Why learn Spanish? Well, by deciding to learn Spanish, you are starting on the path to being able to communicate with around 560 million Spanish speakers. It’s the fourth most spoken language in the world, and the second most spoken first language in the world, second only to Mandarin Chinese in this category.
Across over 20 countries Spanish is the official-spoken language, so learning Spanish can open up a whole new world of places for you to visit or even move to.
The benefits of learning Spanish are far beyond what almost any other language can offer. But how should you go about learning Spanish?
Luckily, here at Superprof we have put together a handy guide so you can decide how to learn the language in the best way for you.
How easy is it to learn Spanish?
One of the most common things that puts people off learning a new language is how unapproachable it can seem at first glance. But if you ask anyone how hard is it to learn Spanish compared to say, Mandarin, the answer should be somewhat encouraging.
There are a surprising number of similarities between English and Spanish that make it comparatively easy learning Spanish already knowing English. These include:
- Both English and Spanish use the same alphabet
- The structure of vocabulary and grammar is similar in both English and Spanish
- Pronunciation on certain sounds are logically similar between English and Spanish
And many more subtle similarities that you wouldn’t find if you were trying to learn Korean from English, for example. So, is it easy to learn Spanish? Any language will always be a challenge to learn, but relatively speaking, Spanish is definitely one of the more approachable ones.
What are the easiest ways to teach yourself Spanish?
Perhaps the most common way to get started learning a language is to try and teach it to yourself. This comes with a whole host of advantages as well as some disadvantages. Perhaps chief among these is that teaching yourself Spanish lets you learn it on the most flexible schedule you can imagine, taking whatever time you want or need to do it.
If you’re trying to learn holiday Spanish for instance, just learning it on your own in a few months before you go is probably going to be enough.
There are plenty of ways to go about teaching yourself Spanish. The most straightforward way is basically to emulate what you may have done in school when you may have had the opportunity to learn French or Spanish academically. This normally involves learning simple phrases with good utility. How to introduce yourself, giving your age, where you are from, and so on.
Basic information given in a simple format, to get a good grasp of fundamental sentence structure, and common words. Numbers are also a great place to start in this regard, as with some simple key phrases, numbers, and Spanish connectors, you can have a good foundation to expand on and start practising speaking.
Is a Spanish language course worth doing?
In a word, yes, a Spanish learning course is one of the best ways to learn the language. If you are able to afford and commit to it, learning Spanish with the help of an instructor of some sort is always going to be more efficient than trying to self-teach.
Even a basic Spanish language course will probably give you far more efficient preparation to actually speak the language than anything you could do without guidance of any kind. The availability of these will probably change from area to area, for instance a course to learn Spanish in London may be easier to find than one in a more remote area.
Fortunately, there are other options available if you live somewhere without an in-person course available to you.
What is the best way to learn Spanish on your own?
The real answer to how to learn Spanish on your own and how to learn Spanish most efficiently is to do it online. As we all know, the internet is an almost endlessly vast wellspring of knowledge, and thus you are far more likely to find the best Spanish learning program for you online than in your local area.
There are even a huge number of dedicated Spanish learning websites that can be amazing resources to work with, although many of these are paid.
Luckily, there are still some high quality ones that are free to use, so it’s definitely worth checking a few of the following free ones out:
- Easy Spanish
- Loecsen
- Lengalia
These are just a few of the many resources out there, though. YouTube is full of informative videos of varying levels of specificity, with enough content on there alone to teach yo just about anything you could want to know about Spanish.
Of course, when it comes to resources to learn Spanish online, there is a certain elephant (or rather, bird) in the room that must be mentioned. The Duolingo app has for a long time been a mainstay in the language learning space, and with good reason. It is a strong contender for the best online Spanish course UK markets can offer, being both approachable and in-depth.
There are other apps as well, such as Babbel, so be sure to give a few a try and see which ones work for you. When it comes to learning a language, there really is no such thing as too many resources!
Is tutoring a good way to learn Spanish?
Perhaps the single most efficient way to learn a foreign language is to have someone teach it to you specifically and directly. This is where tutoring, either in person or online, comes into its own. Online tutoring can take the best bits of vocabulary apps, YouTube videos, conversational Spanish classes, and self-teaching and combine it with plenty of Spanish-speaking practise to really get the most out of your time.
It is often shown that in just about any field, academic or otherwise, having someone teach you one-on-one a certain skill is far an away the most efficient way to learn it.
Tutoring is probably the most expensive way to learn Spanish, but for the premium you get a service that will be able to optimise your learning of the language in a way the other methods will never be able to match.
As with all things in life, you get what you pay for, and premium price means premium product.
The most clear advantage of learning Spanish from a tutor is that you get more speaking Spanish practise than with any other method, as well as crucially feedback on what you say. Much of the learning process is about practise and feedback, making mistakes and correcting them directly.
Is any learn Spanish book worth reading?
The written word has been the backbone of academia for millennia. So why not pick up a book to help you learn Spanish? Even with the advent of the internet and technology, a good book can sometimes be all you need.
There are plenty of good beginner textbooks out there, or if you are at a higher level of your Spanish learning journey, you could even consider reading Spanish literature. Reading the written language can be one of the best ways to build familiarity with the vocabulary and sentence structure at your own pace. The value in this cannot be overstated.
To that end, here are some books of varying levels you can try if you want to learn Spanish:
- Spanish for Dummies
- The Assimil Method
- Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish
- 15-Minute Spanish
- Hispanic literature: “Gabriel, el relato de un naufrago”, “La hermana de San Sulpicio”, “Cuentos fantasticos de America”, “Cuentos de Eva Luna”.
Can you learn Spanish with movies?
In much the same vein as reading Spanish literature, watching movies can be a great way to be exposed to the language. Hearing it spoken in movies is a great way to get a familiarity with actual spoken Spanish in a more realistic way than academia can sometimes teach it, especially with more modern movies. Plus, it’s just more fun, which makes it easier to sit down and actually do!
There are also some skills you can actually most easily get from something like watching movies. You’ll have plenty of examples of how to roll r Spanish style, which you just won’t get from endless reading and writing. Languages are made to be spoken, after all!
Depending on your level, you can watch the films with English subtitles, Spanish subtitles, or without subtitles. It might sound self-defeating to watch a film with English subtitles, but your brain will be making connections between what you hear and the translation given on screen, so it won't be a wasted exercise. Here are some of our favourite movies in Spanish to get you started:
- Travelogue
- Pan’s Labyrinth
- Rec
- Speak with Her
- Women on the Verge of a Nervous breakdown
- Our Dear neighbours
- Cell 211
- The Secret in Her Eyers
- Inside
- Open Your Eyes
As you can see, there are plenty of great ways to learn Spanish, and plenty of even better reasons why you should. It’s a versatile and popular language with resources to match that make it both engaging and rewarding to learn. So contact a tutor, talk to your native speaking friend, and break out the Spanish dictionary, and you’ll be fluent in no time!
Naturally, choosing the right tutor is pivotal to making sure you get the most out of your time spent learning Spanish. Fortunately, Superprof has an excellent selection of Spanish tutors ready to help you learn the language, no matter what your learning style may be.
It is always being proven that learning directly from a tutor is the most efficient way to learn anything. This holds doubly true with languages, where having someone to speak with who can provide feedback on your speaking is absolutely crucial.
All the tutors on Superprof are experts in the language, though, and will be able to get you speaking fluently faster and with more confidence than any other method.
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