I Want to Learn Spanish, But Where Do I Start?

By Noah M. Benjamin

That's the question that plagued me for years. I sat on my butt and did very little to learn Spanish.

I decided to take a trip to Panama. It was going to be an extended vacation. While over there, I found out the secret to learning Spanish -- and I'm going to share it with you now!

Admittedly, I started with a VERY BASIC base of Spanish. I knew for the most part how sentences were formed, basic grammar, and about ten or fifteen commonly used words. That's it.

On the plane ride to Panama, I loaded my iPod with Spanish learning audio programs, and simply followed along. I got about five hours of Spanish lessons this way, and felt a little more comfortable coming in.

Then, when in Panama, here's where I learned the real secret to language learning. The best part about this secret? It's absolutely FREE.

I stayed at a hotel that had a young lady who was learning English. She had already learned that the absolutely best way to learn a language was to simply immerse yourself in it, something I didn't know yet.

So, in exchange for letting her practice some of her English on me, she would sit and talk with me for an hour a day in Spanish. That's it. I would try to form sentences, and along the way I'd ask her (in Spanish) to translate an English word for me.

After one week of doing this, I found myself very comfortable speaking. After two weeks, the people in the small town I was in thought I spoke Spanish as a second language because I was so comfortable.

After my two-month-long vacation (yeah, I like to relax!) I found I was near fluent. And it all came from building that initial base, and then simply speaking in Spanish as much as I could. I immersed myself in the language, and found myself near fluent in just two months!

If you tell yourself, "I want to learn Spanish," this is the absolutely best way to go about it. Build a base and find someone who is willing to speak with you for one hour a day! I guarantee there is someone close to you who knows Spanish and will help you out, or you can find a penpal online. Either way, get off your butt and stop wanting to learn Spanish, and just DO IT!

You've probably wasted valuable months trying to learn Spanish. Learn how to Teach Yourself Spanish in under two months using the most effective methods for learning Spanish at my Teach Yourself Spanish site.