How good will my spanish be when I finish the Learn Spanish lessons?

Question

When I get to the end of Learn Spanish (i.e. lesson 4.15) how good will my Spanish be, assuming I've done the course diligently and remembered it all? Will I be able to watch Spanish TV, read a Spanish book, hold a reasonable conversation with a Spanish person? I realise I won't be fluent or perfect, but just to give me some encouragement!

Answer 1

Hello StevieS:

I can give you some advice from a person who has been studying Spanish for 11 months.

Learning Spanish takes time. If you try to rush it, you will engender frustration.

I initially set a goal for myself to speak Spanish fluently in 1 year. I have learned a lot, and I am now able to read and write Spanish with some fluency, however, to listen to a Spanish person talk, I usually only get parts and pieces of the conversation.

I think the best approach one should take when undergoing the somewhat arduous process of learning Spanish, is to be very patient, and “don’t get mad at yourself for mistakes”. Mistakes are how we learn.

Also, take the approach that learning Spanish is a life-long process that is ‘FUN’, and enjoy the learning.

In India they have a saying: “Focus on the task at hand, and the benefits will follow.”

In other words, stay focused on learning, and don’t be thinking about the “benefit”. The benefit will come in time. If you try to “rush” it, you will become frustrated, and that frustration could become antagonistic to your goal.

Answer 2

To give you some encouragement, I'll say that the lessons are a good start.

However, at first you won't pick up much when watching Spanish TV or be able to read a book without further expanding your vocabulary. You will need a quite a bit of vocabulary and a good dictionary for those activities.

Also, you won't be able to carry on a conversation until you've had some practice. I learned to speak by reading the paper aloud and talking aloud to my dog. Then I moved on to human beings.

Sometimes on Saturdays we have a Beginners' chat group on Skype. You might want to start there.

¡Buena suerte, amigo!

Marianne, I'm curious. Does the dog answer in English or Spanish? - fontanero, Jul 25, 2010

Answer 3

Thanks. I'm hoping to finish the course by Christmas. How do I access the Skype beginners class?

Vocabulary I think I can handle. If necessary I'll just learn 10 words a day. I think the way ultimately to get better is to experience a language in action; either reading, hearing or speaking. It's just getting over that initial hurdle of comprehension!

Answer 4

Hola Stevie,

Bienvenido al foro!!!!

For accessing the skype, you need to send your nickname to Heidita.

There is a thread for skype users (beginners). Also you can find the guidelines here