How Long Does It Take To Learn Spanish?

By On August 30, 2009 Under General

I am often asked, “how long does it take to learn Spanish?” I am afraid that this is basically a million-dollar question and one for which there’s no single answer.

Unfortunately there are simply way too many variables involved, in that so much depends on how much effort a person is ready to put into studying the language, and also which strategy or program they are going to be using. Add to that the incontrovertible fact that while some students may opt to use the services of a personal mentor, others will choose a classroom environment instead. In fact, some individuals will rather opt for using one or other home study program which makes use of books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also need to ask yourself whether or not the scholar will be learning the language in a place where it’s spoken as the local language, or whether they will be learning it in their home country. Similarly, the quality of a program or the experience of a teacher will also influence the result.

Because these variables will have such a direct impact on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is simply not feasible to provide a simple response to this question. In fact, I have personally met scholars who after half a year, were able to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but also , I’ve known individuals who have studied the Spanish language for a period of years, albeit on an on and off basis, and yet after many years they can barely get by.

Rather than attempt to provide a generic answer to this question, I’d rather offer what I feel to be the fastest way of learning Spanish. The most vital step of all, is for a person to seize each possible opportunity regarding interacting in the language they wish to learn, irrespective of what language that may be.

While you definitely do get those who are firm followers of the school room approach, I actually feel it takes too long unless it is done in association with another strategy. In my opinion, a self study method of high quality is by a large margin superior in that it allows a student to move forward at their own speed rather than being tied down to the average study room pace. This is particularly true with regards to persons who are genuinely intent on learning Spanish.

In this case, I would suggest a student to select a reputable program which includes a selection of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and of course, written Spanish. Additionally, they should select a program which allows for lessons to be downloaded onto a mobile device so that they can listen on their iPod as an example. Remember, if you’re serious about learning a language, then you should shoot at having the ability to not only speak it and read it, but also to write it and understand it. Unless a program covers all 4 of these areas, it must be avoided or at least, you may require some further material.

As you’ll have already heard, Rocket Spanish is an extremely well-liked program, and not without reason. Considering that it addresses all 4 of the area’s mentioned, it has gained a reputation for providing scholars with a-class foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will ensure that you are able to communicate confidently in Spanish within a comparatively short space of time. Similarly, Rosetta Stone is understood to be quite as good, in that it also addresses the 4 areas mentioned above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that scholars can select between the “Spain” version and the South American Spanish version. Judging from testimonials, it would appear that the Rosetta Stone program takes slightly longer to work thru, which of course means it will take you a little longer before you develop conversational Spanish but generally, it ranks right up there with Rocket Spanish. Also, Rosetta Stone is quite a bit more expensive.

As you can see, there are too many variables concerned for me or anyone else to be ready to give a single answer with regards to “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you have doubtless also gathered by this point that there are many things you can do in order to speed up the process. Actually, many people go as far as using both the programs discussed with each other to develop conversational talents as quickly as possible. However, unless you are steadily exposed to the Spanish language, no program will be capable of making you 100 percent fluent. On the other hand, providing you’re at an intermediate-to-advanced level, you could consider subscribing to Puerta del Sol Audio magazine which is a Spanish language skills Magazine. Furthermore, you’d be surprised at just how much you can get benefits from joining a Meetup group in your area that focuses on learning the Spanish language.