Anxiety can affect a lot of people trying to learn a foreign language. Confidence problems, a reluctance to speak, and even insomnia can make it a lot harder to succeed. These problems seem especially more apparent for college students taking language classes.

Elaine Horwitz, a professor of foreign language education at the University of Texas at Austin, believes there’s a definite connection between what’s been identified as language anxiety and performance in the classroom. “They were sleepless, they were unable to do anything else in their life but pay attention to this class. They were studying absolutely full-time and they were getting C’s,” she said.

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Let’s learn how to stress Spanish syllables and how different accents affect the sounds of the Spanish letters.

Although your level of competence in pronouncing Spanish properly has very little bearing on your ability to be understood, you can follow some simple steps that should enable you to express yourself in a more acceptable manner. Some suggestions and tips for better pronunciation include the following:

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This is a great article about an Englishman’s adventures in Spain. After many months of struggling to learn Spanish, he finally succeeds after taking a job in a small Spanish town.

Here’s an example of the kind of trouble you can expect in a foreign country if you don’t know the native language:

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Spanish is now being spoken in record numbers throughout North America. More and more people are studying Spanish. Even in Europe, Spanish is often spoken as the language of choice after English. So it is no surprise that Spanish is the second or third most popular foreign language to learn to speak – it is the 4th most spoken language in the world with about 400 million speakers worldwide. In fact, according to some figures, Spanish has more native speakers than English.

Because of the large number of speakers across the world, as well as being the official language on four continents, Spanish is a great choice for those of you who want to learn a foreign language. There are also many other reasons to learn to speak Spanish:

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Learning Spanish doesn’t have to be boring and tedious. By following the tips provided below, learning to speak the Spanish language will be much easier. The tips below are useful for anyone, regardless of their aptitude for learning languages or their budget.

Most people believe learning Spanish requires boring, rote memorization in the presence of an equally boring teacher. This belief is pervasive, and for good reason. That is how our formal education system tries to teach us foreign languages. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work very well!

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Music has been said to be the universal language. Besides offering a catchy rhythm to tap your foot to, music has the power to manipulate our emotions. It also provides a medium through which we can express ourselves with lyrics.

Using music to learn a foreign language is a great way to speed up the process of becoming fluent. So, let’s take a look at a music video in Spanish, with lyrics you can read while she sings. The English translation at the end will help you learn to speak Spanish fluently if you can memorize or pick up some of the Spanish phrases. And since you’ll be hearing the phrases set to music, it will be much easier and more fun to remember!

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Learning Spanish Like Crazy is one of the top Spanish language courses available online. The program claims to help you speak Spanish fluently, and I rate it as being one of the top two courses on the market.

One of the plusses of the course is that it is available for download. You can also preview some of the lessons for free, which really helps when deciding whether or not the product is right for you.

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In Spain and Latin American countries, interactions between men and women differ somewhat from North American countries. “Machismo,” or excessive masculinity, has traditionally been a part of Spanish and other Latin American cultures. However, this attitude is changing as time goes by.

Even so, cultural standards will still be noticeably different for, say, a Canadian in Spain. Especially for women traveling alone, they might receive flirtatious comments, which is referred to as “piropeo.” Although such comments may seem rude, they are generally meant to be sincere and respectful compliments.

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Tango began in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the late 1800s. The dance originated in brothels and bars in the lower-class districts. As a result, the upper classes looked down upon tango dancing. But eventually it became extremely popular as it spread throughout Europe at the beginning of the 20th century.

Let’s look at some lyrics from a popular tango song in both Spanish and an English translation. You can follow along with this guy as he lip-synchs!

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The Arizona Republic has an article up that talks about some good Spanish language CD programs that you can listen to while driving. Some are even designed especially for kids.

Driving your car is a great place to learn to speak Spanish. Especially if you’re a parent and spend a lot of time in the car with your kid(s). Here are a few good choices:

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