Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim B.
No me tomes el pelo.
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You guys will be undestood despite your errors. The issue is: whether or not "making your way" in the language is what you want, vice learning it to the level of proficiency required to do something more complex, like write a one-page repair instruction from scratch.
You want be guy who find toilet?
Or do you want to acquire a command of the language?
You won' be able to get to choice #2 without a lot of interaction with educated natives who can explain to you why they say what they say.
Most Americans never learned enough grammar to explain why we say things the way we do, and it's not often taught outside of specialized courses, so most people have the proficiency level needed to succeed as far as they have gotten.
This is a brief reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Language_Proficiency_Tests
I have taken a gazillion DLPTs and was a Test Control Officer in the 1980s-90s.
The curriculum of DLI is pretty good in most cases, although always focused on practical things and specialized military/peacekeeping terms, once you get beyond the basic course.
Very good training in medical terminology and tech terms.