How to Learn Conversational Spanish Fast

Member

By Monteath
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating:

(1 Ratings)

The Spanish Flag

Among bi-lingual Americans, Spanish is the most common second language spoken. In fact, with the huge number of Spanish speaking individuals in the United States, many jobs see the ability to be able to speak at least conversational Spanish as being a huge plus on a resume. Whether this is for job training, to get fluent for that Spring Break trip to Mexico, or just because you want to learn a second language, read on to find tips and pointers for how to learn conversational Spanish fast.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Spanish-English dictionary
Spanish children's books (optional but helpful)
Spanish programming to watch (optional but very helpful)
A Spanish Tutor (also optional, but very helpful)
Quick language learning course (most helpful, but also optional)

Step 1

Decide if you're learning Spanish for Spain, or a different Spanish speaking country. This can be important because if you're not going to Spain itself, you don't have to learn the "Vosotros" form of Spanish Verbs - and that makes things considerably easier.
Step 2

Try to find a Spanish tutor who is willing to mentor you. Maybe you know another language that they want to learn. Maybe cooking lessons, or skills like playing chess, different card games, or whatever. The point is that even if you're low on money, there should be a way to find a good Spanish tutor in exchange for something else. Maybe a home cooked meal for a college kid - there are options.
Step 3

Try to find children's books and programming in Spanish. In some parts of the country this will be extremely easy, in others not so much. Even if you're not in a heavily Spanish speaking area, if you have cable you can often choose to get Latin channels that come in Spanish, and if you have a full HBO package, then chances are you already have one. Watch, listen, and read in Spanish to pick up the language quickly. Immerse yourself in the language as much as possible.
Step 4

Try to surround yourself in the language. This not only helps you get a basic understanding of the language, but it also speeds up how quickly you learn conversational Spanish. When I took a 10 day high school trip to Mexico back in high school I had a basic understanding going down there, and my vocabulary and understanding easily doubled while I was down there. When you're immersed around native speakers, this tends to happen when you listen and try to learn.
Step 5

If there are limits to how many of the above steps you can do, take a look at an accelerated language learning program. Rosetta Stone is probably the most famous of all of these, although their programs can range anywhere from $300-$700 or even more. Rocket Language Learning is another quick language learning program that has received a lot of positive feedback, and they're usually in the $100-$150 range.
Step 6

If you can't incorporate all of these steps, use as many as you can in conjunction with one another, and you'll find that learning conversational Spanish quickly might not be as hard as you first thought.
Step 7

Keep at it. Even learning basic Spanish fast takes work and some time to grasp as much as you can. Keep with it daily and your effort will pay off.

Comments

patricklogsdon said

Flag This Comment

on 6/5/2009 these "steps" are all good advice. motivation is needed for each individual and the person needs to identify that motivation. I am a bilingual non hispanic, and it has made a big difference in my life, especially financially as well as socially. YOU WILL NOT REGRET LEARNING SPANISH!