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“What is the best method of learning Spanish?”
Spanish was the first language I learned at the conversational level, so I have a lot of questions. People often want a magic bullet: What is the best method or method for Spanish to get into their heads?
Here's the secret: there's no better way to learn Spanish. There are almost as many effective ways to learn Spanish as there are people who have learned it.
However, for every effective way to learn Spanish, there are even more inefficient ways. Take it from me: I've tried and failed repeatedly over the years to get an acceptable level of Spanish, and I kept falling on my face. Even six months of living in Valencia didn't help.
I eventually managed to learn Spanish at a high level of fluency and even have a C2 diploma (the highest level) in the language. So I can assure you that just because you have failed in the past does not mean that you are doomed.
If you struggle with Spanish, it's not because “you don't have the language gene.“ You probably don't have the right research method.
In this post, I will describe some of the most common and effective methods of learning Spanish. I can't tell you what the" best " program is for your specific needs, only you can decide it. Experiment with different approaches until you know what works best for you.
1. My favorite: Learning Spanish from day one
During my first six months in Spain, I learned almost nothing in the language. It wasn't for lack of trying. I made an effort (or so I thought), but I just couldn't get it to work.
Then I found the most important realization I've ever made on my path to language learning success. As soon as I made this discovery, everything changed, and soon I had safe conversations in Spanish.
What was the secret?
I needed to speak Spanish.
This may seem obvious,but it's a tip that many Spaniards (like my 21-year-old!) fight to follow. Instead, they try to learn Spanish by burying their noses in books, sometimes watching a movie in Spanish (with English subtitles), and then talking in English all day with their friends, family, and colleagues. No wonder I learned so slowly!
In the Fluent in 3 Months (Fi3M) I have always advocated that you speak from day one. Speaking Spanish is a skill, and to learn any skill, you have to practice it! Just open your mouth, and don't be afraid to make some mistakes.
If you speak from day one, you will find that it is possible to have real (albeit imperfect) conversations with native speakers much sooner than you think. In my Conversation Countdown course, I'll take you from being a complete beginner in Spanish (or any language) to the point where you can have your first conversation with a native speaker in just a week.
2. Stop speaking English! Learn Spanish through immersion
When I broke my barriers in Valencia and finally started to progress with the Spaniard, there were two reasons why I succeeded. It's not just that I started speaking Spanish as much as possible, but I stopped speaking English altogether. Within a month, I promised not to speak English at all, and I succeeded. Not a single English word has escaped my lips in these 30 days.
Since then, I've used the same approach for many other languages: live in the country and have a strict policy of speaking only the language I'm learning.
It's an exciting approach, and it's extremely effective. The reason is simple. Not all hours are the same; forty hours of intense Spanish immersion in one week will be much more valuable than forty hours scattered randomly over several weeks. The more you dive in, the less time you lose trying to remember what you learned the last time you spoke Spanish.
My friend Scott Young took this approach to the extreme when he learned four languages in a year (three months per language). The cardinal rule that helped him succeed? Not English.
"But, Benny," you're probably thinking, " you should live in Spain! It must have been easy to dive in there. What about people who can't do it?Don't worry, you don't need to travel to a Spanish-speaking country to immerse yourself-I've learned several languages while living nowhere near the countries where they are spoken. In fact, traveling to a country is not a guarantee that you will be immersed. It's easy to get caught up in the expat bubble (as I originally did in Valencia). It is definitely possible to achieve immersion in your native country, which I will describe below.
Also keep in mind that the dive doesn't have to be all or nothing. Depending on your work and lifestyle, it's probably not practical to avoid English 100% of the time. Just try to minimize the amount of English you speak, even if you can't completely remove it.
3. Learn Spanish by listening to podcasts and audio courses
Spanish podcasts and audio courses are not a substitute for speech practice, but they are a great addition and can give structure to your learning.
My favorite Spanish podcast for Spanish learners of all levels is SpanishPod101. The creator of Innovative Language offers courses in more than 30 languages.
I'm also a big fan of Mimic Method Spanish, which will help you master the 39 elementary sounds of Spanish so that you can improve your Spanish pronunciation.
Finally, you can look at LingQ, which has thousands of hours of Spanish listening resources for all levels. LingQ is especially good if you like to read while listening.
4. Spanish language learning, passing the College course
I have a degree in electronic engineering, and I didn't have any success in learning the language until after I had already graduated. But many universities offer Spanish extent, and if you are serious about receiving the Spanish language at a high level, this is a legitimate option.
Advantages of the name:
You will learn to speak, read and write Spanish at a very high level.
You will learn to understand the language and all its inner workings, delving into the study of Spanish grammar and the subtleties of the language.
You will learn more than just the language itself: you will learn about Spanish literature, the history of the language, the culture, and the history of the countries spoken.
You usually spend part of your degree, perhaps a semester or an entire year, living and studying in a Spanish-speaking country. A great opportunity for the dive I mentioned above!
In some universities, you can study Spanish together with something else, such as as" minor " in the American system. Sometimes it is possible to get a degree in two languages at the same time; often you are learning one language that you have already started learning (for example, in high school) and another ab initio (from scratch).
The obvious disadvantages of a bachelor's degree are that it takes three or four years to get it, and depending on the country, it can be very expensive. There are faster and cheaper ways to raise your Spanish to an impressive level.
A bachelor's degree in Spanish is definitely not for everyone, but it's the right choice for some people.
5. Learn Spanish in the sun: Take a summer Spanish course
If you don't have the time or desire to complete a full degree in Spanish, consider a shorter course at a language school.
Many schools offer intensive programs, which can be a great way to get the type of immersion I described above.
What's even better is the "full immersion program", in which you and your fellow students live in the school premises and commit to speaking only Spanish throughout the course. For example, Middlebury College in the United States is well known for its intensive immersion programs. Remember what I said, you don't have to travel to a Spanish-speaking country to get the dive!
I can't give advice on specific schools, because it obviously depends on where you are. Read the online reviews and try talking to graduates to see if you can learn a little about the program and decide if it suits your learning style before you enroll.
6. Learn Spanish with a teacher (online or in person)
When teaching in class, it usually moves at the pace of the slowest student. That's why small class sizes are better, and best of all is class size one.
Individual mentoring is often surprisingly close in cost to group lessons in the classroom. This is especially true for online mentoring, as your tutor doesn't need to spend time traveling to meet you. If you can afford it, I highly recommend looking for a one - on-one tutor.
italki is a popular platform where you can find one - on-one Spanish tutors who can give you lessons via video chat. The cost of the lessons is very reasonable, with teachers available from a few dollars per hour.
Different Spanish teachers have different styles; don't be afraid to shop around and try out a few different teachers before choosing the one you like the most.
Personal Spanish lessons are not necessarily better than online lessons; it is very convenient to be able to receive lessons from your own home. In fact, while studying Mandarin in Taiwan, I switched from face-to-face classes to Skype classes with the same tutor. Despite the fact that we lived in the same city, it was not worth the effort and time on the way to meet in person.
7. Free option: Learn Spanish with a language partner
"But Benny, I can't afford Spanish lessons with a tutor or at a language school! And no one in my neighborhood speaks Spanish! How can I practice?”
Death to your excuses, I say! There is another way: find a language exchange partner (sometimes called a language tandem partner or conversation partner).
If you are reading this, you speak English. This means that there are many native Spanish speakers who would like to practice their English with you. In return, many of them would be happy to let you practice Spanish with them.
If you can find a Spanish-speaking partner in your city and you can meet in person, great. If not, you still have no excuse: it's easy to find someone online to chat on Skype italki not just for paid tutors. You can also find thousands of language exchange partners to help you practice Spanish for free.
The language exchange can be structured the way you want. You may want to casually talk to your partner about what comes to mind, switching languages at a pre-determined interval (for example, every 5 or 10 minutes). Or you could work through a series of structured exercises or language games together. It all depends on you.
Many people end up becoming good friends with their language exchange colleagues, even visiting themselves in their home countries!
8. Switch to Spanish Meetup
The exchange of languages should not be one - on-one. In many cities, you can find "language exchange" events where people from all over the world come together to speak and practice many languages together. Meetup.com this is a good place to find such events.
The popularity of Spanish as a second language means that most major cities have meeting groups designed only for native Spanish speakers who want to learn English, and vice versa. Some meeting groups are more open, open to speakers of all languages.
The danger of such events is that you may end up having the same conversations over and over again with people you know “ " where are you from?What are you doing?", next. The best language exchanges avoid this problem by adding some structure, for example, you can play some language games together or get certain topics or topics to talk about.
If there are no Spanish language groups in your region, create your own. Anyone can create a group in Meetup.com, and he will surely join several members who have been waiting for such a group for years.
9. Save energy for pumping Spanish: Join the challenge of learning the language
Learning a language is a marathon, not a sprint, and students sometimes struggle with motivation.
A great way to solve this problem is to join the language learning community. If you surround yourself with other people who are on the same journey as you, whether they are learning Spanish or any other language, everyone will be able to support and encourage each other in finding their common goal.
Learning communities can be offline or online. If you have lessons in class, then I hope your class feels like a learning community! You are all together, so why not help each other and support each other?
Online communities can also be powerful. At Fi3M, we host a regular event called the Add1Challenge, where people from all over the world commit to having a 15-minute conversation with a native speaker of their new language after 90 days of training. Our participants saw excellent results.
10. make Spanish words stick in your brain using mnemonics
Mnemonics itself is not a full-fledged method of learning, but it is still a powerful tool that every language learner should be familiar with.
Languages require a lot of memorization – vocabulary, grammar rules, phrases, idioms, etc. There are better and worse ways to get all this information in your head - and the best way to become an expert in mnemonics.
"Mnemonics" is a memory technique that uses images or other mental cues to help you quickly remember information. There are many different types, but they all use the same basic principle: when something is hard to remember, find a way to associate it with something that is easy to remember.
The topic of mnemonics is deep. An advanced technique is a memory palace, in which you build a mental image of a building (or buildings) that you know well, and then imagine how to place objects in different places of the building to remind you of certain words or concepts.
Mnemonic techniques, such as the Memory Palace, take practice to be good. Once you are good at them, you will easily repay the initial investment of time. They are an extremely effective way to memorize a large amount of vocabulary.
What is your favorite method of learning Spanish?
How do you like learning Spanish? Or what new methods did you learn from this article that you plan to use? Please let me know in the comments
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