I have a story to tell. I started learning Spanish these days. My approach is the story that I want to share.
I have heard a whole lot about learning Spanish through software like those of Rosetta Stone, Fluenz Spanish and even Rocket Spanish, all of which are considered the best there are, they are unbeatable and they have give so much help for those who really need to learn Spanish fast. The thing is, I am neither good in interactive software as those seen in the programs neither am I that computer savvy. Somehow, I cannot seem to grasp visual learning as I can with audio learning.
The difficulty that I face is that if I have something to keep on listening to, like those of interactive audio learning programs, I get lost trying to figure out what it is I am learning. Call me a paradox; call me slow, it is just the way that I am. Thing is, I grew up speaking Spanish and I understand Spanish perfectly well, but somewhere along the way, as I was growing up, I decided to junk Spanish and I just kept to my first language which is the English language.
Don’t ask me what happened, I probably need regression therapy to get the story straight. The point is, there is a block that no one can remove. So, how come I am back to speaking Spanish again? Simple, really: I married a man who does not really speak English all that well as he is Spanish. Worst, his whole family either speak Spanish or some other language. If people ask how I started learning Spanish these days. My approach was to immerse myself in the language and forget about English for a while.
Strangely, once I started immersing myself into the language, I have started to think even in Spanish. Ironically, this is exactly the immersion that the Rosetta Stone Spanish program encourages. I guess that is really the secret to learning Spanish, or any language for that matter: to think in the language that you are learning. Not to translate it into something else.