How to Learn Conversational Spanish (How to Learn Spanish Quickly)

Hi everyone! So I’ve been learning Spanish for around two months now, and I have been using online apps, books, podcasts, and even tutoring to really get me to the next level. I must say that I’m still quite weak at Spanish and can barely even talk. However, I believe through my journey you can learn a bit more about how you could approach learning Spanish or any other language.

After having met my Spanish-speaking friend and getting immersed in Spanish music, I randomly thought one day that it would be an amazing skill to have. The reasons why I’m learning Spanish is threefold: 1. I love Spanish music and dance 2. I would love to travel to more Spanish speaking countries and be able to converse with people, and 3. I thought it would be a fun way to watch my progress on something I’d be practicing consistently.

I realize that language really shapes the way you think about things. The way sentences are constructed changes the way you describe things, which in turn really changes your perception of different scenarios. I’ve always been interested in Spanish culture – how passionate it is and how family-oriented it is. And I believe that the more I understand the language, the more I’ll immerse myself in the culture and possibly understand a new perspective on life! I am excited about the idea of learning Spanish and being able to access people from all 20 Spanish speaking countries. I imagine the amount I can learn by removing language barriers. I’m not there yet, but I’m excited to become a conversational Spanish speaker.

In this post I want to discuss how I began the journey of learning Spanish, and how to learn conversational Spanish quickly.

How to Learn Conversational Spanish (How to Learn Spanish Quickly)

I Started with Duolingo (Mobile App)

Duolingo is the first place I started exposing myself to Spanish studies. I had tried Babbel as well, but I decided Duolingo was a better fit for me. I still continue using Duolingo every single day, and I’m trying to stick with this habit even if I’m tired or have other things to do. The thing is if you spend a few minutes out of your day to consistently expose yourself to anything you want to do, you can learn at a much faster rate. It’s easy to forget everything you’ve learned if you don’t stay consistent with things. I must say that Duolingo is the most fun and easy way I’ve found so far to learn new Spanish vocabulary. Honestly, it’s not the best place for me to learn grammar, which is why I’ve also picked up a few books for study and have a tutor (more on that below).

Italki (Online Tutoring)

I visited this website showing how to become fluent in languages within 3 months, and I came across this blog post that talks about the site Italki. Italki is a place where you can hire tutors to teach you languages, and in the blog post the author talks about hiring tutors for $6 an hour – which to me was crazy! But in other countries this is a lot of money. I was able to hire a community tutor for that rate, and upon talking with him I found he was very grateful that he could get this type of work for the amount of pay he’s getting. The site has two types of tutors: Professional Tutors and Community Tutors. Professional Tutors are responsible for creating lesson plans, while Community Tutors are mainly there for you to practice with and converse with. I only really realized that until later, and in retrospect a professional tutor may have been more useful. However the community tutor forces me to talk in Spanish which is great for exposing myself to conversational Spanish. To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s really progressed me a lot or if I need to actually get my Spanish to a higher level before engaging with him. However, I know that the more Spanish I expose myself to, the better. And this tutor is actually a reminder that I need to be practicing, and he puts pressure on me to do so. I get lessons weekly, and it only costs about $20-24 a month for 4 1-hour lessons. I would highly recommend using Italki.

Podcasts

I found two Spanish podcasts that really help, and I still listen to one of them to this day. I listen to Coffee Break Spanish which teaches conversational Spanish and vocabulary. And I also listened to Accelerated Spanish, which is not only a podcast but also a book.  I decided to buy the Accelerated Spanish book after I listened to the podcast, as I’m generally not very good at following audio as much as reading. I think it’s because I multitask a lot so I get bored listening to straight audio, and if I try to do something while listening, I get distracted. I’ll talk a little bit more about this book in the below section. If I were you, I would listen to Coffee Break Spanish and get the Accelerated Spanish book.

Books

So I purchased 2 books. One is the Accelerated Spanish book based on the podcast I had just mentioned, and number two is Easy Spanish Step-by-Step – Master High-Frequency Grammar for Spanish Proficiency Fast. I have not gone through the second book yet but the first book has been pretty helpful. Accelerated Spanish is great because it uses for memory techniques to remember the stuff that you’re learning with Spanish. I took a Psychology of Memory class and can tell that the book is definitely using cues to trigger your memory. It attaches a strange story and characters to each word you’re learning so that it’s hard not to retain the information. It also makes sure you’re learning the necessary words in the beginning you can understand 80% of the Spanish language quickly. It claims that you can learn Spanish within 1 month, which is insane. But when reading the book, I can see why that’s possible. If you’re able to go through it, you’ll probably be able to understand the sometimes confusing Spanish grammar, and actually memorize what you’re learning.

The Easy Spanish Step-by-Step book is more of a textbook and I realize I need that because I am better at studying straight material as if I were in school, in order to learn as much grammar and vocabulary ASAP.

Conclusion

For next steps I’m going to be finishing up Accelerated Spanish as well as the Easy Spanish Step-by-Step book. I will also be listening to Coffee Break Spanish from time to time during my commutes when there’s traffic. I know that I am NOT an audio learner, as even though I’m a singer, I frequently tune out what people are saying at times. I also plan on using Duolingo daily, and I’m going to keep on doing my weekly Spanish lessons with my tutor from Colombia. In this way, I’ll get exposure to many different ways of learning. My tutor actually talked about how it is optimal to learn through all 3 avenues of listening, reading, and speaking. Exposing myself to books, podcasts, apps, and tutors really gives me a lot of different ways to immerse myself in Spanish. And hopefully in the future, I’ll have Spanish-speaking friends that I can converse with, but currently I’m using the tutor for this purpose.

I have no idea how long it will take to become fluent, but I’ve decided not to put a hard goal on this. I’m just enjoying the process of learning! The problem with school environments when younger, is you’re trying to attain good grades and you’re not really enjoying the process of learning a new language. You’re just trying to get to the goal. There are of course advantages and disadvantages, but I think my self studies are a great way for me to enjoy learning and being present.

In summary, here are the resources I’ve mentioned in the article:

• Duolingo
• Babbel
• Italki
• Accelerated Spanish – Podcast and Book
• Coffee Break Spanish
• Easy Spanish Step-By-Step

My main recommendations are Duolingo, Italki, and the Accelerated Spanish book. It is important to first understand basic grammar as well as vocabulary words that you would actually use in conversational Spanish (versus remembering random Spanish words that you would rarely use).

Are you learning Spanish right now? What are your tips and tricks? Let us know in the comments below!