How fast did you learn Spanish?
I've been on this website for only three days now and I've been spending a lot of time on it. I feel I'm progressing quite well but I've just got to lesson 1.5 and it seems impossible.
I was wondering how long it took people to learn Spanish?
And if anyone has any extra tips to make it a bit easier to take in?
14 Answers
Hi izaakj!
it all depends on your ability, and how much information can your brain absorb, some people can be fluent in Spanish in less than 3 years, and others need about 10 years to be advanced.
l know many members on the forum who were able to finish all the lessons on the site in less than a month, but l would not recommend doing that if you are studying Spanish for the first time, because normally it takes time to know all those tenses and study them in the first time.
Don't push yourself too much, just take it slowly so you get to know more. 
I started from near zero 2 years and 9 months ago. I finished the lessons here in about a year, then went on to a variety of other resources. I usually spend at least 1 hour per day listening to and reciting from Learning Spanish Like Crazy or Pimsleur. Sometimes if I am going to be in my car a lot that time increases to 2 hours or more.
I spend some time with Spanish every single day, be it reading something, listening to something, or practicing speaking it.
I can now just speak it to myself when I am working on something or whatever, and to me usage time counts as learning time.
I can carry on conversations with Spanish speakers who know little or no English at all, discussing what we want to discuss, understanding, and making myself understood.
Once you reach this point, Spanish has become a part of your life and there is no turning back. I can't imagine just dropping it now. (Actually I'd say I was at this point at the 2 year mark.)
So stick with it. It gets easier as you go. And it gets more fun when you realize that by learning Spanish you effectively double the size of your world, with cultures, books, and movies that you could have never appreciated before.
Learning Spanish is the most awesome thing I ever did.
39 years and counting. Don't feel bad. There is no "end". It just goes on and on forever.
Sorry, that's kind of morbid, but you must agree with me that it is true!
Everyone learns at a different rate (as you've been told), but nobody ever finishes learning, you know? I speak English fluently, but I still learn new words everyday. Like, I just learned what a lode was. Hadn't even heard of it before, but I looked it up today.
Learning Spanish is no easy task, but you can become fluent with hard work, determination, motivation...a maybe a few tears (just kidding 
). Reaching fluency will allow you to communicate efficiently...so you can learn more!!
Learning a language shouldn't become a 'thing' regarding time, because everyone's different. For some lucky people, they are able to move to Spanish-speaking country and become fluent in a year or so. However, some do not have that opportunity right away.
Rather, learning a language should become a lifestyle. Don't just say, "OK, in two years, I'll be fluent in Spanish." That will often just lead to disappointment.
Incorporate Spanish into your everyday life (even if it's difficult, do whatever you possibly can). I like to listen to Spanish songs on my iPod. I really like the song Arde el Cielo at the moment. I don't understand every word (I'm not even close to that point, unfortunately), but I'm learning the accent and practicing my listening skills (no matter how poor they may be, jeje).
We all reach a "speed bump" in our learning path. Speed bumps are different from stop signs. Don't ever stop when something gets difficult. A big part of learning a language is motivating yourself.
I must laugh just a little, 4 years of hoping it would come by osmosis,and 8 months of study, at least now I can make simple phrases without getting scolded.
It is a quest of a lifetime to really, really, learn a language, I only wish I had started sooner.
The path is open, the entry to it is here, so begin your journey traveller, don't allow frustration to get in your way, it will come at the pace you can absorb.
Jejeje, what a loaded question. First let me welcome you to the forum. I've been addicted to it for over 2 years now. Unfortunately for me I am a very slow learner so I'm still in the beginning stages but depending on your capabilities this is the place to learn and hopefully do it in short time. Keep at it, well you really don't have much choice, it kind of sucks you right in.
I started learning Spanish at about 5 years old. My brother would teach Spanish words to me at the dinner table, such as cheese, bread, chicken, beef, milk, etc.
Then when I began learning Spanish in 9th grade, it came very easy to me. Perfect scores on the tests with very little study. I was only able to take three years of Spanish in High School, and then I studied it off and on throughout my life.
When I bought a netbook I began looking for online classes. Right now I am studying with SpanishDict and a PBS program by the name of Destinos.
I'm 40 years old now, so I have been learning Spanish for 35 years.
Theoretically 40 years as I began having Spanish lessons with a native speaker, a waiter from Barcelona when I was 10 years old . I began learning basic French at around the same age, but without the advantage of a native teacher! However, because I had many gaps in my Spanish education it probably amounted to no more than 8-10 years. I took two courses in classes with other people: one basic GCSE level (non-native teacher) and another intermediate level (with native teacher) and received tuition from various native teachers from Spain and South America.
I personally believe that the number of years you take to master a skill is almost irrelevant/immaterial since each person needs the freedom to learn at their own pace and the acquisition of a second or third language is a vastly complex skill. We learn our native language as a young child without really thinking much about the process (ie it is acquired naturally and unconsciously in the family and then later, at school) but many people do not learn a second language until adulthood when the process becomes more conscious ...unless they learn by living in the country among native speakers without formal teaching. I think that this is how my father learnt Spanish while working out in Peru where I was born.I owe a great deal to my father for encouraging me to learn Spanish and teaching me some basic Spanish before the age of 10. Having had the opportunity to hear Spanish spoken around me in the first 18 months of my life may well have given me some added advantage, too
I hope this helps 
I started studying Spanish 5 years ago... and now I'm still learning....
Yo aún estoy aprendiendo español. A veces es difícil para mi porque yo estudio dos idiomas (Español y Italiano) en la misma vez. Me gustan los dos idiomas y yo siento que soy un hombre más inteligente en el mundo aunque yo no soy cien percente fluente in estas idiomas. Es graciosa que estudio Español y Italiano para cuatro meses. Yo te puedo dar un consejo en como ser fluente en español: Estudia y practica todas las días.
I'm heading down to Guatemala soon. If you learn/study Spanish in a Spanish speaking country, you'll learn it much faster.
maybe a few tears (just kidding)
I will never forget the day I was sitting in church listening to the pastor preaching his message (I attend a Hispanic church), when it dawned on me...... hey, I'm understanding the message. It was such a profound moment I literally sat there and wept (not kidding).
Every month I get twice as close to fluency as the previous month. It's been about 20 months, and I don't think I'm there yet.
A bit like Zeno's Paradox.
There is no other way to learn a language but word by word, phrase by phrase and grammar rule by grammar rule.
The beginning of every long journey starts with one step. Jump in every day, commit to learn the word of the day, go through the lessons and the flash cards when time permits, and set up a conversational language exchange with a native speaker once a week. In one year you will be surprised by how much you will understand and how much you can express.
And, on bad days, do what we all do...go to Encouragement Island.
