How should I go about learning Spanish on my own if I intend for my learning to be self-directed? How should I study and what should I prioritize?

[WhiteBoyChill]

Thus far, I have plans of buying this textbook to (hopefully) help guide in the learning process. Not sure if people are familiar with this one or have any opinions of it.

600 pages long, $20 and good reviewed. I’m pretty convinced I should probably order it.

Aside from that though I recently came across a streaming service “Tubi” where they have a bunch of Spanish movies for free (no subscription required).

So I’m thinking of seeing what the textbook is about and watching some Spanish tv.

But aside from that though if anyone has any movie or series suggestions (for learning), I’m down for that as well.

Also I talked to some other guy who told me about this chrome extension that will translate Spanish subtitles below the English subtitles, if anyone here knows of or is familiar with language reactor.

I was also suggested to ask Chat GPT to produce 5 English sentences at A2 level, translate into Spanish myself, then ask Chat GPT to correct my translations.

Apparently the translating helps you to achieve a more advanced level.

Aside from that though I’ve tried language learning apps themselves and all of them I’ve tried thus far are a waste of time the way I see them since they tend to be incredibly boring, time inefficient, and just don’t progress quickly or challenge you enough. I try spending 30 minutes on them and I’m boutta punch the wall.

Tutoring is the other thing I’ve kinda decided against in the moment. Perhaps it could be beneficial (IRDK) but I’d want to try things on my own first since I feel I could set the pace and have more time flexibility and still probably learn a decent bit.

Only thing I’m left wondering about though is what I should prioritize studying, how I should study, and how much time I should balance between self study and practice with other people

[WindAtMyBack]

I teach ESL very part time. I know McGraw Hill has a good English learning book. But that doesn't mean their Spanish book is good.

DK also has some good books, but I consider them more of a supplement than a primary learning guide. Dk also has the audio online for free (even if you don't buy the book). They have the audio for almost every lesson.

Ideally you want multiple sources and approaches. Everyone learns differently. Find what you like and works best for you.

Check your library. They should have a lot of books, both paper and audio books. They also likely have online courses and services like Duolingo, Gail, Rosetta Stone, etc. The library might even have free in-person courses.

Of course nothing beats speaking with a native speaker.

[WindAtMyBack]

"chrome extension that will translate Spanish subtitles below the English subtitles"

I'm not familiar with this specifically, but I know both the translators and OCR have gotten very good. All you have to do is take a picture of any text and it will translate it. I was at a park with one of my Japanese students recently There was a statue with a brass plaque. She took a picture and it instantly translated. It even deleted the original text on the plaque and replaced it with Japanese. So it looked like the plaque was originally written in raised letter Japanese.

So basically, anything that visually looks like text can be translated.

[WhiteBoyChill]

Ah I see. And what is DK?

[WindAtMyBack]

Sorry for the late reply. I don't get on here every day.

DK is a British book publisher.
https://www.dk.com/us/category/language-learning/

Here is the online English audio version of their books. The audio is closely tied to the books. The books themselves have an icon that indicates the lesson has online audio.

https://www.dkefe.com/en/audio

I don't know if they have the online audio in other languages, but it's worth checking out.

[Exterminatore]

Immerse yourself in the language as much as possible.

[Alwayreckles93]

I recommend roseta stone or you know you can check your local libery they haveba lot of old school material to learn other languages also try searching in amazon you can laugh but try to look for Spanish kindergarten grade level thats good start. I went to Argentina and Chile they have a lot of good learning material you can also find it in amazon. Also Spanish is very depending what country you want to travel mexicans Spanish is very different from Argentinain Spanish.

[WhiteBoyChill]

Makes sense. Argentinian Spanish is especially strange though with the accent