I am often asked, “how long does it take to learn Spanish?” I am afraid that this is largely a million-dollar question and one for which there is no simple response.
Sadly there are simply way too many variables concerned, in that so much depends on how much effort an individual is prepared to put into learning the language, and also which strategy or program they are going to be using. Add to that the fact that while some individuals may choose to use the services of a private tutor, others will choose a classroom environment instead. In fact, some individuals will rather select using one or other home study program which gets use out of books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also need to ask yourself whether the scholar will be learning the language in a country where it’s spoken as the native language, or whether they’ll be learning it in their home country. Furthermore, the standard of a program or the experience of a teacher will also influence the result.
Since 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 simple response to this query. In reality, I have personally known individuals who after half a year, managed to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but also , I’ve met individuals who have attempted to study the Spanish language for a number of years, admittedly on an on and off basis, and yet after many years they can hardly get by.
Rather than attempting to offer a generic answer to this question, I would prefer to offer what I feel to be the quickest way of learning Spanish. The most significant step of all, is for a person to seize every available opportunity with regards to interacting in the language they wish to learn, regardless of what language that could be.
While you definitely do get people who are firm followers of the classroom approach, I actually feel it takes too long unless it is done in association with another method. In my opinion, a self study method of good quality is by far superior in that it allows a student to move forward at their own pace instead of being tied down to the average classroom pace. This is particularly true regarding persons who are genuinely serious about learning the Spanish language.
In this example, I would suggest a person to go for a credible program which includes a selection of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and of course, written Spanish. In addition, they should select a program which allows for lessons to be downloaded onto a mobile device so that the student can listen on their iPod for instance. Remember, if you’re serious about learning a language, then you should shoot at being able to not only speak it and write it, but also to read it and understand it. Unless a program covers all four of these areas, it should be avoided or at least, you may require some extra material.
As you could have already heard, Rocket Spanish is an intensely popular program, and not without reason. Considering that it addresses all four of the area’s discussed, it has gained a name for providing scholars with a first foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will ensure that you’re able to communicate confidently in Spanish inside a relatively short space of time. Similarly, Rosetta Stone is known to be just as good, in that it also addresses the four areas mentioned above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that scholars can choose between the “Spain” version and the Latin American Spanish version. Judging from testimonials, it would appear that the Rosetta Stone program takes a little longer to work through, which of course means it will 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 quite a bit more expensive.
As you can see, there are too many variables involved for me or anyone else to be ready to give a simple response with regards to “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you’ve doubtless also gathered by this point that there are several things you can do in order to hurry up the process. Actually, many scholars go as far as using both the programs mentioned with each other in order to develop conversational abilities as fast as possible. However, unless you are steadily exposed to the Spanish language, no program will be capable of making you one hundred % smooth. On the other hand, providing you’re at an intermediate-to-advanced level, you might want to consider subscribing to Puerta del Sol Audio magazine which is a Spanish language talents Magazine. Similarly, you’d be shocked at how much you can get benefits from joining a Meetup group in your neighborhood that focuses on learning the Spanish language.