Often people want to learn Spanish fast. Maybe they are going on vacation... maybe they have business contacts in a Spanish-speaking country... maybe they have fallen in love with someone who speaks Spanish. The list of reasons goes on and on.

But unfortunately, most people who try to learn Spanish will give up the effort within a few weeks. This doesn't just apply to learning Spanish (or any other language). It is what happens in our fast-paced world so full of distractions.

But does it have to happen to you? Absolutely not. The key to learning Spanish is to create habits. Things like studying every day, whether you feel like it or not. Immersing yourself in the sounds of the language, by listening to music or conversations, even if you can't catch most of the words at first. Don't worry, you are educating your ears.

I am an American who has traveled in Spanish-speaking countries and lived for several years in Mexico. I do not speak perfect Spanish and frankly, I never will! But I can chat with Mexicans about anything quite easily. My major breakthrough came when I realized that perfectionism was my enemy and I would be WAY better off to be willing to make mistakes. I have found the Mexicans to be very gracious about my errors. They are a polite people.

So... can you learn to speak a lot of Spanish relatively quickly? Yes. But only if you put in the time!

There are many ways of learning Spanish. Here I am considering conversational Spanish, the kind that lets you tell a taxi driver where you want to go, shop in the street markets, or talk on the telephone.You can stop reading this article if your dream is to read Cervantes in the original!

For conversational Spanish, you can likely take a class near where you live, but do keep in mind several factors:

• A lot of those classes are heavy on grammar and light on conversation practice
• It's not always convenient to drive to class, take the class, drive home, all at the time the class is scheduled.
• Think what percentage of the class time you will actually get to be speaking Spanish, considering that there are other students too!

If you happen to get a really good teacher and it is truly a conversational Spanish class, then go for it! But be picky.

My preferred approach to learning Spanish combines plenty of chatting with Spanish-speaking people with time alone with software, mp3 files, flashcards, and the like. You can find Spanish-speaking people anywhere in the US, that's for sure! And there are a variety of programs you can work with on your own -- CDs or sound files like Rocket Spanish, multi-media computer programs like the little-known but very good Fluenz Spanish, and much more.

I have evaluated all of these, by working with them myself, and I have a website about how to learn Spanish fast which reviews these programs. I also wrote a an ebook, which I give away at no charge, called Five Keys to Learning Spanish Rapidly.

Do come by, get the ebook if you'd like it, and read a bit!

Rosana Hart.