How to Learn Spanish Fast
We all know that every beginning is hard and learning a foreign language requires bravery, dedication and patience. If you are interested in learning Spanish, but you don’t know where to start, we’re there to help you! Keep on reading this article to get some ideas and tips on how to learn Spanish fast!
What is the best learning method for you? We are all different learners and it’s something that should be kept in mind when deciding on how to learn a new language. Are you a visual or auditory learner? Focus on movies with subtitles, flash cards and classes which employ visual tools and aids, if you’re a visual type. In case you’re more of an auditory learner, enhance your education by using the audiovisual aids, listen to music and audio books. Some people need interaction with other students and teachers in learning methods. If you fall under that category, you are a kinesthetic learner, so you should take classes with a lot of interaction, games and communication. Of course, a well designed learning program should include all the above mentioned methods, but the focus should be on those methods you prefer.
It’s important to surround yourself with the Spanish language. By this I mean using any opportunity to practice your skills and enhance your vocabulary. While commuting, you could listen to audio books and Spanish music on your iPod. If you don’t drive to school/work, you could read Spanish newspapers, books, online news in Spanish etc. Let’s face it, commuting is a waste of time if you don’t use it right, so take an advantage of it! Changing your apps and appliances to the Spanish language settings is also a great idea, because you will learn many technical terms and everyday phrases with this simple trick. Learning any foreign language requires dedication and takes time. To speed up the process, you should do a language lesson every day; the more time you dedicate to it, faster you will learn the Spanish language.
Our favorite tip: choose a Spanish speaking country as your holiday destination. If you come from Europe, visiting Spain shouldn’t be complicated at all. With so many holiday resorts, nice weather, lovely cities and beautiful landscapes, Spain is one of the favorite destination for people from the whole world. Once you get there, use Spanish whenever you can. Spaniards are world-wide known as friendly, cheerful, generous and talkative, so communicating with locals won’t be a problem at all! If you’re from US or Canada, visiting Spanish speaking countries in Latin America is recommended, too.
Listening might be the trickiest part of learning any language. The thing is, a written alphabet is just a collection of symbols representing the sounds of the language. Nevertheless, you can’t expect written words to capture every nuance of intonation and sound. For that reason, you should do your best to develop a “good ear” for the Spanish language. Watching Spanish TV, movies and listening to Spanish music are fun and easy ways to achieve that. How to learn Spanish with music? Download your favorite Spanish song to your iPod and listen them while jogging, commuting or Latin dancing; this is the way to learn new words and phrases, while improving your listening.
Determining your budget for software, audio course and/or classes is important, too. The truth is, the more methods that match your learning style you employ, the faster you will learn Spanish. So, you need to invest in learning a foreign language, but it doesn’t mean that the most expensive classes are the best.
You shouldn’t expect to be perfect, at least not at the very beginning. It’s like every new thing you learn: the first time you do it, you make mistakes. So, try not to be embarrassed by your mistakes and keep practicing your Spanish. Yes, that means speaking as much as you can, since it’s the best and the only way to learn to SPEAK any language. Even if you master all the grammar rules, you’ll never be able to speak well if you don’t practice it: at normal conversational volume, loud! If you cannot find a speaking partner and you don’t have enough money to invest in classroom course, talk to yourself as much as possible. It’s recommended for the beginning language students, because there’s no one else around to inhibit them. Reading out loud can also help, plus it’s an incredible pronunciation practice. However, it’s recommended to find conversation partner, preferably a native speaker, because that can be your greatest asset. And, of course, if it’s possible, you can provide assistance to your partner in your own native language. This way, you’ll both benefit from conversation meetings. Nowadays, you can find language practice partners online, so if you don’t have better option, opt for that one!
Talking about speaking, many people thing that fluency means the ability to know every grammatical formation and word in a foreign language. That’s completely wrong! Fluency is the ability to use whatever grammar and words you know to say what’s on your mind. Once you find yourself deftly dancing around the terms and phrases you actually don’t know, you’ll be effectively fluent in Spanish. Fluency is a learned skill and there’s only one way to practice it: force yourself to explain the words you don’t know in Spanish. Adhere to that rule every time you’re practicing speaking and you’re bound to reach fluency at a brisk, steady pace.
You won’t achieve anything unless you are consistent, because it is by far the most important factor. Devote a solid 30 minutes a day, almost every day and you’ll be much more successful than you would be if you sporadically crammed for two or more hours.
The last, but not the least: be passionate about learning Spanish, because this language is simply emotionally charged and full of passion! Listen to Bachata, Salsa and Marengue instrumentals while practicing reading, speaking and writing and we’re absolutely sure you’ll find learning Spanish easy, fun and joyful.
