How to Learn Spanish (or any language)

If you already understand and agree with this statement:

When it comes to learning Spanish, fluency is the only worthwhile goal

click here and you can skip to the part where we discuss the practical and easy way to reach fluency in Spanish. 

If you don't agree with the statement or aren't sure what is meant by 'fluency', we urge you to start with number 1 below because being very clear about the goal is always the first step on any successful path.

1. Why you should make fluency your goal

When it comes to learning Spanish, we believe fluency is the only worthwhile goal. The reason is simple: when you are fluent in Spanish you are in a position to participate fully in the life and culture of the 500 million Spanish speakers in the world. When you've taken one or a few Spanish classes you have started to make progress on the road to fluency, but your ability to participate in Hispanic life and culture, including business, is very limited. What is the point of studying Spanish if you won't be able to use it in your life? When you are fluent in Spanish you are able to use Spanish in many significant and rewarding ways.

If you stop after a couple of classes or programs, the time you've put in so far will go to waste. Within a year most of what you've learned will fade and your ability to participate in the incredibly rich and varied Spanish speaking world will pretty much be limited to trivial 'travel Spanish'; you won't be able to enjoy TV shows, movies, radio, books or normal conversations in Spanish.

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2. How do you anticipate using Spanish in your life?

When you are fluent your world looks like this:

And here's what you can do:

Participate fully (understanding and speaking) with Spanish speakers and culture:

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    Your Spanish speaking world includes (potentially) 500 Million Spanish speakers
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    Understand and enjoy thousands of Spanish language TV shows, songs, films and videos
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    Understand and enjoy thousands of books, magazines and newspapers
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    Automatically continue to improve your Spanish for the rest of your life - just as native speakers do 
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    Experience the gratifying sense of 'flow' when you communicate in Spanish - just as you do in your native language.

And if you don't reach fluency in Spanish what can you expect?

From Beginner to Elementary level your world looks like this:

Rudimentary participation with Spanish speakers and culture at best:

  • Understanding: you understand a few hundred words. You are unable to understand TV shows, radio, film, newspapers, books, people except for isolated words. 
  • Speaking: very limited.
  • Difficult to learn Spanish on your own.

At Intermediate level your world looks like this:

Limited participation with Spanish speakers and culture:

  • Understanding: you can understand spoken Spanish using a vocabulary of 1200 to 2500 words. You'll struggle to understand most native conversations, TV shows, films, books etc.
  • Speaking: you can speak about most every-day subjects at a simple level. You'll struggle and mostly fail at trying to match your speaking ability in English.
  • You can begin acquiring Spanish on your own under good conditions.

At Advanced level your world looks like this:

Participate substantially well with Spanish speakers and culture:

  • Understanding: you can participate in the 'mass culture' (TV, books, newspapers) and most conversations, and still need to look up words or ask for clarification in various situations.
  • Speaking: you can discuss any personal or public topic easily, still making grammatical and usage 'errors'.
  • You can improve your Spanish on your own with little effort.
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    Occasional experience of the 'flow' associated with fluency.

3.  There's an amazing ability that you (we all) have to learn languages

You (we all) learned out native language without effort or study 

If you don't use that same natural ability to help you learn Spanish - or you don't yet know how to use it without having to travel to a Spanish speaking country - you'll miss out on the one thing that can guarantee your success no matter how many classes or programs you take.

Find out more...

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