How should I go about learning Spanish from Scratch (self-learning)?

Question

Should I built up my Spaish vocabulary first? Pronunciation seems to be straight forward in those self learning books but they are tough to pronounce, any clues? Does my background in English help in the pronunciation?

Answer 1

All the above answers are very good suggestions.

The only other thing I can think to suggest is to start watching spanish television as much as possible... Specially kid shows because in those they talk slowly and teach things so they would be the easiest to pick up words from.
You can also start watching your dvds in spanish with english subtitles and try to see if you can pick out words or even sentences.

Answer 2

Your background in English would be as useful as your background in Norwegian. No. Wait. Actually... Norwegian is best. What I mean is that it doesn't really matter your native. Spanish sounds are normally more open than in English. Maybe you'll get problems with rollinr r's, but many have the same problem.
There are several places where you can find penpals to help you with Spanish. Some are:
http://www.lingup.com/
http://www.polyglot-learn-language.com/
http://home.unilang.org/main/changelanguage.php?newlang=en
http://www.lingozone.com/
http://www.languagebuddy.com/
http://www.tandem-schools.com/index.php
And the best of them all http://www.phrasebase.com/
But remember those penpals will expect help with English from you.
Just be careful. Look around Y!A and tell me how many native English speakers can type correct English. If I were to study English, I'd like to chose a penpal whose level of English shows he is a native. The same goes to Spanish. Most Spanish speakers type as horrible as most English speakers. If you think that is okay, then don't even think about it.
I'd suggest you to build your vocabulary as soon as possible. Myabe you'll find these useful:
http://www.vocab.co.uk/
http://www.riad.de/jmemorize/
Just remember that no one-to-one translation goes well in all cases. Be flexible with that. I've seen many having existential problems because they can't accept "traje" may mean "I brought" and "suit", depending on the context.
Hear Spanish. As much as you can, even if you don't understand. You'll get used to the rhythm of it. You can listen to the news at http://www.voanews.com/spanish/
Good luck.

Answer 3

Ok, a lot of people are going to tell you to make bi-lingual friends, but this is generally very hard, i know. So, if you can't do that i would suggest getting some books (books to read and instructional books), obviously, a spanish dictionary, and some CD's (of spanish music or instruction) and some movies! Study / read the books, look up words in the dictionary (make lists or write down common words you use every day and then look them up). The movies and CD's will help with your comprehension, listening, and pronounciation. Also, you can try making flashcards or sticking sticky notes to different objects in your house with the spanish word for that object on it. Also, "wordreference.com" is a very good site and will save you money if you don't want to buy a dictionary. If you need help you can email me if you want! just click my name and contact me. good luck! (buenas suertes!) ciao!

Answer 4

throw the english out the window! i would invest in some sort of cd's that teach spanish so you get the pronunciation. start watching the tv channels in spanish and use the subtitles so you learn to read it too. or even if you own some dvd's you know by memory watch those in the spanish version under language selections.

Answer 5

Best way I've found is to find yourself some bi-lingual friends (spanish/english) and slowly start having conversations with them in both languages. This will build up both your vocabulary and your pronounciation at the same time and you will be learning conversational spanish, not just useless textbook spanish.

Answer 6

It is difficult to learn a language without HEARING it.. thus, I would suggest getting those CDs on learning spanish along with the books... Do this as a starter.. I always recommend, of course, that one takes intensive Spanish courses someplace like Honduras.. that is where I went several times. Much cheaper there and nicer than going to Mexico where they sock it to you.

Answer 7

A really good site for learning languages online for free is
http://languages4everyone.com/ It has links for Spanish, Italian, Portugese, French, and German.
The Lessons are set up simply and you can hear sound clips of the words.