I started self-studying Spanish in December last year. A month or so later I finally realized how to go about it. š You see, learning a new language on your own is not like in school where they have a system. I didn't have anything to start on except my motivation to learn. That's what makes it difficult.
With all the free information online you can learn anything at anytime. Nobody can or will tell you which one to study first. No one will say you have to learn this or that now or later. You can start with anything! š That's the beauty of learning on your own, and that is also where we will stumble. š
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Call me impatient but by the second week of haphazardly studying Spanish I knew I wasn't doing very well. Yeah the language learning apps and some random online quizzes said I was doing great but I know I wasn't. Not really. At least based on my personal standards I know I wasn't doing enough.
As mentioned in my previous posts (this and this), I started off with the English-Spanish mobile apps, then YouTube and online articles/websites and lastly I returned to what I first used years ago: audio language learning program.
I'm very happy that there's YouTube and its various content creators. One channel actually made learning feel like I really have a classroom language teacher even if I am just watching it on my own.
Oh yes, there are plenty of helpful language learning articles, Spanish TV shows and free games online. But of course I also signed up to one or two sites to enjoy the free content.
Am I taking this too seriously? Maybe and maybe not. š Look, it's been more than a month and it's only now that I realized I really need to focus on the verbs! Come on. I keep checking on whichever I have to learn based on any current learning frustration I have. After a month of that I seriously need a study plan. š
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Important Self-Study Tip: Create a Language Learning System
I never thought I needed it. Seriously. š Ah how silly of me eh? I only realized it about 2 to 3 weeks in. Why? Because I was all over the place! I was studying whatever I fancied.
For example, one day it was just to increase my vocabulary and learn words. For 20+ days I was using a mobile language app without fail. (And then I added two more apps!) On random and certain consecutive days I would be watching a Spanish series and some YouTube videos. At other times I would just be watching a language lesson online. Heck, talk about having no sense of direction eh? š
One time I saw a video about how a guy became fluent in Spanish in 30 days. Well good for him because he developed a system so he could learn fast! And he already knew more than the basics since he studied it in school when he was younger. (1st lightbulb moment!)
As I watched it, I knew his system wouldn't work for me because we have different backgrounds. So then I watched another video where someone talked about language learning through the US government. Meaning the army, marine, military, etc., had an exclusive and intensive language learning routine. Oh my, that also gave me a sense of how to self-study better. (2nd light bulb moment.)
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Fast forward to more than a month later, I finally had to think of making my own way of learning to make it easier for myself. Without it I don't think I'd progress faster or better. This is how I should be able to learn better. (I hope so. š¤)
Here's the general outline I came up with:
(Since I am already doing the vocabulary expansion on a regular basis I will go straight to the next important thing to learn!)
1. First things first: Focus on the Verbs!
If you have to learn anything after the basics (numbers, letters or nouns and basic pronouns, word genders and others), start with the verbs. Why? For me, VERBS are the most difficult part of it all! š
After spending a month exploring this other language, I swear it feels overwhelming when you think about verbs. For real! Why do I say so? Well you have to learn more than 10 types! š±
I read an article saying there's 16 Spanish verb types according to tenses and/or kinds of verb. (Heck I even found another one that says there's 21! š)
And guess what, you also have to learn the conjugations of each one! That's usually 5 to 6 kinds for each person/pronoun. š Or 3 each for singular and plural. Jeezus, right? šš
That means while learning verbs you will also be introduced to how it relates to basic pronouns. (Yes, that's 2-in-1!) Picture this: Let's use the 16 types x 6 conjugations. That's 96 word forms to learn per verb! š Do you know how many verbs there are in a language? Everything we do is a verb! š
And you thought English was difficult eh? š Now tell me you aren't as overwhelmed as I am by just thinking about it. Of course Spanish is not French, German or Japanese so that should make it quite easier.
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But wait, there's a "conjugation suffix set" for each tense and such. That definitely helps a lot! For beginners like me though, it may not be as easy as it seems. š Seriously, if we don't conquer the verbs first then good luck to our listening and reading comprehension.
I tried reading Noli Me Tangere in it's original Spanish form on my 3rd week or so and I still couldn't understand almost all of it. š So trust me when I say, after you conquer the verbs the next thing you will need to master is...
2. Learn the Other Parts of Speech and Sentence Construction
Before we learn to properly construct sentences we will also have to learn the other pronouns. Did you know you can also remove words in complete sentences AND attach pronouns to certain words? (I think this is already for the intermediate level but am not sure. š )
Whatever the case, changing sentence objects into pronouns will shorten Spanish sentences and improve our grammar! And yes that also means we must learn other parts of speech like adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, etc.
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Let's not forget word placements. Oh my goodness... Yes I could learn Spanish by parts of speech (for vocabulary expansion) but heck I wanna learn everything fast that it's making me slow. š I even wanna buy a kid's book at this point but I can't find any. š (That's a topic for another day actually so stay tuned! š)
Yes I know the first and second part of my plan is really how learning should be. However as mentioned, I just don't follow this pattern yet since I started. š You know how language learning apps and audiobooks are. If not then you should try and find out what I'm talking about. (They will always start with basic conversations immediately before explaining things.)
If that works for you, good! Too bad it doesn't work that well for me. Even when I use them I always feel like there's something missing. Something I do not know, the explanation behind why such and such are like so.
Okay this is getting quite long so let's end it for now. I'll post the continuation (Part 2) later on.
After reading all of the above, well, how about you? Have you ever tried learning a new language on your own? Feel free to share your experience and also your thoughts on what I've been doing so far. Haha.
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