ø The Ultimate Guide To Learning Spanish

The Ultimate Guide To Learning Spanish

Posted on Sunday, 27th July 2008 by admin

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people embark on the challenge of learning a new language. With lofty expectations and an eagerness to broaden their horizons, many underestimate the sheer hard work required for the task.

In this guide, we will take a look at the growing popularity of the Spanish language, what it can offer you and more prominently - how best to go about learning it.

Why learn Spanish?

Spanish is the fastest growing language in the world. With over 330 million people speaking it, there are more people capable of Spanish than there are of English. To fully understand the business implications of such a statistic is to look beyond the barriers of language and appreciate the advantages of appealing to all audiences. By learning and utilizing Spanish, you could potentially communicate with twice as many customers - or twice as many employers - as you would be with English alone.

For many people, this is irrelevant. Not everybody is out to further a career by learning a second language, or to sell a product using a foreign market. The large majority of us want to learn Spanish as a hobby to fulfil personal goals. Maybe it’s to improve our travelling experiences by speaking the native Spanish tongue, or maybe for the feel-good factor of being able to communicate freely in a whole new language.

Indeed, for many of us, the personal appeal of learning Spanish crosses in to career enhancing prospects too. Extensive research proves that employees with a second language in their pocket typically earn substantially more than those with just English – up to 15% in some careers.

If you’ve ever travelled to Spain, or a Spanish speaking country, you’ll appreciate the freedom that comes with knowing the local lingo and being able to engage others in conversation. It’s a desirable skill - valued highly both in the working and personal landscape.

Spanish also happens to be one of the more graspable languages to learn. While mastering it is a tough feat to manage, the hurdles are much easier to overcome. You’ll be speaking conversational Spanish in quick time with a good learning programme – of which there are several – so it isn’t such a “light at the end of the tunnel” deal. You’ll be able to use your developing Spanish skills long before you’ve finished brushing up on the minor quirks and nuances.

Challenges of learning a second language

Some of us are challenged by English alone, so what obstacles can we expect on our way to becoming a fluent speaker of the Spanish language? No worthwhile skill comes without a challenge, and learning Spanish is no different.

The reality is that most of us could learn Spanish if we were locked in an empty cell with nothing but vocab and grammar books for company. It’s the dedication to the cause – learning with discipline and practicing regularly - that’ll ultimately make the difference between success and failure.

Set your goals and stick to them. Many people give up on Spanish after deciding a few weeks in that it isn’t doing much for them. Maybe through difficulty of learning, or simply for questioning the original desire to learn it.

Either way, be prepared to have your patience tested. Learning Spanish is a time consuming business. You get back what you put in.

Never rely on one avenue of studying. For example, as brilliant as an online course can be for learning Spanish (and we’ll get on to recommending the best ones later), you can massively improve the effectiveness of your studying by branching out and considering other materials.

An online course can only be accessed online. So what about the times that you’re sitting on a train or bus with fifteen minutes to spare? Fifteen minutes a day goes a long way over a month. The key point to remember is simply organizing your time. Work out how much time you can afford to spend learning Spanish without obstructing your other activities, then spend it.

Learning Spanish the old fashioned way

Before the explosion of the Internet, people looking to learn a new language had to use some good old fashioned trial and experimentation to find a method that worked. It’s hard to imagine learning Spanish without the aid of the World Wide Web a mere mouse click away. But that’s the way it used to be, and you’d be surprised just how many people are still studying languages without the Internet.

So what other options are there? If you were to rip out your modem and toddle off to learn Spanish – where would you start?

The first step is probably one of the most overlooked. It’s free (usually!), convenient and ideal for those looking to test the waters of a new language. That’s right, have a dig through your wallet and grab the library card, head on down to your nearest library – and grab some Spanish reference books to help you study.

Books are brilliant for anybody looking to master Spanish. They provide round the clock support and can be easily tucked away for some studying on the aforementioned bus and train commute.

If you’re serious about your pursuit of Spanish, you’ve probably already considered enrolling in a Spanish class. While many companies offer Immersion courses, these are expensive and require a sometimes unrealistic commitment.

An Immersion course is simply an induction in to the everyday usage of another language. In the same way that we’re taught English in our family homes, a Spanish Immersion course encourages absolute commitment to the language. It may involve attending a purely Spanish spoken class, or even living with a Spanish speaking family. But either way, immersion training is not for the casual learner. It’s for those who need to thrive on a real-life environment where success and failure are both immediately acknowledged in what can be slightly unforgiving circumstances!

If you’re ultra determined and passionate about learning Spanish, it might just be the route for you. For others, a standard Spanish class should suffice.

Check out your yellow pages and community boards for information on local Spanish studying sessions. The task of learning can be made a whole lot easier by joining other students who happen to be in the same boat. There will always be a certain following who believe that the number one way to learn is through a teacher-student relationship – and they might just be right.

The advantages of learning Spanish online

The new age of distance learning and instant course initiation has seen a dramatic rise in the popularity of Spanish e-courses. Millions are flocking to the Internet rather than their local schools for a cost-friendly and convenient avenue of learning.

Learning Spanish online ticks all the right boxes for most types of learners. Whether you’re retired, in education, unemployed or looking for an extra online hobby to pass the time, studying over the Net is an attractive possibility and one which many people have excelled in.

Besides the obvious advantage of having course materials a mere click away, learning Spanish online dramatically cuts down on the costs associated with private tutoring.

When you attend a physical Spanish course, the money you pay goes towards a professional Spanish speaker taking the time to train you. As a result, the prices can be high. When you study online, the material is prepared in advance and catered to those who enjoy learning at their own pace. Many courses still offer full support if you have any questions, but it’s the luxury of learning in your own home that can make it such an appealing option. Crucially, the training comes at a fraction of the price that you could expect to pay for a personal tutor.

Books remain a realistic alternative but they can only go as far as words on a page. The great thing about online Spanish courses is that they throw up the opportunities to learn using interactive and increasingly sophisticated software.

We’re already seeing the first signs of voice and word recognition software, plus interactive training suites that take Spanish beyond words on a page in to a completely absorbing learning experience. This is certainly the future of convenient Spanish study.

The pick of the online Spanish courses

Here at Know Your Spanish, we’ve weeded out the good Spanish courses from the bad. Having undergone a thorough review of each course, you’d be amazed how many learning programmes there are out there that slip below the standard of what we’d expect from a good course.

Some Spanish courses have the rather unflattering claim to fame of teaching illegitimate Spanish, or broken vocabulary. Others – thankfully now off the market – have wasted consumers’ money with audio lessons and videos which have quite clearly been slapped together in somebody’s bedroom on a minimal budget.

If you’re buying from the Internet, you must always be cautious of who you’re buying from. Only use trusted vendors that have been recognised and authenticated. It goes without saying that a money back guarantee should be high up the list of things you look for in an online Spanish course.

Take a good look. Are there sample videos available? Do you have a reasonable window of time to return the course for a full refund? Who provides the training material and what have they released in the past?

Check our Spanish learning products section for details on several trusted Spanish courses which we have individually tested and approved.

Rocket Spanish, is a market leading course from the rapidly expanding Rocket Languages company - the same company that provides full language learning solutions for French, Italian, Japanese and even sign language.

Rocket Spanish comes with our highest recommendation and is suitably endorsed on our website. The money back guarantee, sample software and expert advice makes it as good a course as you’re likely to find on the Internet.

Synergy Spanish is another tremendously popular Spanish course serving up a fast track learning curve which makes the most of your learning capacity through contributions from expert psychologists.

You can be sure that these courses aren’t the first, and won’t be the last, to break through in the exploding online Spanish market. Always seek a third party opinion before handing your cash to a Spanish e-course provider.

Some helpful Spanish tips

No matter which method of learning Spanish you decide on, there will always be a few tips and tricks to advance your skills.

We’ve touched on the subject before, but it’s the single most telling factor in whether your studies will prove a success; time management.

Before you sign up to a Spanish course, or open your first book, sit down and prioritise your wants and needs. Write a list of all the things you HAVE to do, a list of the things you SHOULD do, and a list of the things you’d LIKE to do.

Where does learning Spanish fit in to that list of priorities? If you find that it barely makes the “Would like to…” list, then you might want to think twice before assigning two hours a day to your Rocket Spanish course.

While you might succeed for the first couple of weeks, you’ll soon find that the greater worries in life take a stranglehold and your original targets flounder accordingly.

Likewise, if you really need to learn Spanish in a hurry – for a new job, or a move abroad – ten minutes a day isn’t going to draw the fast results that are necessary. You might find it easier to stick to your learning programme, but the fluency in Spanish ultimately won’t come quick enough.

Reference books and quick learning guides should be a given for anybody serious about learning Spanish. Collins Spanish Dictionary: Complete & Unabridged should be snapped up and kept handy for those times where a basic translation of Spanish to English (or vice versa) is required.

Research shows that language is best remembered in small batches, so keep your studying sessions spread out and varied. Fifteen minutes brushing up with a book on the train, ten minutes memorising vocabulary before you go to bed…a collection of these spells will prove much more effective than one hour-long cram.

If you have any friends who are looking to learn Spanish, don’t wait another second before hassling them in to studying with you. Not only does a study partner provide inspiration and a helping hand for practicing conversational Spanish, but it allows you to share resources and costs.

You can share books, learning resources and even – if you’re discrete about it – paid course materials. Why not halve your expenses by sharing an e-course between you?

It’s also a good idea to stay up to date with Spanish culture as a whole. That means subscribing to news feeds from Spanish websites, purchasing the odd native Spanish magazine and even re-watching your favourite movies with the Spanish subtitles turned on.

Check out our simplified tips for learning Spanish.

Don’t lose sight of your goals

Learning Spanish, as with learning anything, requires persistance and a lot of practice. Accepting the trials and tribulations is key to maintaining sight of your goals.

Never lose track of your ultimate goal. Why are you trying to learn Spanish? Everybody should have one good reason, even if it’s as simple as making a penpal friend or contacting a distant foreign relative. For those who learn with the ambition of furthering a career, or moving abroad and settling down in a Spanish speaking country - inspiration shouldn’t be hard to come by.

There’s no escaping the reality that learning a second language will test your patience somewhere along the line. Dealing with the frustration, clearing your mind and practicing over again is the ingredient of success.

Surround yourself in the Spanish culture at every opportunity. Buy magazines, visit Spanish websites, and watch Spanish movies. The more involved with Spanish life you become, the more inclined you’ll be to pick up the language and make sense of it. Finally, we highly recommend you check out the courses listed in our Spanish learning products section, and do check back regularly at Know Your Spanish for more advice in our series of articles.