BajaNomad

Language zen

brewer - 7-19-2017 at 08:25 PM

Anyone using it? I'm liking it so far.

pauldavidmena - 7-20-2017 at 11:30 AM

I just read this review of Language Zen by a Canadian couple who used it during their travels through Latin America. What do you like about it? I've tried Notes in Spanish and SpanishPod 101 but have plateaued with both. I'm stuck somewhere around "Advanced Beginner".

brewer - 7-20-2017 at 05:04 PM

It's different than Duolingo. I feel I'm learning more, faster.

You can try it for free.

I like it so far...

woody with a view - 7-21-2017 at 04:32 PM

it seems like after being SOB for more than 24 hours my Spanglish is pretty damn good. after you learn all of the food groups and most of the good cuss words the rest just comes naturally! oh, and beer helps.....

pauldavidmena - 7-22-2017 at 10:08 AM

I learn much more visiting for a week and avoiding the tourist spots than I do after countless hours of podcasts, classes and online courses. If only my current job would let me transfer to Baja! :bounce:

Alm - 7-26-2017 at 08:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena  
I've tried Notes in Spanish and SpanishPod 101 but have plateaued with both. I'm stuck somewhere around "Advanced Beginner".

Same here. At the level of 5-7 year old child - can talk some, can ask/answer, and only understand "adults" when they are talking about something meant for me.

Notes in Spanish are composed and presented un-professionally. I like Coffee Brake Spanish better. Some things, like Subjunctive, I found easier to understand in Spanishdict.com - those are videocasts but their visual material is static and generic, consider it "podcasts with pictures".

What sucks is a poor retention rate after the age of 50 - whatever grammar and vocabulary you learn, you forget few months later.

pauldavidmena - 7-27-2017 at 05:22 AM

I'll definitely check out Coffee Break Spanish. Notes in Spanish sounded like a good idea - a husband and wife, one a native speaker and the other born in the U.K. using "every day Spanish" - but I agree that it was fairly limited in its effectiveness. Plus they spoke strictly in Castilian, which wasn't what I was looking for. And their explanation of the Subjunctive left me more confused than ever!

I hear you about learning a language after 50. I grew up hearing my grandparents speak Spanish, but my parents spoke only English in the house, leaving me and my siblings monolingual. So while I have an ear for the language - and sport a pretty convincing accent - I lack the practice and confidence to hold my own in conversation.

Alm - 7-27-2017 at 10:51 AM

Practice is the key. But studies have to go first - grammar, vocabulary, all the boring stuff. Then - practice. There is no easy way around, - not after you've grown up. People think sometimes that they found a magic solution, and then the knowledge is gone again.

"Spain Spanish" in NIS is annoying, difficult to listen with all those Th sounds (nonexistent in Latin America), and their idioms are useless in Mexico. Besides, they are lacking teacher's skills.

Coffee Break Spanish: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-break-spanish/id2... I downloaded it to listen offline, and renamed some lessons, ex. Past, Health, Por-Para etc. They speak both Spain and Latin American versions, giving you both, though his Scottish English is distracting at times.

Subjunctive in CBS pods is still confusing, Spanishdict.com have managed to present it better - https://youtu.be/QqMjnvY1RBE it starts here and goes for 6 or 10 lessons. Again, download to PC or smartphone, downloader will skip the commercials. Comments on Yutube are m.oronic, as usual - nothing new here.