Knowing Spanish, one of the most spoken languages in the world, is clearly an advantage. But how long does it take to learn Spanish? Spanish has always been one of the most preferred languages for language learners. The reasons are various, starting with the amazing tourist destinations, the Spanish-speaking lands represent and continuing with the countless opportunities this language opens to you as a business person or as a job seeker. This is what makes it the second-best language to learn in 2021.
Polyglots use to say that before proceeding with learning a language, it is wise to learn HOW to learn a language. In this article, we will go through the things the success of your Spanish learning process will depend on. Let us get started!
How long does it take to learn Spanish?
According to the US Foreign Service Institute, it will take you about 24 weeks (575-600 hours) to achieve proficiency as an English-speaking person. This number may seem very encouraging for someone that just started his/her journey. But before you get way too excited, you may want to know that learning a new language is a very individual process. There are factors you can control and others that you cannot.
7 factors affecting how long it will take for you to learn Spanish
#1 Experience
Let me share with you some good news. Those who tried to learn a language with a different alphabet, such as Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, etc., will appreciate that Spanish, as a romance language, obviously uses the Latin alphabet. If you already know more than two languages, you shall agree that it gets easier with every new language. In case you already know a romance language such as Portuguese, Romanian, Italian, or French, you are privileged. You will be able to recognize a lot of words and even guess the meaning of whole sentences.
Not a speaker of a Romance language?! Do not worry. There’s still hope! 30 % of the English vocabulary has Latin origins. So you will find yourself feeling familiar with a lot of word roots. Additionally, both languages, with some small exceptions, have the same basic sentence structure. Learning the grammar basics may not be your favorite part. I share the same feeling. But once you master the grammar, you will feel much more confident to use the language.
On the other hand, you should consider the fact that every language is built in a different way. Spanish learners may be confused by how many synonyms some words have. At the same time, some words have a lot of different meanings and can be used in a lot of separate contexts. Furthermore, a research conducted by TIME Magazine states that Spanish is the second fastest spoken language, with natives being able to say approximately 7.82 syllables per second. Get used to that!
#2 Consistency
How long does it take to learn Spanish? It should take you around 600 hours, but the way you distribute these hours over the next months or even years is completely up to you! How much time are you actually planning to spend every day learning Spanish? If you decide to study Spanish only one or two days a week, it will definitely take you longer.
The ones of you that already had some language learning experiences know well that people are full of enthusiasm and energy at the beginning. However, this feeling of being able to move mountains doesn’t necessarily stay with you forever. Unfortunately. The key is to plan your process in such a way so that you can follow even during your bad or lazy days. Learning 25 new words every day may be feasible only for the first few days. Yet, planning on learning 5 new words every day and having a day off every week seems achievable and can be a good long-term strategy. Just imagine. This would mean that in one year from now, you would master 1560 new words. As a matter of fact, these common phrases could be a good starting point.
#3 Culture
A language, among other things, reflects the culture of a nation. These two go hand in hand. You cannot become fluent in Spanish without learning about their customs and behavior. And most importantly, you have to accept and support to some extent this way of being. After you have assimilated a language, you have also assimilated a new way of perceiving the world. The existence of untranslatable words in almost every language proves that there are states and feelings that other people in other areas didn’t think of describing in words, either because they seemed too obvious or unobserved.
Therefore, a new language can open to you a completely different emotional spectrum. When looking into these untranslatable words in the Spanish language, we can find words like Sobremesa, meaning the time spent right after a meal when people are still sitting at the table having a conversation. Or Vergüenza Ajena that means feeling embarrassed or ashamed on behalf of someone else, even if they don’t share the feeling.
Nico made a short video explaining what Sobremesa is in Spain, click here or on the image to watch it right now.
In a survey made by the mimicmethod.com, over 12% of respondents stated that they felt like they were able to express themselves differently in Spanish compared to their mother tongue, saying it was “more emotional”, “more romantic” and sometimes even “cooler sounding”. The Spanish language will bring into your life relaxation, spontaneity, humour, and joy, along with the appreciation for a long night’s sleep.
When analyzing the matter from another perspective, having some insights about the culture will facilitate all the future conversations or negotiations you might have with Spanish-speaking people.
#4 Speaking with the locals
How long does it take to learn Spanish? Way less than usual, if you are among people that speak the language. For reasons stated in the previous factor description, contact with native Spanish speakers can become a game-changer. Moreover, if you can be among them and listen while they communicate, discuss, explain and prove things, your learning process will take place so much easier. Having a person that speaks Spanish in your environment? We kindly ask you to start exchanging simple phrases and try to make conversation from the first day you started your language learning process.
Each language is, in the first place, a tool we use to communicate. This way of thinking will help you start right away. There is no reason to wait until the stars get aligned. Minor grammar mistakes, some misspellings, and long pauses before formulating an answer are all part of the journey. Native speakers, in the case of Spanish, are very open and communicative people.
Are you in a Spanish- speaking land? Then you know that most people do not possess very good English skills. When using this language is the only available option, you will get motivated to do your best and accelerate your process by all means. If you see that they seem confused, ask them to explain what did you say wrong. Most of the time, you will find that people are actually glad to be of help. And the fact that someone is trying really hard to learn their language brings some sympathy to the table.
Finding a native to exercise with can be challenging, especially during these times. We can help. On Swaplanguage, you can always connect with a language- exchange partner for free.
#5 Resources
If you do dedicate enough of your time to this cause, you will speak the language at some point, no matter what. At the same time, the resources you choose can affect your language learning process in many ways. In the particular case of Spanish, you may have to consider the accent you would like to become proficient in. The Spanish language they speak in Spain differs from the one spoken in Latin America.
Taking into account your purpose and preferences is important to be able to find the right resources. Knowing your learning style at this point becomes crucial. Auditory learners will enjoy including in their process audio lessons and podcasts. Podcasts help you test your current Spanish level and get an overall feeling of what this language represents. It also trains both your verbal and para verbal skills. News in Slow Spanish is a good starting point for beginners. No matter the accent you want to master, both options are available: one using the Spanish spoken in Spain and the other- Latin American Spanish. In case you are a visual learner, you would have to find resources that include engaging texts, representative pictures, and flashcards.
At Swap language, we considered it all, and you can now choose one of our two different courses. South American or Spanish accent? What would you prefer? Join our free live lessons. We try to go way beyond Grammar and Vocabulary, so get ready to be introduced to this land’s culture as well.
#6 Expectations
To meet our expectations, we have to make sure that they are realistic enough. When starting to learn a new language, we have many expectations regarding difficulty, the time necessary to achieve a conversational level, etc. What does knowing Spanish mean to you? What is your ultimate goal? A lot of people would answer- “To achieve fluency.” So what would your definition of fluency sound like? If you think that being fluent in a certain language means being able to hold a conversation on any topic, you might have to reconsider.
When it comes to language learning, fluency is a very relative thing. It is quite impossible to learn every single word of a language. And it would also be completely unnecessary. Some domains will never interest or influence you in any way. A language also has the property to change. In fact, if you would open an article in your mother tongue from 60 years ago, chances are you wouldn’t be able to understand all of it. Therefore, fluency may not be the wiser choice for a goal. Instead, knowing a language to the extent that will allow you to understand and be understood is quite achievable. This is a feasible goal that would deserve all your efforts and focus.
Your speech does not have to be perfect. Yes, your accent and way of using the syntax may be strange and kind of funny at the beginning. Instead, if you accept all the language learning stages and feel grateful for every little achievement you make, you will manage to remain authentic. And such a skill will always be highly appreciated!
#7 Motivation
It all starts and ends with WHY. It all starts with the reason you decided to learn Spanish. Is it something you are doing out of curiosity? How much will the possession of this language affect your life? Motivation is considered to be the reason of the success or failure of any difficult activity. Motivation keeps you doing what you have to do when you do not feel like doing it. You can start by writing down your why and continue by returning to it every time you feel too tired or lazy to take the next step on your journey of learning Spanish. Visualize your life after achieving your learning goals. And make sure to take daily the necessary steps towards that reality.
So, How long does it take to learn Spanish?
You probably have approximately calculated your individual time by now.
If not, here are some questions that will help you do so.
- How motivated are you to learn Spanish?
- What is your purpose of learning Spanish? Do you have a deadline?
- How much time are you willing to spend daily?
- What level would you like to achieve?
- How much do you know about the Spanish culture? Does it feel close to you?
- How willing are you to find a way to interact with Native speakers?
We hope that this article helped you figure out ways to facilitate and accelerate your Spanish learning process. Now that you know how long does it take to learn Spanish, you can get started.
Check out these 10 tips for beginners- Marlena’s post link, written by an expert that was also once a beginner.
Good luck!
