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 largely a million dollar question and one for which there’s no single response.
Sadly there are simply too many variables concerned, in that so much depends 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 indisputable fact that while some students may opt to use the services of a private tutor, others will choose a classroom environment instead. Actually, 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 need to ask whether or not the individual will be learning the language in a place where it’s spoken as the local 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 outcome.
Since these variables will have such a direct result on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is simply not feasible to provide a simple response to this query. In reality, I have personally known individuals who after six months, were able to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but I have also known people who have attempted to study 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 attempt to offer a simple response to this question, I’d rather respond with 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 people who are firm followers of the school room approach, I personally feel it takes too long unless it is done in association with another technique. In my viewpoint, a self study system of top quality is by a large margin superior in that it permits a student to proceed at their own speed instead of being tied down to the average study room pace. This is especially true regarding persons who are truly serious about learning Spanish.
In this situation, I would suggest a person to select a credible program which includes a variety 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 the student can listen on their iPod for instance. 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 may need some further material.
As you most likely have already heard, Rocket Spanish is a highly well-liked program, and not without reason. Considering that it addresses all four of the area’s mentioned, it has gained a reputation for providing scholars with a first foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will ensure that you’re able to speak confidently in Spanish within a relatively short space of time. Similarly, Rosetta Stone is thought to be just as good, in that it also addresses the 4 areas discussed above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that scholars can choose between the “Spain” version and the South American Spanish version. Judging by testimonials, it would seem 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 generally, it ranks right up there with Rocket Spanish. Also, Rosetta Stone is significantly costlier.
As you can see, there are too many variables involved for me or anyone else to be ready to give a single answer regarding “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you have probably also gathered by this time that there are many things you can do in order to speed up the method. In reality, many people go as far as using both the programs mentioned in conjunction 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 a hundred % fluent. On the other hand, providing you’re at an intermediate-to-advanced level, you could consider subscribing to Puerta del Sol Audio magazine which is a Spanish language talents Magazine. Additionally, you’d be shocked at quite how much you can get benefits from joining a Meetup group in your neighborhood that focuses on learning the Spanish language.
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 4:56 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.