I am often asked, “how long does it take to learn Spanish?” I am afraid this is largely a million-dollar question and one for which there’s no simple answer.

Unfortunately there are simply far too many variables involved, in that so much depends on how much effort a person is ready to put into studying the language, and also which technique or program they are going to be using. Add to that the indisputable fact that while some individuals may choose to use the services of a personal tutor, others will choose a classroom environment instead. In fact, some students will rather opt for using one or other home study program which gets use from books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also need to ask whether or not the student will be learning the language in a land where it’s spoken as the first language, or whether they will be learning it in their home country. Additionally, the quality of a program or the experience of a teacher will also influence the result.

Because these variables will have such a direct result on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is just not possible to provide a simple answer to this question. In fact, I have personally known students who after six months, managed to communicate confidently in conversational Spanish, but I have also met people who have attempted to study the Spanish language for a period of years, admittedly on an on and off basis, and yet after many years they can hardly get by.

Instead of attempt to supply a generic answer to this question, I’d rather offer what I feel to be the quickest way of learning Spanish. The most important step of all, is for a person to take advantage of every available opportunity regarding interacting in the language they want to learn, irrespective of what language that could be.

While you certainly do get those who are firm followers of the lecture room approach, I actually feel it takes too long unless it is done in association with another strategy. In my experience, a self study method of top quality is by a large margin superior in that it permits a student to move forward at their own speed rather than being tied down to the average classroom pace. This is especially true with regards to individuals who are truly serious about learning the Spanish language.

In this example, I’d suggest a person to select a reputable program which includes a variety of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and of course, written Spanish. Additionally, they should select a program which allows for lessons to be downloaded onto a mobile device so that they can listen on their iPod as an example. Remember, if you’re serious about learning a language, then you should aim for having the ability to not only speak it and write it, but also to read it and understand it. Unless a program covers all 4 of these areas, it must be avoided or at least, you will need some additional material.

As you most likely have already heard, Rocket Spanish is a highly favored program, and not without reason. Considering that it addresses all four of the area’s discussed, it has gained a name for providing students with a first foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will make sure that you are able to communicate confidently in Spanish inside a comparatively short space of time. Similarly, Rosetta Stone is understood to be just as good, in that it also addresses the four areas discussed above. Furthermore, it is available in two versions so that people can select between the “Spain” version and the South American Spanish version. Judging from testimonials, it would appear the Rosetta Stone program takes a touch longer to work through, which of course means it will take you a little longer before you develop conversational Spanish but generally, it ranks right up there with Rocket Spanish. Also, Rosetta Stone is quite a bit more expensive.

As you can see, there are too many variables concerned for me or anyone else to be in a position to give a simple answer with regards to “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you’ve potentially also gathered by now that there are several things you can do in order to speed up the process. In reality, many people go as far as using both the programs mentioned with each other in order to develop conversational skills as rapidly as possible. However, unless you are steadily exposed to the Spanish language, no program will be capable of making you 100 percent fluent. On the other hand, providing you’re at an intermediate-to-advanced level, you might consider subscribing to Puerta del Sol Audio magazine which is a Spanish language talents Magazine. Additionally, you’d be shocked at quite how much you can benefit from joining a Meetup group in your area that focuses on learning the Spanish language.