How long have you been learning Spanish?
I am curious to find out how long members have been working on learning Spanish. There are many members who list themselves as beginners or intermediate speakers who are just amazing with their knowledge.
I took a couple of years of Spanish in high school 30+ years ago. (Never learned anything but present tense, which makes it very difficult to have a decent conversation with someone!) Two years ago, in anticipation of taking a trip to Guatemala, I started studying, first with Rosetta Stone (which I liked a lot) and then with this site. Since then, I have been trying to immerse myself as best I can via readings, Spanish TV/movies, radio, and spanishdict.com.
I still consider myself very much a beginner. I know a lot more than I did a year ago, and can read the language to some extent - maybe 50% comprehension of most of what I read. However unlike so many of the contributors to this site, I can't begin to answer questions that are much beyond "how do you say 'Good morning'". My ability to listen to and comprehend spoken Spanish is not much better than when I first started. I am pretty happy with my progress, despite the limitations I have noted here.
Can you share your "learning Spanish" history? How long have you been working on it and how well do you think you are progressing?
7 Answers
I have been learning spanish for 2 years now. Since I plan on retiring to Costa Rica in a few years, I have a sense of urgency and purpose that others may not. This is key in terms of the amount of time and effort I put into mastering this language. I am very pleased with my progress and feel that I will be close, if not fluent, in less than 2 more years of study. I use any and all things available to achieve my goal: Cds, books, private classes, the internet, watching Spanish language TV and movies, local spanish conversation groups, etc. The key is immersion. At home (I live alone) my TV and car radio are tuned to nothing but Spanish programming. My comprehension of spoken spanish is good to poor depending on the accent and speaker (Argentinans are really hard for me), but the important thing here is that I continue to see myself improve month by month. My thoughts are in Spanish as much as possible. If I don't know how to think it in spanish I take the time to learn how no matter if it is a verb tense that (at first) I did not know. After all, if you can't think it, you will never know how to say it. In learninig how to say it, it makes it easier to understand it (or something similar) while hearing it being said. You have to have the attitude that every thought, every topic you care to discuss, you must know how to think and say it in spanish. In learning how to say things Telenovelas on Telemundo (broadcast in both spanish and english closed captioning) are key. Certain expressions, idiomatic phrases, grammatical constructions are used over and over in spanish programing. All of these I use without a second thought. Remember repetition is your friend. If you don't use it you lose it. That is why repetition and immersion are your friends and must be maintained no matter what while learning new things. Having said all the above, I must also confess that I have a Colombian girlfriend who does not speak english. I speak to her often by webcam. Of course this has accelerated my learning even more. She has noted an amazing amount of improvement in my spanish in the 6 months that we have been communicating. This is way too long so I will end here. In another moment I would like to discuss my philosophy on learning verb conjugations if anyone is interested. Que tengas buen dia, Chao
Almost 3 months. Apparently my Spanish level is well below that of a 4 year old. Since I haven't gone head to head with a 2 year old yet, I don't really have an accurate gauge, but I am most definitely a beginner.
I've been learning since May this year, when we went to Spain (Madrid, then Benalmadena) for a family holiday. I've been several times before but this time I decided I was going to make a real effort to learn the language.
All my life I have wanted to be fluent in another language. I have tried for years with French; I know a lot but have never been able to speak it fluently. But I got interested in Spanish and decided I was going to make a real effort with it over the next few years.
I'm still only a beginner; I have been doing Marcus Santamaria's courses as well as working through the lessons here. His are CD based with the accent on learning to speak - just what I need - and I have put the journeys to and from work to good use. The SpanishDict lessons have been excellent for grammer and vocabulary.
I am also studying various books, websites, Spanish newspapers via the Internet and the LoMas TV site which introduced me to Julieta Venegas and Kany Garcia. I have become a real fan of their music; it is so musical and reminds me of English pop music in the 50s and 60s when I was growing up (that is meant to be complimentary!).
I need to expand my vocabulary a lot more and that is what I am working on currently, but I know I am going to have to find Spanish speakers to practice with soon if I am going to make real progress.
I have dabbled with Spanish for several years, but have become really focused in the past eighteen months. During that time, I have also had three separate trips to Latin American countries during which time, my Spanish knowledge increased considerably.
As far as my progression, it depends on what day you ask me. Some days I get so excited when I understand something I am reading or hearing. Other days, I realize how much more needs to be done.
It is funny when describing whether we are beginner's, intermediate, etc. When I am in a store or airport interpreting for those around me, who do not know Spanish, I feel like a genius. Ten minutes later when a taxi driver starts a long and very rapid conversation, my head returns to its normal size!! 
I am curious to find out how long members have been working on learning Spanish. There are many members who list themselves as beginners or intermediate speakers who are just amazing with their knowledge. I took a couple of years of Spanish in high school 30+ years ago. (Never learned anything but present tense, which makes it very difficult to have a decent conversation with someone!) Two years ago, in anticipation of taking a trip to Guatemala, I started studying, first with Rosetta Stone (which I liked a lot) and then with this site.
The problem in many cases can be "How does one measure such things?" Would you say that you have been studying Spanish for thirty-some years? For people whose study has been uninterrupted, "How many years?" may make sense but for those who have studied on-and-off or returned to a previously abandoned study, any answer may be misleading.
Even the use of "learning" can be subject to interpretation; ranging from "I'm living in (and taking courses [i.e. devoting most of my energies to learning the language]) a country where they speak my "target" language" to "Every chance I get, I watch movies (listen to songs, etc.) in my target language."
Yo aprender Español para dos años. El primero año, I mainly was trying out lots of different resources and trying to find a bueno uno. Cuando mí hermana y yo found this website, we mainly used it for the el diccionario, but then we found that if you are a member, you can do the lessons, and stuff and became members! We have only found this el foro lately and have been using it for about un la mesa.
I would love to go to a Spanish speaking country sometime, porque everyone who does seems to say that it helped their Español mucho. I am still no muy bien en speaking Spanish, but am getting better. 
Mabye you should look at my post about that I asked about half a month ago!
