How Long Does It Take To Learn Spanish?

I am often asked, “how long does it take to learn Spanish?” I’m afraid this is essentially a million dollar question and one for which there is no universal response.

Unfortunately there are simply far too many variables concerned, in that so much relies on how much effort an individual is prepared to put into studying the language, and also which method or program they are going to be using. Add to that the incontrovertible fact that while some scholars may decide to use the services of a private tutor, others will choose a classroom environment instead. In reality, some individuals will rather choose using one or other home study program which gets use out of books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also have to ask whether or not the student will be learning the language in a place 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 expertise of a teacher will also influence the outcome.

Because these variables will have such a direct effect on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is just not feasible to provide a single answer to this query. In fact, I have personally been involved with scholars 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, frankly on an on and off basis, and yet after many years they can hardly get by.

Instead of attempting to provide a generic response to this question, I’d prefer to offer what I feel to be the quickest way of learning Spanish. The most important step of all, is for a student to take advantage of every possible opportunity with regards to interacting in the language they want to learn, regardless of what language that may be.

While you actually do get those who are firm followers of the classroom approach, I personally feel it takes too long unless it is done in conjunction with another technique. In my opinion, a self study strategy of high quality is easily superior in that it permits a student to move forward at their own pace instead of being tied down to the average classroom pace. This is especially true regarding individuals who are truly serious about learning the Spanish language.

In this case, I would suggest a student to go for a reputable program which includes a selection of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and naturally, written Spanish. Additionally, 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 shoot at having the ability 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 needs to be avoided or at least, you will need some further material.

As you probably have already heard, Rocket Spanish is an intensely well-liked program, and not without reason. Considering that it addresses all four of the area’s discussed, it has gained a name for providing students with a first foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will ensure that you are able to speak confidently in Spanish inside a relatively short space of time. Similarly, Rosetta Stone is considered to be quite as good, in that it also addresses the four areas mentioned above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that individuals can choose between the “Spain” version and the Latin American Spanish version. Judging by testimonials, it would appear 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 answer with regards to “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you have potentially also gathered by this time that there are several things you can do in order to hurry up the process. In fact, many people go as far as using both the programs mentioned with each other to develop conversational skills as fast as possible. However, unless you are steadily exposed to the Spanish language, no program will be capable of making you a hundred percent 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 skills Magazine. Furthermore, you’d be stunned at how much you can get benefits from joining a Meetup group in your neighborhood that is focused on learning the Spanish language.