Julie Gutin - The everything learning Spanish book: speak, write, and understand basic Spanish in no time

THE

ESSENTIAL
SPANISH BOOK

All you need to learn Spanish in no time

Julie Gutin
Technical Review by Fernanda Ferreira, PhD

Avon, Massachusetts

Welcome to The EverythingEssential Spanish Book and the exciting and diverse world of the Spanish language! Maybe you chose to pick up this book because you want to be able to communicate with some of your Spanish-speaking coworkers, neighbors, or clients. Perhaps you want to feel more comfortable traveling in countries where Spanish is the national language. Maybe you just want to brush up on what you learned in your high school Spanish class. Whatever your reasons for learning this popular language, youve come to the right place.

While it might seem like a daunting task to take on learning a new language, just imagine the sense of accomplishment you will feel when you find yourself in Mexico City and need to ask for directions, and you approach the first person you see and say confidently, Perdn! Dnde est la calle San Jos? (Excuse me, where is San Jose Street?). And imagine your feelings when the person answers in Spanish and you are able to understand the directions!

Learning the Spanish essentials will expand your intellectual horizons. You will be in a position to learn about Hispanic cultures from the insideby listening to Latin music, reading books in Spanish, and conversing with native speakers. You will have more personal opportunities to witness how other people live day by day in your own neighborhood, on their own terms. Not only will you be able to listen to their opinions on family, life, work, and society in general, but you will be able to come to a mutual understanding by sharing your own.

Knowing basic Spanish might even help you in your career. Given the trend toward globalization, you will not only be able to take advantage of many opportunities that already exist, but that you currently know nothing about. The business opportunities are obviousa larger market for sales or employment.

Learning any new language can be a difficult undertaking, but if you persevere, the results will be worth your effort. And theres more good newsSpanish isnt as foreign a language as you might think. Take a quick look at the chapters of this book. Im sure youll recognize a few words or phrases here and there. If you ever studied Spanish or another Romance language, something did stick, even if you dont realize it. Even if youve never studied a foreign language before, youll discover that you already know a few things. Dont worry if you are starting from scratch. Youll see that even those years of studying English grammar will be helpful.

Whatever your interests are in learning Spanish, this book will help you achieve the goals that you have set for yourself. Buena suerte (good luck) in your endeavor!

Before you begin reading this book, it is important to remember that learning a new language should always be enjoyable. Of course youll need to dedicate a certain amount of time and attention in order for you to make progress, but above all, this endeavor should be fun and stress-free!

If you are full of enthusiasm to sit down and learn espaol (Spanish) at one goreljate!stop and relax. Learning a language is not like crash dieting; its a gradual process that requires planning and concentration. Here is what you should know as you incorporate learning Spanish into your everyday life.

Avoid negative thinkingthat you can never master a foreign language, or that its impossible for you to pronounce certain words correctly. Relax, and concentrate on what you do know and can do, and then keep adding on to that. If you cant think of a particular word, choose another one to help you explain yourself. If you cant understand what someone is saying to you, ask him to repeat.

The expressive potential of a sentence is often more than the sum of its parts. Dont just concentrate on memorizing wordsyou also need to know how to put these words together to make meaningful statements. Learning whole phrases will help you make your point quicker.

Use new phrases as soon as you have learned them and as many times as possible. Dont wait until you have everything down perfectly before you begin using Spanish in conversation. When it comes to languages, perfect fluency and pronunciation are myths. Your goal should be to get out there and start talking as soon as possible.

Get online. Youre just a click of a mouse away from finding free instruction, opportunities to practice, reference materials, and cultural information, as well as online Spanish courses.

Immerse yourself in the world of Spanish. Eat at Spanish and Latin American restaurants. Listen to music from Spanish-speaking countries: boleros, cumbias, flamenco, merengue, pasillos, pasodoble, salsas, sevillanas, el son, tango, rancheras, and rock. Go out to Latin dance clubs. Seek out movies in Spanish playing at international film festivals, and rent Spanish films on video or DVDmost will offer subtitles or dubbed tracks in Spanish. Read bilingual books and magazines. Try watching Spanish televisionat first you wont understand it, but it might be fun to guess what is happening.

Combine your hobbies and interests with the study of Spanish. If you love playing tennis, learn how to say everything you know about the game in Spanish. Religion, politics, work, and recreation all have their Spanish vocabulary.

Dont panic. Take your time to learn new material, find somebody to answer your questions, look up words in the dictionary, and dont allow yourself to be intimidated by anything. Make mistakes and learn from them. When you goof up, you can either look mortified or just laugh about itthe choice is up to you.

Focus your attention on all things Spanish that you find in your daily life. Put yourself in situations where you have no choice but to use your Spanish. Begin to think in Spanish.

When you are in the thick of things, listen for key words. Try to identify the verb. Are there any pronouns you recognize? Does the word vaguely remind you of a word in English? Forget about trying to decode every single wordgetting the main ideas first will help you fill in the details.