[Ruivinho]

I'm travelling to Dom Rep in 3 weeks from now. I'll be there for just over 3 weeks and my Spanish is basic to say the least.
I've noticed that the majority of people there do NOT speak English, or to a level of being able to converse anyway.

I can read Spanish pretty well, but as soon as I hear people talking, it all goes out my head and i understand little to nothing!

I've tried the apps and learning courses and while they broaden your vocabulary, the sentences don't relate to everyday talking.
When am I ever going to say "The elephant is pink"..
haha but in all seriousness,
When you travel to a country with a language you may know the basics or maybe know nothing. How do you go about learning the language as quickly as possible and in a way that allows you to converse with locals?

[marinhogomes]

I probably start learning spanish way before I go there.

Cause 1 month is not enough to become a master conversonalist in any language.

So 3 weeks studying it here, plus 3 weeks studying it there. If you want to become great at conversation I would go after finding people that speak spanish and learning by TALKING.

From now on just immerse yourself in Spanish language, watch many videos on YouTube in spanish, start learning spanish from now, get someone to practice spanish with.

[aSimpNamedBrokeback]

The best way would be to practice Spanish with someone before you get there. If you can't do that I would go to youtube and find clip of Dominicans speaking spanish and watch them over and over until I understood every word. Then I would practice repeating what was said. For me Dominican is alot harder to understand than Mexican and Colombian, but not that bad. With only 3 weeks I would start cramming.

Here's some clips I found typing in "Dominican Spanish" on youtube. Theres also tunein radio and livestream.

[godzilla]

Uhh the best way to learn Spanish is go to the DR and listen and speak the language. If you can already read it, it means you know the words so it actually shouldnt take too long to have an intermediate conversation as long as your speaking with people consistently. But the way you describe yourself with "the elephant is pink" It doesnt sound like you can actually "read" Spanish.

Start using tinder in some random country, you'll at least get used to typing Spanish. People don't always use the same shit for words you see on Duolingo

Listening is the toughest part, but anybody who has communicated with foreignors will know to slow it down. Good luck.

[TrifeLife]

You need to obsessively immerse yourself EVERY DAY for the next three weeks if you want to be conversational when you get there. It can absolutely be done. You will be surprised how fast you pick it up if you hit it hard.

Step 1 - Cease and desist from any media consumption that is not Spanish.

No more tv, movies, music or reading anything in English. This includes RVF. Find a children's book in Spanish and read it out loud. Local library should have something. Reading on a Kindle is optimal because you can just touch the word and get a definition.

Download educational podcasts and listen to them whenever you have idle time. In the car, on the bus, walking around, etc.. Some good ones are Notes In Spanish, Spanish Obsessed, and Lightspeed Spanish and they all have beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Repeat the shit you hear out loud.

Go to mylanguageexchange.com ASAP and get a gold membership so you can message people ($7 for a month I believe) and spam people until you have a handful to practice with. Suck it up and reach out to ugly girls. They are going to be the most responsive. If you do not have a handsome picture of yourself put up a fake one. Push for Skype calls. Text on whatsapp and write them emails. Writing really helps with vocabulary, especially if you are writing emails to different people and talking about the same things. Use google translate to help fill in the blanks. Be selfish and never use english with them. Do this with enough people and you are basically repeating a lot of the same conversations. This is the most important step. Trying to converse is painful at first but stay the course.

Any time you think of an idea, phrase or word that you want to express but do not know how, write it down in a notebook. Review this list before communicating with language exchange buddies and make it a point to use these phrases in your verbal and written communications with them.

Basically, you should read, write, listen to and speak spanish every day until you leave. Good luck.

[Apollo21]

I am sure this has been shared before:
https://www.italki.com/home

Study the language to the point where you can at least speak a few sentences
and then choose a language coach or partner on italki to practice your conversation skills
on skype.

Some people even say it's even better than living in the country and searching for a
language teacher because you have a much wider selection on Italki.