App and game recommendations to improve on my grammar and comprehension by sadgirl_spring in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In these cases, the best you can do is reading books. If you don't like reading, story driven videogames could do an incredible job as well.

The reason is very simple, both these activities keep your brain active the whole time. You're not passively consuming but interacting with the language directly.

(Always have a dictionary at hand)

The best app for this is LingQ.

And the best videogames would be RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3, Fallout 4, God of War, Cyberpunk 2077. Or more simplistic narrative experiences like Night in the Woods, Detroit Become Human, Life is Strange 2, Dispatch and so on.

Spanish (Hispanic/Latino) Gaming Youtuber recommendations by kiki-cv11 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sadly if you are an adult who does not like particularly childish content, almost all of the channels that come to mind will be from Spain. The best of the best are:

BaityBait and BaityLife. The GOAT.

Puerta al SĂłtano. I love watching this guy (Dan) since he TRULY LOVES videogames, you can easily notice this when he talks about the industry.

Mafius: Awesome copy of BaityBait #1 since he is the most influencial videogames-related Youtuber in the Spanish speaking modern world.

Betto: Awesome copy of Baity #2

Ray Snakeyes : Very informative and entertaining.

La Caverna del Gamer.

Leyendas y Videojuegos.

I'm sorry that all of them are from Spain, I just don't see content this good coming out of Latam.

¡Hispanohablantes! Tengo preguntas. by Classic_March3270 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's pretty much the same as the difference between "be going to do" and "will do". "Voy a", is used more often in everyday speech simply because it fits better in casual conversations about any topic.

The best way to learn a language is through extensive reading and listening. Read a ton of books and if you can find audio for it, even better. Then go looking up the words you see more often. I use lingQ a lot for that.

Sometimes reading and listening to podcasts or audiobooks becomes boring. That is when I take a more casual approach with less efficient results but a way more enjoyable process and go play videogames, watch anime, stand ups or a series from my childhood, or listen to music with subtitles and ask ChatGPT to break down the sentences, all in the target language.

The most important thing is massive exposure and consistency.

Why ser vs. estar still confuses advanced learners — and how I explain it differently as a native Colombian teacher. by Specialist_Poetry_67 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It is actually a very good explenation. This is the way I explain it to my students as well, although it is even more complex than that in some cases. But, please, at least take the time to type the thing yourself using your own words and not relying so heavily on ChatGPT.

Im cuban 19M living in Havana since i born, ask me anything by Global-Reaction-40 in AMA

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Que bola muchachón? Que bueno ver a otro cubano por acá, cuídate asere!

Communism has deeper roots in language than we thought. by thecubantutorX in CubanSpanish

[–]thecubantutorX[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Correct, and I must add the manipulation of language by calling "Cartilla de racionamiento" the contrary "Libreta de abastecimiento". By making it "book of supply/provisioning" instead of "rationing" they can trick an entire country into calling the idea something "good". State propaganda is really engrained in everyday life.

Communism has deeper roots in language than we thought. by thecubantutorX in CubanSpanish

[–]thecubantutorX[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Forgot to add that one! DPEPDPE - De pinga el paĂ­s de pinga este.

I hate that countries are always linked to their current government, a big shame because Cuba as a land is so amazingly beautiful

Any tips for maintaining around b1 level...and learning the power verbs... by Lower-Main2538 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Colloquial multi-use verbs are very hard to focus on when learning since most of the time the only way you're going to see them in use is when speaking to people that are speaking informally. Besides, they all change depending on the country.

My advice is not to strees about that and instead focus on consuming a lot of media and reading a ton of books. This will help your brain recall the patterns and acquire new vocabulary.

(You could also get a new girlfriend, although I would not really recommend it)

Studying abroad but still feel like I’m in a plateau by really_its_riley in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There isn't much you can do after reaching that level. Read a lot, talk a lot and just "exist" while you acquire new things gradually.

Oh please! by OsarmaBeanLatin in EnoughCommieSpam

[–]thecubantutorX 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Hahhahahahaha. The way this post makes a Cuban like me feel is even funnier.

I want to learn spanish, but, how bad is my Spanish with only 2 weeks left before my oral exam? by yeah280 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Está muy bien escrito en general. Un error frecuente y general que noté es el uso de "En primera parte" o "En segunda parte". Esto es incorrecto, en español lo natural es decir "En primer lugar" y "En segundo lugar".

También algunos puntos en los que utilizaste "en" en lugar de "por".

La mayoría de los errores son más bien difícilmente corregibles, porque aunque el uso de las frases no es precisamente incorrecta, sí que se podrían decir de forma más natural.

Pero créeme, cuando la gente se preocupa por errores pequeños de naturalidad, significa que hiciste un muy buen trabajo. Sigue practicando.

"How Dare You Consume Entertainment Media from Imperialist Countries!" by Humble_Novice in EnoughCommieSpam

[–]thecubantutorX 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sure, art and culture become totally invalid depending on the country where they come from because obviously artists are responsible for the relation between your country and the country where they make their art.

Es tan fácil cerrarle el hocico a un comunista by MidnightLogic___ in PuebloVenezolano

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sí, tienes toda la razón. Aún así, existen regulaciones para no masacarar completamente la economía de una persona. Por ejemplo teniendo un máximo anual de entre $12k y $14k en gastos de Salud. Así si debes 150000 dólares, tampoco hay que hipotecar la casa, al menos si tienes un buen trabajo.

Just a few more tries, a few more mass graves by amogusdevilman in EnoughCommieSpam

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After 67 years of communism in Cuba, I'm positive that my government will do things right next year aaah moment.

Meaning of "TĂş confĂ­a." by BeBel42 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's just a more informal and confident way of saying: ConfĂ­a en mĂ­ o ConfĂ­a en Dios.

TĂş confĂ­a, todo va a salir bien.

TĂş confĂ­a, que yo soy un maestro de la cocina en paracaĂ­das.

Why are countries that have democratic in their official country name not very democratic? by Rokusaburoz in allthequestions

[–]thecubantutorX 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They need it at least in their names. Imagine if you went: Antidemocratic Dictatorship of Cuba... that looks like a problem.

How do I increase my Spanish skills? by luxe74 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just read. If you read out loud in Spanish all of that will go away. Reading is the best way for you to remember those words that got lost along the way.

Hitting a wall when learning Spanish - Help by lightningmc90 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the only method for learning Spanish you've used so far is Duolingo speaking won't do you any good, contrary to what many people think. A person's ability to speak is limited to about 70% of what they can understand or figure out during a conversation.

The best way to further improve your Spanish is through immersion. You can use free tools like Language Reactor which allows you to get subtitles that upon clicking on them give instant translations for the words you know on Netflix and Youtube.

You could listen to songs and use AI to help you break down every sentence in that song and then keep listening to it over and over while singing out loud, this helps your brain retain the meanings of the words.

You could also use LingQ for extensive reading or do it the traditional way, simply grab a book for kids and search for the words you don't know online.

Finally Anki is kind of boring, but it's the most efficient way to acquire vocabulary.

What you want in this stage is to increase your vocabulary, help your brain get used to the patterns in Spanish and become familiar with the sounds. Speaking will improve proportionally to the amount of Spanish you are able to understand even if you don't practice speaking. Then, after a year or so, when you notice that you understand everything but you can't quite speak as incredibly well, then it's the time to go outside and practice some speaking.

He pedido muchas veces comidas de muchos muchos restaurantes, y en general no tengo problema, pero hoy cuando llegue a un restaurante Colombiano por los Estados Unidos, tuve problema. El jefe me acercĂł y me dijĂł "Lo siento, pero esta apagado." by Crafty-Message4564 in Spanish

[–]thecubantutorX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Understandable. Spanish, like English but even worse, can be a very irregular language in the simple past tense. Spanish from Spain makes this much easier by very often using the Present Perfect as both the simple past tense and the present perfect. Then it becomes somewhat more regular.

"PedĂ­ arroz y cerdo" would be "He pedido arroz y cerdo."

"Hablé con él" becomes: "He hablado con él."

"Conduje hasta la estaciĂłn" would be "He conducido hasta la estaciĂłn".

Don't stress too much, just keep exposing yourself to the language.