Simplicity and good quality is what a Spanish Learning Software should offer to be considered good and worthy.

There are literally thousands of different online language software, techniques, tutors, free lessons, etc. Bottom line, do your research and decide the one that suits your learning preferences best.

Prices range from very cheap (careful with those ones) or even free, to extremely expensive. However,  do not choose any Spanish Language Software based solely on the price.

Keep in mind that learning a new skill requires an investment of time and money. Of course, one must be careful with our hard earned money.

The best Spanish learning software should be easy to use and implement an effective teaching method. The ones that  have been proven effective combine teaching games, audio lessons and speech recognition. They are really fun because they are interactive and most importantly they do not use translation methods.

This may sound a bit strange to you, but the best way of learning a new language is to just jump in, like when learning to swim. Do not try to mentally translate into your mother tongue, which is a natural  thing to do, but it tends to confuse you and takes longer to catch up the new language in the long run.

The one I personally considered as the best Spanish learning software is “Rocket Spanish”, it worked wonders for me and I have the opportunity to to go back to the online course any time I need a refresher, which it hasn’t happened lately since I do live and work in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico now which gives me the opportunity of speaking my new language daily and correct any mistakes I make which are less and less.

However, you don’t need to move to a Spanish speaking country to learn the language. If you want and can, that’s wonderful but is not a necessary condition. Learning a language online is just one of the best things that can happen to anyone who want to speak a new language.

Now, when choosing which a Spanish learning software, just consider the following:

Audio Lessons

Interactivity. Does the software have games, such as “memory games”. Those are a combination of picture / word / phrase association.

Teacher Support. Get a software that offers a 24/7 student support. This saves you a lot of headaches , believe me.

Regardless of the Spanish language software you choose, remember to practice, practice, practice and have lots of FUN

Your friend,

Jonathan

Could Learning to Speak Spanish Help You Achieve Job Security?

During these times of economic uncertainty, the more assets or skills we can list on our resume the better chances of getting a better job, or even to get to keep our current position.

There is no doubt that the Spanish speaking market is no longer the 900 lbs. gorilla in the room that everyone wanted to ignore. Specially in North America, the Spanish speaking community is growing fast with an increasing economic power, even during these tough times, no one denies that, or at least not any more.

Dramatic change and simple evolution give birth to a whole new set of market needs. That’s the reason why a lot of big and medium size companies have turned their attention on to the Spanish market not only within the United States but to the entire Spanish speaking community in the world. Spanish is the third most spoken language with over 400 million people.

Learning to speak Spanish gives you the ability to expand your “market” to those 400 million people worldwide. That’s a huge slice of the pie, don’t you think?.

One thing that economic challenging times have taught us throughout history is that if one doesn’t learn how to deal with uncertainty, the stormy weather is going to hit us real hard and by the time we wake up is going to be late, too late. That is the reason why now, more than ever, we need to be flexible and identify new needs, new markets and enjoy remarkable success, and learning a new skill such as speaking a new language, Spanish in this case, comes in handy, very handy.

I am a strong believer that difficulty creates opportunity, otherwise I would not have faced the challenge to having to learn to speak Spanish in 6 months otherwise I would not have gotten a promotion. Just 8 months ago (January of 2009) I was offered the position of General Manager at the largest beach resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico under the condition that I had to be fluent in Spanish or the job would’ve been given to a junior Manager who had the asset of being a Spanish speaker.

So, there I was at the age of 46 facing the possibility of not getting an extraordinary new job opportunity but maybe even facing the risk of being laid off. Thank goodness I was given some time to tackle the challenge. I don’t even want to think what would have happened if I hadn’t been given that window of opportunity.

I understand we are all facing difficult times and sometimes all we want to do is crawl under the covers expecting that the “bogey” man will disappear. Sorry to bring it to you, it won’t.

Crisis create opportunities, maybe learning to speak Spanish will be a way out of your difficulties by expanding your horizon, or if your situation is not as dramatic as that, you will at least learn a new and a beautiful language and when visiting Puerto Vallarta you could come and visit me at the resort, you gotta be speaking Spanish though

To your success

Learn with an online Spanish course and you will be on your way to success in no time, as long as you practice and do your homework. Remember that there isn’t anything for nothing in this life. If you want to learn how to speak Spanish, put the necessary effort and the sweet nectar of success will be yours, guaranteed.

We are so used to the online world that we take for granted that not long ago (maybe 10 years) we had to go to school if we wanted to learn anything. Now, the information is just at the click of a button, literally. That’s why there is no excuse not to sign up to an online Spanish course if you are really determined to learn the language.

Speaking a second language is a wonderful opportunity for anybody to see the world from a different perspective altogether. When we learn a language, we just don’t learn grammar, pronunciation, verbs, nouns, etc., we also immerse ourselves in the culture where that language comes from. We see the world with their eyes and a sense of “togetherness”. We then belong to where they come from because we speak their language. Traveling to Spain or any Latin American country with the ability of speaking Spanish, makes the experience so wonderful because we take everything as it is. You see and hear everything different really.

This may seem impossible for you to believe but it’s true. Nowadays there is no excuse not to learn anything we want, and when it comes to learning a language, there is nothing like an online Spanish course to make it possible in a matter of a few months. There are tons of good and bad courses, some of them really expensive and some others not that bad. Do your homework and choose the one that feels good for you based on your learning preference and affordability.

It’s not a secret that I learned with Rocket Spanish which I highly recommend. Not only worked for me but the quality of the material and support is outstanding really. After 8-9 weeks I was already speaking quiet fluently.

In case you haven’t noticed it I am a strong supporter of online courses. I love the Internet for that, there are so many things I learned online that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Learning a language online gives you a 24/7 access and support, besides you get to keep the course after you are done in case you want or need to go back any time for a refresher. It also gives you the opportunity to learn at different levels at once without leaving home or the office. It can’t get any better than that, can it?.

Learning with an online Spanish course can be quick and easy. You get to learn at your own pace and laugh at your own mistakes.

Remember that is not the destination but the journey itself that makes it all worth. So, when learning Spanish online or off line, just take it one lesson at a time and have lots of fun along the way

Yours truly,

Jonathan