Disqus - Latest Comments for SpanishOnly

Re: Fi3M wins the Top 100 Language Lovers competition! Have a look at the other amazing 99 of them!

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 06:39:26 -0000

Better late than never, so... CONGRATULATIONS! You've done a really good job, and with the new design and your current approach I think you can bring this blog to new heights.

Good luck with everything and with Turkish (you made me want to start with Turkish again!).

Re: BlackBerry Bold 9900 preview! (video)

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 07:29:27 -0000

I'm glad I didn't wait. I previously owned the Bold 9000. Yes, I was happy with it messaging-wise, but the phone became sooo slow after installing more than 5 apps because of the lack of memory.

Happy to have switched over to Android with the HTC Desire Z/G2.

Re: Mystery HTC Windows Phone sports 12 megapixel goodness, RAW support

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Mon, 30 May 2011 09:49:49 -0000

Nice lens AND a good sensor. You can have a good lens, and crappy sensor, creating sucky pictures with loads of noise...

Re: Sony Next-Generation Portable To Include Two Quad-Core Chips [PICS]

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 08:13:08 -0000

The NGP blows the 3DS out of the water, at least if they have a serious line-up of games (Nintendo is currently just recycling older games, lke always).

Re: Seven Language Blogs that I Read Regularly

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:41:45 -0000

You can always turns your comments off. Anyway, I recommend everyone to use Wordpress and the Akismet anti-spam plugin. Works like a charm!

Re: And She’s Speaking Spanish: Week 1 with Brainscape

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:42:28 -0000

Good job! I don't own an iPhone anymore, so I can't test out the app. Still, maybe I'll have someone who does own an iPhone/iPod review it for my blog.

And oh, just a little help:
http://www.spanish-only.com...

Re: The Spanish Subjunctive Explained + W.E.I.R.D.O System (awesome little mnemonic device for dealing with the subjunctive in Spanish)

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:00:38 -0000

Wasn't he the guy who thinks learning grammar is good, and that you should do research to the sounds of a language (http://how-to-learn-any-lan...

That way, learning a language looks like work. My philosophy is: language learning should mean having fun, not doing WORK. As soon as it feels like work, you're about to quit learning your target language. Only people with an iron will will succeed, and most of us don't have such an iron will.

I'll read through his posts, making notes and maybe write a post about it, reply to his posts, or simply send him an e-mail with some more questions.

Re: The Spanish Subjunctive Explained + W.E.I.R.D.O System (awesome little mnemonic device for dealing with the subjunctive in Spanish)

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 08:21:21 -0000

Fair enough. I actually used to study grammar long before I started with my input-focused approach, but it only frustrated me. Not until I let studying grammar behind I actually made some progress.

As for the people at HTLAL: I respect many of them, because they've learned many languages using different methods, but the majority are like blind sheep with no language skills at all. So I read some of the topics, but I mostly regard it as a waste of time to argue with people who have no idea on how to learn foreign languages, but still try to convince others that their method is the best, while they've never learned any language to fluency with it. (Wow, that was a long-ass sentence)

Am I ranting? I better stop writing now...

Re: The Spanish Subjunctive Explained + W.E.I.R.D.O System (awesome little mnemonic device for dealing with the subjunctive in Spanish)

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 11:09:32 -0000

Why are you ripping the Spanish subjunctive apart? Seriously, studying it will most likely confuse you. I tried, and failed. You know what helped? Just watching a lot of television and reading many books.

In the end it's just a feeling. I asked several Spanish natives to explain the subjunctive mood to me, and none of them could explain it in a clear way. Even Spanish professors were mute when I said nobody understood their explanation. They never gave us another, better, explanation because they just didn't know how to.

After a while you just know when to use the subjunctive or not. I'm sure there are some good explanations around about when to use what form, but learning them will only slow down your output. Acquiring a gut feeling for the subjunctive is the best thing you can do in my opinion.

Re: Seven Language Blogs that I Read Regularly

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:44:55 -0000

Nice list. I already read all of these blogs regularly, but it's good that you're spreading the word of hardcore language learning!

Y muchas gracias por el enlace :-)

Re: The Manly Alpha-Male’s Guide to Language Acquisition Part III: Dora the Explorapocalypse

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 05:56:56 -0000

Found the 4th season as well:
http://www.seriesyonkis.com...

Re: Input vs. Output

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 03:55:48 -0000

Andrew, I was like that and it ruined my accent. I started speaking right away, while I had natives around me all day long. Did they correct me? Sure. Did they correct me all the time? No way in hell they didn't... So I spoke with a poor accent, and thought my accent was good because people stopped correcting me.

I'm still a strong believer of the input hypothesis, because I've seen it in action many times, and it beats the crap out of the "speak as soon as you can"-method. People who spend a considerable amount listening and taking time to absorb the correct sounds will often do much better than people who start speaking right away.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that practice should be the biggest part of your learning experience, but start like kids start: listen. Of course you can imitate people on television after a while, but don't start with it, just absorb. In the end this will leave you with a better accent and less cleaning up to do.

Re: The Manly Alpha-Male’s Guide to Language Acquisition Part III: Dora the Explorapocalypse

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 03:49:29 -0000

Damn you Balint, you language-addicted Hungarian! Because of you I have to share all of my secrets once again! Damn you!

Still, my secrets require downloading, but I hope that's not a problem.

German:
http://www.serienjunkies.com

Italian:
http://redown.tv/serie-tv-ita
http://www.warezitalia.net/...
(There was another one, something called Bahia pirata, but I forgot the address/exact name and can't find it in my bookmarks list)

Re: Is Using Flashcards Bad?

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 04:28:03 -0000

And at the same time is Spanish is very good, and so is his French I believe. For both he uses flashcards, so I don't see the problem. Who knows why his Chinese is "bad (if it is, I don't know as I don't speak a word of Chinese)?

Anyway, I didn't want to pat myself on the back, but I've been a huge fan of flashcards since I started learning Spanish, and I think I have a very high level in Spanish (and so things many native speakers).

Re: The Manly Alpha-Male’s Guide to Language Acquisition Part III: Dora the Explorapocalypse

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:39:59 -0000

www.vagos.es

I only found one season though...

Re: Learning Spanish with my iPhone

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:54:58 -0000

Nice video :-). I'm sure you'll succeed, just as long as you put in enough work!

One tip: watch easy stuff like Dora the Explorer to begin with, this will boost your gut feeling for Spanish grammar and will enable you to build a nice vocabulary to work with. After this you should watch programs you love, and using a flashcard program is a nice supplement of course :-).

And oh, all this television watching can be done on your iPhone ;-).

Re: The Manly Alpha-Male’s Guide to Language Acquisition Part III: Dora the Explorapocalypse

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:49:02 -0000

I actually thought I hated Dora the Explorer, but then I watched an episode over at DpStream (in French) and I loved the simpleness and how fast you learn new words and phrases. It's mindblowing how effective it is.

And welcome to the blog, nice to see another Dutchy :-).

Re: Input vs. Output

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 15:15:25 -0000

That's why I'm all for a mix of the two. Input can only bring you so far, your ultimate goal is communication so you should start speaking at some point, even though your suck at first.

Actually, after the input period you should speak ALL THE TIME (and still take in, but not as much as before as you'll be speaking a lot).

Re: How I Got a Native Spanish Accent

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 02:41:06 -0000

For people saying I copied my article: come with proof or go away. I write ALL of my article myself, and I'm not aware of copying anything.

Also, I've proven I have a native accent, but that doesn't even matter. I'm not here to impress people, I'm here to help them become better at their target language. If that's something you don't like, I suggest you go somewhere else to bash the writers.

Alice wrote this:
I see you removed the comments after you were busted for copying someone else's story.

Well well, another fake found out.

My response:
Hahaha, really? I just switched to another comment system and it is acting up. How can I copy someone if I have proven I have a native accent? Seriously, I'm just ignoring this accusation.

Re: This is the Google Chrome OS netbook keyboard

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 16:28:24 -0000

Where are you seeing a Windows button? They could've made the left ctrl and alt buttons smaller though.

Re: How I Got a Native Spanish Accent

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 15:01:18 -0000

Who is Jerry Dai? I don't know him...

Anyway, I'm a perfectionist and I know what my weak points are. Still, my Spanish pronunciation is good and I have proven it. I'd say that only people from Murcia can tell I'm not from Murcia, but the majority of the people I meet think I am.

Still, in the end it doesn't matter. I'm not looking for honor or glory, I just want to speak Spanish well. If I speak Spanish with a minimal amount of foreign influences, I'm a happy camper. I quit striving for perfection a long time ago; it only causes a lot of stress.

Also, I didn't copy anything...

Re: Spanish Word of the Day: joder

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:29:57 -0000

That's why literal translations suck donkey balls.

Re: 10 of the Most Outrageous TSA Horror Stories

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 05:04:38 -0000

I was thinking about going to the USA somewhere next year, but no way I'm going if they threat another human being like this. I'm not an animal, I'm from a country that they call their ally, so why the aggressiveness? Even against their own people...

Re: Why Listening is SO Important – Even If You Don’t Understand a Word!

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:27:52 -0000

Haha, somehow I've been doing everything right today. Linking to that old article, helping people, etc. I'm on fire! ;-). Thanks for linking to my blog, and thanks for promoting immersion based learning. More people should know that just listening works like a charm, even though it sounds like Harry Potter magic.

Re: Are video games hurting your learning?

Ramses (Spanish-Only.com) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 07:03:28 -0000

Maybe because it's the way Latin is teached is just plain boring?

Anyway, the biggest danger playing video games (for me, that is), is that it's eating away the time I can spend on getting some more input in my target language. To be honest: I rarely play a video game in my target language, simply because the quality of the translation is poor...