How Long Does It Take To Learn Spanish?
I am often asked, “how long does it take to learn Spanish?” I’m afraid that this is basically a million-dollar question and one for which there is no single answer.
Unfortunately there are simply far 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 incontrovertible fact that while some individuals may opt to use the services of a personal tutor, others will select a classroom environment instead. In reality, some people will rather opt for using one or other home study program which gets use out of books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also need to ask whether the person will be learning the language in a place where it’s spoken as the local language, or whether they’ll be learning it in their home country. Similarly, the standard of a program or the experience of a teacher will also influence the result.
Because these variables will have such a direct effect on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is simply not feasible to provide a simple response to this question. In fact, I have personally known students who after half a year, managed to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but I have also met folks who have studied the Spanish language for a few years, frankly on an on and off basis, and yet after many years they can barely get by.
Instead of attempt to supply a generic answer to this question, I’d prefer to offer what I feel to be the fastest way of learning Spanish. The most vital step of all, is for a student to take advantage of each available opportunity regarding interacting in the language they would like to learn, irrespective of what language that may be.
While you actually do get those that are firm adherents of the classroom approach, I feel it takes too long unless it is done with another method. In my viewpoint, a self study system of high quality is easily superior in that it permits a student to progress at their own speed rather than being tied down to the average study room pace. This is very true with regards to persons who are genuinely serious about learning the Spanish language.
In this case, I would suggest a person to opt for a credible program which includes a variety of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and of course, written Spanish. Additionally, 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 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 write it, but also to read it and understand it. Unless a program covers all 4 of these areas, it must be avoided or at least, you will require some additional material.
As you could have already heard, Rocket Spanish is an extremely 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 students with a-class foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will make sure that you are able to communicate confidently in Spanish inside a comparatively short space of time. Similarly, Rosetta Stone is understood to be just as good, in that it also addresses the 4 areas mentioned above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that people 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 little longer to work thru, which of course means it’ll 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 more expensive.
As you can see, there are too many variables involved for me or anyone else to be ready to give a single answer with regards to “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you have doubtless also gathered by this time that there are several things you can do in order to hurry up the process. In reality, many individuals 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 continuously exposed to the Spanish language, no program will be capable of making you 100 percent fluent. On the other hand, providing you are at an intermediate-to-advanced level, you might consider subscribing to Puerta del Sol Audio magazine which is a Spanish language abilities Magazine. Furthermore, you’d be shocked at just how much you can get benefits from joining a Meetup group in your neighborhood that is focused on learning the Spanish language.