Did you have the difficult choice of a new language to learn?
Want to see for yourself if you can do it?
Find out here how hard to learn Spanish!
About Spanish
All discovery goes hand in hand with accurate research and data analysis. To find out if Spanish is your language, we must delve into everything we know about Spanish. That data will allow you to define your choice and begin the adventure of learning a new language.
Many data are handled among people who have some level of knowledge or fluency. Most of them can be subjective because each experience is unique. However, we will take the ones that are common to most and see where this beautiful language ranks.
- Spanish has more than 570 million speakers worldwide.
- It has more than 480 million native speakers.
- The official language of 21 countries.
- It has more than 75% of words coming from Latin.
- More than 8% of words are of Arabic origin.
- Greek influences it.
- French, Italian, and Sardinian also influence it.
- The second fastest language with almost 7.82 syllables per second.
- The third most used language in web development and social networking.
Why it´s hard to learn Spanish
As Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, no one would think that it´s difficult. However, Spanish language learners may feel differently. Let’s see what they think when asked why it is hard to learn Spanish.
Remember that every learning experience is unique, just as we humans are unique. We cannot base our beliefs entirely on the experiences of others. Just take their opinions for what they are.
- Pronounce the R.
- Grammatical rules.
- Grammatical structures.
- Memorizing vocabulary.
- Learning idiomatic expressions.
The best thing about learning Spanish
None that is gold glitters. This is one of my favorite phrases when it comes to valuing what at first glance others do not value. Spanish students do tell us what they consider the best thing about learning Spanish.
- The fourth most spoken language overall.
- You can talk to millions of people all over the world.
- Connect with people.
- Some phrases make more sense in Spanish.
- A more emotional language.
- It´s a romantic language.
- Some phrases sound better than in other languages.
- Understand Hispanic culture better.
- You get a broader view of Hispanic countries and their people.
- A new world of literature, music, TV, movies, and entertainment.
Top 5 tips to learn Spanish easier
Not everyone can learn a second language from scratch. Especially when it comes to Spanish, which is a bit more complex for English speakers.
I know you shouldn’t be afraid, as English and Spanish share common factors. Like the Latin alphabet which consists of 26 basic letters and numeric characters. No doubt, this represents a road previously traveled.
However, we want to share the top 5 tips to learn Spanish easier. So that if you have any difficulties, you can get around them and keep moving forward.
1. Forget the grammar
When you start learning Spanish, forget the grammar. Imagine you are like a baby who is just learning to say its first words.
They don’t worry about grammar or get discouraged when they get it wrong. They just keep practicing and learning.
Pronoun and verb conjugations can scare you. Mostly when you read them in a big Spanish book.
That’s why immersion learners have it easier since they just listen and repeat. Listening and pronouncing end up being more useful in the beginning than having a million books in your library.
You can gain these practices with TV programs, movies, series, soap operas, and even audiobooks in Spanish. And you don’t even have to pay for them because most of them are free. Want to try Spanish music?
2. Stay focused
The secret to any learning is to stay focused. Yes, I know it can be difficult for many because of the many distractions around us. But I also know that we can turn off all the outside noise.
You don’t have to memorize nearly 150,000 words of Spanish. Find a limit according to your memory capacity and learn them. You can choose the 500 most used or frequently used ones.
Native Spanish speakers know what those words are. Ask them to help you make a list of new and useful vocabulary.
3. Talk as much as you can
The same example I gave you about babies learning to talk applies here. Babies don’t read Spanish or English, they listen to their parents’ talk and just repeat. Talk as much as you can and you will see progress.
It may seem silly, but repeating sounds will help you speak Spanish well. Even if your first conversations sound terrible, don’t get discouraged. Practice makes perfect and even native speakers are not born learned.
4. Immersion
Immersion in the Spanish language doesn’t have to be by moving to a Spanish-speaking country. You have a wide range of useful resources at your fingertips to facilitate immersion.
Adopting Spanish entertainment is an excellent option. Just like Kobe Bryant who learned Spanish by watching Latin soap operas. In just 2 years he had already achieved fluency in the language.
Entertainment can be songs, telenovelas, books, movies, series, and theater. Anything you can have in Spanish will help with the immersive process.
5. Stay with Spanish
If you want to learn Spanish easily, stay with Spanish. Get right into what Spanish is all about and avoid switching to your native language. Keep thinking, acting, feeling, and living in Spanish.
Take it easy
The fact that there are differences between English and Spanish makes it a bit difficult to learn. But the difficulty lies in the knowledge you have of your native language. If you want to learn Spanish, take it easy.
You must remember that both languages are descended from the same language family. They may not be as similar as Spanish and Italian. But they are not as different as English and Mandarin Chinese.
You may have to unlearn some English concepts to learn some Hispanic ones. Only then will Spanish make sense. Start your journey and tell me how hard it is for you to learn Spanish!
