How Long Does It Take To Learn Spanish?
I am often asked, “how long does it take to learn Spanish?” I am afraid this is basically a million-dollar question and one for which there is no single response.
Unfortunately there are simply too many variables involved, in that so much depends on how much effort someone is prepared to put into studying the language, and also which method or program they will be using. Add to that the fact that while some scholars may choose to use the services of a personal tutor, others will select a classroom environment instead. In reality, some students will rather choose using one or other home study program which gets use from books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also need to ask yourself whether or not the student will be learning the language in a land where it’s spoken as the native language, or whether they will be learning it in their home country. Similarly, the standard of a program or the expertise of a teacher will also influence the result.
Because these variables will have such a direct result on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is just not feasible to provide a single response to this query. In fact, I have personally met students who after half a year, managed to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but I have also met individuals who have studied the Spanish language for a few years, admittedly on an on and off basis, and yet after many years they can barely get by.
Instead of attempting to provide a single answer to this question, I’d rather discuss what I feel to be the quickest way of learning Spanish. The most important step of all, is for a student to seize every possible opportunity regarding interacting in the language they wish to learn, irrespective of what language that could be.
While you certainly do get those that are firm adherents of the classroom approach, I personally feel it takes too long unless it is done in conjunction with another strategy. In my viewpoint, a self study method of good quality is by a large margin superior in that it permits a student to move forward at their own speed rather than being tied down to the average study room pace. This is especially true with regards to scholars who are genuinely intent on learning the Spanish language.
In this case, I’d suggest a student to go for a credible program which includes a variety of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and of course, written Spanish. In addition, they should choose 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 aim at being able 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 will need some extra material.
As you probably have already heard, Rocket Spanish is an extremely popular program, and not without reason. Considering that it addresses all four of the area’s discussed, it has gained a reputation for providing scholars with a first[ class foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will make sure that you are able to communicate confidently in Spanish within a comparatively short space of time. Likewise, Rosetta Stone is understood to be just as good, in that it also addresses the four areas discussed above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that people can select between the “Spain” version and the Latin American Spanish version. Judging by testimonials, it seems that the Rosetta Stone program takes a touch longer to work thru, which of course means it’ll take you a little longer before you develop conversational Spanish but in general, it ranks right up there with Rocket Spanish. Also, Rosetta Stone is significantly costlier.
As you can see, there are too many variables concerned for me or anyone else to be ready to give a simple response regarding “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you’ve potentially also gathered by this time that there are several things you can do in order to hurry up the process. In reality, many students go as far as using both the programs mentioned in conjunction with each other in order to develop conversational talents as rapidly as possible. However, unless you are steadily exposed to the Spanish language, no program will be capable of making you one hundred % fluent. On the other hand, providing you are 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 neighborhood that concentrates on learning the Spanish language.