Learn Spanish Now

Can you really learn Spanish now, in as little as a few months time?

A quick glance at some of the distance learning courses available would seem to indicate that this is possible, but to answer the above question as shortly as possible: Yes, it is possible to learn to manage in Spanish in a shorter time than you might think. However, if you are starting from scratch, obviously no one will mistake you for a Spaniard after a few months of studies.

The rest of this page will deal with the more detailed answer about learning Spanish as a foreign language.

Learn Spanish at home

The most traditional aproach to learning Spanish is no doubt the class room aproach, but thanks to many great educational materials that have surfaced lately you can actually learn a lot about the language in the comfort of your own home.

All you need to do is to follow simple as well as progressive language programs which will help in developing your Spanish in next to no time as well as for a low cost. No doubt, just as with any other language, learning Spanish from home is not without a need to expend effort as well as have enough time to devote to its learning.

You can still learn at your own pace, but the less time you spend, the slower will be your pace of learning though sparing an hour every day should see you pick up the language and have a decent vocabulary to boast of in a short period of time. You will find that to learn Spanish at home means trying to follow the steps that a child takes to learn something new. You could start off with basic concepts such as numbers, letters of the alphabet and spend a few hours per week and also remember to put what you learn in writing.

Another great idea when learning Spanish at home is listening to Spanish broadcasts, as well as reading in Spanish. It will no doubt prove to be difficult in the beginning, though with English subtitles you will pick up quite a bit sooner than you think.

In a future update, we will have a look at some of the alternatives available when you want to learn Spanish now.

If you are looking for reasons to learn Spanish you may have landed on the wrong hub, but just in case you are considering learning a new language (which is always a good idea) let's look at some of the reasons why you might choose Spanish.

Well, maybe you didn't know but English isn't the biggest language in the world (okay, so maybe "bad English" is). In fact, it doesn't even come in second place.

Most people in the world speak Chinese, while Spanish actually comes in second place. Besides in Spain, Spanish is spoken in most of South-America and many other places.

If you happen to live in the US, Spanish is one of the best choices of a foreign language you can make.

As the Hispanic population of the United States continues to grow, so too does the importance of Spanish. With an estimated thirty-two million speakers in the United States, the Spanish language is becoming much important to civil services and business wishing to stay in touch with this growing market.

For businesses, the economics of the situation drive the need for adaptation and integration of Spanish into advertising, plans and consumer outreach. To ignore the portion of the market that is more comfortable with the Spanish language than with English is to ignore a lot of potential growth. For businesses in areas with a high concentration or even majority population of native Spanish speakers, the need to communicate with the community is not even an option - it is compulsory.

So with the above in mind, learning Spanish could be a very smart career move indeed.

Spanish easier than you think?

We sometimes imagine learning a new language as something overly dramatic, when it truth it can be as simple as memorizing certain phrases, words and expressions. True, you won't be considered a scholar of the Spanish language this way but it is not a neglible skill to aquire either.

Simple greetings

When you are learning Spanish Spanish phrases simple greetings and thank you phrases are a good start. You will no doubt pick up simple words such as "Si" and "Gracias" in no time at all. As you progress and learn more Spanish phrases you will soon be able to ask simple questions and participate in light small talk. For example, after you have learned some basic Spanish phrases you should be able to ask "Habla Ud Ingles?" which is a useful traveller's question meaning "Do you speak English?" The more informal version of the above would be "Hablas ingles?".

If you think (rightfuly so or not) that your Spanish still leaves somewhat to be desired you can memorize the phrase "Disculpeme por hablar tan mal el espanol", which translates into "Excuse my poor Spanish". All this may not seem like much, but it slowly adds up and sets you on the right track for further studies of the Spanish language.

You will also be pleasantly surprised at the number of free information on Spanish phrases, courses and lessons that are available today. Simply by searching the Internet will show you many interesting possibilities. Here for example is a good site that will teach you many basic Spanish phrases for free: http://www.ielanguages.com/spanish1.html

Learning how to build sentences as well as be able to speak them in Spanish is your first goal as a beginner. For a very reasonable investment there are many (online) courses available to learn spoken Spanish through interactive Spanish lessons that will help you learn to speak Spanish in a fun as well as easy manner.

Initially you should focus on learning to speak Spanish phrases by focusing on sentence structure and not merely try and learn the vocabulary. Once you have a feeling for how to use Spanish words in context and know a sufficcient number of complimentary words as well, you should be able to form complete sentences as well as phrases. This is the next level from learning simple words, and recent studies have shown that it is this stage that seem to trigger the rapid "word spurt" in young children (at about 18 months of age9. Although adults learn in a different way, there is no reason not to believe that this stage is crucial for grownups as well.

If nothing else, there are sure to be many useful phrases that you will pick up that can be of help in different situations in everyday life. Perhaps you'll find use for your Spanish on the job, in school or when talking to friends and neighbors.