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

Unfortunately there are simply far too many variables concerned, in that so much relies on how much effort a student is ready to put into learning the language, and also which strategy or program they’ll be using. Add to that the indisputable fact that while some students may decide to use the services of a private mentor, others will select a classroom environment instead. In reality, some scholars will rather select using one or other home study program which gets use from books, multimedia, software, and audio recordings. You also need to ask yourself whether or not the scholar will be learning the language in a country where it’s spoken as the local language, or whether they’ll be learning it in their home country. Similarly, the quality of a program or the expertise of a teacher will also influence the end result.

Because these variables will have such a direct impact on how long does it take to learn Spanish, it is just not feasible to provide a simple answer to this question. In reality, I have personally met individuals who after six months, were able 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 barely get by.

Rather than attempting to offer a generic response to this question, I would prefer to discuss what I feel to be the fastest way of learning Spanish. The most vital step of all, is for a person to seize every possible opportunity with regards to interacting in the language they wish to learn, regardless of what language that may be.

While you certainly do get those who are firm followers of the lecture room approach, I personally feel it takes too long unless it is done in association with another method. In my experience, a self study method of high quality is by far superior in that it allows a student to proceed at their own pace rather than being tied down to the average classroom pace. This is especially true regarding persons who are truly serious about learning Spanish.

In this example, I would suggest a student to select a credible program which includes a selection of audio lessons, multimedia lessons, and naturally, written Spanish. In addition, they should select a program which allows for lessons to be downloaded onto a mobile device so that they can listen on their iPod for example. Remember, if you’re serious about learning a language, then you should aim at being able 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 should be avoided or at least, you’ll need some additional material.

As you could have already heard, Rocket Spanish is an intensely well-liked program, and not without reason. Considering that it addresses all 4 of the area’s mentioned, it has gained a reputation for providing scholars with a top foundation for basic Spanish which in turn will ensure that you are able to communicate confidently in Spanish inside a comparatively short space of time. Similarly, Rosetta Stone is considered to be just as good, in that it also addresses the 4 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 that the Rosetta Stone program takes a little longer to work through, which of course means it’ll take you a little longer before you develop conversational Spanish but in general, it ranks right up there with Rocket Spanish. Also, Rosetta Stone is quite a bit costlier.

As you can see, there are too many variables involved for me or anyone else to be ready to give a single response with regards to “how long does it takes to learn Spanish. However, you’ve probably also gathered by this time that there are a few things you can do in order to hurry up the process. Actually, many individuals go as far as using both the programs discussed in conjunction with each other in order to develop conversational talents as quickly 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 are at an intermediate-to-advanced level, you might want to consider subscribing to Puerta del Sol Audio magazine which is a Spanish language skills Magazine. Similarly, you’d be shocked at quite how much you can benefit from joining a Meetup group in your area that is focused on learning the Spanish language.