I want to learn how to speak Spanish. Help me please!!!

[Jazzymel]

Hello. My name is Melody and I am half Puerto Rican and half Mexican. I really really want to learn to speak Spanish. I took a year and a half of Spanish at school, but I didn't really learn anything from them. I would really appreciate it if somebody would please help me. Write back ASAP! Thanks so much.

[Hombre-cuidad]

I am not really sure how to help. I think you can try to take soem tutoring again, practice harder, get language tapes. If you want to translate something online, just copy the text you want to translate and paste it at http://www.freetranslation.com

Nice website, but your guestbook didnt work. I have a website too under the pictures on my signature. Sign my guestbook if you like and I hope you learn spanish. see ya.

[ANDY-J1]

Originally posted by Jazzymel
Hello. My name is Melody and I am half Puerto Rican and half Mexican. I really really want to learn to speak Spanish. I took a year and a half of Spanish at school, but I didn't really learn anything from them. I would really appreciate it if somebody would please help me. Write back ASAP! Thanks so much.

Hello Melody.
I am Scottish and have spent about three years learning Spanish.I went to my local library where I found plenty of material to help with my studies and there are various courses available on the net.It's a lovely language and I have enjoyed learning it and also about Spanish/Latin American culture-so much so that I am about to embark on a course of advanced Spanish at university.It isn't the most difficult language to learn and I wish you the best of luck in your studies.

[Suki]

This is a sad truth to those who are Latino and do not teach Spanish to your children. YOU ARE DOING THEM A DISSERVICE. Many parents believe (falsely) that in order to not have their child confused, they should speak only English to their child. Children can learn as many languages as you can stuff in their heads at an early age. They are language learning champions! The earlier you start the easier it is for them, once puberty hits they have an uphill climb. Yet it is never too late to start! It bothers me that Mexicans, Puerto Rican ancestry Americans, believe that you can only be a true "American" if you speak English only. This is a conscious choice on the parents part to deny Spanish to their kids. I know it is. I am living proof of smart language education in the home. My parents were born in Puerto Rico but moved to the states and spoke both languages growing up. My mother's older sister married an Italian-American from New York City and later moved to California with her three kids after the divorce. She STUPIDLY DECIDED that she would not speak Spanish to her kids. They grew up and when they wanted to talk to their jibaro cousins in PR, they couldn't. All of them regretted not speaking it fluently. My parents speak perfect English and perfect Spanish (plus my father studied Japanese) and my mother studied other languages as well. They insisted we speak, read and write Spanish fluently at home and DEMANDED WE STUDY IT FORMALLY WHILE LIVING IN CALIFORNIA. Now my sister is a lawyer with a undergrad degree in both humanities and business. She got her present job because there are very few lawyers that speak read and write both languages perfectly and have extensive flexibility dealing with differing employee and client needs, even though California has huge amounts of Spanish speakers , the Spanish speakers do not speak English well and or they do not have formal educations in their own language, limiting their job choices. Americans that come from Latino backgrounds who only speak English are at a disadvantage, they have to compete with every other monolingual American who have the right "last names" and connections, without the connection to their Spanish-speaking heritages. They are losing out on soooo muuuch! Learn it as soon as possible, I am a translator now and love it! It benefits me greatly to speak both. All because my parents made the RIGHT CHOICES when I was

[hermano940]

Dear Melody,
There are many of us that have this problem. I would have to say that you have to start by listening to people talking. You can listen to the radio or go to the library and check out some latin or Spanish tapes or CD's of music Mostly Slow songs. This will teach you how to listen to the language and get yourself a Spanish to English dictionary. Then try to write what you hear. To speak Spanish you must learn to wirte it and read. It will become easier to learn this way.
The next step is to have discussions only in Spanish and never have fear of saying something wrong that is how you will have that the Spanish language has a lot of culture changes because of our great mix from the different cultures or countries that we all come from. You say you are Rican and Mexican do your parents speak any spanish. How about your grand-parents, if you do speak to them speak to them in spanish and you will see how each one speak different and the way that they say hello only should teach you that they each were taught a spanish language that is not the spanish from spain. I had my grand-parents to thank for the spanish that I know was taught to me by them and now I have my own child that I teach her little bites at a time.
If you would like to writing me here is my e-mail address hermano1@optonline.net I will help you as long as you are willing to learn. Tu = you tens = have muchos = lots hermanos = brothers What I mean by this is that you have lots of help out here if you know how it will help you. Take care and be good.......... Hermano

[student]

My name is Jason, and I am African American. I am interested in learning more spanish. If anyone would be interested in helping a brotha out with learning more I would be grateful. I grew up with Puerto Rican and Colombian friends, and they taught me. But since we have grown up, we have moved on, and I don't talk to them as much. I live in the west coast, and as everyone knows, there are mostly people of mexican decent on this side of the coast, and all I am trying to say is that the spanish is different. I would like to teach my son spanish and need help with some phrases or words that i never learned.

Thanks for any help
Bembon
Jason

My email is bembon@emailcm.com

[La1inda]

melody, I don't know how you want me to help you but if you want you can ask me some words or sentences and i will try to write them in spanish. You should also listen to other people speak. Do you have any friends that know spanish? My best friend is white and she learned spanish by being around people that would talk spanish. I also help her when she needs it. If you want email me at veronicaram@msn.com.
i will try the best i could.