Another important distinction to make, is that measuring the time it takes to learn a language in months and years is largely useless.
The only metric that matters is hours.
So, instead of asking how many months and years it will take you to become fluent in Spanish, ask yourself how many hours you can dedicate to the learning and move backwards from there.
Beware of Burnout in Rapid Language Learning It can seem enticing to jump head first into your new language mission of learning Spanish really fast.
But, be careful.
Language learning for us normal people (and not Government spies and diplomats) is a marathon, not a sprint.
I see so many people go all-in in their first couple of months, burn out, and then lose interest entirely.
Focus on setting a daily target that doesn't feel overwhelming, but make it your number one priority to reach this goal. Every day.
Then soon, you'd be surprised at how quick you will be speaking Spanish!
Techniques for Learning Spanish Fast Okay, now that we've established how long it takes to learn Spanish fluently, let's explore some techniques that anyone can use to turbocharge their Spanish learning.
I've picked up most of these techniques by interviewing hundreds of language learning experts and polyglots on the podcast .
Private Language Tutoring Online (The best way to learn Spanish fast!)
By far the biggest ‘secret' of the big polyglots and highly successful language learners, is that they work with teachers 1-on-1 from a very early stage in their language learning.
With platforms such as italki offering private lessons for as little as $5/hr there's really no excuse anymore not to take advantage of this ridiculous boost to your language learning.
Why 1-on-1 private lessons online are amazing for learning Spanish fast
There's no doubt in my mind that private 1-on-1 lessons are amazing for learning a new language fast.
Here's why…
INSTANT feedback and error correction in vocabulary and pronunciation
When self-studying a language, or even in a language class environment it's extremely easy to pick up bad habits, or develop bad pronunciation because there just isn't enough practice for the individual learner.
In a 1-on-1 environment you can't hide.
If there are any problems with your Spanish your tutor/teacher can point them out right away.
No more waiting for slow students, or getting lost behind fast students
The teacher focuses 100% on you and your Spanish, so you don't need to wait for other students to understand it.
You also get hyper-targeted feedback and help on exactly the struggles you have in Spanish, not what a school curriculum says you need to work on at that point.
It's a lot cheaper than comparable group lessons, or in-person private lessons
Going to group lessons at a language school is way more expensive than hiring your own online private teacher.
It absolutely boggles my mind that people commute to evening language classes to be in a classroom with 10-20 other students, and pay hundreds of dollars/euros for the privilege.
Unlimited Monthly Spanish Lessons (for a flat fee!)
Just to round off the tutoring chapter of this post, I wanted to give a shoutout to the Spanish tutoring service Baselang.
If you're a super serious Spanish learner who wants to learn it as fast as possible, then I highly recommend Baselang.
Baselang offers unlimited private lessons for just $149 per month.
Yes, unlimited.
You can book 8 hours or more of lessons per day, if you can handle it!
Check out Baselang.
For the rest of us I recommend italki , as it gives greater flexibility and you can just book the lessons as-needed.
Spaced Repetition is AMAZING When I was learning Russian a few years ago I first encountered online flashcards.
And oh boy, was I amazed at the effect this technique was having on my vocabulary.
In fact, I was comparing doing flashcards as downloading a new language in the matrix (remember how Neo “downloads” Kung-Fu?)
The two golden rules of spaced repetition:
The best time to review a card/word/sentence is JUST before you were about to forget it.
Guessing at the correct result before answering a card will help the memorisation of that card (whoa?)
Yup, so if you see a card with a strange Spanish sentence on it – having a guess at what the strange sentence means actually means you will retain that memory better.
Pretty cool, huh?
There are a lot of spaced repetition services. These are best for supplementing your learning in between your lessons with a teacher.
Here are some my favourites:
Memrise – Freemium
Anki (slightly more old-school, but more flexible) – Free for Android and Desktop
Lingvist – Paid, but extremely modern.
What Other Languages Take the Same Amount of Time as Spanish to Learn? According to the Foreign Service Institute again, here are the rest of the languages in group 1.
Afrikaans Norwegian
Especially the Scandinavian languages are ripe of the taking for the average English native speaker! So, if Spanish isn't to your liking but you still want to learn one of the least challenging languages, take your pick!
Conclusion So, there you have it – with about an hour a day you can reach upper intermediate Spanish within 2 years of starting from the bottom.
Some people might see that is a disappointingly slow, others might be pleasantly surprised.
But, let me leave you with this last piece of advice.
Whilst Spanish is a relatively easy language for English native speakers to learn, it's still a huge task to learn ANY foreign language.
Don't be worried if your progress isn't always tangible. If you stay consistent and study every day, you will be improving!
It's just not always possible to say exactly what you improved on that day.
Best of luck with your Spanish – you can do it.
Now it's your turn! Leave a comment below if you're starting on your Spanish journey, or how long it took you to learn!
