How Long Does It Take To Learn Spanish?
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 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 learning 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 tutor, others will choose a classroom environment instead. Actually, some individuals will rather select using one or other home study program which makes use of books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also have to ask yourself whether the individual will be learning the language in a land where it’s spoken as the first language, or whether they will be learning it in their home country. Additionally, the quality of a program or the experience of a teacher will also influence the end result.
Because these variables will have such a direct impact on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is just not possible to provide a simple answer to this question. In fact, I have personally known individuals who after half a year, were able to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but also , I’ve met people who have studied the Spanish language for a number of 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 answer to this question, I would prefer to respond with what I feel to be the quickest way of learning Spanish. The most significant step of all, is for a student to take advantage of every available opportunity regarding interacting in the language they want to learn, irrespective of what language that could 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 with another technique. In my opinion, a self study method of good quality is easily superior in that it allows a student to progress 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 truly intent on learning Spanish.
In this situation, I’d suggest a person to select a reputable program which includes a selection of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and naturally, 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 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 should 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 students with a top 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 understood to be just as good, in that it also addresses the 4 areas discussed above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that students can select between the “Spain” version and the Latin American Spanish version. Judging from testimonials, it would seem that the Rosetta Stone program takes a touch 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 costlier.
As you can see, there are too many variables involved for me or anyone else to be ready to give a simple answer regarding “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you have probably also gathered by this time that there are a few 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 talents as fast as possible. However, unless you are continuously exposed to the Spanish language, no program will be capable of making you 100 p.c fluent. On the other hand, providing you’re at an intermediate-to-advanced level, you might consider subscribing to Puerta del Sol Audio magazine which is a Spanish language skills Magazine. Additionally, you’d be stunned at just how much you can get benefits from joining a Meetup group in your area that focuses on learning the Spanish language.
This entry was posted on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 4:51 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.