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Ten Items for your Spanish Learner's Toolbox
 If you want to go to a foreign country, you can go by boat, plane, helicopter, walking, car, bus-there are a whole bunch of ways to get there. Some are faster than others, but they all eventually get you to your destination. The same is true if you want to learn a foreign language. You may attend a class, listen to CD's, read text books, follow a self-taught program on the internet, travel in a foreign country, or watch movies or read books in your target language. There are a whole lot of ways to learn a foreign language. But, no matter which way you go, you need to have certain items in your tool kit. Here are the top ten items we recommend for your toolbox.
- Dictionary. I should say a good dictionary. I used Harrap's Compact Spanish Dictionary for years and years and considered it the best all around choice for its portability and completeness of definitions. Nowadays I rely more on WordReference and on Merriam-Websters on line Spanish-Engish Dictionaries. For real stumpers we consult our Spanish language dictionary the Grijalbo Gran Diccionario Enciclopédico Ilustrado. Unfortunately, it's out of print, so we'll keep on the lookout for a suitable replacement.
- Book of idioms: We like the Big Red Book of Spanish Idioms. We've used others that we like as well: 2001 Spanish and English Idioms, Guide to Spanish Idioms, 1000 Spanish Idioms. This last one is nice because it is arranged in frequency order, but is unfortunately out-of-print.
- Phrase Book: Dover, Lonely Planet, and Berlitz all have good ones. Dover has the distinction of being the only foreign language learning tool that I've seen crack the Amazon top 100. Lonely Planet comes in several editions. We've linked to the Mexican Spanish edition, but you should be aware that there is a generically titled Spanish phrasebook as well as a Latin American Phrasebook.
- An Explanation of Grammar. While I don't recommend using an English-based grammar or textbook to teach you the language, if you want to read a grammar quickly just to get a feel for the langauge is a good idea. You can probably find one that will meet your needs in the library. By the way, I've found that old is good in this category. The 1920's through the 1940's seemed to be a golden age for books on foreign language learning. The best Russian text I've found was written in the 1934, Anna Semeonoff entitled A New Russian Grammar and the best Spanish text I've found is Estefanía D. de Chávez' Spanish Conversations in the Classroom: Spanish through Spanish. This is the program we recommend and offer with a slightly different title.
- Verb Conjugation Reference. You're not going to want to memorize 501 Spanish verbs or 555 Spanish verbs. The verbs fall into patterns and you'll want to learn those patterns. However, occasionally, you'll want a quick reference to the correct verb form and will want to consult a handy reference. I've used 501 Spanish verbs and found it adequate. The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs is presented nicely and is the version printed by our publisher. The two are very similar. It just depends on which format you prefer. If you like your information online, I recommend, Verbix. You can access it at Verbix' website or from our website (right hand column).
- Program of Study: While we recommend our own Spanish through Spanish, there are many programs that do a good job of teaching Spanish. You can find an out-of-print copy of the original Spanish through Spanish textbook either at a library or via one of the online bookstores that deal in used books or you can use the version that we've updated for the web.
- A list of frequency order: We recommend the Big Red Book of Spanish Vocabulary (full disclosure--we wrote the book--and because of that, we do recommend it. It is really four books in one: (1) A cognates dictionary, (2) frequency dictionary (3) roots dictionary and (4) a suffix dictionary. There is at least one other frequency dictionary available. Or, if you like a do-it-yourself approach, take a look at these English word lists and look the words up as you go.
- Cards-index or business. The idea of flashcards has been around a while and we wouldn't even begin to know to whom to give credit. However, we got the idea of using business cards to record six words of vocabulary on one side with translations on the reverse side from How To Learn Any Language: Quickly, Easily, Inexpensively, Enjoyably and on Your Own by Barry Farber. Blank business cards are not readily available in your typical office supply store, but if you ask your printer, he'lll probably sell a box of 500-100 for a few bucks. These are useful because you can stick them in your pocket and refer to them in those inevitable moments of waiting-in line, at the doctor's office, etc. Don't wait until you have the right sized card to start practicing vocabulary. Use a regular piece of paper if need be.
- Time Pieces: Stopwatch & Metronome: We operate under the principle, "It's not what you know that counts; it's what you think of in time." If you want to make sure you know something you need to know it under stress. Checking how fast you know something and trying to improve on that is a great way to impress on your mind new vocabulary so that when you get under stress, you won't forget.
- Source Material: You need real-life contact with Spanish through books, magazines, newspapers, TV shows, music, movies, etc. You could choose any of the written forms and work your way through the vocabulary, dictionary in hand. We also offer some paid and free resources that will allow you to learn vocabulary from these types of sources.
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