How I learned Spanish

Ditch the apps, do this instead

If someone tells me they’re using an app for language learning my initial thought is:

“Aww that’s cute”

These apps make it seem like you can master a language by practicing 15 minutes a day. They're accessible from your phone which makes it convenient and it’s gamified so the process seems fun.

Unfortunately, they don't do a great job of helping you reach fluency.

A Columbia University review identified three main weaknesses:

1. Apps teach vocabulary in isolated units rather than relevant contexts.

2. Apps don't adapt to suit the skill sets of individual learners.

3. Apps rarely offer explanatory corrective feedback to learners.

So ditch the apps and do this instead...

Books, Movies, Podcasts

The first resource I recommend is books.

I’m a big fan of Olly Richards and his Short Stories in Spanish series.

This single resource helped me connect so many dots.

Each story incorporates a diverse range of vocabulary and essential grammatical structures which helped me understand past, present and future tenses. As I made my way through the book, I noticed an immediate improvement in my ability to formulate my own thoughts and sentences.

Olly's approach reinforces the vocabulary in a contextual manner which aids with retention. He also does a great job of creating narratives with engaging characters.

We learn best through stories, not through boring textbooks.

His method is so successful that he’s adapted it to a handful of other languages: Italian, French, German, Swedish, and Danish to name a few.

The second resource is movies.

Most people try to watch a bunch of different movies in their target language with subtitles.

This doesn’t work because you end up reading the subtitles the entire time.

Instead, pick your all-time favorite movie. One that you’ve seen many times and have practically memorized.

I picked Superbad. The Spanish McLovin was hilarious.

The key is to watch the movie on repeat without the subtitles. This forces you to listen to the words and pick up phrases.

The final resource is Podcasts.

There are plenty of options out there but the one I used was Coffee Break Spanish.

It offers bite-sized and digestible lessons that are perfect for when you’re on the go. I used to listen to them on my commute to work before moving to Spain.

Each episode focuses on a specific topic or theme and they start out at a beginner level gradually advancing to more complex topics.

I enjoyed the real-world scenarios that the hosts Mark and Kara use.

It’s like listening to a live tutoring session with Mark as the teacher and Kara as the student asking questions throughout the episode.

Practice, practice & more practice

Once I had a basic understanding of grammar and vocabulary, it was time to put it into practice.

Don’t hire a tutor or enroll in language school until you have the foundations down.

Start with the resources I listed above and once you’ve grasped the fundamentals it will make this part more enjoyable.

By the time I enrolled in a language school, I felt I was already a few steps ahead of my peers. I started going twice a week for 2-hour sessions and was seeing good progress so I upped it to three times per week.

Then something magical happened.

Within 4 months I was able to hold a conversation.

I could finally speak my own thoughts instead of repeating memorized lines.

Depending on where you live you can most likely enroll in an in-person school. If that’s not an option there are websites like Italki where you can hire a private tutor for little as $5 a session.

The in-person classes will fast-track your success if you do it right.

Here’s the secret: Don’t just attend the class and say ciao. After class, you go to a coffee shop or bar with your classmates and talk with each other about what you just learned. Since you are all on a similar playing field it will be better practice than trying to practice with a native speaker who speaks too fast.

We get intimidated and give up when speaking with a native speaker, but when practicing with someone who sucks just as much as you, it takes the pressure off and makes it easier to fumble through the sentences.

Immersion is a key component. If you have the time and resources, go live a mini-life in the country of your target language. I plan to do this with both French and Italian.

Changing my phone to Spanish was also a nice daily reminder of my goal.

Final Thoughts

One of my core values is connecting with people. Being able to speak Spanish literally opens the door to connecting with 400 million more people. I've found it's one of the best ways to increase serendipitous encounters.

There have been countless experiences that would not have been possible had I not been able to speak Spanish. How many laughs would have never been had if I couldn’t understand the jokes?

Many of us who were born as native English speakers don’t bother learning new languages because “everyone speaks English”. Don’t use this as an excuse.

When I travel to any Spanish-speaking country, I feel this sense of confidence. I love striking up conversations with locals and getting insider knowledge on things to do and restaurants to eat at.

People are more likely to open up and share resources if they see you’ve put in a bit of effort to learn their language.

Total fluency is not the objective here.

After 5 years of living in Spain, I still have a long way to go. I’m learning new words and fumbling my sentences all the time. The point is to reach a conversational level, and based on my experience, this can be done in 4 months or less.

If you decide to take the leap and learn a new language I promise you won't regret it.

Now delete Duolingo and thank me later.

Until next time my friends.

<3 B

Bonus Tip: Learn the cognates. It’s an easy way to expand your vocabulary.

Most English words that end in ‘-tion’ can be converted to Spanish by changing the ending to ‘-cion’.

Same with words ending in ‘-ary’. All you have to do is switch the ending to ‘-ario’ and boom you’ve already added 1000 words to your vocabulary.