Is it possible to learn spanish at the age of 22?

Question

I want to learn Spanish?
Im 22 and I've heard it all. "You can't learn it because the puerto ricans speaks GHETTO spanish" "Youll never learn it because the language changes all the time" "Your black, why are you trying to be puerto rican" Well I just want to be bilingual. lol Its as simple as that. My first choice was Italian, but Spanish is easier..and spoken more in America. Does anyone have any opinions or suggestions on how should I start learning? I listen to the spanish radio every morning on the way to work just to get the feel of the pronounciation, I sleep with the spanish channel on, and I practice speaking it to workers in the grocery stores. BUT PLEASE give me suggestions in bulk. Other than going to Spain or dating a Spanish guy (even though you guys are hot!) Thank you so much in advance .....!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

sure
why not

http://www.languageguide.org/
http://www.babelnation.com/
http://www.livemocha.com/
http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/
http://www.sharedtalk.com/index.aspx
http://www.mangolanguages.com/
http://www.babylon.com

Answer 2

Sure, it will just take longer than when you were - say - 12, but you can learn languages at any age. You should try to find someone to talk some Spanish with at lunch or dinner or some regular time of day and not speak ANY English during this time. Of course you know it works best to go to a Spanish-speaking country, but who has the time? I got some CD's, but they were pretty lame and when I asked native speakers and teachers I know, they did confirm that there is not a good course out there for self-teaching. - Which is weird because the top-of-the-line Berlitz Italian Course rocked! Why didn't they just put the same package together for Spanish? No idea! Record and listen to the Latin Soaps - they speak slowly (dramatically) and distinctly, so they are a good starting point for conversational Spanish - assuming you want to tell someone you know they cheated on you! ;)

Answer 3

I feel like adults can actually learn things EASIER than a child.
I mean, can you imagine a 10 year-old learning Calculus?
It's not to say that adults cannot have a hard time, but it's not as hard for an adult as a child.
So yes, you can learn Spanish at your age!
Try your local junior college to learn Spanish. That's the best way. Learning from the dictionary's not enough.
Get a video that teaches Spanish. Or get an electronic translator, where you type in a word or phrase, and it translates back. But the best way is take a class.

I know what you mean by getting accused of trying to be Puerto Rican. Shoot, I am White, Native American, and Black (It's not obvious that I'm White because of my brown skin and my mother has light brown skin and doesn't look White) and if I speak "White" slang, like talking like a surfer dude a bit, a few people tell me (mutual friends my bro and I used to have) "Why are you talking Black?" and I make known I'm part White. (My bro just looks at himself as Black, so that doesn't help!)

It is GOOD to want to be bilingual! Never know when it's necessary to not speak English, and being bilingual does open doors. But shame on this society for wanting to be Black and White about everything! A person is JUST a person! Take off the skin, and we ALL the same color! No matter your race, you should do and talk however you feel, as long as it's not hurting anyone. I mean, there's no harm that I say "Dude!" instead of "Homie!"

Answer 4

A good option is going to Yahoo answers Mexico(or another spanish speaking Y answers). That way you get a feel for how they speak, and you are able to respond as well. Plus, they use a lot of slang, which is always good to know.
Verb conjugation is one of the hardest aspects of learning spanish. I recommend getting a good workbook that allows you to practice using all the tenses. Also, instead of just writing answers, practice saying the answers before you write it down.
One of my favorite sites for learning languages is http://www.livemocha.com I think that should be good help for you, and you can find spanish speaking penpals there.
Yes, it is harder learning it at an older age, but with what you are already doing, I don't think you should have to much of a problem picking it up.

Buena suerte!

Answer 5

Spanish is easy to learn. You mentioned that "it changes all the time", not so. It changes from country to country but we all understand each other.
You are doing the right thing by listening to Spanish TV and radio stations.
I lived in a Spanish speaking country for 5 years,
I had to learn it.
My ex went to Cuernavaca, Mexico and studied Spanish. It was an intensive course. After 6 weeks she learned quite a bit.

Answer 6

This is my way of learning a new language. It works well.

- Get a phrase book.

- Identify the 10 most useful phrases, starting with greetings and basic introductions.

- Make flashcards to memorize them, separating the ones you know from the ones you don't know.

- Use memory aids to remember the tough ones (like, sounds like "car gone by").

- Go out and practise them, to hone your pronounciation and determine what you next 10 phrases should be.

- Learn 10 every day until you know 100.

- By then you'll be able to mix and match words from your phrases and pick words out of other people's sentences

- Get a pocket dictionary so that you can quickly look up words that you need in conversation.

- If you are in to grammar, get a grammar book, which will answer your questions that you are having along the way.

Answer 7

your never too late to learn a new language, it doesn't matter what age, nationality or colour you are, you can learn it and should learn it if you want.

Just type in "free online spanish courses" on google and there might be some online websites that will help you.

Answer 8

Great initiative!

Learning a language carries with it several coginitive benefits to your brain and can help ward off alzheimer's or any other brain-degenratory diseases.

The best way to learn a language particularly at this age, is to learn it like you learned your first language, which I'm guessing is English.

I recommend that you buy some language immersion software, which will get you not only used to the sounds and general feel of the language, but you introduce you to the grammar and vocabulary of it in a user-friendly manner:

http://www.rosettastone.com/personal/languages/spanish-latin-america
(This is a bit expensive, but with a few months savings, this is worth the buck - afer all, it's even used in thte top levels of international organizations, such as Nato and the UN)

http://www.rapidspanishpro.com/
(Specifgically developed and endorsed by the US state department)

http://www.spanishtapes.com/
(Collection of high quality tapes to improve your lstening and verbal pronounciation)

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As a starters, you can try these wbesites for free (you can also subscribe for additional features):

http://www.studyspanish.com/

http://www.learnspanishtoday.com/

http://www.spanishprograms.com/

http://www.lingolex.com/spanish.htm

http://www.spanish.bz/learn-spanish.htm

http://www.learnspanishguide.com/

http://www.e-spanyol.hu/en/

Answer 9

Oh yes, it always helps when you know somebody spanish or work with the person as well. I worked with a Mother and Daughter from Domician Republic and I've picked so much of the langauge. Oh by the way if you hear the term "Mamacita" it's a compliment or a term of endurement towards somebody's mother.

Answer 10

Personally I was in a similar boat. My girlfriend is from Peru, and all I knew how to say is hola. She wanted to take me to her country to meet her parents. I wanted to be fluent in Spanish. I used this program http://zzd.in/LearnSpanish and couldn't say better things. In about two months in my spare time, on my own (wanted it to be kind of a surprise) I learned enough spanish to hold a conversation. Including slang, which impressed me as I don't think most programs teach you how people really talk.

Answer 11

I have students who are well into their 40's and 50's and are just beginning to learn Spanish. Motivation is one key to your success. A lot of people don't have motivation in college so they don't learn anything. If you have the motivation, you will go a long way.

Nathan
http://www.spanish-help.net