Welcome and Introductions

[Reading_Seduct…]

LOL I completely forgot to stop by and say hi and introduce myself

Hola, soy ~M~ I'm looking fwd to learning to speak and write in a language other then my own.

[Vicki1217]

I'm Vicki and I have always wanted to learn Spanish.

[karizma793a]

Hello,

My name is Andrea. I'm looking forward to learning Spanish. I know some words and phrases, but definitely not enough to have a conversation. 

[awesomelyautumn]

I am Autumn! I am a recent graduate of a community college and am going to continue my education at a local university. I am required to have two more years of Spanish. I could not get into a class this semester so i thought it would be cool to keep my Spanish Knowledge (not much, I am afraid) and try to conquer this language once and for all..Plus an A in the class will be awesome

[CleoSugar]

Hola! Me llamo es Loni! I took 1 year of Spanish in high school, which was almost 25 years ago! I took 2 semesters in college over 10 years ago! I do remember some words, but am not able to conduct a conversation! I'm hoping that this course will help me with that! 

Also, I'm in direct sales & the area I live in is almost 1/2 (?) hispanic. I would like to reach that group!

Gracias for the opportunity!

[Sabiner]

Hello-I am very excited about participating!!  I visited Barcelona last year, and loved it.  I hope to go back next year and be able to converse in Spanish while I am there!

[dulcinea3]

Sabiner wrote:

Hello-I am very excited about participating!!  I visited Barcelona last year, and loved it.  I hope to go back next year and be able to converse in Spanish while I am there!

I've never been to Barcelona, but I have heard that it is great!  Just be aware that in Barcelona, their 'native' language is not Castilian Spanish, which you will be learning here, but Catalán, so that it what you will be frequently hearing them speak to each other.  I believe that you will find that most of them do also speak Castilian, though.  There have been periods in history when they have rebelled against it, especially because during Franco's dictatorship they were forced to use it as the official national language, and afterwards they wanted to reclaim their heritage.  But Barcelona is a very cosmopolitan city, so I believe that you shouldn't have too much problem trying to communicate in Castilian Spanish (castellano).

[Nadine]

Just an added reference. Great information, Duchess (I'll have to find out what that is in Spanish). I am taking every opportunity to learn more about Spanish and Spanish speaking countries and this group is certainly stimulating my research.

dulcinea3 wrote:

Sabiner wrote:

Hello-I am very excited about participating!!  I visited Barcelona last year, and loved it.  I hope to go back next year and be able to converse in Spanish while I am there!

I've never been to Barcelona, but I have heard that it is great!  Just be aware that in Barcelona, their 'native' language is not Castilian Spanish, which you will be learning here, but Catalán, so that it what you will be frequently hearing them speak to each other.  I believe that you will find that most of them do also speak Castilian, though.  There have been periods in history when they have rebelled against it, especially because during Franco's dictatorship they were forced to use it as the official national language, and afterwards they wanted to reclaim their heritage.  But Barcelona is a very cosmopolitan city, so I believe that you shouldn't have too much problem trying to communicate in Castilian Spanish (castellano).

[Brain_Ninja]

Hi! My name is Eren. I am really looking forward to begining to learn spanish. I have always wanted to take foreign language classes but never had. 

[elphabablue]

Hello! My name is Stephanie. I saw this opportunity on the Barnes and Noble facebook page and jumped at it. I've never really participated in a discussion board before, but I am excited about learning to navigate this as well as the Spanish language. I took many semesters of Spanish in high school and college, so I know a lot of vocabulary. I find that I can read and listen to it pretty well, but I cannot hold a conversation because I never really learned the right rules for conjugation and conversation in general. I'm looking forward to talking with you, hopefully eventually in Spanish!

[LadyMin]

Hola, me llamo Leslie. I've tried to learn Spanish before from books and listening to tapes and a few classes in college, but it doesn't seem to stick. I'm hoping a group class with daily interaction will make it easier and maybe even fun.

[MissAdamoli]

Hello everyone. My name is Dawn and I am going into my 4th year teaching. I have taught 3 years of 6th grade and for the 2010-2011 school year I will be an ESL teacher. I am going for my Masters in TESOL & Literacy. I work at a bilingual (English and Spanish) charter school. My 2 semesters of Spanish in HS and another 2 in college were extremely negative experiences and I have bought Rosetta Stone and even signed up for livemocha and have not yet disciplined myself to use it as often as I should. I hope this helps with me learning Spanish!

[Nadine]

MissAdamoli wrote:

Hello everyone. My name is Dawn and I am going into my 4th year teaching. I have taught 3 years of 6th grade and for the 2010-2011 school year I will be an ESL teacher. I am going for my Masters in TESOL & Literacy. I work at a bilingual (English and Spanish) charter school. My 2 semesters of Spanish in HS and another 2 in college were extremely negative experiences and I have bought Rosetta Stone and even signed up for livemocha and have not yet disciplined myself to use it as often as I should. I hope this helps with me learning Spanish!

I signed up with livemocha but never did anything with it. Is it worth bothering with?

Some people have said that Rosetta Stone is very overrated, especially considering the fact that it is a very costly item. What is your opinion of it?

[Nadine]

LadyMin wrote:

Hola, me llamo Leslie. I've tried to learn Spanish before from books and listening to tapes and a few classes in college, but it doesn't seem to stick. I'm hoping a group class with daily interaction will make it easier and maybe even fun.

Well, I'm glad to see some other self-learners here. What have you been using? I've bought loads of books as I  look for the magic book. All seem to be on my TBR shelf. I think I have this theory if I buy a book somehow the knowledge will transfer to my head -- maybe by osmosis! Right now I'm using Pimsleur CDs for conversation and Destinos for grammar, listening and reading comprehension.

[fcsteach]

Hi, I'm Candice.  I am going to be a Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher for secondary education students.  I am doing student teaching in the Fall of this year.  I want to be able to help any Spanish speaking students who I may have in my class. 

[emeraldisle]

Hi, I'm Mary. I Studied Latin and French in school, but always wanted to learn some Spanish. Here's my chance! I'm excited to do this. Now my husband says he wants to learn too; maybe this will be a togetherness experience!

[tquiroz76]

My husband's family is from Mexico and when we get together I am starting to understand more but would really like to actually be a part of the conversation.

[Shaggy68]

Hello,

My name is Sheila and I have  never learned a second language.  My children are all required to take a foreign language and have learned Spanish is Middle School.  I am very excited to learn Spanish.  When I heard about this opportunity on Facebook I jumped at the chance and can't wait to start.

[MNValentine]

Hi Everyone! I didn't even realize I'd been included in this opportunity til my materials showed up in the mail yesterday... I saw it posted on Facebook and raced over here to sign up. Next day I saw it'd been closed, and thought I didn't get here in time. Apparently I did!

I work in customer service at a major retailer (starts with a W and ends in mart, in case you were wondering) and in this area we have a fairly large hispanic population, that has grown tremendously over the past 10 years. We seem to attract a larger number of people new to the US and with very little english-speaking ability. Therefore, at the store, we frequently are trying to take care of customers who don't speak much english. I'm hoping that learning spanish will help me in my job. I've also noticed that a lot of job ads in the paper specify they need someone who is bilingual in english and spanish. If I hope to move into a different job, speaking spanish will help tremendously there.

Glad to be here,

Carol (AKA MNValentine)

[angel_girl]

Hi, I'm Lezlie. 

My husband and father-in-law both speak fluent Spanish (including a variety of dialects).  I'd like to be able to keep up with the conversation, and participate with my husband the next time we visit a Latin American country.