Hi guys
Just started and up to level 1 challenge 3. Hope I’m not being picky here, but hopefully someone can help me with this:
How can “I study”, “I studied” and “I’ve been studying” all be “estudio”?
Thanks in advance
Doug
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Languages work in lots of different ways - while it’s natural for us to say ‘I’ve been studying’ in English, when you’re expressing that idea in Spanish, you’re just much more likely to use the present tense - so we encourage you to use it here to sound more natural… 
Meanwhile, with ‘I studied’, if you listen carefully you should hear that the accent is at the end of the word - so estudiO instead of estUdio …
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Thanks Aran
I tend to have the vocabulary list open whilst playing the lesson. Helps me to remember (it’s an age thing!)
I’m guessing that you’d probably discourage this 
Doug
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¡Hola Doug y bienvenido al foro!
On this one, I would strongly recommend resisting the urge to look at the vocab list until after you have gone through a Challenge. This is what I have done since I started out with Welsh using the SSi method a few years ago, and it really is the way to go.
Hasta luego,
Stu
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That was so subtle I missed it completely!
Stu
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The problem is that what actually happens is that it’s easier for you to remember in the lesson with the written prompts - but that will actually make it harder for you to remember when you’re trying to talk Spanish with someone.
There are a number of other ways we could make the lessons easier - having you repeat the Spanish after hearing it in Spanish, for example, instead of producing it from an English prompt - and they all lead to slower and less effective learning.
It is, of course, up to you - keeping on with the lessons while trying to make them easier is of course better than finding them so hard you actually give up - but the more you push yourself, the better you’ll do, and the more likely you’ll get to the point where you can have the pleasure of Spanish conversations…
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Thanks guys. I’ll do my best and see how I get on. I have no trouble remembering the words I already know, it’s the new ones I struggle with 
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LOL sounds familiar Doug
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Challenge 4 done. This has me breaking out in a sweat, but that could be the weather 
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Just subscribed to the Growth Club, so I guess I’ll have to now
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That’s really kind of you, Doug - thank you so much! 
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My pleasure
Challenge 5. Bloody hard. Soldiering on, as you do
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Any reason for the switch from pienso to creo in the first listening exercise? What’s best to use, or doesn’t it make any difference?
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Hi Doug,
Both “Pienso” and “Creo” have the same meaning when giving your own opinion on a matter. It is similar in English:
I think - Pienso
I believe - Creo
You don’t really use “I believe that” to express a belief in English, same as “Creo que” in Spanish.
That said, “Creo” is much more common than “Pienso” in everyday speach. The folowing phrases have also a similar meaning to “Creo” and are used very often :
“Me parece que…”
“Yo diria…”
Hope this helps,
Gaby
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Thanks Gaby
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Best wishes douggerman on your Spanish studies! I just joined today. My first attempt at learning a new language.
I really love the SSI approach, and I am looking forward to all of the lessons. Happy I saw your post, I opened the
vocabulary notes on the first few lessons too. Jumping into tomorrows lessons with listening first, and being open to this process which is so new to me. Thanks to Aran and his team for the wonderful website and forum!
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¡Bienvenido al foro Joanie!
If you have any questions, worries or triumphs, post on the forum. There are plenty of people here who will be able to help you or help you celebrate. I am sure that you will have a very rewarding experience with the SSi method, it is unique and fantastically effective in turning people into speakers of languages.
¡Buena suerte!
Stu
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Hi Joanie
I’m up to Challenge 19 on Level 1 now
It gets a bit difficult at times I have to say but nothing worthwhile is ever easy, and no-one should expect learning a new language to be easy anyway - it’s bloody hard! I’m enjoying it though, and I’m doing something every day, something I’ve never managed to maintain with other methods, so that must say something
I’ve arranged my first spanish chat next week with a spanish tutor I used a year or so back. She’s a native speaker (although from Guatemala, not Spain) so that should be interesting. I’m hoping she’s not going to charge me! I’ll post on here how I get on.
Good luck with it, and don’t panic too much if you find yourself using the pause button
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Good stuff Doug
I am looking forwards to your report!
Hasta luego,
Stu
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