Difficulty level

Hola
Does anyone else find going from level one to level two has been very significantly more difficult and harder to complete individual lessons? The verbs are maddening. I'm preparing for overseas missions. Would appreciate feedback. Thanks, John

Yes, Premium Plus is definitely meatier than Premium.  For one, the extra vocabulary has lots of words.  Secondly, preterite is harder (at least for me) than indicative.  There seem to be a lot more irregular verbs in the preterite.  Personally, I like the large extra vocabulary lists, even though it takes a while to work through the exercises.

Personally, I find all the tenses other than the indicative hard! A lot of verbs in Spanish are irregular--as in random gs and o to ue verbs, e to ie verbs, etc. like you've probably had. You are not alone! Best wishes for your missions trip!

Laura

In learning a language in general, there is a big step in moving from beginner to intermediate. Progress seems really fast when you first start and later seems really slow as the months drag on. In reality, I think the rate of progress stays the same - it's more a matter of perception. In language learning, there is no substitute for stubborn perseverance!
 

Yes, it is more of a step or level than a steady incline when you move from one course to the next. I am working in the first unit of the Platinum course right now, which landed me in the mysterious and often maligned world of the subjunctive. Actually, I am not finding the concept or use of the subjunctive all that difficult, save for another set of conjugations to keep straight. But there are many new words and more complex sentences in this course.

Awhile back when they introduced a new component to the courses (the Module tests maybe?) all of the previously completed units looked incomplete. I decided to use that as motivation to go back and review these lessons in addition to working on new ones. I usually just retake the Know It test and if I score green I move on. If not, I go back and restudy the unit, then retake the Hear It Say It and Know It tests. I often review the Language and Grammar units even if I do well on the tests just to improve my understanding of grammar.

This has been beneficial to me in several ways. First, I am refreshed on words and grammar that may have slipped into the background. Also, it is a great boost to my confidence to whip through these more basic sentences easily. I think doing this has helped me through those plateaus in the higher levels that frustrate me.

Thank you Robert, Laura, Steven and Dan. Basically, it sounds like I'm not alone. I guess I still don't get the philosophy of making the individual lessons harder AND longer at the same time but am dealing with it.
Steven, thanks for the reminder to persevere and comments about progress. Thanks for your tips Dan. Your comments, too, Robert.
Thank you Laura for your understanding and well wishes for the missions trip. Do you know of some basic Spanish study to prepare me for witnessing and Christian activities?

Gracias a todos, mis amigos. John

Hi John, this link leads to a website that I think will be useful in preparing for your trip https://spanishforchristianservice.com/ . Also, Google Translator is free and all you have to do is type in the English to see what it means in Spanish. It's fast and decently reliable. You can even use it to learn: I type in one of my homemade Spanish phrases and see if it gets the point across. I recommend using it to make key phrases for ministry, and to memorize them before you leave. Also, if you have a reliable phone, you can use it throughout your trip. And if you have a Spanish Bible, you can volunteer to read to interested individuals. Pronunciation and word flow is pretty much all you need to read the Bible in Spanish. Good luck!

Laura

This morning I was reviewing a lesson from the Premium Course. The prompt was:

I hope so. Well, I hope you can travel someday!

I was so proud of myself that I recognized this would be in the subjunctive. I am sure "puedas" made absolutely no sense to me back then.

Hi Laura,
Thanks for all of your input, I appreciate it. The Google thing sounds great. I did click on the link and got a 404 not found message. Is this the book that is on amazon? I went on this DR trip last year and we had Spanish bibles but I never even opened one, just gave them away. It will be good practice to read but am feeling a bit overwhelmed. it sounds like you have been on a mission trip. If you have, I welcome your input. Thanks so much. Blessed day, John 

Hello!
No problem! Too bad the link didn't work, but I can also find the site by typing in  "spanish for christian service" on the search bar--maybe that will do it ;). Evidently, it's all free and you can study their chapters etc. according to your current level. I actually haven't been on a missions trip before, although I have many friends who have. One of them went to Guatemala and ended up learning some Salsa dance! Don't worry if you don't have time to learn though. It's actually not hard at all! 

¡Que te vaya bien con el subjuntivo, Dan!
 

Gracias, Dan.

Laura, thank you so much. That site looks great and I'll be sure to spend time with it. As for the studying, I think I'm trying to go too fast, at least for me, and that compounds the problems. I am interested in more mission comments. Are you open to talking to me on personal email? Thanks and great day, john

I'm glad the site turned out well for you! It's nice of you to ask, but I generally only give my personal email to close friends and family ;).

 

Was just signing out for today. I understand your caution. If any of your missions friends are open, let me know.

Thanks for the understanding--I'm sure everything will work out just fine! 
God Bless,
Laura

Can someone tell me what "make the lessons harder" means?  How would I go about doing that.  I see the ratings that come with each lesson but I don't know how to use them.  Thanks.  Jim.
 

Jim: where on the site are you seeing this? I don't recall encountering this feature. Having just nicely begun the Platinum course in Spanish I sometimes wish I had a "make it easier" button!

Hi James, 

The ratings on each lesson and on the Dashboard reflect the ratings you've given the phrases within each lesson (in the Testing area). These videos should help you figure out how to use these features: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iieY5GWkAFw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWF0x74nGVw

I hope that helps!