How To Become Comfortable Speaking Spanish In Dos Years
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How To Become Comfortable Speaking Spanish In Dos Years

Raise your hand if you've taken at least Spanish I in high school. Now raise your hand if you actually remember more than four words. Let's begin.

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How To Become Comfortable Speaking Spanish In Dos Years

I'm not fluent in the Spanish language, but those who know me know I'm moderately obsessed, and can speak it more or less. Some of my friends say I'm fluent, and I'm not, but I can understand it fairly well and am pretty comfortable conversing. I really just learned Spanish in high school, although I had some introductory courses all throughout elementary school, but I learned the vast majority within those two years. Many of the people who ask me may have taken Spanish I, II, or even III in high school, but still struggle. My props go out to my awesome high school teachers who encouraged me (and those that have conversed with me in college have been beyond helpful as well) to use the language. I mean really use the language. I'll share some of the ideas they gave me to practice. Here are some practical, specific ways to practice that you can run with. Go crazy. It's fun, and you'll be surprised how much you can learn in just two years if you actually begin to use the language. Buena suerte.


1. Enroll in a basic course.

Your first step is going to be getting into those introductory classes. Spanish I, Introductory Spanish, Spanish 101, whatever it's called. Start with those basics of your pronouns, basic verbs and verb endings, adjective/noun agreement, sentence structure, question words, numbers, alphabet, etc. If you've taken a Spanish course before, you probably already have that foundation; you may just need to start becoming able to really use it. Proceed to the next steps. You're not going to be able to speak very much if you just go to class, just like most of your other classes.

2. Conjugate those verbs; include those pronouns. Turn them into questions.

Make yourself a journal where you turn those -ar verbs into six short sentences ending in -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -an. Do the same with the -ir and -er verbs, and check for irregular verbs. Do extra practice with the irregular ones. Speak it out loud as you write it, re-write it a couple more times. The more repetitions, the more mastery. This isn't the most fun part, but it's so important.

3. Start expanding your repertoire.

This will continue as you proceed in your courses, but start conjugating beyond the present tense. You've got the preterite, imperative, imperfect, conditional, and future. These aren't crazy words. Preterite is like "ran," imperative is "(you) run," imperfect is kind of like "used to run," conditional is like "would run," and future is like "will run." Learn more vocabulary, learn how to make adverbs, etc.

4. Talk with someone.

They don't have to be on the same level as you. They can be more advanced, they can be further behind. Just speak it. Learn to say what you think in Spanish. Associate what you mean with what you say. Listen to what they say. This is incredibly helpful as well - join a Spanish club. This gives you a formal opportunity to force each other to converse in the language. You'll have to think on your feet and you'll grow more comfortable over time.

5. Think about those cognates.

I'm not just talking about "sandwich" translating to "el sandwich." Think about the relationships between words. The word "enamorado?" It means "in love." It's like a combination of "en" and "amor" ("ado" being kind of like "the state of," making it an adjective.) It literally means the state of being in love, and it looks like the English word "enamored." Bet you never knew the Latin root of "enamored" before. I am all the time randomly discovering cognates that make my native language, as well as Spanish, make so much more sense.

6. Translate your favorite songs or sayings.

This is where it can start being fun. Write down the lyrics to your favorite song. Translate the words you know. Try to think of words that might fit for the ones you're not sure about, and download Google Translate (or use a Spanish dictionary) to discover the words for the ones you don't know. Sing the song in Spanish, look, it's like a whole other song. You could do a Spanish language cover. Become famous. Or not, I don't know how well you sing. You can also translate Bible verses or quotes, and try to mentally translate what someone says in your head.

7. Welcome to the world of musica latina.

You may only know some Shakira, the "Macarena", Enrique Iglesias' "Bailando," the Justin Bieber version of "Despacito," and Pitbull going "Dale" in his English songs. You are missing out. I love Latino music because of the Spanish, but I genuinely enjoy the feel of the music so much more. Look up the lyrics, and it becomes an actual song with meaning. Because it has the rhythm of the music, the words are a little slowed down, and you learn how certain things are phrased in the language. The options are very diverse, ranging from the regional Mexican like you may hear in Mexican restaurants, as well as Tropical, Pop, Urban, Reggaeton, and more. Some of my favorites that you should look up include (and there's some variety in there):
Romeo Santos
Shakira (she has a new album "El Dorado" - It's excelente.)
J. Balvin
Bryant Myers
Prince Royce
Nicky Jam
Marc Anthony
 Gente de Zona
Jesse y Joy
Calle 13
Gerardo Ortiz
CNCO

But yeah, look up the lyrics and translate them, and eventually start to see what you can translate on your own. Don't give up - you may only know one or two words at first. Just use what you know and build. You'll start recognizing more words.

8. Immerse yourself in listening through television and movies.

If you've got cable, check out Univision, Telemundo, MTV Tres, VMe, HBO Latino, or whatever stations you have. If you've got Hulu, go to hulu.com/latino. If you have Netflix, try watching "Club de Cuervos" or "Ingobernable." If those are a little too "edgy" for your taste, they have several other options as well. As far as movies, "Instructions Not Included" is pretty good, and there are several documentaries and independent films from various countries as well. (If you're at JSU, come to the Spanish Film Festival held in the fall - it's free!) Some shows also have SAP, or the secondary Spanish audio; check your cable or television settings. Start out with the English subtitles on for however long you need. Gradually try taking the training wheels off when you feel comfortable.

9. Read what you can!

If you are just starting out, you may have to start with what's in your textbook. Progressively move to some Spanish language children books, then smaller books, even blogs online or comments online. Bookstores usually have about a total of 5 or less Spanish books (but go check them out!), and places like iBooks or the Kindle store usually have a much larger selection. The online stores often have free options for several children's books, classics, and samples of books. If you are in a larger city, grab a Spanish-language newspaper, and take pictures of the Spanish signs you see. If you don't know some of the words, look them up. Also, turn on the Spanish subtitles for your English language TV and movies. Try muting the sound to really focus on reading.

10. Use your Spanish in public.

This can be daunting - sometimes it is even for me, just because it is not something I do incredibly often. However, go to your local Hispanic grocery store or Mexican restaurant, for example. Now obviously, if your waitress is your friend down the road that you know doesn't speak a word of Spanish besides "burrito," this isn't what I'm talking about. However, if you notice that your waiter/waitress is speaking Spanish with other employees or customers (I hope they don't hate me for advising you try out your Spanish on them), but try ordering in Spanish, using your "por favor" and "gracias."

11. Set your phone to Spanish.

They say if you put a baby in water it'll start swimming. Similar situation here. (Although I would recommend you do this maybe a few months in…) However, Siri can serve as a delightful Spanish speaking companion, and you'll become intimately familiar with the meaning of "cerrar," "comprar," and "apagar." This is really cool though because several of your apps will change names to what they mean in Spanish. You'll be able to recognize it because of the logo, but you'll learn new words. You'll start getting Spanish advertisements, your friends and family will start getting very confused, but your vocabulary will slowly but surely continue to expand.

12. Spend some time.

Some of you may be thinking, "Two years sounds like a long time. I was thinking more along the lines of 'How to speak Spanish in two weeks.'" I'm a very realistic person. I can't even really guarantee if it will take you one year or five. You may be able to speak enough to get you to the bathroom and back in a Spanish-speaking country in two weeks, but for the amount of time it takes to go through just two Spanish classes, you can learn a lot if you get creative and dedicate some time. My high school teachers actually had us keep a log of our hours. Seriously - spend a couple hours or more each day immersing yourself in the language. Play Spanish music as you do assignments and play Spanish TV as you get ready for bed and as you sleep. Conjugate verbs between classes and commit to getting through those Spanish chapter books. You can still have a life and learn a foreign language - just make that language a part of your life. Two years can open you up to a whole new world for the rest of your life.
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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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