{"id":11087,"date":"2018-01-15T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=11087"},"modified":"2018-03-07T15:33:07","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T20:33:07","slug":"new-years-resolution-learn-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/new-years-resolution-learn-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"New Year&#8217;s Resolution &#8211; Learn Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00bf<strong>Cu\u00e1l es su prop\u00f3sito de A\u00f1o Nuevo<\/strong>? (What is your New Year&#8217;s resolution?) I&#8217;m sure your answer is, &#8220;<strong>Mi resoluci\u00f3n de A\u00f1o Nuevo es aprender espa\u00f1ol<\/strong>&#8221; (My New Year&#8217;s resolution is to learn Spanish.&#8221; The beginning of the year is a time that many people resolve to learn a new language. Unfortunately, many give up halfway for one reason or another. Here are some tips and resources to make sure you can succeed with your resolution to learn Spanish in 2018.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Learn the Alphabet<\/h2>\n<p>We all have to start somewhere, and if you&#8217;re new to Spanish that means focusing on <em>el alfabeto<\/em> (the alphabet).\u00a0Follow this video to learn the 27 letters of the Spanish alphabet plus two common digraphs that used to be letters. Each one gives a Spanish word as an example as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"El Alfabeto (The Spanish Alphabet)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/un51zqbyKwc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve got the alphabet down, you can follow <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/beginner-spanish-review-lesson-5-the-spanish-alphabet-and-spelling-in-spanish\/\">this lesson<\/a> from Laura about how to spell names for more practice. Give it a try with your own name first!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00bf<em>C\u00f3mo se escribe\/deletrea su nombre<\/em>? (How do you write\/spell your name?)<\/li>\n<li>\u00bf<em>C\u00f3mo se escribe\/deletrea su apellido<\/em>? (How do you write\/spell your surname?)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Meet and Greet<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_11090\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC03116.jpg\" aria-label=\"DSC03116\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11090\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11090\"  alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC03116.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC03116.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC03116-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-11090\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Get out there and meet people!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In order to start practicing Spanish, you need to meet and greet people. It can be intimidating at first to try and talk to people in a language you&#8217;re not comfortable with, but thankfully people in Spanish-speaking countries are generally quite friendly. Don&#8217;t be shy, smile, and greet them with a nice &#8220;<em>Buenas tardes<\/em>!\u00a0\u00bf<em>C\u00f3mo est\u00e1<\/em>?&#8221; and you&#8217;ll be practicing your Spanish with locals.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Get started with this video to learn some common greetings:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Common Spanish Greetings\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Zz4T1LSX1bQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here are some more great posts to get you more familiar with how to greet people in Spanish:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/formal-and-informal-ways-of-saying-hello-in-spanish\/\">Formal and Informal Ways of Saying &#8220;Hello&#8221; in Spanish<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/formal-and-informal-ways-of-saying-goodbye-in-spanish\/\">Formal and Informal Ways of Saying &#8220;Goodbye&#8221; in Spanish<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/beginner-spanish-greetings-and-goodbyes\/\">Beginner Spanish: Greetings and Goodbyes<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even if your Spanish is rough around the edges (like mine), it&#8217;s important to make an effort to speak whenever you can. Especially if you&#8217;re traveling or living in a Spanish-speaking country, the least you can do is greet people in their language. The rest will come with time!<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Master Some Survival Phrases<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_11089\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC04239.jpg\" aria-label=\"DSC04239\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11089\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11089\"  alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC04239.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC04239.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC04239-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-11089\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">At least get some survival phrases ready for things like grocery shopping.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We\u2019ve all been there before \u2013 traveling to a new country and having absolutely no idea how to communicate with people. While it\u2019s true that you\u2019ll find English speakers in countries like Spain, Argentina, and Mexico, it\u2019s not as prevalent as you may think. A much better idea is to learn some survival phrases in Spanish before you go. Here&#8217;s a list you can copy and paste to study, and a video where you can follow along with a native speaker to practice:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\">Hola = Hello<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfC\u00f3mo est\u00e1? = How are you?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Estoy bien. = I\u2019m fine.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfC\u00f3mo se llama? = What\u2019s your name?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Me llamo\u2026 = My name is\u2026<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Mucho gusto = Nice to meet yo<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00a1Adi\u00f3s! = Goodbye!<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Por favor = Please<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Gracias = Thank you<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">De nada = You\u2019re welcome<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">S\u00ed = Yes<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Quiz\u00e1s = Maybe<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">No = No<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Disculpe\/con permiso = Excuse me<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Lo siento = I\u2019m sorry<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">No hay problema = No problem<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfQu\u00e9 es esto? = What\u2019s this?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfHabla ingl\u00e9s? = Do you speak English?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Yo solo hablo un poco de espa\u00f1ol. = I only speak a little Spanish.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">No lo entiendo. = I don\u2019t understand.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfPuede hablar m\u00e1s despacio, por favor? = Can you speak slowly, please?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1\u2026? = Where is\u2026?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1 el ba\u00f1o? = Where is the bathroom?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfCu\u00e1nto cuesta? = How much is the cost?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfCu\u00e1nto es? = How much?<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">\u00bfPuede ayudarme? = Can you help me?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Survival Phrases in Spanish\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/910QMh1B_94?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Make it Fun<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_11091\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC06381.jpg\" aria-label=\"DSC06381\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11091\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11091\"  alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC06381.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC06381.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DSC06381-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-11091\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">How about some mariachi music to make your studies more interesting?<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Conjugating verbs and reviewing which noun is masculine or feminine isn&#8217;t exactly my idea of a good time. These things are important, but they&#8217;re definitely not fun. In order to persevere with your New Year&#8217;s resolution to learn Spanish, you have to make it fun! Take a break from the textbooks and try learning some Spanish songs or watching a movie in Spanish with English subtitles if need be. The more you&#8217;re hearing the language, the better! Here are a few great posts we have that can make your Spanish studies more fun this year:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/most-popular-spanish-songs-of-2017\/\">Most Popular Spanish Songs of 2017<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/learning-spanish-on-netflix-7-binge-worthy-shows-en-espanol\/\">Learning Spanish on Netflix: 7 Binge-worthy Shows en Espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/netflixing-your-way-to-fluency-with-spanish-movies\/\">Netflixing Your Way to Fluency with Spanish Movies<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/music-in-spanish-bomba-estereo-soy-yo\/\">Music in Spanish: Bomba Est\u00e9ro &#8211; Soy Yo<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By incorporating some music, TV shows, and movies into your study routine, you&#8217;ll enjoy it a lot more. After all, <em>la variedad es la sal de la vida<\/em> (Variety is the spice of life).<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Travel<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_11088\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DJI_0347.jpg\" aria-label=\"DJI 0347\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11088\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11088\"  alt=\"New Year's Resolution - Learn Spanish\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DJI_0347.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DJI_0347.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DJI_0347-350x263.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-11088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Learn Spanish, then travel to Peru to speak it!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Spanish is the official or national language in 20 different countries with a combined population of around 450 million. What better way to practice your Spanish than to travel? Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and even Equatorial Guinea are waiting for you to come and practice your Spanish.\u00a0 Book that trip to go trekking in Patagonia in Chile and Argentina or that beach getaway in Costa Rica and put your Spanish skills to use. Better yet, go to a Spanish-speaking country and take classes for a few weeks. I had a great time <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/studying-spanish-in-medellin\/\">studying Spanish in Medell\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0last year and would highly recommend it.\u00a0If you&#8217;re American and can&#8217;t pull of that big international trip this year, surely you don&#8217;t have to go far to find Spanish speakers. Even though it&#8217;s not an official language, over 50 million Spanish speakers live in the US!<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">Transparent Language<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to this very blog you&#8217;re reading, we have several FREE (yes, free!) resources for you to learn Spanish this year:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transparent.com\/word-of-the-day\/today\/spanish.html\">Learn a new Spanish word every day<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Sign up for a <a href=\"https:\/\/education.transparent.com\/mylearning\/game\/ng\/#\/signup\/trial\/choose\">14-day free trial<\/a> to learn Spanish online<\/li>\n<li>Take our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transparent.com\/learn-spanish\/proficiency-test.html\">free proficiency test<\/a> to see what level you&#8217;re at<\/li>\n<li>Join our big and helpful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/learn.spanish.language\">Facebook community<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Subscribe to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/TLSpanish\">YouTube channel<\/a> for more videos<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With so many great resources available to you, there&#8217;s no reason 2018 can&#8217;t be the year you finally learn Spanish.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\">Is your New Year&#8217;s resolution to learn Spanish this year? How will you do it? Do you have any tips to share? Leave a comment and let us know!<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"263\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DJI_0347-350x263.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"New Year&#039;s Resolution - Learn Spanish\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DJI_0347-350x263.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/01\/DJI_0347.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>\u00bfCu\u00e1l es su prop\u00f3sito de A\u00f1o Nuevo? (What is your New Year&#8217;s resolution?) I&#8217;m sure your answer is, &#8220;Mi resoluci\u00f3n de A\u00f1o Nuevo es aprender espa\u00f1ol&#8221; (My New Year&#8217;s resolution is to learn Spanish.&#8221; The beginning of the year is a time that many people resolve to learn a new language. Unfortunately, many give up&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/new-years-resolution-learn-spanish\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":11088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6,13,2617],"tags":[509705,509706,509703,509702,472638,472660,222999,399230,509704,509701,472673],"class_list":["post-11087","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","category-vocabulary","category-videos","tag-how-to-learn-spanish","tag-learn-spanish-for-free","tag-learn-spanish-online","tag-new-years-resolution-learn-spanish","tag-spanish-alphabet","tag-spanish-greetings","tag-spanish-movies","tag-spanish-music","tag-spanish-netflix-shows","tag-spanish-new-years-resolutions","tag-spanish-survival-phrases"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11087"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11255,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11087\/revisions\/11255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}