Are there days when you feel like you’re getting nowhere with Spanish? Wish you knew how to learn Spanish fast so you could be fluent sooner? Feeling overwhelmed and not sure how to streamline your learning?
I promise you it’s a common feeling for not just the Spanish learner but for any language learner. You might be finding it hard to find the time to study, alongside everything else you have going on. Sometimes it is a real challenge to set aside a few moments each day. Alternatively, you may be a total overachiever like myself, and want to do everything at once.
When it comes to learning any language, we have got to get organized and immerse ourselves in the best way we can. No matter where you are on your Spanish learning journey, here are 7 tips to help you to learn Spanish fast without getting overwhelmed.
1. Set Goals
As a Spanish teacher, when I listen to a student’s past experiences in learning Spanish, I often hear about how they are struggling to learn everything at once and how it leaves them discouraged. Having goals and organizing them is going to relieve a lot of stress. Even better, it will motivate you! Set a goal to learn 10 vocabulary words each week, and try to use them in a sentence.
2. Dedicate Time
This is certainly one of the hardest parts when it comes to learning. Often you will hear teachers say you need to put in an hour of study a day, but we barely have an hour to give to ourselves. Am I right?
What I suggest to my students is to break it down into smaller portions.
- In the mornings refresh the 2-3 words that you learned the previous day, which takes about 5 minutes. You could do that while cooking breakfast for the family.
- While you are driving to work or prepping for work if you work remotely listen to a podcast which is about 7-10 minutes.
- At lunchtime, start remembering your 3 words and write your sentences which will take about 30 minutes.
Obviously, you don’t have to follow the exact times that I suggested but you can customize it to your schedule. If my medical students who are learning Spanish can do it so can you! No matter how you decide to approach your Spanish studies, make a schedule and stick to it. If your goal is to study a minimum of one hour a day, then do it! It’s like exercise, you can’t just expect to do three intensive hours in one week and then see results. You will see more progress doing it over an extended period of time rather than all at once. If you’re wondering how to learn Spanish fast, this is key.
3. Take Lessons!
Take Spanish lessons if you can! It’s the best advice given to those wondering how to learn Spanish fast, and for very good reason. First off, having a Spanish teacher doesn’t mean that you are going back to high school Spanish class. We listen to your goals, we outline the things that you will need to do and most importantly we keep you in check. This is why I have a personal trainer. I have an app that I use to track my progress and I’m doing great at the start but then I slide off for whatever reason. So having a trainer helps and motivates me. It’s the same thing for having a Spanish teacher.
Of course, there are low cost to free alternatives to get lessons. There are many group lessons that you can sign up for in which you have to pay a low monthly subscription such as TakeLessons live.
Ask around to see which teachers and courses would work best for you. Questions you might want to ask are: Are they easy to communicate with? Are they good value for the money? Flexible? Do they seem in tune with student’s needs (which is an important question to ask yourself)?
4. Watch Movies
That’s right! If you are unable to travel at the moment, watching movies to help you immerse yourself is a fun way to learn Spanish.
I know the most common advice is to watch Spanish telenovelas, but if you are a beginner I highly recommend to start with something more basic. Watch a Disney movie for an example. Whether you are streaming through Netflix, Hulu, Prime, or Disney+ you will always have the audio option to change it to Spanish then add English subtitles.
Another tool that I use with my students is a google extension that Netflix offers called “Language Learning with Netflix”. Reasons why I find this beneficial is that Subtitles are shown in two languages, allowing you to compare the original audio and text with a translation in your language. It also allows you to listen to subtitles one at a time, and to change the playback speed. And there’s a pop-up dictionary, and the extension suggests the most important words for you to learn.
5. Read Up on the Latest News
There are tons of amazing Spanish articles that are accessible online. Catch up on the latest news by putting words together. But don’t forget to read magazines and cookbooks as well. This will help train your mind to read the words and understand them.
6. PIZAZZ THOSE FLASHCARDS!
Just by writing one word like “baño” (“bathroom”) on a flashcard won’t get you very far. Instead, write phrases. Such as: “Dónde está el baño?” (“Where is the bathroom?”) or “Él baño está cerca de la sala.”(“The bathroom is near the living room.”). Writing phrases will take you much farther than single words. You will be able to use the words in more than one way, you will be able to pick up even more words and grammar this way as well.
7. Be Consistent & Constantly Review What You’ve Learned
Practice really does make perfect. And don’t feel ashamed by forgetting a word or by mispronouncing words. Making mistakes is bound to happen. We need those mistakes so we can actually learn how to communicate correctly. Easier said than done, right?
There are apps that will help you start communicating and practice what you have learned. I highly recommend using HelloTalk. I like to describe HelloTalk as the Facebook for language learning. You can safely talk with people who are native speakers, and it provides an interface to text and speak with them, all from your smartphone. It also offers translation in the app, too. They will correct your grammar if necessary. It’s a fun interactive way to be consistently practicing your Spanish.
Not only will these tips help you learn Spanish fast but it is also effective and efficient. Track your progress and you will be amazed at how much you are learning in so little time.
Rosita Ruiz