Yes, grammar is important! And you won’t be able to speak a language if you don’t know anything about its grammar.

But also, grammar isn’t everything! At least not when you are still getting familiar with the language. Your main objective should always be to understand what other people are saying and then to make yourself understood.

In the end, if you can name every rule of the past tense in the Spanish language, but are not able to understand a basic conversation, then you should really change your approach to learning a language. So don’t just focus on grammar! Try to incorporate as many listening, reading, and speaking exercises in your study routine as possible.

There are a bunch of amazing resources out there, but some are just better than others. It is a good way to get the first idea of a language and also practice some vocabulary.

But when your language skills start evolving, you also need to adjust the way you study.

Or let me phrase this a little better: Not investing in the right language classes. If you think you can go to a language group class once a week and learn a language that way then you are mistaken. And what I have noticed in these group classes, a lot of times the other participants are missing number 1 on this list: the motivation why they want to learn that specific language in the first place. 

However, really intense classes, where you would for example have classes several times a week would be completely different. Because nobody is going to sign up for a class like that if they don’t have enough reasoning to learn the language. But also most people do not have the time or the money to afford that. 

But a language class once a week is still not a bad idea, it just shouldn’t be your only resource. Because mostly you won’t be focusing too much on speaking and if you do so then you have to speak to your classmates who make mistakes as well and it is just not that helpful. It is a lot more helpful to talk to native speakers.

I have started taking lessons with Multibhashi at least once a week where I talk to a native speaker for an hour. And these definitely have been the most helpful lessons I have ever taken. I can be flexible with my timing but most importantly I am forced to speak and it is only you and the teacher so it can be focused solely on what you need to improve rather than what is on the class schedule for today.

Speaking in a foreign language can be terrifying and of course, you don’t want to make any mistakes. But let’s be honest, the most important thing about a language is to speak and to be able to communicate. Start trying to speak as early as possible in the new language. And if you make a lot of mistakes, so what? 

The more you speak, the more your confidence will build up, and the faster you will learn. All the rules, vocabulary, and ways of speaking you might just pick up along the way.

Talk to friends that speak the language you are studying.

Don’t just only use one app, have one group class or read one book. That’s also not a fun way to study, you do want to have some diversity. 

Try using as many resources as possible and switch them up. You can study with traditional study books, different apps, group classes, online conversational classes, podcasts, books, radio, music, or youtube videos. 

And try to focus on things you find interesting! I usually listen to a lot of Formula 1 podcasts, so I just listen to Dutch Formula 1 podcast or watch Formula 1 Youtube Videos in Spanish.

Also, I love Harry Potter, so I ordered a Harry Potter book in Spanish. And since I have already read the book multiple times in other languages, I already know what happens so it doesn’t matter if I don’t understand everything words by word.

This is a mistake I made a lot when I was watching Spanish TV shows on Netflix. I would listen to it in Spanish but would use English subtitles. And then in the end I just ended up reading the subtitles constantly and didn’t learn anything. 

Try putting on the subtitles in the language that you are listening to! And if you don’t understand everything, that doesn’t matter. But you will notice that in this way you will get a way better feeling of the language and improve your listening skills.

And of course, once you are more comfortable in a language, remove all subtitles once in for all.

Of course, vocabulary is important. Really important. How else are you going to learn how to speak if you don’t know any words?

But start with vocabulary that is actually relevant!

I know when I started learning Spanish, I did so with Duolingo. And while I knew the names of all the animals and things I’d like to have on my sandwich, when I actually started Spanish classes, I didn’t know how to count to 20 in Spanish.

So firstly focus on some important basics obviously. But after that try to learn new words about topics you find interesting and that you would want to talk about in real life!

For example, you could find some articles about topics that you like and study the vocabulary that you encounter in the text.

At the beginning of the learning process, you tend to be super motivated, buy a lot of study material, spend a lot of time studying, and then when you don’t see results, that motivation disappears suddenly. 

Nobody is telling you to study for two hours a day, nobody is telling you that you have to study at all, but even a couple of minutes a day is better than nothing. 

If you have a busy schedule and are lacking free time, try to incorporate the language into your daily life in other ways. For example, listen to a podcast in the language you are learning while doing chores around the house. Or watch your favorite TV show in a foreign language. Change the language on your phone and go through your phone settings. Anything works as long as you are being consistent!

Nothing more frustrating when you think you have made some great progress but then when you hear native speakers talk you can’t understand a single thing. That experience can definitely be discouraging, to say the least. But don’t give up! It is totally normal to feel frustrated but it is important to just keep going anyway. 

Try to become more familiar with the sound of the language, even if you don’t understand much. Listen to people talk, watch TV shows in that language or have a radio channel with a certain language playing in the background. 

When I moved to the US for a year, I only spoke a little bit of English and I had this one teacher in High School that had a really thick Southern accent. And let me tell you, while I felt like I was making so much progress, every time I sat in this class, I understood nothing at all. And that lasted for probably two weeks. 

But just being exposed to the language (and the accent) every day I picked up on it after a while. After a couple of weeks I honestly couldn’t remember how I had issues understanding that teacher at all.