How To Really Learn Spanish - by Ricardo González, Founder & Executive Director of Bilingual America  

Table of Contents
Forward - Dr. Jane Madsen Introduction
Chapter 1 - The Importance of Methods
Chapter 2 - Assess Your Abilities
Chapter 3 - The Fruit and the Root
Chapter 4 - The Power of Patterns
Chapter 5 - You're Not A Native...All About Immersion
Chapter 6 - The Four Secrets To Long Term Retention
Chapter 7 - The Cozy Comfortable Classroom
Chapter 8 - Eight Reasons Why Telephone Tutoring is Better Than Face to Face Tutoring
Chapter 9 - What To Expect From a Great Tutor
Chapter 10 - What To Expect From Great Course Materials
Chapter 11 - Mastering Pronunciation, Speech Flow and Comprehension
Chapter 12 - Put Your Products on the Shelf!
Chapter 13 - What to Do When You Already Speak Some Spanish
Chapter 14 - Cultural Training and Language
Closing Thoughts


Introduction

I speak daily with people who are frustrated and confused, people who have tried to learn Spanish in one way or another but simply have not totally achieved their goal. Many of these people honestly believe it takes at least two to three years of dedication to be "good" at the language — not "highly proficient," just "good." Many of these same people honestly believe that they have some type of "mental block" or "learning disability" when it comes to learning a different language.

Some people have had two to three years of Spanish in high school or college, others have gone to Latin America anywhere from six weeks to six months, some even longer. Many have picked up books and tapes at their local bookstore or have purchased some program through an advertisement in an airline catalogue. Some have even done all of these things and still do not speak well!

These people all have the same thing in common — they haven't reached their goal of communicating well in Spanish. They all have invested significant time and money and they are still not there yet.

The reason I have written this short book is to help you become an educated student, to help you avoid the pitfalls most people make in language learning. The case I will present to you is forged in years of experience both academically and practically. I am a pragmatic. I am a realist. Above all, I believe in being "up front" with people. I will tell you what works and what does not work.

You may or may not become a student of Bilingual America. We may or may not be what you want or need. That's fine. As we say in Spanish, "No hay problema." Whatever you end up doing for your Spanish training needs, I want you to go in with your "ojos pelados." That means with your "eyes wide open."

The only thing that is important for you at this point is to become an educated consumer. There is no sense or need for you to make the same mistakes in your Spanish learning process as those who I have previously mentioned.

In this book I will share with you many insights regarding language training. These will sometimes enlighten you, sometimes surprise you, and if you have already taken some Spanish and have been unsuccessful, perhaps these may even sometimes anger you.

I have had students actually say to me, "I wish I had known these things before. I sure could have saved a lot of time and money."

Well, let's dig in! Maintain an open mind and plan on getting a mental exercise.

You will enjoy it, I promise.