Are you wondering “how to learn Spanish“? One of the first steps for those who want to learn Spanish for beginners is to master the alphabet. To do this, you will need to focus on the pronunciation of sounds. Some Spanish alphabet letters mean standard familiar sounds (like in English), and some are entirely different. For example, the letter “J” in Spanish means the sound of the English letter “H.” And the Spanish letter “H” has no sound at all (i.e., it is not read or pronounced). Thus, the word ¨HIJA¨ in Spanish is IHA, meaning “daughter.” And the two letters LL mean the sound of English Y (and short). Thus the word “ELLA” is pronounced as EYA, meaning “she.” Therefore, even if you are already familiar with the Latin alphabet, you still have to start with the peculiarities of the pronunciation of letters in Spanish.
Who Can Easily Learn Spanish?
Learning Spanish from scratch is relatively easy for those who:
They have already mastered French, Italian, and Portuguese. Because languages of the same family (in this case, Latin languages) often have similar words – they have the exact origin (the same root). Therefore, if you speak one of these three languages, learning Spanish will be easier and faster.
Since Spanish has a lot of borrowed words from English, and English has a lot of borrowed vocabulary from Latin languages. Thus, even though English and Spanish belong to different branches, they contain many similar words. For example, the word difficult in Spanish is defícil, and the term independence in Spanish is Independencia.
And also to those who speak English. English-speaking people learn Latin more easily than English speakers. It may be because verb conjugation and case endings in Spanish are similar to English grammar. Also, for example, in Spanish (as well as in English), there are reflexive verbs, such as “wake up,” “wash,” “come back,” etc. Spanish analog: “desperate,” “lavarse,” “volverse” In English, unlike Portuguese, there is no such concept, so it is more difficult for the British to master Spanish.
What is the Fastest Way to Start Learning Spanish?
There is no single universal and unambiguous answer to this question when it comes to learning a new language. With so many options for a language journey, it’s no surprise that choosing a learning style or method can be a complex process! You will find that only you can answer the question “how to learn Spanish fast.” In this article, we will try to help you answer this question yourself. It would help if you had attention, honesty, and objectivity. Learning a foreign language effectively depends on your financial capabilities, the time you have, the deadline for a particular result, your interests, and your motivation for learning the language. Knowing yourself and setting yourself a realistic goal is key to success.
Therefore, to begin with, honestly decide on the answer to the question: do you want to learn Spanish?
Ways to learn the language and how best to learn Spanish for beginners:
- The language school (Spanish courses in a group) is the most standard method, which today is losing ground in terms of cost and time efficiency.
- Lessons with a tutor (How to choose an excellent foreign language tutor), private lessons online or offline. Online classes are gaining popularity, and more and more people are choosing to learn a foreign language online (via Skype, through various webinar platforms such as Zoom, Clickmeeting or WhatsApp, Google Meeting, etc.)
- Language partners (usually online, WhatsApp, or messaging) and various language speaking clubs and cafe meetings.
Language Schools and Group Spanish Courses in Your City
Learning Spanish in a traditional classroom is a relatively outdated approach to language learning. Learning a language in group courses is one of the most inefficient methods compared to what new technologies offer today. The cost of such training is often high (although the price looks deceptively low), and in return, you get questionable results since you are very limited in your language practice of the language.
In group lessons, the teacher’s attention is distributed to all students, and the program goes on as usual (regardless of how well you understood the material). Having other students in the class to socialize and practice is a valuable resource. Still, it is worth noting that students are embarrassed to speak the language they are learning and either remain silent, express themselves stiffly and rigidly, or even switch to their native language. It’s crucial to keep in mind that you unconsciously copy their mistakes by listening to other students and risk acquiring a “vague” accent and messy grammar.
