Learning Spanish / Aprender Espaniol

There are so many ways to learn a new language. My new goal is to be more or less fluent in Spanish. This language is widely spoken in Americas. I like to learn Spanish because everybody looks at me as if I should speak Spanish! I remember some people in Puerto Rico and DominicanRepublic were taking it personally and getting upset because I didn’t speak their language. They thought I was from hispanic decent but grew up in the U.S and never got to learn Spanish.

The best way to learn is to be in a Spanish-speaking environment. Last year in Colombia, my Norwegian cruising friend and I took some private classes in Spanish. We found a good teacher in Cartagena and took 2 hours classes, 5 days a week, for one month. The note book from that class is my Spanish Bible. Nowadays, there are so many other sources for learning a new language, such as apps on your electronic device. The best Spanish learning app I found is "Duolingo". It’s so easy to learn a new language through this application. In addition, when you get to advanced level and formulate new sentences, Duolingo applies those sentences and translates the Wikipedia and other documents to Spanish. Another useful app is “Translate”, which is just a regular multi language dictionary but very easy to switch between different languages. And then there are audiobooks that you can play all day while cruising on your boat.

Aboard Earthling, we also have Spanish for dummies and cruisers, and Spanish music, such as Julio Iglesias and Gypsy Kings. Moreover, a good way to end a hot sunny day on the boat is to watch a Latin movie with subtitle. 

Between all these sources, one should be able to learn a new language quickly. But the most important criteria to learn a new language is Self-Discipline! 

If you find yourself in Cartagena and need private lessons in Spanish, contact Lu Rodriguez at clasedeespanollu@gmail.com

El Amor De Panama