Immersion method, the best way to learn Spanish

Bing W. Lü

The best way to learn any foreign language (either Spanish or another language) is certainly to go to the country and stay there for a while. That is, you need to immerse yourself in the language, in our case, Spanish. However, it is not usual that everyone will have such an opportunity. Fortunately, there are still ways that you can immerse yourself in Spanish.

Way one, learn Spanish by meeting with native Spanish speaking people in your own country. If you are living in Los Angeles (this is where I live), or other parts of California, Texas, New Mexico, it is absolutely not hard to find native Spanish speaking people. Go to a Mexican restaurant, go to a playground within the Hispanic community, go to cut your hair in a barber shop operated by a Mexican, go to a Spanish church, and other ways as you can think of.

Way two, learn Spanish by using the Internet. I'm assuming you have a PC, and access to the Internet. Find a Spanish Internet radio station and listen to it daily, when you are cooking, cleaning up your room, doing the bed, working in the garden (you can use a loud speaker if your PC is far from the garden), or browsing other internet website. Do it, use it as a background noise and you are actually immerse yourself in Spanish. Gradually, you'll be amazed at how much you pick up the Spanish language and how your Spanish pronunciation will improve.

Way three, learning Spanish by using visual aids. One of my friends learnt English by watching TV, especially the News channels and show series. He read the English subtitles at the same time. As his skill level improved, he read the subtitles less and less until he could switch the subtitles off completely. I think the same approach could be applied to learning Spanish. You will also enjoy it if you have a favorite Spanish show series.

[Sidebar 1: Way two and way three are both about immersion, but different immersion methods. Pimsleur's Spanish is using the immersion method effectively.

Sidebar 2: We have a collection of Video/DVD on learning Spanish. You might like this if you enjoy visual learning.]

Way four, learn Spanish by putting what you learn into practice. Although different people have different learning methods, to make it perfect you will need to put it into use: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. If you follow the methods mentioned above you have been listening and speaking Spanish (more or less). One way of practicing your writing is to write a diary in Spanish. For practicing reading you can search out on Amazon.com to find some interesting Spanish books.

[Sibebar 3: We have a collection of books on learning Spanish.]

Way five, learning Spanish by find a personal native Spanish speaking coach. This might be expensive but it is very much effective. By using a personal native speaking coach you can get personal and professional assistance during your learning process. You can learn the way your personal coach speaks by your conversation with her/him.

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