For the longest time I was trying the wrong techniques for language learning. I was using the traditional methods that I learned when I was taking Spanish classes in high school and college.
Using flash cards and writing down vocabulary with definitions in English. I suppose when you literally know zero Spanish this is the only way to develop a foundation. But, if you have some basis of vocabulary and training with verbs, but you just need to take the next step in fluency I would like to share with you what I feel is the best approach.
I will preface this by saying that I am not a specialist. I have only spent a small amount of time researching methods for learning. All I can say is that this really worked and is working for me. It is not enough to just move to a Spanish speaking country. You don’t just learn through osmosis. Surely at a certain point you will reach fluency, but if you want get the most rewards in the shortest amount of time, you have to focus your efforts.
The next tip that I have to share is to seek out materials that are meaningful and are delightful to repeat. For most people this value is found in music. In the songs that we all love like some of those Marc Anthony, or Ricky Martin songs that became popular in the 90’s and 00’s. These songs get in to your head because they are pleasing to hear with the melodies and the emotion behind them. I encourage you to also look into the meaning of the words and then when you hear them repetitively you can have a meaning associated with them. I think this may be one of the absolute best ways to learn vocabulary specifically (while I feel reading is the best way to achieve grammar learning). It is no coincidence that there a children’s songs for vocabulary learning. These methods work.
Some of my favorite bands for language learning are Onda Vaga, Bomba Estéreo, and Diego El Cigela.
Another method for enjoying the repetition of words is to get into the words of the philosophers and poets of the Spanish speaking world. One of my favorite poems is by Antonio Machado, called Caminante, No Hay Camino.
“Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino y nada más;
Caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace el camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino
sino estelas en la mar.”
Traveler, your footprints
are the only road, nothing else.
Traveler, there is no road;
you make your own path as you walk.
As you walk, you make your own road,
and when you look back
you see the path
you will never travel again.
Traveler, there is no road;
only a ship's wake on the sea.