Ok so I know there are quite a few people here that know at least one other language and I just want them (or anyone else for that matter) to offer their opinion on mymsituation. So I did French and Italian at school and got highers in both (highers are the Scottish equivalent to a levels in England) the next year at school I took an intermediate 2 class in Spanish (int 2 is the level just below Spanish) and although I started from scratch, I adapted fairly well to it thanks to my experience in other Latin languages. I left school halfway through that year but continued learning Spanish at home via a teach yourself instant Spanish kit. I started college that year and did a Spanish class that lasted 2/3 of that course and was roughy a higher level grade but since then I haven't been in any education and I haven't studied at home. I've gone back and forth over the idea of learning again. Knowing a foreign language is a very useful tool and it is something I am very good at and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. I do somewhat like Spanish culture in the sense that I do listen to Spanish music, follow Spanish football (have been a fan of la Liga since about 2004) and I do have a crush on Fernando Torres ATM as well as Cristiano Ronaldo :icon_redf (ok Ronnie is portuguese but he lives in Spain and speaks Spanish). I've been to Ibiza on holiday a lot and would like to visit places like Mallorca (im aware catalan is spoken there mostly and englishnis also widely spoken) mainland Spain and even places in America that are Spanish speaking orientated (obviously if I had the money). Another thing is that is is like a goal and I feel maybe it would give me a bit of direction in my life other than work, gym and drinking. BUT problem is I can be inconsistent. I can start with Spanish then change to French to Italian then want to start portuguese. Then there are the times where I just drop it completely. I don't want to be a teacher, I don't want to be a translator and I don't know what I want to do so I'm not going to go to university to do a degree in business and Spanish for example. I also have no intentions to move abroad (not ruling it out just have no desire ATM). I look at thing online but not only am I mesmerised by all the different podcasts and websites, because my understanding of Spanish is fairly scattered, I don't know where to start when I choose a podcast or website. Also I'm on a budget I'm very money conscious ATM I see stuff like linq but I don't want to spend that much money even if its something I may not commit too.
I think it's a great question. I think you should start learning Spanish again. Learning a second language can help you so much in life even if you don't want to teach it or become a translator. Since you've already studied Spanish for some time, definitely go for it again. This time try your best to stay focused and reach fluency or advanced levels in Spanish because I guarantee you it will be easier for you to study French, Italian, Portuguese that way. Stick with one and go pretty far with that one before turning to the next one and I think Spanish is a good stepping stone. It's the easiest of the Romance languages and one of the most widely spoken ones.
I live in South Florida, so speaking Spanish is very useful. Stick with it, and every other Romance language will come a lot easier.
I think you should stick with spanish. One recomendation, though. You already know something about spanish, so try to start from an advanced level, I mean don't start from scratch because you will get to a point in which you'll say "I already know that" and will get bored, and that doesn't help if you can be inconsistent. When I was around 13 or 14 I started learning portuguese but after 2 months I left it. Right now I'm taking portuguese again (at the university) and I decided to start from scratch, but now I realized that I already know all the things from that course. I haven't left this one just because I do really well and I don't like to leave things unfinished, but I wish I was in a more advanced level, though.
I learned Spanish back in college. It is very rusty, but I can still read it. I can follow along in a conversation if spoken slow enough. Spanish is a pretty cool language. If I was in an environment where it was spoken regularly it would come back to me, but right now I don't have anyone to speak it with. If you are going to learn try to have somewhere you can use it on a somewhat regular basis.
Thanks for the positive feedback One more question, do any of you have any recommendations as to learning methods and websites and podcasts?
