Like any language, Spanish comes with unique grammar. Even though it’s rooted in Latin and closely related to both Italian and French, it has a number of its own rules. Plus, there are some key differences between the grammatical rules for the Spanish spoken in Spain and that of Latin America. Rosetta Stone offers language courses in both. You can choose which version of Spanish you’d like to focus on.
Not only do we tailor our Spanish lessons to the distinct rules of particular Spanish-speaking regions , we keep it very interesting and engaging. In fact, we believe in teaching you grammar intuitively. Don’t expect to memorize the names of grammatical terms or to fill out conjugation tables. We don’t believe you need to know the words for grammar terms to successfully speak a new language. You didn’t with your first, after all. Here’s how we prepare you to learn Spanish grammar .
- We present language carefully so that you notice patterns of grammar yourself, and then we check that you got it.
- We teach you Spanish grammar in real sentences, not in grammar charts — so when it’s time to speak you don’t have to look up the next word in your head.
- We immerse you in correct native speech and provide opportunities to speak, until correct Spanish grammar flows naturally, just like your first language.
This proven approach—Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion® methodology—teaches you to speak the language, not just memorize the words. What makes it effective is that our Spanish lessons prepare you to use your new language in your everyday life. So it’s not just about the features, but what you’re able to do because of them. It helps you get ready to handle any situation with confidence.
Learn Spanish Words and Phrases
People choose to learn Spanish for a wide range of reasons. Many find themselves encountering the language in their daily lives. After all, Spanish is heard in popular music, movies, and TV shows. Other people want to learn Spanish based on their plans to work, vacation, or volunteer in any of the 20 countries where Spanish is the official language. Whatever your reason for learning Spanish, you can get off to a great start by first learning how to pronounce some very basic words and phrases. It is a necessary step to understand and be understood by any of the 437 million people around the world who speak Spanish.
Too many times, new Spanish learners get sidetracked trying to memorize lengthy lists of Spanish vocabulary words and phrases. Then they become frustrated because they have little-to-no ability to participate in everyday Spanish conversation . That’s why it’s strongly advised that new Spanish language learners focus on understanding and pronouncing basic words and phrases most commonly used in real-world Spanish. This smart and practical approach to learning Spanish will help you become a confident and comfortable Spanish speaker.
Learn Spanish Pronunciation
Of note, Spanish does have some pronunciation distinctions that can make it a challenge for language learners. As one example, the letter r is pronounced differently and takes some practice for most new learners. This distinct sound is formed by tapping the tip of the tongue on the roof of the mouth, about a third of the way back in the mouth. Some Spanish language experts suggest new learners practice making the “tt” sound, as it sounds in the English word butter.
Acquiring the skills to accurately pronounce Spanish requires immediate feedback on your pronunciation efforts. Rosetta Stone helps you get the pronunciation right in a snap with our TruAccent™ speech-recognition engine. Our patented technology compares your voice to native and non-native speakers in real-time—so you get immediate feedback for the most accurate pronunciation. It’s also adjustable, which allows you to tweak your accent as needed. TruAccent is a powerful tool for helping you learn and speak the Spanish language.
Once you have developed the ability to understand basic Spanish words and short phrases, you can move onto the longer phrases you’ll use in everyday conversation . Rosetta Stone’s short, 10-minute language lessons are designed to lead you along this natural path to learning. You’ll first focus on learning Spanish basic words and phrases, then you’ll move onto learning longer Spanish phrases, and then towards learning to speak Spanish with confidence.
Practicing The Spanish Language
There are many ways to learn to speak Spanish. However, practice is essential in any method you choose. While it’s possible to learn some basic Spanish by setting aside just a few minutes each day, being confident enough to have conversations in Spanish may take longer depending on how much time you have to devote to study and practice.
Here’s how you might incorporate Spanish grammar and language learning into your daily routine .
LEARNING THE SPANISH LANGUAGE THROUGH ONLINE SELF STUDY
While searching for and finding a few phrases online isn’t difficult, it is not an effective method for learning to speak Spanish confidently, and does not help you conquer Spanish grammar. There is also no feedback on your pronunciation so you may struggle to be understood by native speakers.
SPANISH LANGUAGE LEARNING APPS AND SOFTWARE
Language learning programs such as Rosetta Stone’s award-winning mobile app and software are designed in a way to teach you the Spanish language and Spanish grammar through immersive methods that combine audio and visual cues with vocabulary acquisition for contextualized learning. With the Rosetta Stone mobile app, you can learn the Spanish language anytime, anywhere with a program that syncs across devices.
LEARN SPANISH IN A CLASSROOM
Taking Spanish lessons in a classroom is a traditional approach to language learning. However, there is often a large time commitment and frequently a significant cost to do so. Online learning programs offer convenience and consistency at a fraction of the cost of a classroom course.
USE IMMERSION TECHNIQUES TO SPEED YOUR LEARNING
By immersing yourself in a language, you will accelerate your understanding. You can watch Spanish soap operas with the subtitles turned off, or listen to Spanish music or even podcasts in the car on your commute to work. Hearing the pronunciations and being exposed to the cultural nuances may help you pick up the language more quickly. This is true even if you don’t understand all that is being said.
FIND A PARTNER
One of the best ways to get a deeper understanding of the language and receive plenty of practice with having conversations is to partner up with someone. Rosetta Stone has an online community of language learners enabling you to find other Spanish speakers to practice with and a new world of conversational opportunities.
How Rosetta Stone Succeeds
Research on learning Spanish, or any new language, highlights that learning is mostly just a matter of practice and contextualizing your learning. This is exactly how Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion® methodology works. Our methodology effectively teaches you how to use the Spanish language in everyday life, which readies you for success and confidence when using it in everyday life.
Having a language learning program that understands the importance of practice and pronunciation is a key component. Rosetta Stone approaches this with Spanish lessons that you will be able to practice, and with an emphasis on pronunciation. In our program, brief, 10 minute lessons allow you to fit daily practice easily in your schedule. This allows practice to become a daily habit. When learning a new language, frequency is more important and effective than the length of your sessions. And with the Rosetta Stone mobile app, fitting in your daily practice is more convenient than ever. And the best part is you don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and are in sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.
Immediate feedback on your pronunciation attempts is a critical component to develop the skills to accurately speak the Spanish language. By using our patented TruAccent™ speech-recognition engine, we compare your voice to native speakers and give you instant feedback on your effort. This real-time feedback allows you to adjust and fine-tune your accent on the spot. TruAccent is a powerful tool for helping you learn and speak the Spanish language.
Highlights Of The Rosetta Stone Program
If you follow our program, and continue with the discipline of your daily practice, you’ll be speaking the Spanish language like a native in no time. Our benefits go well beyond Spanish for beginners and are lifelong assets.
- With our program, you learn more than just words– you learn the Spanish language and Spanish grammar. Our Dynamic Immersion® method teaches new words and phrases based on the context in which they’re used, so you’ll be prepared to thrive in real-world conversations that don’t follow a script. You’ll learn everything from words and phrases to conversational Spanish skills.
- We help you develop your Spanish speaking skills with our TruAccent® speech recognition technology. Each time you speak, our speech recognition technology will help you fine-tune your pronunciation because there’s no point in knowing the words if people can’t understand what you’re saying. This technology is embedded in every Spanish lesson in our program.
- We’ll make sure that what you learn sticks with you. With both repetition and teaching patterns of the Spanish language, you’ll learn new material–and revisit some you’ve already covered–at exactly the right intervals. We “jump start” your ability to learn in context, which makes connections between what you’re seeing and what you’re saying.
Are you ready to start talking? . Discover why millions of people have used Rosetta Stone to enjoy learning the Spanish language with confidence.
How To Advance Your Spanish
Practicing online a few minutes a day isn’t likely to make you fluent in the Spanish language. However, language learning is a journey, not a destination. To get the most out of your personal journey, you should focus on advancing your learning one step at a time instead of striving towards an elusive end goal. Rosetta Stone can help with plenty of Spanish lessons and learning strategies for advanced Spanish language learners.
LEARN TO CONJUGATE SPANISH VERBS
Once you’ve mastered some basic words and feel relatively comfortable with more than a handful of conversational phrases, it’s time to start conjugating Spanish verbs . In most languages, it’s easiest to start off with the most common regular verbs in present tense and then branch out into irregular verbs and other tenses.
For Spanish, that will mean learning a handful of verbs ending in -ir, -ar, and -er. Words like
- comer = to eat
- hablar = to talk
Some of the more commonly used Spanish verbs are irregular, meaning that they have nuanced rules for conjugation. Ser (to be) is an excellent example of one of the most widely used irregular Spanish verbs. When conjugated it can change from soy to eres, es, and somos. Irregular verbs like these can be memorized, but are also best learned through contextualized practice provided by Rosetta Stone’s language learning program.
LEARN GENDER RULES FOR SPANISH
All nouns in Spanish have a gender that is either masculine or feminine. With the assistance of a few simple rules, you can usually figure out which gender is associated with which noun. If it’s a person or a living creature, the gender assigned to the word should match the gender of the living thing. For example, el gato is a male cat while la perra is a female dog, but you can also have la gata (female cat) and el perro (male dog). If you have a mixed group of people or living things, they are referred to with masculine gender. Certain endings of words for nouns can also determine the gender of the article. Here’s how you can tell.
Nouns that end in the following endings are female:
- –sión
- –ción
- –dad
- –tud
- –umbre
Those which end in -ma are masculine. For the remaining others, you’ll need to learn as you go and continue practicing until you feel confident you have the right pairing.
PRACTICE DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES IN SPANISH
The difference between definite and indefinite articles may seem confusing in Spanish, but it’s the same concept in English. Definite articles are things that are specific. For instance, here’s how that would translate in Spanish
- el gato = the cat
- un gato = a cat
It’s important to learn and practice these kinds of rules, but you should also continue to build your vocabulary in context so that when you are engaged in a conversation, using the correct article will come naturally.
Try Our Award-Winning App
Surround yourself with Spanish (Latin America) whenever, wherever with the Rosetta Stone app .
Download a unit and knock it out on the train or a flight. Select a 5-10 minute lesson and sneak it in while you wait in line or for your ride to show up. And explore dynamic features, like Seek and Speak, where you can point at an object in the real world and get a translation .
The best part? You don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.
