Spanish

[Peruvian]

Hola dreyesbo. De que pais eres? España , Peru,Colombia...?

[Lash Dresden]

Does someone have a recommendation for a good way to learn some basic Spanish? I work in an office where a lot of clients are not fluent in English (some speak no English beyond "you speak Spanish?"). It would be nice for me to be able to at least find out what they want and let them know whether the person they are looking for is in, or when they will be back, without having to go next door (where there are a couple of bi-lingual employees) for an interpreter.

I've heard the Rosetta Stone software is good, but I've also heard it's expensive. They offer a class through the community education program here, but it's for tourists planning a holiday to a Spanish speaking country and knowing how to ask "how much does this cost?" and "which way to the bathroom?" (which is how the class was explained to me by someone who checked it out) won't be of any help to me at work.

[CountWestwest]

Originally Posted by Lash Dresden

Does someone have a recommendation for a good way to learn some basic Spanish? I work in an office where a lot of clients are not fluent in English (some speak no English beyond "you speak Spanish?"). It would be nice for me to be able to at least find out what they want and let them know whether the person they are looking for is in, or when they will be back, without having to go next door (where there are a couple of bi-lingual employees) for an interpreter.

I've heard the Rosetta Stone software is good, but I've also heard it's expensive. They offer a class through the community education program here, but it's for tourists planning a holiday to a Spanish speaking country and knowing how to ask "how much does this cost?" and "which way to the bathroom?" (which is how the class was explained to me by someone who checked it out) won't be of any help to me at work.

I'm sure you have spanish language television in the Chicago area. Watch it. You'll be surprised how much you pick up, even if at the beginning you don't understand anything at all. It's audio-visual learning on the cheap.

[Lash Dresden]

Actually, I'm not really in Chicago. That's where Harry Dresden lives (check out the link in my siggy). But now that you mention it, we do have a couple of Spanish language channels here. I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the suggestion, I hadn't even thought of that!

[Puchula]

Listening to music can also be an interesting choice, but be sure to pick songs with a slow rythm and if possible find a written version of the lyrics to guide you. If not you might get lost more easily than with tv.

As far as textbooks, I don't think any will have exactly what you're looking for. Most begginers books (no matter the language) focus too much on tourists and 'finding directions' talk so, while you'll learn to say your name and age alright, you won't get to basic "office" chat until you're a few books in.

[MmeBergerac]

You can also listen to most of the Spanish radio networks by the internet. You can try Radio Nacional, for instance; they have some good programs that you can download in podcast form.

You also can try online newspapers: http://www.abc.es/,http://www.elmundo.es/

Of course, you'll need a good dictionary: http://www.wordreference.com/


And, if you want to study it seriously, you can try in the Instituto Cervantes; it's an institution to promote the teaching of Spanish abroad. They have the Aula Virtual de Español (AVE) for online teaching.

I hope it helps!

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by Lash Dresden

Does someone have a recommendation for a good way to learn some basic Spanish? I work in an office where a lot of clients are not fluent in English (some speak no English beyond "you speak Spanish?"). It would be nice for me to be able to at least find out what they want and let them know whether the person they are looking for is in, or when they will be back, without having to go next door (where there are a couple of bi-lingual employees) for an interpreter.

I've heard the Rosetta Stone software is good, but I've also heard it's expensive. They offer a class through the community education program here, but it's for tourists planning a holiday to a Spanish speaking country and knowing how to ask "how much does this cost?" and "which way to the bathroom?" (which is how the class was explained to me by someone who checked it out) won't be of any help to me at work.

Rosetta Stone is expensive, but it is a really great way to learn basic Spanish. If you're interested in a more detailed explanation, you might want to talk to Rell, who I know has been doing a bit of work with Rosetta.

As for supplemental learning materials, most bookstores offer some basic workbooks sometimes with iPod/computer programs that allow you to hear the material as well. I don't know what field you are in, but it sounds like you will need to go beyond the basics of "Hello, my names is..." and actually learn some vocabulary and basic verb conjugations. I would seriously consider looking into some basic workbooks at your local bookstore; I know that I've helped several people find cheaper alternatives to Rosetta Stone in the foreign language area. (The teaching materials are generally located with the dictionaries.)

As others have mentioned, Spanish soap operas and radio stations are great supplemental materials to practice your listening skills because they offer a wide range of accents and speeds of speaking to practice aural skills.

Good luck!

[dreyesbo]

Originally Posted by Peruvian

Hola dreyesbo. De que pais eres? España , Peru,Colombia...?

De México :P

@Lash Dresden: Try a few classes, I'm sure you could find a couple of good, cheap ones. Specially if it's a personal teacher, a Spanish-speaker who lives where you do. They are efficient, as they are just with you, and you could focus more on office chat if you wish.

[Lisa_Turpin]

¿Como se dice "safety pin"? Necesito preguntar a mi "madre" por unos pero no está en mi diccionario...

[MmeBergerac]

safety pin = imperdible

[drummerx]

Hola! Me llamo Alesia

I only started taking Spanish at school this past February So I'm not too good at it lol

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by drummerx

Hola! Me llamo Alesia

I only started taking Spanish at school this past February So I'm not too good at it lol

¡Hola, Alesia!

This is a great thread to practice your Spanish in, and if you have any questions, we have lots of native speakers who will be glad to help you!

¡Bienvenidos a CoS!

[Montse]

umm... I dont know if someone can help me , but how do you say chicharones in English?

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by Montse

umm... I dont know if someone can help me , but how do you say chicharones in English?

I'm pretty sure the English equivalent is "pork rinds."

[Montse]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Turpin

I'm pretty sure the English equivalent is "pork rinds."

Thank you!!!

[MmeBergerac]

I've found two possibilities in the dictionary: cracklings (American English) or pork scratchings (British). In any case, they're wonderful, though they make you a bit thirsty in summer

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by MmeBergerac

I've found two possibilities in the dictionary: cracklings (American English) or pork scratchings (British). In any case, they're wonderful, though they make you a bit thirsty in summer

Cracklings was also in my dictionary, but it's a term I've never heard used in the States. We learned about chichorrones as "pork rinds" in my Spanish classes.

(As a side note, our teacher brought some in to try, and I would have to say I would gladly not eat them again, but to each his own!)

[Montse]

Originally Posted by MmeBergerac

I've found two possibilities in the dictionary: cracklings (American English) or pork scratchings (British). In any case, they're wonderful, though they make you a bit thirsty in summer

Thanks for looking it up!!

Originally Posted by Lisa_Turpin

Cracklings was also in my dictionary, but it's a term I've never heard used in the States. We learned about chichorrones as "pork rinds" in my Spanish classes.

(As a side note, our teacher brought some in to try, and I would have to say I would gladly not eat them again, but to each his own!)

oh, I love them with tortillas and lemon.
They are good!!!
thanks!!!

[deansboy]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Turpin

Cracklings was also in my dictionary, but it's a term I've never heard used in the States. We learned about chichorrones as "pork rinds" in my Spanish classes.

Those are slightly different. Chicharrón is more the meat while Pork rinds are like the meat in popcorn form.
Both are darn good though, 'cept you've got to be careful with Chicharrón since I ate it once and got a really bad stomach ache from the spices they stuck in it, though it's me an my mother's fault not noticing that it was red instead of that normal brown golden-brown color.

[LikeLuna]

Random question: Do you use "tú" or "Usted" when talking to God?