Learning Spanish

@AlbuquerqueAce99

I have used duolingo for over a year. It's low-risk, as the free tier will get you the basics and you'll start reading & speaking with the App.

I also recommend the "From cero to conversational" video series on YouTube. the channel's name is Qroo Paul. It's great for an introduction and i like his approach and personality.

Aside from all that, you will need a lot of discipline and set aside ample time to learn and practice. Speaking while thinking / translating is one of the most difficult aspects to master. This will take time and effort. Don't believe all the BS online that promises 'fluency' in 90 days. Learning to read, understand, and speak another language is a big lift.

Good luck from your neighbor (in Nevada)

I would recommend Verbling which is an online platform offering one on one classes with native speakers. You could choose a teacher from Spain which would help you with the accent and the vocabulary which is very different from Spanish from the Americas.

@AlbuquerqueAce99

I've been using Duolingo for several years now and have found (now that I live in Spain) a lot of the vocabulary is focused on Spanish in the Americas and not so much Spain.  Duolingo has its merits in vocabulary building but its shortcomings are speaking, listening,  its de emphasis on Castillano Spanish, and there is a lot of usage that has no context i.e. "The elephant drove to the ice cream store and sat on a rabbit"...  it's just a bunch of memorization of words disconnected from a concept.

We have found one sight that is very informative and entertaining and teaches Spanish in a contextual setting.

"Español con Juan"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tWMbi4 … mp;index=1

This is a very good source to learn.

My hard part is understanding the language.  My vocabulary isn't great either... but it grows every day.  I will never speak  like a native... I don't want to... I just want to communicate reasonably well.

Patience and practice.... poco a poco is the way.

@chasleslieb good points. I am focused on "Spanish" as the general language. i am not about to also learn Valenciano and Catalan, etc.. I think 'standard spanish' will get you to communicate pretty well across Spain.

I am not sure about Duolingo's focus, the flag for the course is the Spanish flag, not Mexican, but who knows ;-)

@AlbuquerqueAce99

I'm a big Duolingo fan and a regular daily user for many years. I enjoy it and I've used it to brush up various languages that I've used in the past (French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian). I also went back and re-learned some of my native language (Welsh) which I haven't spoken/used for over 50 years.

It's very easy and convenient, but the free version is a bit annoying (I upgraded early on to Super Duolingo about $60 a year). You definitely can learn some useful words/verbs, and it's quite helpful on the "receptive" side of languages (reading, listening). For the "productive" side (speaking, writing) it's not as good. As something which you can just work on in your idle minutes before you relocate, it's hard to beat.

However, in terms of something that gets you to conversational level quickly, I doubt it's the best. On my travels, I found the best options were to get a local 1:1 tutor for a couple of hours per week (I learned Brazilian Portuguese in Rio this way), or to do an intensive group course at a local language school (at least a week, ideally a month). So I'd suggest Duolingo as the starter, and follow up with one of the other options if/when you move over.

More generally, the Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese) are pretty similar to each other, and among the easiest languages to learn. Even a bit of Italian will be a useful foundation. If (as you seem to be) nervous about your language skills and intimidated by the idea of learning another language, Duolingo is extremely good as a gentle introduction and a way to get your confidence up.