremely valuable point: that learning languages isn't facilitated by one method/tool.  It's a multi-faceted thing, which has the added benefit of keeping the process interesting and varied.  Don't lose the sense of fun - if it becomes a chore, it won't happen.

For the best value, I enrolled at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas - there are schools in all the big cities and a lot of larger towns too.  It is state-run and heavily subsidised - I'm doing the second year of B2, and the whole acadmic year costs me 50€ !!!

Tamara, I second the official schools - they are great value and very professional. Pretty much all the universities have one attached. One thing I would add is that to anyone in the UK (or elsewhere) even just beginning to *think* about relocating to Spain is start learning Spanish now, and don't stop, just keep at it and join an intercambio/language-exchange group to get real-world practice.

Check out the Instituto Cervantes. They are a government run cultural/language organisation with offices in most foreign capitals and secondary cities, and run excellent and professional language courses, including online with their AVE programme, as well as intensive (5 lessons/week) semi-intensive (2-3 lessons/week)  and evening/weekend courses. In London, if you sign up for their courses, you also get access to their library which has a slew of materials to practice with and they also run language-exchange groups and cultural events (Spanish film events etc) which give you more practice on something interesting.

The downside is as they are outside of Spain itself, they aren't subsidised, but if you are looking to start a new life in Spain, throwing a bit of money at good language tutition is a relatively small sum in the scheme of things, and it really is an investment in your future quality of life, work prospects etc.

For those on a budget, geographically or time-constrained (I work daft hours) I've discovered having a number of exchange partners to Skype with is proving very helpful.  Many speak English as badly as I speak Spanish, so we're both stretcched on each session.  By having five, the odds of finding one of them online when I find the time is much higher.  It suits all parties, as that's the expectation when agreeing to exchange.  On the assumption it's ok to plug the website, I use Conversation Exchange.  And its free!

This message was last edited by ChrisM4 on 24/07/2015.