If Someone Asked Me How To Learn A New Language
Author: Douglas Bower

If someone asked me what I would recommend as the most
important preparation for expatriating to Mexico it would be,
Learn Spanish. You would think this is obvious, right?

I get many who write and ask what I recommend they do exactly
in their language-learning quest. The first thing I tell them
is to understand that unless they move to one of the
uber-expensive resort towns or San Miguel de Allende, you will
have to speak Spanish in the rest of the country. The rest of
Mexico is not going to cater to the monolinguals no matter how
big of a fit they pitch over it. I mention this because
shockingly, this is exactly what monolinguals do when they come
to Mexican towns and find the locals are not bilingual. In their
fit-pitching tirades there is the usual, now get this, accusing
the locals—to their faces—of speaking English only pretending
not to.

Here is what I would suggest you follow before moving to
Mexico. It will cost you. It isn't cheap. But, you will not be
wasting your money like you would if you began taking classroom
instruction before developing a high degree of Spanish spoken
fluency.

· The Learnables Languages – This picture-aural system follows
the last 40 years of linguistic research in second language
acquisition. You receive true immersion in the language.

· Pimsleur Spanish – This is the second stage of acquiring
spoken fluency. First, you engaged in INPUT with The
Learnables, and then you begin your OUTPUT stage with The
Pimsleur Spanish system. This is your first attempt at speaking
the language. You will develop much vocabulary and learn how to
speak the language.

· Learn Spanish Like Crazy – This course is much in the same
style and approach of The Pimsleur products. They use the same
methodology as Pimsleur. You will learn a tremendous amount of
vocabulary as well as get massive exposure to how Spanish is
spoken in Latin America. Pimsleur is excellent in giving you
the exposure to how Educated Spanish speaking people converse.
However, when you are on the streets of Latin America you will
hear a lot of difference in the Spanish you learned with
Pimsleur and what you will learn with Learn Spanish Like Crazy.
My suggestion is that you need both. The reality is that if you
only learned what is spoken on the streets of Latin America and
then tried to interact with educated Latin Americans in a formal
setting, you will come across like a rube. The reality is there
is street Spanish and there is formal Spanish. You have to know
both and be able to switch back and forth.

· Immersion Plus Spanish – One of the most misunderstood parts
of becoming fluent in any language is the necessity of training
your ear in the target language. What I mean is if you cannot
hear the euphony or music of the language you will rarely, if
ever, be able to understand what someone in speaking to you in
the target language. I live in Mexico and can tell you though I
went through massive Spanish preparation before coming to Mexico
what I did not count on was the speed at which the locals spoke
Spanish. It is remarkably fast! This course, by its design,
will help you with this problem. It addresses this common
issue.

· Smart Spanish – This will help further train your ear in the
music of the language. It is a great program in that it records
live interviews with Spanish speakers from Colombians to
Spaniards. It dissects the interviews for grammar and
vocabulary and then speaks at different speeds so you can
follow with or without a transcript.

An issue with many American second language learners is they
claim because they are "visual learners" they have to take
notes, read books, see something written on a classroom
chalkboard, or whatever. This is a myth. The courses I list
stress listening first, speaking second, and reading third.

What someone is saying when they claim this, related to
language acquisition, is if they were born blind they never
would have been able to learn how to speak their native tongue.
The mechanisms involved in second language acquisition are the
very same as when you learned your native language. If your
claim to be a "visual learner", relating to second language
acquisition, were valid then if you were born blind, you never
would have been able to learn your native language—logical, no?


Before embarking upon your expatriation journey or even coming
to study Spanish in Mexico, use what I have outlined above. You
will save money in the long-haul and not watch it float down the
drain while sitting in a classroom lost and unable to know which
end a Spanish verb is up.


About The Author: http://www.zyworld.com/theolog/Page2.htm