After 8 years of French, I'm learning Spanish... and I think I broke my brain.

MustBeJewel

MustBeJewel

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So here's the deal :p

I started learning French at 9 years old, and continued with it off and on through high school. I haven't taken a class in it several years but my understanding is still pretty sound.

This past week, I started an online course to learn Spanish, since that will be a lot more practical here in the US than French is. And the hardest thing is the accent! I keep repeating the online audio as best I can, but I keep sounding like a French person trying to speak Spanish for the first time!

Both being Romance languages, they're very similar and thus it shouldn't be too too hard to pick up Spanish, but my poor brain is still trying to make me speak French.

Any suggestions for learning a new language in your later 20's?
 
Wow congrats on learning French and working to learn Spanish! However I am sorry to hear your French is tripping your Spanish =(

My best tip is repetition repetition repetition. Make flash cards and place them around your house. Put the word for toothbrush next to your toothbrush. When you see the card say it five times. If you do this throughout your day it will start to click. Also don't get discouraged if your French is throwing off your Spanish. Just keep repeating the word until it sounds accurate.
 
Oh man, I'm impressed that you've conquered French. That was probably one of the toughest languages for me to learn how to sing in. I'll take Spanish over French any day! I think you'll get the hang of Spanish the more you say it. Make it a game for yourself and it'll be less stressful and more fun. Maybe even sing the words to yourself in fun voices and that might relax the frenchness out of your accent. Moondreams suggestion with the flash cards is great! Nothing quite like flashcards!
 
Watch some Spanish films with English subtitles. You'll get to hear practiced speakers and read their dialogue as they go. I found it most helpful with Italian.
 
I'm not sure how proficient you are, but you can watch this old show called Amigos. It's for children. but it's very helpful.

 
Thank you all for the suggestions! I am sorely tempted to cover half the house in flash cards while my housemates are away this weekend LOL! :tongue:

Singing in French actually wasn't too hard back when I was actively singing, but I can only assume that's because I had already started to speak it. Italian wasn't too bad once I got the hang of the pronunciation, but Spanish is still so very elusive!

I actually hadn't even thought about watching subbed Spanish films--should I start with ones aimed at kids, since I might as well be a kid learning to speak right now? I'd think it would be easier to follow.. especially since Spanish can go so fast. ><
 
Kids shows would be much easier than regular shows when first starting out. If you try regular shows you'll be going a mile a minute! :lolpony:
 
This reminds me of one time when my dad went to a Japanese restaurant and tried to speak Japanese to them but Spanish came out instead (my dad is from Mexico). As it turned out, the Japanese people there spoke Spanish!

I've been studying japanese for the past 10 years and I'm afraid its just down to good old repetition and practice.

One tip though. I read a book once by this guy that spoke 9 languages, and his biggest suggestion for learning was to create mnemonics for yourself. In other words, take something you already know and can relate to and use it to attach meaning to the new word, if that makes any sense.

Here is a website about it:

http://www.buildyourmemory.com/foreignlanguage.php

Well, I commend you for taking on two foreign langauges! Keep it up.
 
Thanks for the link, Marble Dragon! Wow, 9 languages.. How amazing would it be to be able to potentially communicate with people from so many different parts of the world? That would take so much apprehension away from international travel, too. I doubt I'll ever get anywhere near 9 but I'm hoping for 3!

Unless you count Quenya and Sindarin... Completely impractical but still on the list! :tongue:
 
My advice to you would be watching animated movies in Spanish! That way you can get a much better feel of how words are pronounced as well, since animation voice-over acting tends to sound clearer than live-action acting in general. Also, the lower the age of the target audience, the more care and thought will be put into how words are spoken. So if for example you were starting from a base level, I'd say something like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse would be a good place to begin.

I second your notion, Jewel, it feels so sweet to be able to communicate with people that have completely different lifestyles and experiences than you on the same level! Plus, I LOVE learning languages! I'm a native Portuguese speaker, but I'm proficient in English, no doubt the result of being exposed to it from a very early age. I also know a fair bit of Spanish and French, and know enough Japanese that I wouldn't go hungry were I ever to go there. I also have base foundations of German, Arabic and Chinese, but sadly I haven't been able to follow through with them so far.
I'd love to learn either Irish or Scottish Gaelic, Hindi, Italian, and... Well, a whole bunch of Native American languages, and I'm pretty sure I'd have more on the list if I could remember right now. :D

By the way, what version (boy, does that sound strange) of Spanish are you learning? Latin American or European?
 
Thanks for this thread, jewel.... I'm in the same boat, except I'm in semester two of two for school. I learned French off and on my whole life as well, and am actually more or less forced to take this Spanish class. I can't wait for it to be over with.

I have to do Spanish meetings online, and I sound horrible trying to speak it. I'm definitely not Spanish lol
 
I originally spoke spanish because I lived back on Mexico, and guess who helped me? MLP!

Watching the english G3 was fun, so I bet that watching spanish MLP will help you too!

I can put a link here if you want!
 
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