Need Advise In Learning The Lingo

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I had a teacher who totally pushed the subjunctive way too soon and it was really detrimental. I still don't use that damn tense! I'm not a great speaker but once I gave up caring as much about making mistakes it helped a lot. Too much stress definitey kills everything....

Yes, I had this problem too. It crushed my confidence. I too avoid the subjunctivo.

Listening in buenos aires is very difficult for me - I compare it to learning English in Scotland.

Speaking with your partner or just one in one is good, as I freak out in groups. Social groups especially where everyone is talking at once and keeping focus after 20-30 mins is tricky. I trust it will get easier.

Like anything in life - you have just gotta want it!

 

[EricLovesBA]

I had a teacher who totally pushed the subjunctive way too soon and it was really detrimental. I still don't use that damn tense! I'm not a great speaker but once I gave up caring as much about making mistakes it helped a lot. Too much stress definitey kills everything....

I can really relate to this. Intellectually I can say that my goal is "to speak Spanish poorly, then speak it fluently", but emotionally it's really hard for me to let go and live with all the mistakes I have to make. I'm generally introverted to begin with so that language gap sometimes looks more like the grand canyon. I'm fairly convinced that this has always been my biggest obstacle - the psychological part.

 

[nlaruccia]

The subjunctive is difficult because it doesn't exist in English, except in cases such as "may God save the Queen". It expresses something that you're not absolutely sure about. I hope he had a good time at the party. He had a good time, but you're not 100% sure. I had a hard time the first couple of years. I never anything in classes. I started to pick it up by just mimicking them when they talk like children do when they're learning to speak. I had to completely stop speaking English. Don't lot anyone practice English with you, only castellano.

 

[Rich One]

and the Pasive Voice y el Plusquanperfecto?

 

[nikad]

I don´t mean to sound crazy, but I bet most of you can speak a very decent Spanish over a couple beers Most expats I have met through the years, really can speak a lot more than what they think they can, it is just that many people want to have full command of the language when talking, and are too self conscious.

I totally spoiled my husband here the first few years, and I would do all the talking and translating back and forth, and we would speak in English at home - easier as we were both working together on different projects and in English, so switching over to Spanish was weird.

He only really improved and started to talk despite making some mistakes, once he got himself a job at an office where he had to speak Spanish.

 

[Gringoboy]

Being a sponge helps.

 

[Hybrid Ambassador]

My younger days at the squadra trying to beat then the formidable Audi Quattro WRC scene..
When other Engineers were enrollin' to the Real Academia, I was learning the lengua, i mean
the language with the hermosa Espanyolas como maestras !

 

[nlaruccia]

and the Pasive Voice y el Plusquanperfecto?

I asked an Argentine doctor friend of mine once about why they don't use pasado perfecto or futuro and gave me the following advice when it comes to learning castellano. I quote what he said. "In Argentina they generally just use the present tense because no one wants to remember our past and no one uses the future tense because we don't know what the future holds".

 

[Napoleon]

Agreed about the subjunctive; it can be tricky.
For example, after doing a nice asado for the in-laws, I always struggled with:
'Espero que les haya gustado',

"Espero que les haya gustado," ...becomes... ¿Era rico el carne?

Then later... Les gustó?

"Espero que les haya gustado." is about 3 to 5 years away.

 

[nicoenarg]

I have been in Argentina for a few years and still struggle with Castellano. I have gone from intense classes to tutoring with little success. I was wondering if anyone would like to share what worked for them in learning to communicate in Castellano. I am really interested what you do to remember and reinforce the different conjugations of the verbs.

Thanks

Pfff. Easy! Wherever you go, go unprepared. For example, yesterday I was looking for some birthday candles at a supermarket but before leaving I forgot to Google Translate "candles". So I went to this supermarket where finding things for some reason is extremely hard. Anyway, I didn't know how to say "candles" in Castellano so I went up to this dude who worked there and said, "Bueno...cuando hay cumple an~os, hay tortas...y encima de tortas hay algo con fuego..." (BTW, I don't know if this sentence is correct, so please don't copy it ) He caught my drift and said, "Velas?!" I said, "Si???" He said, "Velas, con fuego?!" I said, "Si!!!!!!" And BAM! Learned a new word right there. Felt like an idiot later but oh it was a rewarding experience since I found my VELAS! (not sure if I'm writing this right since I haven't actually bothered to look it up).

Other than this technique you could also get a book on a subject you like and read the s__t out of that book without too much help from dictionaries or translators. It may sound like this doesn't work but I read a book and my vocabulary got so much better. Now I'm reading another one and its again doing wonders. You will understand people more and you will also feel more confident while speaking because you know more words.

Lastly, there is a website called Verbling. You have to pay for classes on it but it also has free rooms where people speak different languages. Check it out and speak with people there and see if its your thing. Problem though is that most of the folks on there are from Spain or Mexico or the US and the Spanish maybe a little different.

EDIT: With books, don't be afraid to write words that stand out on each page. Underline them or write them in the margins. My first book in Spanish has crazy amount of words underlined. The second one that I'm reading has far less underlined so far. It feels good to see how much you've progressed. Also get your information on Argentina from Spanish language newspapers instead of the BS Herald (you won't learn any Spanish from that awful newspaper and also lose some English since theirs sucks so much).