5 Easy Ways to Learn Spanish Quickly

By Peter Christian

Patience is a virtue you need when leaning languages and although every student wants to learn Spanish quickly, it will take an investment of time to become fluent. But there are some easy ways to help you learn Spanish quickly and in this article, I'm going to share 5 of my favorites to help you speed up the learning process.

One of the hardest skills to master when learning Spanish is understanding clearly when you listen to Spanish. Native Spanish speakers speak very fast indeed and listening to them and understanding Spanish speakers was a real problem for me as it is for many students. A great idea to tune-in your ear is to listen to Spanish/Latin American music while you have the lyrics of the song in front of you. The internet is perfect for this. Search for songs by artists like Santana, Luz, Julieta Vengas, Eros Ramazotti or just search for "Latin American music" and see what you get! Hint: Use You Tube.

Watch news bulletins in Spanish. If you can access Spanish stations then fine but if not, pop over to YouTube and type in: "News in Spanish" or "noticias". There are lots and lots of news bulletins in Spanish there but how about this for a canny tip: type in "noticias en libertad", it will return a lot of results and many of these will have subtitles in Spanish, which I find makes it much easier to listen and understand. You could also type in "Mexican weather", or "Spanish weather forecast" as these will also help you to learn Spanish quickly.

Another great way to learn Spanish quickly is to read children's comics and teen magazines. The Spanish in these publications isn't as advanced as it is in newspapers but they will give you a good feel for how the Spanish language is constructed. Your humble author particularly enjoys the Marvel Spiderman comic. Another good resource I use is the Sunday supplement in La Vanguardia, again the Spanish is much easier to read and understand as well as providing some interesting information about Hispanic lifestyles.

I got this tip from an Argentinian friend of mine who learned to speak English - and he speaks it fluently - by using this tip and working in bars where English was mainly spoken. He would watch films in English with Spanish subtitles, eventually without the subtitles. You may be able to rent such films from your local DVD rental store but if not, nip over to Amazon and search their "World Cinema" category in the DVD section. Many of these films are at bargain prices and will have been reviewed. Just choose the ones that appeal to you!

This is my favorite tip: You can buy books that have dual-language versions of stories. This is now a serious game for me as I try to read and understand as much Spanish as I can, forcing myself not to read the English version. I'll set a "no English for 2 pages" rule and I concentrate hard on understanding the Spanish, even if I have to go over and over and over it! This is great for developing your understanding of the Spanish language and you'll find plenty of these dual-language books at your local bookstore or on Amazon.

You can use all of the above tips to help you learn Spanish quickly by putting them to the test. The more of the tips you use the more you'll learn to speak Spanish quickly. Give them a try and watch your Spanish improve in double quick time!

If you're looking to learn Spanish quickly then pop over to the Streetwise Spanish website. You'll discover how to add vibrancy, punch and flair to your spoken Spanish by grabbing your free Streetwise Spanish tips!