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Spanish ! (learning for a language)

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  • 25-05-2010 7:44pm
    #1
    ihavequestions
    Registered Users Posts: 711 ✭✭✭


    hey, I know this Q may seem a bit strange at this time in the year...but how do learn for a language? I've learned the tenses and verbs and some vocab... but I still find it really hard to do the comprehensions!!! Any advice?


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    #2
    zam
    Registered Users Posts: 829 ✭✭✭zam


    Well for German for the written I personally get a few general phrases (things such as "I am strongly convinced that" etc etc, if you do a Google search for 'general spanish phrases', or 'A level spanish essay phrases' things should come up) and try to learn them off which make your essays and stuff great. Just try to learn about 3-5 a day and test yourself on all of them everyday to retain them!


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    #3
    kaki
    Registered Users Posts: 674 ✭✭✭kaki


    I'd suggest that you maybe practice reading and understanding Spanish newspaper articles? Don't panic about understanding every word, just getting the general jist of what's going on, and if you wish just have your dictionary on hand to look up words that you don't understand that appear again and again.

    You could use past papers as well obviously, but I think a newspaper would be more beneficial. El Pais is awesome. Look to the opinion articles to learn phrases, "en mi opinion", "Tengo que admitir que", etc

    http://www.elpais.com/


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    #4
    fauxshow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 108 ✭✭fauxshow


    In terms of studying for a language, I mainly just do questions from the past papers, first with notes in front of me to help and then I wean myself off them when I learn them and start to get better. It's all about exam technique really, not how well you can speak the language. It's possible to really improve your grade in a short space of time if you literally just do EVERYTHING in the past papers

    Rapid Revision Spanish is well worth buying! It gives you good general vocab to learn for the formal letter, opinion, short note and diary entry aswell as including samples. They also give you vocab that often comes up in listening comprehensions, questions of reading comprehensions etc. There's no secret to getting better at the reading comprehensions, except to just practise them and correct them straight after with the marking schemes on examinations.ie. Do all the ones in the papers, Section A and B and you WILL eventually start to get better. They're worth 30% (more than the oral!) so it's definitely a good idea to spend lots of time on them. When you finish the papers maybe ask your teacher if they have any spare ones from previous mock papers? ALSO don't neglect the listening, it's 20%! Do all the listening past papers and correct them, and learn weather vocab as that always comes up as a listening exercise. Good luck!


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