Listen to native speakers using audio and video clips
If your ambition is to speak the language, you need to train yourself to listen without always seeing it written down. You might find this hard at first but it pays off when you come to speak it. You won't always be trying to pronounce it like English. Improve your accent and your confidence by listening to speakers on the audio and video clips over and over and imitating them closely - out loud. The more you do this, the more you'll find yourself becoming comfortable with the sounds of the language.
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I think it is important to practise every day, to learn every day a few words and also to speak to the native speakers. Even that's hard, you will learn more than you do alone or with audio or video clips.
Great tips. There're a few websites about that sell foreign language films with English subtitles. Find one you like and watch it over and over, use the pause button to work out exactly what they're saying and why, and repeat repeat repeat. After a while you don't need subtitles... and there comes a point when you can almost recite the script of the film without it playing when you know you've mastered it ;-) I found it really helped to speed up my Russian and give me a better idea of which words 'run together' and which don't.
On your favourite dvd change the language to Spanish. I've found this really helpful.
I'v been living in Holland for 40 years.
I speak dutch but with an accent.
Dutch people still address me in English even if their English is pretty awful.
Most irritating.
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