BajaNomad

Spanish class

mooose29 - 6-24-2018 at 11:57 PM

I am looking for a good conversational Spanish class ideally located in the San Diego area. I would also consider weekend long classes or something to that effect in Baja. Thanks in advance for the recommendations.

paranewbi - 6-25-2018 at 05:03 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mooose29  
I am looking for a good conversational Spanish class ideally located in the San Diego area. I would also consider weekend long classes or something to that effect in Baja. Thanks in advance for the recommendations.


Just find a Mexican person in San Diego that could use a little extra cash. Perhaps a tamale selling woman. Tell her you want to learn Spanish and how to cook. You'll eat good on weekends, learn the real language and have a friend for life.

Alm - 6-25-2018 at 10:32 AM

You won't learn language from a partner, unless you've already invested time, efforts and money - in this order of importance - in learning basics of grammar and vocabulary. But you will eat.

bajabuddha - 6-25-2018 at 11:39 AM

Just because one speaks Spanish doesn't mean they can teach Spanish. I took a night-time conversational Spanish class many years ago run through the city's Adult High School; may be a good place to start looking.

Also remember, Google is your friend. :light:

Alm - 6-25-2018 at 12:38 PM

Most of what you'll learn in class or other sources will be gone a few weeks later if you don't practice it in real life every day. The friend's or partner's English is usually better than your Spanish, they'll switch to English all the time. For non-native speaker Spanish is several times more difficult to learn than English - more tenses, conjugations, more of everything.

gsbotanico - 6-25-2018 at 01:54 PM

A conversational class in adult school is a good place to start. I took classes in Encinitas. I'm not sure what is offered now. At some point you need to get a good basis in grammar. Verb conjugations and use of the subjunctive are the hardest part. Buy a grammar book. Except for the adjective usually following the noun, word order is very similar to English. And there is the gender agreement that Spanish requires. However, the wrong gender doesn't impede understanding by native speakers much, but getting the wrong verb ending will.

Practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute. Lots of speaking with native speakers without falling back on English as a crutch is the fastest way to improve.

Loretana - 6-25-2018 at 01:58 PM

gsbotanico is absolutely right on with their suggestions....

I taught first year Spanish conversation classes and you want to be with a group that is in the same category as yourself, as far as your comprehension skills are concerned....

I would like to direct you to something like this type of class, non credit and at least one day per week. Buena suerte!

http://communityed.sdce.edu


DavidT - 6-25-2018 at 03:48 PM

Some of the English speaking churches in central Florida have been offering Spanish classes. As I understand they are not religious classes but actual language classes.
Perhaps the same in San Diego.

BigBearRider - 6-25-2018 at 09:17 PM

I like Baja Language School in Ensenada. They have intensive weekend classes:

https://www.bajacal.com/

BajaBlanca - 6-26-2018 at 06:14 AM

Shari in Bahia Asuncion also used to teach conversational Spanish.

Not San Diego, but great fun, for sure!


Alm - 6-26-2018 at 10:41 AM

Quote: Originally posted by gsbotanico  
Lots of speaking with native speakers without falling back on English as a crutch is the fastest way to improve.

Not only to improve, but also to keep what you've learned. After the age of 15-19 it doesn't come natural, you need to practice or you'll lose most of it.

Grammar book is a must, but you won't learn grammar from grammar book alone - even with the best teacher - because it is difficult to memorize reliably without using it. Saying Hi to neighbor or doing grocery shopping won't give you much opportunity to use Spanish.

willardguy - 6-26-2018 at 11:09 AM

a number of classes offered in rosarito, interestingly enough in a town where everyone speaks english!

gsbotanico - 6-26-2018 at 04:09 PM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho  
Quote: Originally posted by gsbotanico  
Verb conjugations and use of the subjunctive are the hardest part.
Much to my surprise, I've decided that it's actually prepositions which continue to challenge non-native speakers as they approach fluency; those pesky little brats defy rules and require a huge store of passive models which can only be acquired through exposure. :)

Prepositions can get tricky too because they can both be used as propositions and as conjunctions for subordinate clauses. Then there are certain verbs that are always associated with certain prepositions either as a simple prepositional phrase or subordinate clause beginning with, for example, "de que" or "con que."

There's a great little book called "1001 Pitfalls in Spanish" that is a wonderful tool for the intermediate and advanced learners. It's organized so that the reader can pick and choose which sections to read. It has a good section on the difference between "para" and "por."

bajabuddha - 6-26-2018 at 04:14 PM

Si, a huevo.

Yes, and eggs.

[Edited on 6-26-2018 by bajabuddha]

del mar - 6-26-2018 at 04:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha  
Si, a juevo.

Yes, and eggs.


huevo!

bajabuddha - 6-26-2018 at 04:45 PM

Quote: Originally posted by del mar  
Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha  
Si, a juevo.

Yes, and eggs.


huevo!


thx, nevur kud spel gud. Speshuly in a foren laynguidge. :lol:

Lee - 6-26-2018 at 08:38 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha  
Si, a huevo.

Yes, and eggs.

[Edited on 6-26-2018 by bajabuddha]


Si, y huevos = yes, and eggs.

Eso si que es.

shari - 6-27-2018 at 11:30 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca  
Shari in Bahia Asuncion also used to teach conversational Spanish.

Not San Diego, but great fun, for sure!


Gracias Blanca.....some of our return guests now incorporate Spanish lessons into their vacation with us...we do as little or as much as you want with some class type study and just speaking as much spanish as they can while they are here having fun. This method really works as you are learning meaningful expressions using phrases that everyone uses here in Baja.

Alm - 6-27-2018 at 01:23 PM

Quote: Originally posted by gsbotanico  
Then there are certain verbs that are always associated with certain prepositions either as a simple prepositional phrase or subordinate clause beginning with, for example, "de que" or "con que."

There's a great little book called "1001 Pitfalls in Spanish" that is a wonderful tool for the intermediate and advanced learners. It's organized so that the reader can pick and choose which sections to read. It has a good section on the difference between "para" and "por."

Many expressions are like that, - need to memorize as a block and use without analyzing.

There is no single textbook that would explain all the areas of grammar and vocabulary perfectly well. Not to mention live classes, where both the so-so skills of teacher and different level of other students will get in the way. I remember having difficulties with numbers at the beginner's level, until found and printed out a small table from BBC Languages. For Por/Para I found that audio podcasts Coffee Break Spanish (free on Itunes) and video podcasts by Spanishdict.com https://youtu.be/hld_jc6JY9s worked for me. Download to your computer or smartphone and re-play when you feel like. Coffee Break Spanish have lessons from #1 to #80-something, and SpanishDict go from #1.1 to #15.12, I think.

Practice, practice and practice - tedious, but there is no other way. You may learn many real-life expressions and still will barely speak, and will not understand anything they are saying unless they dumb it down to level of a 6-year old child.