I'm taking Spanish for the first time

[rangerlake]

any tips or help learning the language?  

[Medic83]

If you have the money or if your parents do have them purchase rosetta stone spanish course.  

[Kurai Yue]

Listen to spanish programing.. Umm practice you ¨r¨ s and ñ.. Jijiji!  

[Chefeetaboopers]

I can help you out- I learned it in school for three years. But- mind you- I haven't been in school for a couple of months and it's been a little more than a year since I was last in Spanish class.. but, I'm refreshing my memory on my own..

Start by learning the alphabet and how each letter is pronounced. Pronunciation is very important!

Then, start learning the basics: sentence structure, verbs, etc.  

[Labradorescence]

I'm in Spanish 1... for the second time. Yup, I flunked it. Sorry, I won't be much of a help. I do know some stuff though. I memorized all the verb endings for conjugating. I'm proud of myself. I made up a song for them.  

[GeekinThepink200]

Its important to learn how the letters sound. From there work on basic vocab, grammar and tenses. Each year you add to that. 4th and 5th year spanish is mostly review and usage with the addition of history.  

[Mizuno_Miaka]

I'm Spanish. If I could help you, let me know  

[Mekami-Sama]

When you get something, don't just let it sit in your mind. Find someone to practice with, even if it's yourself. I randomly yell in Spanish (I'm in my 3rd year) and it confuses my parents. Turn it into a game. When you actually enjoy Spanish or a new language, you'll learn more.

Like people said before, pronouncing is SUPER important. You can't slur words like English or you'll call someone a donkey instead of asking for a burrito.

If you want to ask a question or practice or anything, I may not be a native, but I've love to help you if you wanted. *Smile*  

[Twister Atma]

I'm Spanish and one of the most important things is to roll your "R"s
Also verbs, past and present stuff like that
just PM me if yo have trouble I'll be happy to help! C:  

[Arachnakid]

Obviously learn the basics such as pronunciation, which is pretty easy--except for the g's it's pretty much completely phonetic.

If you really want to understand Spanish instead of just memorizing it, you have to really immerse yourself in it. If you don't already have a Spanish-English dictionary, get one. It doesn't have to be a really great one to start out with, just pretty basic. Try to use words you don't understand, and ask your teacher a ton of questions. Take notes if you don't already on things like grammar and vocab, and keep all of them for future reference. Don't be lazy when speaking and writing Spanish for your assignments; most students are, but if you don't really try to say it right all the time, you won't be able to.

One way to memorize vocabulary really quickly is to copy it by hand many times. While this may be tedious and boring, it is a huge help for the basic task of remembering the stuff. Once you have something completely memorized, then you can try experimenting with it and applying it to other topics than the ones you are currently covering. Again, I cannot say this often enough: ASK QUESTIONS. Your teacher is not just there to stand up and lecture, and will probably be tickled pink that a student has taken a real interest in their subject (especially since most Spanish teachers have a genuine love of the language).

Learning any language will take a lot of work and time, but it is definitely worth your while. You should try to really apply yourself in this class.

If you have any questions, you can also ask other people for help. I'm not a "fluent" speaker, but I'm in 3rd year Spanish and everything after this point is just vocabulary (We've already covered almost everything about grammar). Feel free to PM me for help; I really love languages and I would be happy to help you, not to mention I could use the practice.