What is the FASTEST path to becoming fluent in Spanish and French?
357246
There are a number of ways, some conventional, others less so.\n1. Historically given as one of the best "non-conventional" means: get a native speaker as your lover! In all seriousness, this will provide the motivation to get fluent quickly.\n\n2. Read the newspaper and have a native ask you questions about the article, beginning at the easiest level and then proceeding up.\n\n3. Learn basic everyday phrases and repeat them in this order: first, say it ordinarily, then whisper it like you're telling a secret, then ordinary, then shut it out in anger (this requires some acting!), then say it as you would to a lover. Why? You are "recording" the phrase in not only the ordinary mood, but also in several interesting moods, which can help the brain remember the phrase better sometimes.\n\n4. Just listen to the sounds of the language. Don't actively try to understand any words. Just pay attention to the sounds and intonation and phrasing, just as you would to music. This helps acclimate your ear to the foreign sounds. After a while, try to distinguish phrases and then individual words.\n\n5. Learn the language as your mother taught you your native lang: have a native speaker speak over-exaggerated "baby" talk to you, and then you talk back in an exaggerated manner. Remember, it's a foreign language to you and you have to force the brain to accept it through over-exaggeration. I have found that to be helpful. Again, it requires acting!\n\nGood luck (from another sometimes frustrated language learner).
299940
Total Immersion!\n\nThe best way to learn a foreign language, as most people will tell you is to live in the country where the language is primarily spoken.\n\nIf that's not possible then you just need to be creative and find other ways to immerse yourself in the language. For example:\n\n - Get a subscription to a foreign news publication.\n\n - Use yahoo's foreign language search engines instead of the English ones. (e.g. http://www.yahoo.fr or http://www.yahoo.es)\n\n - Buy a pack of Post-It-Notes, write a foreign word on it and stick it to the object to which it refers (e.g. das fenster on the window)\n\n - Invade foreign chat rooms - if only to see how natives chat to each other, you can join in when you start to feel confident.\n\n - Listen to foreign radio stations. This is even easier now, with many radio stations broadcasting on the internet. (Check out http://www.radiotower.com/)\n\n - Watch DVD's in different languages (Lot's of your favourite DVD's will have the option to watch the movie dubbed in a variety languages.) I recommend watching 'Die Hard' in Spanish!\n\n - Watch foreign TV broadcasts. Again, this is readily available on the internet (Try http://wwitv.com/portal.htm)\n\nOf couse you still need to learn the basics. I recommend buying language software, and books to get you started. However, lessons are also readily available on the internet for free if you know where to look. Check out http://www.about.com and http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/ Both of which are very good for beginners!\n\nGood Luck!
874029
Very easy to learn.  They have "language in 10 minutes a day" books in the book stores...that can help you learn French.  The computer courses are great too.\nFrench doesn't have too many hard to make sounds and we have the same alphabet so you'll do just fine.\nGood luck!!!
665552
I found the 8-CD course by Michel Thomas to be fantastic. From zero to conversational Spanish in a week - just playing the CDs in the car on my way to and from work.\n\nEven the 2-CD basic course gives you enough to get by on holiday (with a bit of arm-waving, pointing and English thrown in)\n\nHe also does German, French, Italian,...
917413
French but in the US Spanish might be a better idea
660667
I would say it doesn´t really matters what program you use, the important thing is PRACTICING what you've learned...Have you notice those people who get embarrassed when they try to speak the language they're learning? yes, they will hardly speak it fluently some day...so if you have spanic people around you, USE THEM!!! (in good sense of the word, of course). If you get a decent program and you speak and speak to those who know the language (specially if they correct your mistakes), you'll be fluent faster than you say PRONTO PRONTO!
1022188
I have a degree in French, a B.A., and a minor in Spanish. They are similar in the syntactical sense of the Romance language construction.  All five of the Romance languages are similarly constructed.  What I find interesting about French has to do with my Cajun French ancestry in Louisiana and the musical flow of the language.  It's such a beautiful experience to speak and listen in French.  Yet, it is a very difficult language to use for an FSL speaker (French as a Second Language) at first.  But, then that very issue became the compelling impulse for me to continue learning it.  Like English, it is a life long experience.  But, there was a threshold that I crossed when I started to study French as conversation while studying French literature, etc..  That threshold, I discovered, was the doorway that only opens up to the French language scholar when s/he realizes that part of the musical experience of French requires a precision in the use of one's tongue, mouth, cheek and throat muscles that the other languages did not seem to require (I never experienced this problem with Spanish or Italian; even in German, though German is more gutteral than the others).  For instance, the use of the Trill in French is extremely difficult to accomplish consistently when these muscles are not used so extensively in the other Romance languages, English certainly included.  Think about my being from the South with a Southern drawl and trying to use muscles my face has never used, ever, ever as we slide words out of our mouths using as little energy (and as few facial muscles) as possible.  Until I realized I needed to train these muscles to do things they had never done before, I could not speak or think in French, but when this aspect was revealed to me by a Canadian French teacher I had in college, it changed everything for me.  \n\nOn top of that, my knowledge of French made me able to at least understand the other languages if they are spoken slowly and I know the context of the conversation or the reading.  I really believe that French is the key to understanding the other languages of European descent.  I hope it is clear that I am not saying any of them is better than the others.  When you say it was very hard but you liked it made me think that since you have a family connection to the Romance languages that you might be going through the same thing I did when I studied French.  You might be just at that doorway where I was when, once opened, I gained the crucial knowledge about the language that revealed the essence of the difficulty in learning it.\n\nHope this helps.\n\nutopianwizard/CC Ryder
33723
Right now I'm in the middle of learning Spanish.  I'm in highschool, but I am progressing rather quickly.  I just started this year, but I have been taking french for a few years, and I am also learning italian.  That has really helped me with vocab and such.\n\nA few tips...\n\nWhen learning a language, the key is practice, practice, practice!  Learn with a friend... you guys can have conversations with eachother and that really helps.  \n\nRent movies that were originally in spanish.  Watch it first without subtitles and see how much you can understand, then watch again with the subtitles so you can get a better understanding, and pick out some words.\n\nMusic.  I'm telling you, it's the best.  Listening to music in Spanish will really help your pronunciation, even if you dont understand all the words.\n\nKeep a notebook of words that you want to know how to say in Spanish... for example, since you don't speak fluently yet, your conversations may be in a sort of "spanglish".  Any words you don't know in spanish, write down and ask your tutor for a translation and proper usage.\n\nI hope that was helpful!
602295
I learned Spanish when I was in my thirties, and it has opened up my world immensely. With every new language I learn (Portuguese and Hebrew are next on the list, and I already speak English, French, and German), I can communicate with so many more people, thus increasing understanding.\nI have worked in milieux where I have spoken French (a bank in Montreal), Spanish (midwifery training in Texas), and now German (serving the German-speaking immigrant population as a midwife), and it is challenging and thrilling to work and live in a language other than my mother tongue.\nI thank my parents at every opportunity for exposing me to languages at a young age - it is an inestimable gift.\n\n(also, of all the languages I have learned, Spanish is by far the easiest!)
954179
English, Spanish, french
994275
pimsleur learn to speak spanish
1158561
Try Michel Thomas CDs. French is a hard languge to learn, but these will make you start speaking straight away and give you confidence. Bon chance.
129931
French! It's the language of love, plus everyone I know want's to learn to speak Spanish. Spanish is a beautiful language, however, I've had some... not so good experiences trying to learn to speak it. Plus,I just was to mix it up a bit you know?
320854
spanish(you can understand alot of languages like:french,portuguese,italian etc...)then english and chinese.
480535
Log on to www.aulafacil.com, there are many courses of Spanish
355012
Spanish,English,French and Dutch
1060392
I am fluent in 4 different languages. When I say fluent I mean that I can speak, write and read these languages: including my two native languages plus english and spanish. Actually, I can read and understand 7 languages but because I am not exposed enough to the three others languages, I cannot speak them fuently so I don't consider that I am fluent in 7 languages. \n\nYou are fluent in a language when you can write it, speak it, understand it, read it at almost the same degree than your native language. \n\nThe best way to arrive to this point is to learn how to listen to someone. When I first came in America, I could read, write,  speak a little english but I couldn't understand the english spoken by some Americans people. I have been taught the british english, even it was the same language, I couldn't understand because the accent was different. So, I had to learn first,  to be familiar with the different types of accents and the TV helped me a lot. Beside the language itself, the accent may be an obstacle that you can overcome by training your ears.\n\nIt was the same for spanish. I have been taught the spanish from Spain. So I did some adjustements with my ears in order to understand the mexican accent. Now, I can interact very easily with mexicans. So I exposed my ears to the differents types of accents. It's very important to expose and train  your ears to the foreign accent and your brain will do the rest for you. The keyword is exposure.\n\nReading will improve your vocabulary and your writting skills, talking and listening will train your ears and improve your prononciation, grammar etc ... \n\nThe more you practice and the more you will master it. Because it's the way that the brain works. It's like learning a sport or riding a bicycle ... the brain needs to be trained and stimulated to something new and once he gets it things become very easier. \n\nMy 2 years son is bilingual (french / english) ... he didn't have to go to college for that ... his brain can make the difference between the 2 languages, he understands both ... because he has been immerged since he was born and the brain did the rest.\n\nImmersion is the keyword. You need to find a way to immerge yourself in this language. Talk talk and talk. Knowledge is something but your knowledges will not benefit you if you don't apply it. \n\nI don't believe that using softwares, CDs or DVDs is the best way to speed your learning process ... Interact with native speakers is the only great tool to speed your learning process when it's about  learning a new language. Interaction is another keyword.Talk,  listen to the radio and T.V in spanish to train your ears and force your brain to be familiar with this language,  interact with spanish people and force yourself to speak only spanish even it's easier for you to speak english. \n\nYou can be immerged in a culture but if you don't interact with the people, you won't learn nothing. My sister lived during three years in an english and french spoken country, she can't speak english now (my 2 years old son is much better than her) because french was an option so she chose the easier way, she didn't make any effort to communicate in english.\n\nImmersion is something. But immersion is not enough, you must interact.\n\nAnd your brain will adjust .. It's a brain stuff and the humain brain is wonderful.