Learning Spanish II: How to Understand and Speak a New Language

Begin by exploring key principles of effective language learning. Consider a core approach to building comprehension, focusing on linguistic cognates, context, and the use of conjecture. Then, do a spirited review of definite and indefinite articles, singular and plural nouns, and subject pronouns, and look at some new grammar and vocabulary.

To build conversational skill, practice the present tense with verbs ending in "ar," "er," and "ir." Then learn some vital irregular verbs and how to use them. Continue with prepositional pronouns (as in "near me" or "next to her"), and some new prepositions (such as "beneath" and "behind"). Finish with an overview and how to get the most from what you've learned.

Here, tackle a variety of new material. Start with a thorough look at indirect object pronouns (as in "to/for you" or "to/for us"), and verbs that use them. Work with a highly useful verb, gustar, which expresses what someone likes or doesn't like, and with other verbs which function similarly. Then explore the geography of the Spanish-speaking world, and adjectives of nationality.

Look at ways to develop excellent pronunciation in Spanish. In particular, practice Spanish consonant sounds that don't exist in English, focusing on the Spanish "r." Investigate reflexive verbs, and how to use them in conversational speech. Last, study reciprocal verbs, which describe actions done by people to each other, and observe how they work within a romantic story spoken in Spanish.

First, learn useful vocabulary relating to the kitchen and cooking. Then study grammatical constructions that use the present tense to talk about the past. Delve deeply into the preterite tense, which expresses past actions that are viewed as completed or ended. Sharpen your command of the preterite with key verbs such as tener (to have), ver (to see), dar (to give), and ir (to go).

Explore important vocabulary regarding time, and how to use it conversationally. Then work with the imperfect tense, which expresses ongoing actions in the past, conditions or characteristics in the past, time or age in the past, and habitual past actions. Practice forming the imperfect with all categories of verbs, and grasp how the imperfect is used in Spanish compared with English.

Learn to distinguish between contexts where the preterite is the necessary tense and others where it's best to use the imperfect. As a case in point, see what happens when an action in the past interrupts another action that is in progress. Work briefly with the verb haber (to have) in the preterite and the imperfect. Finally, learn about one of the most important novels in Spanish literature.

Investigate a two-step approach to incorporating new words in Spanish as an active part of your vocabulary. Next, focus on the Spanish pronoun se, and its essential use in passive and impersonal expressions. Then learn the imperfect progressive construction, vital for conversation, which emphasizes the ongoing nature of past actions. Observe the use of verb tenses in a story from Cervantes.

Learn a range of new vocabulary relating to the family. Then take a look at verbs that change meaning depending on their context. Observe how some important verbs have different meanings in the preterite and the imperfect, and how others change meaning when used in the positive as opposed to the negative. Also grasp three rules regarding which syllables to stress when speaking Spanish.

Improve your Spanish pronunciation by working with key vowel and consonant sounds that we may think are the same as English, but are in fact different. Continue with direct object pronouns (as in, "I see them."), and double object pronouns, where two pronouns occur within a sentence ("We send them to him."). Learn how to build skill with these vital elements of conversation.

Begin this lesson with some highly useful vocabulary regarding shopping. Contemplate three qualities of successful language learners, and how to maximize your own learning of Spanish. Then work in depth with possessive adjectives (as in "my" or "your"), and possessive pronouns ("mine" or "yours"), and practice them in many different conversational settings where they appear.

Continue your work with Spanish pronunciation by practicing sounds which can be tricky for learners, such as the Spanish "b," "s," and "d" sounds. Next, learn a useful verbal construction that expresses accidental or unplanned events, such as when someone breaks or forgets something. Finally, take a thorough look at Spanish spelling, and some of the challenges it presents for English speakers.

Following work with new vocabulary, delve into the past participles of verbs. In particular, investigate their use as adjectives (as in, "I'm prepared"). Then learn five additional words used in talking about time in different contexts. End this lesson by exploring the present perfect tense (as in "We have slept"), how to conjugate it, and when to use it in expressing yourself in Spanish.

Deepen your work with some core elements of conversational fluency. First, refine your knowledge of past participles; both their use in the present perfect tense and their use as adjectives. Practice the present perfect tense with pronouns (such as, "We've given it to them"), with adverbs (as in "I've never met Juan"), and discover how Spanish past participles can also function as nouns.

Learn two ways to express future actions without using the future tense; one, using the present tense to describe future actions, and, two, using the Spanish construction meaning that one is "going to" do something. Then learn the less used future tense, some key expressions regarding the future, and note how the future tense is also used to express uncertainty or conjecture.

Consider the value of making a good first impression when you begin communicating with Spanish speakers. With this in mind, learn a group of effective "conversation openers," to engage with the person you're speaking to. Continue with a range of new vocabulary, and take a close look at the frequency and usefulness of cognates in Spanish - words that are the same as or similar to words in English.

In approaching the conditional, note how this tense is used in English to express potential actions, and to be polite, and how it functions similarly in Spanish. Review the five tenses you've learned so far, and observe how adding new tenses becomes easier as you progress. Learn to conjugate the conditional, and practice its application, including its use to express probability in the past.

Explore Spanish nouns that are directly related to verbs, highlighting nouns that end in the suffix "-miento." Continue with a look at important uses of the infinitive in Spanish; its use as a subject ("I like to cook"), an object ("We want to eat now"), and in commands. Also work with three highly useful verbs: dejar (to leave), and sentirse and sentir, which express how someone feels.

Extend your skill with the infinitive with important additional ways to use it, such as its use as a noun. Also deepen your work with interrogatives, focusing on questions involving "what" and "which." Then delve into the use of relative adverbs and relative pronouns, words which link the first part of a sentence with what comes afterwards.

A grasp of how to use the verbs estar and ser (both of which mean "to be"), is fundamental for communicating in Spanish. Here, study five primary contexts for using estar, followed by eight core uses of ser. Also note cases where both ser and estar are possible. Conclude this lesson by considering how to develop the most effective mental attitude for learning Spanish.

Refine your facility in Spanish with a review of the three types of adverbs, adding some vital adverbial expressions, such as con frecuencia (frequently). Explore Spanish adjectives which can come before nouns, and nouns that end with the suffix "-ión." Then, learn about Gabriel García Márquez's Cien años de Soledad, one of the two most important and influential novels ever written in Spanish.

Add more adverbs and adjectives to your vocabulary, and learn how to change adjectives into nouns. Study how to use two of the most important prepositions, which can be challenging for Spanish learners: para and por, both of which translate into English as "for." Learn the key contexts for each, and the usage differences you must grasp to speak Spanish correctly.

Trace the origins of Spanish, beginning with the early Iberian languages and the introduction of Latin by the Romans. Follow the process by which Latin developed into castellano, or modern Spanish. Learn to make comparisons in Spanish, both of equality and inequality. Also study adjectives which mean one thing when used before a noun, and something else when used after it.

Discover a wide range of vocabulary regarding health. Learn to speak about medicine and doctors, the parts of the human body, and about various common health problems and their remedies. Continue with important vocabulary regarding pleasure and enjoyment. Practice using the preterite and imperfect tenses. Then, consider some ways to accelerate your learning of Spanish.

Take a deeper look at commands in Spanish, which you will use constantly in conversation. Begin with informal commands in the second person singular and plural. Then work with the more complex formal commands, negative commands, and commands in the first person plural. Study the geography of the U.S.-Mexico border, and the Mexican states and cities that adjoin the region.