Introduction:
Spanish is a Romance language that originated in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a global language with nearly 500 million native speakers, mainly in Spain and the Americas. It is the world’s second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese, and the world’s fourth-most spoken language overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi. Learning a language like Spanish is an amazing process, and every stage of it can be very fulfilling. But time is money, and although we would all love to have limitless time to improve our language skills, the truth is that our personal and professional life leave little time to learn a language.
So how long will it take to learn Spanish?
This is one of the first questions anyone interested in language learning asks, and unfortunately, there’s no easy way to answer it. Learning a language is a complex process that is different for each individual based on several different factors.
Let’s take a look at these different factors and how they impact how fast you learn Spanish:
- Your Previous Language Learning Experiences
- The Language You Are Learning
- How You Are Learning
- The Time You Dedicate to Learning
- Your Attitude
- Your Motivation
1.Your Previous Language Learning Experiences
If you already speak a foreign language or were raised bilingual, you may save yourself some time as you learn Spanish. Bilinguals find it easier to learn a third language, as several linguistic studies have proven. This is because they are naturally more accustomed to being exposed to different languages. Fluency and skills in one language aid fluency and skills in another.
2.The Language You Are Learning
Even if Spanish looks “Greek” to you, many languages are actually more similar than they are different. Learning a language that is similar to your native language can save you time when learning the alphabet, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
As a general rule, languages that have similar roots are easier and take less time to learn. For those of you whose native language is English, that means that any language with Latin roots will be easier for you to learn, and that includes Spanish.
Believe it or not, you already know some Spanish words even before you even start studying it. Almost all European languages share countless words with English thanks to their shared roots, history, and evolution.
3.How You Are Learning
Your learning methods also play an important role in how fast you learn Spanish. If your language learning is limited to a classroom setting, then it will probably take you a little longer to learn.
4.The Time You Dedicate to Learning
Naturally, how long it takes you to learn Spanish also depends on how much time you plan to dedicate to learning it daily, weekly, or monthly. Studies have proven that learners who are willing to dedicate an hour a day to language learning–whether that be by studying grammar, memorizing vocabulary, watching a movie, or reading a book–learn significantly faster than those who just attend a weekly class.
5.Your Attitude
Your attitude also plays a huge role in how fast you learn Spanish. If you approach language learning with a positive attitude and see it as a fun and fascinating opportunity to broaden your horizons (and sound like a native when you order a burrito), you’ll be more open to learning. You’ll be more motivated to study and learn as much as possible, and the entire process will be more enjoyable and, consequently, faster.
6.Your Motivation
It’s no secret that staying motivated is key to learning a new language. There have been so many studies proving the importance of motivation in language learning. Staying motivated is the number one reason why many people have language success, and also the number one reason why some give up.
Remind yourself why you want to learn Spanish, how it will improve your life and everything good that can come from learning it. This can help you to stay motivated and, therefore, speed up the time necessary to learn it.
According to the FSI,
- If one person spends three hours a day with Spanish, the 480 hours amount to 160 days or less than six months.
- If another person spends one hour a day with Spanish, it will take 480 days, or around a year and a half.
- If you spend less than an hour a day, it will take much longer. However, these are just numbers and it depends on you how much time you take to learn Spanish, you could either learn it within a year if you want to or it can even take you 10 years!
Is Spanish Hard to Learn? 6 Factors to Consider Before You Start Your Studies
Spanish is a complex language. Some aspects of the language will make it harder to learn, while others will make things easier, especially since you already know English.
Let’s go over some of the challenges you may face along the way.
3 Reasons Why Spanish Is Not Hard to Learn
- You already know many words thanks to cognates
English and Spanish share many words that look similar and have the same definitions, like adoptar (to adopt) and participar (to participate). These are called English-Spanish cognates, and they make Spanish easier to learn.
- The sentence structure is similar to English
Spanish and English have very similar sentence structures, which is half the battle! Except for a few differences (like adjective order, for instance), Spanish and English both use the “Subject, Verb, Object” (SVO) sentence structure.
- Spanish has many rules and patterns to follow
Like English, Spanish has many rules that have long lists of exceptions. But there are plenty of patterns and rules that really do work, and the more of them you know, the more of the language you will master. Look for these patterns in your learning to make Spanish just a tad easier to learn.
3 Reasons Why Spanish Is Hard to Learn
- Spanish has many irregular verbs
Irregular verbs will make your Spanish learning journey harder.
Many common verbs are irregular, so you are likely to use them in everyday conversations. This makes mastering the most common irregular verbs crucial.
- It is a gendered language
Unlike English, Spanish nouns have assigned genders. In the beginning, this will take some getting used to.
Genders are often attached with no rhyme or reason: In many cases, you are simply expected to remember if a word is masculine or feminine.
And gender is important: the gender of a noun affects words around it like adjectives and articles. It can be frustrating at first, but if you study new nouns with their gender attached, you will have an easier time remembering them in conjunction later on.
- The pronunciation can be difficult to master
Most of the letters in Spanish are identical to those of the English alphabet. However, Spanish pronunciation differs significantly from English, even if the letters it uses are the same.
You should be especially careful with vowels, which use different pronunciations from their English equivalents.
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Conclusion:
Thanks to the internet, the resources available to you for studying Spanish are nearly limitless.
You can hire a teacher, use free online resources or buy a great textbook to get started. It is an entertaining method to immerse yourself in Spanish the way native speakers really use it, while actively building your vocabulary. The world of Spanish learning is at your fingertips! Just reach out and find the learning methods and resources that work best for you.