The best way to learn a foreign language is to immerse yourself - aka TRAVEL! Obviously we all can't pick up and go for extended periods of time, so here is my list of tips to help increase fluency or if you're just beginning & need to get your brain started in that Spanish-speaking direction.
1)Make labels in Spanish for items that are around your house. For example, label the clock, ‘reloj.’
2)Watch DVDs that you’ve previously seen a few times and set the language to Spanish.
You can set the subtitles and/or set the audio to Spanish.
3)Pick up the free Spanish newspapers (usually outside of supermarkets) and skim/scan for cognates (the words you understand at first glance). Read headlines, picture captions and ads - out loud!
4)Download a couple iTunes songs in Spanish – pick ones you like the 'sample sound' of, then find the lyrics online and learn the words. Finally, when you play the song, sing out loud! Some artists to check out: Juanes, Shakira, Maná, Paulina Rubio, Bacilos, Juan Luis Guerra.
5)Check out children’s books from the library. Begin making associations between what you see and read in Spanish. Read the story aloud to yourself or a parent/sibling. Try to do this once a week.
