10 Top Tips to Learn Spanish and Enhance Your Life in Spain

I have met very few English speakers in Spain who speak Spanish - and yet almost all have expressed regret at not being able to do so. In fact, not to learn Spanish, at least to a basic level, strikes me as self-defeating. I know that it is largely unnecessary (if you live here permanently within some coastal areas) but, unarguably, being able to speak Spanish enhances life in Spain.

It is not just that speaking Spanish makes day to day life in Spain easier. That is obvious and clearly beneficial. The really important point is that speaking Spanish allows you to to become an integral part of your local community. This is essential if you are to maximise your life in Spain and not lead an artificial and, often in the long term, unsatisfactory lifestyle.

Certainly, few people who know Spain well would deny that Spanish culture on every level is worth experiencing. This applies as much to 'high culture' as it does to the far more important (for me, at least) joy of integrating with the Spanish themselves. This is almost impossible to achieve if you never manage to learn Spanish more than is necessary to order a few sangrias and a coffee.

Of course, few Britons are natural linguists and many see learning a foreign language as a mysterious skill best left to foreigners! To some extent, before moving to Spain, I was inclined to this philosophy. However, although very far from fluent, I have managed to learn Spanish sufficiently to be able to work in it - and to revel in the joy of having many Spanish friends (hardly any of whom speak English).

So, you may well ask, do I have any tips for the (extremely!) reluctant linguist? In fact, I do - and I believe that if you follow them you will find learning Spanish, to a conversational level, easier than you thought possible. True fluency, of course, is another matter altogether...

Some tips:

1. Recognise that you do not need to be 'fluent' in a language to be conversational in it and to be able to socialise perfectly well - so do not be overwhelmed by the awesome(!) prospect of learning a foreign language to perfection. That is a skill few achieve and it is not relevant to most of us, who just want to 'get by' competently on a day to day basis.

2. Equally, do not think that you are too old to learn Spanish and do not be too over-impressed by the speed of children picking it up. They often receive 40 hours Spanish 'practice' a week (at school) compared to the tiny amount of time available to the average, busy adult. So, learning a new language is always going to be a slower process for an adult - and your expectations should match this fact.

3. Unfortunately, you will not learn Spanish through 'osmosis' i.e. merely because you live in Spain - you need to put in disciplined effort!

4. Take Spanish classes and make sure that you sustain these over a long period of time. Too many people take Spanish classes for a couple of months - and then lose interest because they have not achieved immediate usability or fluency!

5. Make sure that you have a minimum of two Spanish classes a week. Any less and you are likely to forget the benefits of the previous week's lesson and feel (probably correctly!) that you are making no definable progress.

6. Make sure that you have a good teacher and a very small class size. Four (roughly equally matched) people tends to be perfect, as it blends personal attention from a teacher with the fun of company and some beneficial competitiveness. If things are not working out between you and either your teacher or your fellow students then change the class quickly - and well before your enthusiasm is affected.

7. Learn Spanish daily. A good and rewarding way of doing this is by learning ten new (relevant to your daily life) words daily. Very quickly you will find your vocabulary expanding exponentially (and painlessly!).

8. Do not get mesmerised by tenses (fourteen!). By far the most important tense is the present tense, followed by the past, the future and the present perfect. If you can learn these four - then you will get by in most circumstances...

9. Use your Spanish all the time. Do not wait to participate in conversations until you feel totally confident or 'fluent'. The Spanish are naturally tolerant and just the fact that your are learning Spanish and trying to speak Spanish - will invariably be enough for them to be helpful and understanding.

10. Concentrate upon usable conversational Spanish that is relevant to your day to day life. It is speaking Spanish (for real) that will provide you with the greatest immediate reward! Writing and reading Spanish can come later...

It is also worth knowing that, thankfully, there are many words that are almost the same in Spanish - as in English. This makes learning Spanish much more accessible than other European languages - and allows you, often, to chose an 'almost-English' word that is easier to remember than something completely unfamiliar. Happy days!

Finally, enjoy the process! Learning something new can be great fun and the joy of learning Spanish can be considerable. If it is the first time you have tried to learn a foreign language then you will be overjoyed with delight as you find yourself communicating (surprisingly quickly) with the Spanish in their own language. It is a great feeling, enormous fun, will hugely improve your life in Spain - and be a challenge well worth undertaking. Of course, you will also be hugely popular with your non-Spanish speaking friends as a consequence!

13-01-2010

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