I am often asked, “how long does it take to learn Spanish?” I am afraid that this is basically a million-dollar question and one for which there is no simple answer.
Sadly there are simply way too many variables involved, in that so much depends on how much effort a student is willing to put into learning the language, and also which technique or program they will be using. Add to that the indisputable fact that while some students may decide to use the services of a private mentor, others will choose a classroom environment instead. In reality, some students will rather opt for using one or other home study program which gets use out of books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also have to ask yourself whether the person will be learning the language in a country where it’s spoken as the local 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.
Since these variables will have such a direct impact on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is just not feasible to provide a single answer to this question. In fact, I have personally met people who after six months, managed to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but I have also known folks who have attempted to study the Spanish language for a period of years, albeit on an on and off basis, and yet after many years they can hardly get by.
Instead of attempting to offer a generic response 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 student to seize every possible opportunity regarding interacting in the language they wish to learn, regardless of what language that might be.
While you actually do get people who are firm followers of the school room approach, I feel it takes too long unless it is done in conjunction with another technique. In my experience, a self study method of top quality is by far superior in that it allows a student to move forward at their own speed rather than being tied down to the average study room pace. This is especially true with regards to students who are really intent on learning the Spanish language.
In this case, I would suggest a student to select a reputable program which includes a variety of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and naturally, written Spanish. In addition, 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 for example. Remember, if you’re serious about learning a language, then you should aim for having the ability 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 needs to be avoided or at least, you will need some further material.
As you could have already heard, Rocket Spanish is an intensely 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 aclass] foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will ensure that you are able to communicate confidently in Spanish inside a relatively short space of time. Similarly, Rosetta Stone is understood to be nearly 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 the Rosetta Stone program takes a touch longer to work thru, which of course means it’ll take you a little longer before you develop conversational Spanish but in general, it ranks right up there with Rocket Spanish. Also, Rosetta Stone is considerably costlier.
As you can see, there are too many variables involved for me or anyone else to be able to give a single response regarding “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you have probably also gathered by now that there are many things you can do in order to hurry up the method. Actually, many people go as far as using both the programs discussed together with each other to develop conversational skills as quickly 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 might consider subscribing to Puerta del Sol Audio magazine which is a Spanish language abilities Magazine. Furthermore, you’d be surprised at just how much you can benefit from joining a Meetup group in your neighborhood that is focused on learning the Spanish language.