Spanish is a Romance language that originated in Spain but is now spoken in many countries around the world.
With nearly 500 million native speakers, it's the world's second biggest language in terms of native speakers, though it drops to fourth in terms of overall speakers since more people speak English and Hindi as a second language.
In this article, we'll look at why you should learn the language, the best ways to learn Spanish, and the resources you should use while learning the language.
Why You Should Learn Spanish
Learning a language takes a long time so you should have a good reason before you start. Fortunately for you, there are plenty of reasons to learn another language and lots of reasons why that language should be Spanish.
Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language
Firstly, learning any foreign language can teach you more about the countries and cultures that use said language.
There are also lots of cognitive benefits to learning a foreign language and learning foreign languages has been shown to improve problem-solving, multitasking, and memory.
Understanding a foreign language also improves cross-cultural understanding and makes people more empathetic to others.
Your foreign language skills also rub off on your first language and by studying a foreign language, you'll get better at speaking your native language.
Reasons to Learn Spanish
So why study Spanish instead of any other foreign language?
For one, Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, meaning that you can speak with so many more people.
If you like to travel, speaking Spanish will make travelling across South and Central America much easier as there are only a handful of countries where the language isn't spoken.
Since Spanish is so widely spoken, there's also plenty of Spanish-language media including literature, cinema, TV, and music and this also means that there are plenty of resources for people wanting to learn Spanish.
Since Spanish is a Romance language, it's also useful to learn if you're considering studying another Romance language like French, Italian, or Portuguese, for example.
Setting Your Language Learning Goals
Now you have some reasons to learn Spanish, you need to think about your goals. Most people will say they want to learn how to speak Spanish fluently, but every language learner has a slightly different meaning of what this means.
For some, speaking the language "fluently" means being able to hold a conversation in the language with almost no problems whereas for others, they'll only be happy with their fluency once they're on a par with native Spanish speakers.
Your goal could be something as simple as being able to ask for directions, order food in restaurants, or check in to a hotel. It doesn't matter what your goal is as long as you have a good idea of what it is as this will greatly affect how much time you'll need to achieve it.
Staying Motivated
It's estimated that it takes between 600 and 750 hours of study to achieve conversational fluency in Spanish. If you only study Spanish for one hour a week, then this would take you fourteen years! However, if you study for an hour every day, then it'll take you a couple of years to start speaking Spanish conversationally.
In either case, you have a lot of work to do and staying motivated is an important part of it. Make sure that when you set your Spanish language goals, you take into account just how many hours it's going to take and how minimal the gains are going to be between each lesson.
Be patient and remember that it's going to take a lot of time. Don't get discouraged if you feel you aren't making much progress. In most cases, it may seem that you're not making any progress so it can be helpful to look back at what you were doing a few months ago to see just how far you've come.
Practising Regularly
Progress comes with regular practice and practice is one of the best ways to learn Spanish or any language for that matter.
You'll make more progress through smaller and more regular study sessions than you will by infrequent marathon study sessions. Remember that you learned your native language by being surrounded by it for a few years before you were able to speak it with any degree of fluency.
If you practise Spanish a lot, you'll see a huge boost to the progress you're making.
The Best Approaches for Learning Spanish
So how exactly do you learn or practise Spanish? There are several approaches and since every student is different, you can't say that there's just one best way to learn Spanish.
Instead, here are some of the most popular and recommended ways to study Spanish and we recommend trying all of them out in different amounts before working out which ones are right for you and how you like to learn.
Immersion
Immersion is definitely one of the best ways to learn Spanish or any other language because it's how every human has learned their first language since the dawn of civilisation, making it tried and very much tested.
To learn a second language through immersion, you have to make sure that as much of your day as possible is in your target language. This means doing everything in Spanish when you can.
Immersion is much easier achieved if you move to a Spanish-speaking country, but if you can't get to Spain or Latin America, then we recommend changing your devices to Spanish and consuming as much Spanish-language media as possible.
Language Exchange Partners
Language exchange partners are a nice informal way to learn Spanish. Sometimes known as language tandems, this involves arranging a regular meetup or call with a Spanish speaker who wants to learn your language and helping each other out.
In many cases, this will be done by dividing your time together into Spanish and English. If you're meeting up or arranging a video or audio call for an hour, then thirty minutes will be spent conversing in Spanish and the rest will be spent in English.
The downside to this approach is that it's not really possible for absolute beginners who lack the vocabulary and understanding to have any kind of meaningful conversation.
Language Learning Apps
In the digital age, we use apps for everything, including learning foreign languages. Popular apps for learning Spanish include Babbel, Duolingo, Mondly, and Busuu and while some are certainly better than others, we recommend trying a few of them out.
The downside to apps is that they can't offer much in the way of real conversation practice and shouldn't be the only approach you use to learn a language.
Language Meetup Groups
Finding communities of language learners that regularly meet up to practise is a great way to learn a language, especially if you happen to be quite social.
In these instances, however, the downside is that you may be practising a lot with other learners and will have to make sure they don't pick up any bad linguistic habits.
Online Courses
For many, language learning apps are technically online courses, but here we're talking about language courses that are being taught by teachers or a structured course that's delivered online. In some cases, there won't be a teacher and the course will be similar to a guide or textbook online.
With the advent of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), there's an abundance of online Spanish courses and far too many to recommend here.
Have a look for courses and if in doubt, it can help to ask for recommendations from friends, family, tutors, or members of any language learning communities you find.
Private Tutoring
Private tutoring is definitely one of the best ways to learn Spanish because it allows you to enjoy tailored sessions.
A private Spanish tutor can structure the course and every lesson to you, what you want to learn, and how you like to learn.
No matter what your goals are, they can make sure you're always working towards them. Better yet, it also means that every minute of every session is spent focusing on you, unlike larger language classes where you might just be a face in a crowd. You might consider working with a Spanish tutor online for a more flexible learning experience.
Spanish Classes
Last but not least, we have your traditional Spanish classes. While larger group classes don't offer some of the benefits that private tutoring can offer, they're still an excellent way to learn languages. After all, they can combine the benefits of language meetup groups while also providing proper structure from a teacher. For those looking for additional support, exploring Spanish classes near me can be a great option.
With several students in a class, you'll have opportunities to practise speaking while also having a teacher there to make sure you're not making too many mistakes.
Resources for Learning Spanish
As you've seen, there are plenty of ways to learn Spanish. However, there are also plenty of resources you can use when you learn.
Most of these resources are particularly useful if you're teaching yourself or just practising outside of class or in a private tutoring session.
Anything in Spanish is technically a useful Spanish-language resource, but here are just a few of our favourites.
Dictionaries, Guides, and Textbooks
Invest in some decent Spanish dictionaries (both bilingual and monolingual), guides, and textbooks for you to work through.
While most of these resources are also available digitally, computers and tablets with access to the internet can sometimes be distracting so it's a good idea to dedicate some time away from them.
There are even guides and tutorials for Spanish on YouTube.
Flashcards
Visual learners can benefit a lot from flashcards. Whether you buy them or make them yourself, associating vocabulary and grammar with images can make them more memorable, especially in the early stages of your language-learning journey when you'll be learning lots of new words.
Spanish Books and Magazines
Reading comprehension is a key skill in any language. Keep your Spanish reading comprehension skills sharp by reading Spanish-language books and magazines.
Spanish Podcasts and Audiobooks
Once you reach a level where you start to understand spoken Spanish, Spanish podcasts and audiobooks are a convenient way to ensure you get lots of listening practice done.
Spanish TV Shows and Movies
TV shows and movies are great for practising any language. With streaming services, you can now watch shows from plenty of Spanish-speaking countries or even watch other shows with Spanish-language dubs.
With Spanish shows and movies, you can always start with English subtitles and once your Spanish is good enough, you can switch to Spanish subtitles and eventually, turn subtitles off altogether (if you want).
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