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How Long Does It Take To Learn Spanish?
January 27, 2010
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 is no universal answer.
Unfortunately there are simply too many variables involved, in that so much depends on how much effort a student is prepared to put into learning the language, and also which method or program they are going to be using. Add to that the fact that while some individuals may choose to use the services of a personal mentor, others will select a classroom environment instead. In reality, some students will rather choose using one or other home study program which gets use from books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also need to ask yourself whether or not the individual will be learning the language in a land where it’s spoken as the native 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 result on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is simply not feasible to provide a single answer to this query. In reality, I have personally been involved with students who after six months, managed to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but also , I’ve known folks who have attempted to study the Spanish language for a period of years, admittedly on an on and off basis, and yet after many years they can hardly get by.
Instead of attempt to supply a generic answer 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 person to take advantage of every available opportunity regarding interacting in the language they wish to learn, regardless of what language that may be.
While you certainly do get those that are firm believers in the classroom approach, I personally feel it takes too long unless it is done in conjunction with another method. In my experience, a self study strategy of top quality is by a large margin superior in that it allows a student to move forward at their own pace instead of being tied down to the average study room pace. This is especially true regarding individuals who are really serious about learning the Spanish language.
In this case, I might suggest a student 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 the student can listen on their iPod for example. Remember, if you’re serious about learning a language, then you should shoot at being able 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 should be avoided or at least, you’ll need some further material.
As you may have already heard, Rocket Spanish is a highly favored program, and not without reason. Considering that it addresses all 4 of the area’s discussed, it has gained a reputation for providing scholars with aclass] foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will make sure that you’re able to speak confidently in Spanish inside a comparatively short space of time. Likewise, Rosetta Stone is considered to be nearly as good, in that it also addresses the four areas mentioned above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that scholars can select between the “Spain” version and the Latin American Spanish version. Judging by testimonials, it would appear that the Rosetta Stone program takes a touch longer to work through, 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 quite a bit costlier.
As you can see, there are too many variables concerned for me or anyone else to be ready to give a single response with regards to “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you have potentially also gathered by this point that there are many things you can do in order to speed up the process. In reality, many students go as far as using both the programs discussed together with each other in order to develop conversational skills as rapidly as possible. However, unless you are steadily exposed to the Spanish language, no program will be capable of making you one hundred percent smooth. 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. Furthermore, you’d be shocked at quite how much you can get benefits from joining a Meetup group in your neighborhood that concentrates on learning the Spanish language.
