Being bi-lingual at these times translates to more and better opportunities in both business and work. Knowing and understanding a language definitely exposes one to the culturally enriching aspects of that other society. Staying competitive today means learning more about other cultures and being able to interact with them. The Spanish VIOLADOR usually means a rapist , and not just somebody who violates some traffic rules (violator). Pronouns In English, a sentence (with few exceptions) usually needs a subject. In Spanish, that would not be altogether true. Where it can be understood by way of the context, the subject of a sentence (which is a pronoun in English) can be omitted. If you have an overseas Spanish-speaking friend, engage him in a correspondence or email exchange. Writing is also as effective as speaking in improving your vocabulary. 4. Avoid being caught up in the I-am-building-my-vocabulary mania and forget the reason you are learning to speak Spanish. The danger here is you tend to cram in your brain more words than you can actually manage, some of which you really have no use for, leaving little space for the words you particularly need. Many Spanish learners in their 40 s or 50 s notice that they find learning the language difficult, saying that the words don t come to them easily and that the grammar rules are too much to plant in their minds. They say it s their age. That had them started earlier in life, when their minds were still conditioned for fast learning, they could have had better chances to learn Spanish easily. Learn Spanish By Avoiding Grammatical Mistakes For the language student, to learn Spanish is also to be aware (and stay clear) of the common grammatical mistakes most beginners commit. This is not to say never to commit mistakes but knowing them lessens the chances of making errors. Prepositions Prepositions in English and Spanish do not usually have a one-on-one agreement. At the beginning of a word and after the letters N and L, it is like the D in DOG. In other situations (mostly between vowels) the D is softer, like the TH in the word THIS. The letter J sounds like a harsh H, as in PAJARO. G has two values. Before the letters A, O, U or a consonant, it is pronounced like the G in the English GO, like the word TENGO.