What is the best way to learn Spanish?

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I am a MA in a doctors office, and there are many times when I am at work and because I look spanish, I am called upon to translate spanish for a patient. I don't speak spanish or any other language for that matter. One of my parents is Hispanic, but I was never taught the language. Now I am interested in learning Spanish. I know a few words here and there. I can say take off your shoes, or sit down, or even sit still for 1 minute. But that is as far as I get. Even that little spanish confuses people because then they assume I speak spanish and end up speaking spanish to me.. I want to know if anyone learned spanish for work and how did you do it? I attempted to take a spanish for beginners class but it was soo boring that I never completed the course. I also have books like spanish for dummies. Please help..

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Being up in New England I imagine you don't have too many Spanish language stations on the TV there like we do out here is southern California. Perhaps on cable TV? Even PBS is now doing some spanish in some of their TV programming, I believe. Kids shows are about as basic in spanish as you can get. The spanish stations out here have kids programs that are a good source to learn spanish. I believe that Trinity Broadcasting also has one or two spanish programs for kids on Saturday morning. If you can find any of these, I recommend that you turn on the close-caption feature of your TV as you watch them to help you along. I find it easier to see the words on the close captioning as well as hear them. My personal favorites are the spanish soap operas. Wooh!

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The best way to learn is to take more than one class in Spanish. You also have to make friends with Spanish speaking folks, so that you can practice with them on a regular basis. The more you practice, the more you will learn the language. You can also learn on your own, by buying a CD. You have to be motivated to learn on your own. Good luck to you. Adios

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I second the Roseeta Stone advice. It consists of a set of interactive DVD's that teach you a new language the same way you learned your first one....through association and repitition, NOT learning vocabulary words and flash cards.

It's fun too. Like playing a game, I get lost in it and before I know it a whole hour of "Spanish Class" has gone by. The one drawback is that it is pricey....but most good things are.

You can even go to thier website and download an intro so you can see exactly what the program is like and try it out for yourself before you invest the money. If I was rich, I would buy about 5 different Rossetta Stone languages to learn. They have about 20 different languages to choose from.

Sometimes libraries have them you can check out.

Good luck

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I advice you to surroind yourself with those who are fluent in Spanish.Since you don't really know how to speak the language, You should also take a few courses aswell.Why not learn to write in Spanish too? Mastering a few languages can open many doors for you, especially in the healthfield.Good luck!

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"surround"

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg, peds.

Let me suggest moving to Miami, FL for a year!!!! I moved there (from California) after graduating from college with my now husband and I worked at two medical centers as a CNA and a tech. At a rehab center for children and at a large hospital. I worked with a lot of Spanish-speakers and although I knew a lot of Spanish before (its a good thing to know if you live in California) I learned so much more from my co-workers. I also took some Spanish classes with my pre-reqs and that kept me in the habit of using the language. They actually helped a lot. The major thing is once you started speaking another language, don't stop cause you'll tend to forget it.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Immerse yourself with the language. I took Spanish for two years in high school, married an immigrant from Mexico, but I really did feel comfortable with Spanish until I was working in a restaurant that was about 80% Spanish speaking, and I used Spanish everyday, however now that I am divorced working in retail and attending school I don't use it everyday and am forgetting some. Most DVD s have a language option, change it to Spanish and use subtitles in Spanish, or watch in English using subtitles in Spanish.

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I highly reccomend immersion programs. I had a rough childhood at home and took off to aguascalientes mexico for 8 months. I had had basic exposure in school before hand but became quickly fluent. Most people confuse me for a native speaker. I am hoping being 100% bilingual will help in my future nursing career...

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I highly reccomend immersion programs. I had a rough childhood at home and took off to aguascalientes mexico for 8 months. I had had basic exposure in school before hand but became quickly fluent. Most people confuse me for a native speaker. I am hoping being 100% bilingual will help in my future nursing career...

;) I guess you could call my marriage to a US citizen an 'immersion program'

The immigration officer at the airport on teh East coast greeted me rudely and coldly with "Welcome to the United States, get a job ane pay taxes!!!!" and off we were.....I felt like I was thrown into a pot of boiling oil at first....slowly learned how to handle the money, deal with the dress and shoe sizes etc...it's all that little stuff that nobody ever thinks about that can kick your butt initially. Like fighting yourself through the HUGE and packed isle of 1 million different cereal in the grocery store. It's been an adventure, that's for sure and some day I'll write a book about my experiences as a modern pioneer titled "Modern Frontiers Woman" You've got to have humor or you go crazy

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Specializes in Children's Critical Care, Pediatrics, M/.

Dear "Smilin" Can you tell me a little about the course you took? I am preparing to offer this at my university for seniors as an elective. I'd most like to go with what is shown to work. Let me know what was most / least helpful and what to emphasize. What did your instructor do well or poorly?

Thanks for your response.

Some areas have "Spanish for Healthcare Professionals" courses. The one that I took this past year focused on sentence structure and clinical vocabulary, which helped make it a bit more interesting than other courses that I have tried.
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Rosetta Stone is a very respected computer program for language instruction, but I've found "Tell Me More" to be more interactive and less mindlessly repetitive.

No matter how you go about it, it all comes down to practice, practice, practice. :)

Peace,

Cathie

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Specializes in Children's Critical Care, Pediatrics, M/.

Thank you for your response, I will look into something 'tried 'n' true!'

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