The secret of fast Spanish learning – Episode 68

The secret of fast Spanish learning

Podcast episode 68 – SEE ALL EPISODES

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

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Today, I bring you some awesome ideas on how to learn Spanish fast.

See also: Maria’s step-by-step Spanish courses.

Today’s question comes from Amy. Amy asked me recently: “Are there any tips you can give me on how to learn Spanish fast? I feel that, if I could learn faster, I wouldn’t be so tempted to give up”.

I love this question. I’ve been studying foreign languages ever since I can remember. And learning fast is what I’ve found to be the biggest motivation to persevere.

When it comes to learning a language, the way you go about it is absolutely crucial.

With Spanish, the right learning technique can help you reach a nice level within just a few months. But with the wrong technique you’ll get stuck at a beginners’ level forever.

Over the years, I’ve tested all kinds of language learning techniques. Some have worked for a while, others have been a disaster. And a few have been a brilliant discovery.

In the end, for me, the secret of fast language learning boils down to these five simple guidelines. Here they are:

Number 1. Always use a Spanish course

With the Internet, once you’ve finished a Spanish lesson on one website, it’s tempting to browse for the next lesson somewhere else.

The problem is, you end up spending more time browsing the web than learning Spanish.

And you may have dozens of websites bookmarked. But the reality is, you’re not making any progress.

Instead, you should focus on a single Spanish course. A well structured course, with recordings by native speakers, and topics YOU find interesting.

There are some great courses out there. If you don’t have one just now, try my Spanish course at kerapido.com.

Number 2. Use a course that fits into your lifestyle

Are you too busy to sit down to learn Spanish? If so, why not learn on the go with an online course you can play on your mobile device?

Do you like the interaction with a teacher and other students? Then join a class.

Whatever you choose, let it be something that fits easily into your lifestyle. Not something that feels like a sacrifice.

If you don’t have much free time, there’s no point in forcing yourself to go to a class. Because you’ll be wasting your money, and your energy.

If you don’t like books, don’t use a book. There are plenty of courses to choose from. And you’re bound to love one of them.

When you make your Spanish course part of your lifestyle, you’re much more likely to stick to it.

Number 3. Always listen before reading

When it comes to the actual learning, there are a handful of things that’ll help you master Spanish at a quick pace. And the top one is this:

To develop your listening skills fast, make sure you listen to the recordings in your lessons BEFORE reading the transcript and translation.

This little trick will help you understand the words you hear, instead of having to rely on the written word.

This is how you tune your ear to understand Spanish:

Avoid the temptation to read the conversations, and others texts, in your course when you first come across them. Instead, listen to them a couple of times, and then read the transcript.

For a while, you won’t understand very much when you first listen to the recordings. But you’ll make swift progress. I can promise you that.

That’s how I became fluent in English. And that’s also how my most successful students learn Spanish.

Number 4. Start speaking from day one

This is the scary one.

The thought of having to say your own sentences in a foreign language can cause you a lot of stress.

It’s intimidating, frightening; and, at the same time, immensely rewarding.

To make it less scary, the trick is to take tiny little steps. So tiny, you hardly notice them.

That’s what I’ve done with the speaking drills in my Spanish course.

To help you overcome the fear of speaking Spanish, I’ve created some very simple drills. There, you start putting together just two or three words at first. Using words you’ve heard in previous lessons in the course.

Slowly, you get to put together more words. And you start building the sentences you’re most likely to use in conversation with native speakers.

To see how this works, subscribe to my Spanish course at kerapido.com

And Number 5. Review at least 50% of the time

You’ve probably heard me say this before.

To learn Spanish really fast, you need to review your lessons on a regular basis.

When I was learning English, I used to spend at least half of my study time reviewing the lessons in my course.

When you finish a lesson, it’s tempting to start a new one. You want to get through your course as fast as possible.

But, with languages, that doesn’t work.

To remember the words, expressions, and verb forms in your lessons, you need to review them over and over.

No matter how good your memory is, the odds are you’ll forget each word several times before you can finally master it.

You need to see those words in different contexts, in a variety of drills.

That’s why reviewing is essential.

Aim at reviewing at least 50% of the time you’re learning Spanish. At first, you might feel it’s slowing you down. But soon you’ll notice how much easier it is to remember things.

To recap, these 5 guidelines are the secret to fast language learning:

Number 1. Always use a Spanish course

Number 2. Use a course that fits into your lifestyle

Number 3. Always listen before reading

Number 4. Start speaking from day one

And Number 5. Review at least 50% of the time

To start speaking Spanish today, join my Spanish course. You can play it on any device, wherever you are.

Have a look at
Maria’s step-by-step Spanish courses

Find out more about my Spanish courses.