Introduction:
English is a West Germanic language first spoken in early medieval England, which has become the leading language of international discourse in the 21st century. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the area of Great Britain that later took their name, England. Both names derive from Anglia, a peninsula on the Baltic Sea. English is most closely related to Frisian and Low Saxon, while its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages, particularly Old Norse (a North Germanic language), as well as Latin and French.
Spanish is a Romance language that originated in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a global language with nearly 500 million native speakers, mainly in Spain and the Americas. It is the world’s second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese, and the world’s fourth-most spoken language overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi.
Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages of the Indo-European language family, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century.
Why one should learn English and Spanish?
- English and Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages
- English and Spanish will open up more opportunities for you.
- English and Spanish gives you wider access to knowledge
- It will boost your employment prospects
- You could work or study abroad
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Download an app on your phone
Plenty of smartphone apps can help you learn the basics of a new language. Multibhashi is a popular application that makes studying and learning English and Spanish free, fun, and interactive. The best part? You can use these apps for a few minutes each day when it best fits your schedule. After a few sessions, you’ll see your understanding really add up.
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Subscribe to a Spanish-language podcast
While studying a new language on your own can work, it’s helpful to hear the natural cadences of how people fluent in that language speak. When learning Spanish, downloading or subscribing to a few podcasts, like News in Slow Spanish, can really make a difference in improving your pronunciation.
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Watch the news in Spanish and English
Does watching TV actually help with learning Spanish and English? Sí. After all, didn’t Sesame Street help you learn English and math? The same principle applies here, too: the more you’re familiar with hearing Spanish words and phrases aloud, the more likely you’ll be to trust your brain to string it all together in a conversation. Several shows are specifically made to be watched by people learning Spanish, such as Destinos.
Some people find watching TV to be easier than listening to podcasts or radio because they can see what’s happening on the screen
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Start a conversation club
If you have friends or family who are also trying to learn Spanish, why not get them together for a weekly conversation? (You can even do this via video chat if coordinating a location poses a problem.)
Since your vocabulary might be limited at first, pick a topic of conversation for each session that complements the words you’re learning (e.g. weather, household items, cooking, school). Better yet, choose a scenario that you will likely encounter when using Spanish and role play.
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Carry a Spanish-English dictionary with you…everywhere
To expand your Spanish vocabulary during your daily routine, carry around a small Spanish-English dictionary. If you don’t know the word for something in Spanish, look it up and commit it to memory, right there on the spot.
Spanish-English dictionaries come in all shapes and sizes; the smallest ones can even fit in the pocket of a pair of jeans. If you drive, or just regularly carry a backpack, messenger bag, or purse, it should be no problem to keep one near you at all times.
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Sign up for a language class
There are no two ways about it: taking a Spanish and English class will keep you accountable and committed to learning the language. Whether you register for a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level, it’s a huge plus to have an instructor to guide you, a group to practice with, and homework to reinforce what you learn.
Costs vary depending on the level of frequency, location, and quality, so be sure to do your research before you throw down your hard-earned dollars on a course.
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Make yourself accountable
If you want to learn English fast, the regular practice has to become a habit. But it’s no good just promising you’ll spend extra time working on your language skills. You have to find some way of guaranteeing you’ll practice even when life gets in the way.
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Try flashcards to boost your vocabulary
A word of warning: flashcards can be a false friend when learning English, causing you to spend too much time learning words without their context.
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Listen to native English speakers (try to!) speak your language
Whether your mother tongue is Czech, Spanish or Turkish, the chances are, you have spoken to a native English speaker who has learned to speak it and you’ve thought “hmm… that doesn’t sound quite right”.
One easy tip is to pay attention to the common mistakes English native speakers make in your home language, especially in sentence structure and grammar. These are probably clues as to how English grammar is different from that of the language you know best.
No matter your learning style, just make sure of one thing: commit to it! Put a reminder in your phone, ask a friend to bug you about it, or pick a time and place each day (or week) to sit down and focus on learning Spanish and English.