Hi Jean - I have the most trouble with speaking, and I have found Skype language exchanges very helpful. My Language Exchange www.mylanguageexchange.com is a great way to meet language exchange partners.

I also like Synergy Spanish. There are Youtube videos and a few online courses that are free. I resisted paying for the monthly program but finally gave in because the course is so good.

Hey Jean!  This is something I have struggled with, as so many study methods get boring after a while, or simply aren't enough.  Here's the variety of thing I do/have done.

Reading practice:

Living Language set of books - about $30 on Amazon, and is great if you want a more traditional school approach where things are explained, and then you practice them.  My problem with Duolingo is it's lack of explanations once you get into the tougher stuff.

501 Spanish Verbs book - When you're ready to really try and get it right instead of just get by, this book is great to have around.  It explains the verb tenses very well, and has ALL of the conjugations for 501 verbs, along with some other good info.  Again, this is if you're going for the study from a book method, but I'm so glad I have it, and I got it from a used bookstore for about $1.50.

I have several books that I can read in Spanish.  Some are for kids, but hey, that's my reading level in Spanish.  One thing I'm doing right now is taking a book that I have in both English and Spanish and reading one chapter in the English book and then the same chapter in the Spanish version while it's fresh. When you do this, you can't stop and look up every word, it's too exhausting, you just read and absorb what you can.  If you read aloud, you get speech practice!  I also have a parallel book that is kind of fun (English on one page and Spanish on the next so they are right next to each other) called The Day it Snowed Tortillas/El Dia Que Nevaron Tortillas.

Easy Spanish Reader (second edition is what I have) is also great.

(to be continued...)

Listening practice:

Pandora!  Okay, I use some Spotify and Youtube as well, but Pandora is just awesome.  It's helped me discover many new Spanish artists, and if I don't like a song I give it a thumbs down and move on, and of course I get to hear my favorites again without having to worry about forgetting them.  I listen to my Spanish Pandora station a lot in the car, and it's helped me learn some new words, and of course get used to hearing the language, which is a big deal (especially if you're a beginner).  This is the easiest way to "study."

Speaking practice:

It's taken me a long time to realize that all of my other studying is just not worth it and just not enough if I'm not speaking with people.  Don't be afraid to speak with Spanish speakers.  They are usually so happy that you're trying.  It's good to know some key phrases like "I'm sorry, I don't understand" (Lo siento, no comprendo) and "English please" (ingles por favor) in case you get stuck, but you've just got to dive in and do it.

Writing practice:

I read a great article which talked about truly mastering a language by doing these 4 things (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).  Writing is where I fall short, but I'm doing it a lot more now with this site because I'm sending a lot of messages to people, and there's the notebook feature!

Buena Suerte!  Feel free to message me if you want to practice sometime. :)

Hi.

I think you should see some latín series , they will help you to know how to pronunce some words,  and why you can use them in the real life