10 Fun Ways To Learn And Improve In A Language (that Isnt Studying)

10 fun ways to learn and improve in a language (that isn’t studying)

watch netflix in your target language - cartoons and disney films are always a good starting point

start a podcast about your favourite topic (tv shows, films, games etc.) 

start a video blog/diary - record yourself on how your day went (don’t worry - you don’t have to post it online!)

start a journal in your target language

set your favourite video game to your target language (e.g. animal crossing)

write tv and film reviews 

listen to free audiobooks on youtube in the background

fall asleep to whispered ASMR videos in your target language (search on youtube ASMR + the language you’re learning)

use apps like duolingo, memrise and quizlet (you could even create your own vocab course)

read lightweight (and trashy) fashion magazines - a lot of content will be available online for free

Grammar Friday: Ser vs. Estar

Spanish Quotes about Life.

1. Nada hay más surreal que la realidad- Nothing is more surreal than reality.

2. Despues de los años mil, Torna el agua a su carril- In a hundred years we will be dead anyway.

3. La vida es un relámpago entre dos largas noches- Life is a flash of lightning between two long nights.

4. Nada hay nuevo debajo del sol- There is nothing new under the Sun.

(Everything that’s happened to you, has happened to other people too.)

5. De músico, poeta y loco, todos tenemos un poco- We all have a little bit of musician, poet and crazy person in us.

6. El arte es una mentira que nos acerca a la verdad- Art is a lie which brings us closer to truth.

7. Toma las cosas como vienen- Take things as they come.

8. Hay un cierto placer en la locura, que solo el loco conoce- There’s a certain pleasure in madness that only the madman knows.

9. Vale más huir, que morir- It’s better to flee than to die. (Live to fight another battle.)

10. No hables a menos que puedas mejorar el silencio- Don’t talk unless you can improve on the silence.

Boost your Spanish with more complex synonyms for words you already know

Here you have some words/expressions (in bold) that you can use to show off while speaking Spanish. A native will know them, but if you use these you will impress them. Also, in your writings these words will look quite good. NOTE: Some of them are quite formal and not used in conversations.

similar - semejante, afín, cercano, aproximado, símil, parecido (adj.) (similar)

parecerse - asemejarse, semejar, darse un aire, recordar a (to resemble)

divertido - ameno, entretenido (adj.) (fun)

difícil - peliagudo, arduo, espinoso (adj.) (difficult)

fácil - sencillo, factible (adj.) (easy)

empezar - emprender (to begin)

terminar - concluir, ultimar, finiquitar (to finish)

la misión -  la empresa, el cometido, la tarea, la labor, el quehacer  (mission, duty)

caro - costoso, prohibitivo (adj.) (expensive)

barato - asequible, económico (adj.) (cheap)

distraer, desentender, simular - hacerse el sueco (expression, lit.

to do the Swedish. To avoid doing something that you must do)

enfermo - aquejado, indispuesto, alicaído (adj.) (sick, ill)

la historia - el cuento, la leyenda, la fábula (story, tale)

el cotilleo - chisme, chismorreo, enredo (gossip)

aprender - cultivarse, formarse, educarse, empollar (to learn)

gustar - cautivar, embelesar (to like)

saber - estar al corriente, estar al tanto (to know about something)

siempre - perpetuamente, constantemente, continuamente (always)

malo - diabólico, maléfico, maldito, ruin, infame, sinvergüenza, insolente, maligno, malicioso, depravado, inmoral, pérfido (adj.) (bad, as in “a bad person”)

malo - nocivo, dañino, perjudicial, nefasto (adj.) (bad)

comprar - adquirir, obtener (to buy)

la tienda -el comercio, el establecimiento, el negocio, la botica (shop)

continuar -prorrogar, prolongar, preservar, aguantar, proseguir (to continue)

buscar - indagar, rebuscar, escudriñar, revolver (to search)

contestar - objetar, contradecir, rebatir, refutar, rechazar, disputar, discutir, argüir (to reply, as in refute)

abandonar - marcharse, desaparecer, largarse, ausentarse (to abandon, as in “to leave a place”)

feliz - radiante, contento, risueño, campante (adj.) (happy)

triste - afligido, apenado, desconsolado, abatido, entristecido, apesumbrado, desolado, deshecho, desamparado, mustio, taciturno, tristón (adj.) - sad

antipático - desagradable, enojoso, aguafiestas, pesado (adj.) (obnoxious)

la ciudad - la urbe, la localidad, el municipio, la población

 (city)

el país - la nación, la patria, el pueblo, el estado (country)

la familia - la estirpe, el linaje (family)

los padres - los progenitores, los ascendientes, los antecesores (parents)

la casa - el domicilio, la vivienda, la residencia, la morada, el inmueble, la edificación (house)

Apparently a lot of people get dialogue punctuation wrong despite having an otherwise solid grasp of grammar, possibly because they’re used to writing essays rather than prose. I don’t wanna be the asshole who complains about writing errors and then doesn’t offer to help, so here are the basics summarized as simply as I could manage on my phone (“dialogue tag” just refers to phrases like “he said,” “she whispered,” “they asked”):

“For most dialogue, use a comma after the sentence and don’t capitalize the next word after the quotation mark,” she said.

“But what if you’re using a question mark rather than a period?” they asked.

“When using a dialogue tag, you never capitalize the word after the quotation mark unless it’s a proper noun!” she snapped.

“When breaking up a single sentence with a dialogue tag,” she said, “use commas.”

“This is a single sentence,” she said. “Now, this is a second stand-alone sentence, so there’s no comma after ‘she said.’”

“There’s no dialogue tag after this sentence, so end it with a period rather than a comma.” She frowned, suddenly concerned that the entire post was as unasked for as it was sanctimonious.

Do you ever stop to think that there are people that have your target language as their native language? Like there are children who babble their first words in that language, people that speak to their parents in that language everyday, entire countries that grew up hearing this language like it’s no big deal, and that probably don’t think twice about it or even find it that interesting

It’s just so surreal and cool, and I just love languages so much