Good book for Spanish learners

[asi va]

I`ve accumulated quite a number of misc books dealing with learning Spanish, most of them at least a little useful but not really out of the ordinary. One of those books did turn out to be something very useful and quite different from the rest. The title is "Breaking out of Beginner`s Spanish" by Joseph J Keenan and published by University of Texas Press. I just checked Amazon and it`s still available cheap- they even have a few used coppies.

The goal of the book is to explain some of the points that don`t really fit into textbooks. The author manages some amusing methods of explaining the differences between tenses, does a good job of sorting out sticky points (ser/estsar, ir/venir, por/para, etc), and points out many pitfalls that beginners may not have been warned of previously. To top it off, the book is funny enough to be worth reading even for someone who already speaks Spanish just fine or by others who don`t speak it at all and have no intentions of learning it. The biggest downfall is that it has no index and sometimes I would have liked to find a particular section but was unable to remember which chapter I had read it in. Maybe that`s fixed now, I didn`t notice any copyright dates or edition numbers on Amazon. Anyway, I definitely recomend the book.

I second this recommendation. The book is a real gem. However, it is not for beginners. You need a good foundation of basic Spanish under your belt before you can really appreciate this book.

[sparks]

Another good option for intermediate Spanish is dual-language books. Side-by-side books and others offer a number. One page Spanish and one page English.

Search Amazon or Powells Books for them

[StrykerGT2001]

Along the lines of Sparks' recommendation, there is a good book for intermediate/advanced folks called Side-By-Side Spanish and English Grammar:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071419322/

It really helps to straighten out some things. I will definitely check out the book recommended by asi va.

[BajaGringo]

I am curious as to how proficient you believe you are in reading, writing and speaking Spanish? How was your Spanish before coming to Mexico and what was the biggest/best thing you did to help you improve your Spanish?

what was the biggest/best thing you did to help you improve your Spanish?

Marry a Mexican. Highly recommended.

[StrykerGT2001]

Writing I'm probably not very good at, since I never practice. As far as listening/reading, i would say I'm probably a 7 out of 10 (10 being a native speaker) and speaking maybe a 5 out of 10. My vocabulary is pretty large (helps a lot with listening), but my conjugation skills suck.

I would agree with Don (not about marrying, but) that getting a conversation partner who is honest enough to correct your mistakes and is also engaging enough that you want to talk to is probably the best step you can take. Speaking/Conversation is probably the most difficult thing for book/class educated Spanish "speakers" from the US to pick up, but with a little practice even for the most challenged learner it gets better and better.

[BajaGringo]

I found that immersion was my greatest help. I only watched Spanish language TV, listened to Spanish radio and music, read Spanish newspapers and magazines. It took some patience and a well thumbed S-E dictionary but after a couple of months I had made great progress and then adding a Spanish language spell/grammer check to my word processor helped me fine tune my skills. I developed my friendships and social life in circles where Spanish is usually the language of choice and I then began reading Spanish language novels. I found that was a very big help because I have found that authors will push your vocabulary skills and now I look forward to each new book.

Later I followed Don Palomares advice and took a Mexican wife and of course that certainly helps!

[RVGRINGO]

I came to Mexico with no Spanish less than five years ago and now can hold a simple conversation, kid around a bit and never starve to death. Strangely, I can speak a lot better than I can understand, most folks talking a bit too fast for me. However, I'm also lazy and don't read Spanish or watch Spanish TV as much as I should. Dijo a todos que tres años antes, hablé como el chimpanze de Tarzan. Hoy, hablo como Tarzan el mismo.

[BajaGringo]

RV:

They're not talking too fast - You're just listening too slow!