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Learn Spanish Phrases Free
by Yvette Clark
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Overview
Learning to speak Spanish is a time-consuming process, one that takes daily practice and months of intensive--and often expensive--study before you develop fluency. However, you can learn a collection of Spanish phrases for free in a relatively short time, and you'll be ready to travel to a Spanish-speaking country or have basic interactions with Spanish speakers in your community. You still need to practice daily, but you can master a set of phrases in a month's time.
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Step 1
Check out a traveler's Spanish dictionary or phrasebook from the library, such as the Lonely Planet Phrasebook by Marta Lopez or Spanish at a Glance by Heywood Wald. If you want to learn phrases rather than the whole language, you don't necessarily need a comprehensive dictionary so phrasebooks can help you target your learning.
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Step 2
Visit websites that specialize in free Spanish phrases with audio once you become acquainted with some of the major phrases you want to learn. The Spanish phrase section of Quiz Buddy contains the most common phrases you'll use, while the Spanish Travel Helper on the Study Spanish website contains useful travel-related phrases. Practice both these phrases and the phrases from your book, replicating the native speaker as closely as possible.
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Step 3
Create a set of flash cards to help you memorize the Spanish phrases from both your phrasebook and the websites. On one side of an index card, write the Spanish phrase. On the other side, write the English translation. Whenever you have time, go through your flashcards to practice your pronunciation and help you remember the phrases. When you know the phrases well, look at the English side of the cards and provide the Spanish translation.
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Step 4
Watch Spanish-language films with the English subtitles on to see some of the phrases you're familiar with in action. Though film doesn't replicate reality, seeing how the phrases are used in context will help you remember them and use them accurately.
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Step 5
Use Spanish to communicate with Spanish speakers in your community once you feel like you have a good understanding of your phrases--though be sure that you're also familiar with what answers a person might give so you can have an exchange with Spanish speakers. If nothing else, you can become comfortable greeting people with your Spanish phrases.
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Step 6
Organize or join an informal Spanish conversational group so you retain your Spanish phrases, especially if learning the phrases got you interested in learning the language as a whole.
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- Like English, Spanish has many different regional variations. If you want to learn phrases for a specific country or region, you should seek out a phrasebook that specializes in that variety of Spanish.
- Like English, Spanish has many different regional variations. If you want to learn phrases for a specific country or region, you should seek out a phrasebook that specializes in that variety of Spanish.
