How much time does it take to be able to understand spanish ?

Question

i mean how much time do you need to learn spanish and be able to use it

Answer 1

Better question . . . how much time you're willing to put into Spanish? Or how much time you're able to invest in Spanish? You can do so many things to make sure you learn Spanish in 5-6 months or quite possibly 2-3 months. You already have internet access so you have more than enough resources to listen, speak, read and even write in Spanish.

Another important question/issue you need to address is your language goals. How do you define fluency? Do you necessarily want to read literature in Spanish or simply be able to strike up a simple conversation in Spanish? Do you need to work as an interpreter in a particular industry? Do you want to read Harry Potter in Spanish? (Note, I know some people who speaks Spanish but can't read in Spanish.)

You're not helping yourself if you're not:

• listening to music en español

• watching movies or television en español

• reading easy books en español

• starting right now

Answer 2

Estimates can vary. Some people sit in a class for 7 years and can't order a pizza, while others study for 2 years and come out on top. What matters is exposure.

I went into Spanish after applying the techniques I learned while trying to learn Japanese. The sites that I went to all subscribed to the "Anti-moon" doctrine of thought that, to become fluent in a language, you need to have been exposed to a wide variety of sentences and be actively listening and talking. If each sentence teaches you 1 new word, then 10,000 sentences is the benchmark you want to hit.

P.S. 3,000 sentences into Spanish and I can tell you it's working for me. If you want some references about this method, try here, here, or even here.

Curious, where do you get your sentences from? - VeeDraws, Mar 26, 2013

Also, if you find a word you like, this site's dictionary gives you a ton of example sentences using the word. For example, look up "andar" - HackerKing, Mar 27, 2013

I used to get them from a textbook (just the example sentences) when I started out. Now, I get them from light novels I read and videos I watch. - HackerKing, Mar 27, 2013

Answer 3

It really depends on how much time you're willing to put into it. I've been seriously studying Spanish for about 6 months now and each day I understand a lot more. When I listen to people speak Spanish, I don't understand everything, but I can pretty much get what they're trying to say. As I increase my vocabulary, I will be able to understand more.

Answer 4

I look at learning a language similarly to learning music. For example, to learn a musical instrument you need to play, read, write, and listen to the music over and over. Practice, practice, and practice for months and years to improve. To learn a language, speak (play), read, write, and listen and repeat over and over for months and years. An instructor I had said you can develop fluency in roughly 4 years.

Answer 5

This reminds me of all the claims people make to have learned a programming language like Java in six months. Bull crap. If you call that knowing then try sitting in a cubicle with a real software engineer and see if you can understand what he's doing. Good luck. Same with Spanish. How is anybody even remotely NORMAL going to learn it in six months?

OK, if all you did 12 hours a day was to be immersed in Spanish then I suppose you could come out of it conversant. But fluent? Come on, can we get serious?

If you had no responsibilities, and are highly motivated, you can learning programming in 6 months. Surely you won't be as good as a 'real' programmer but eventually you'll gain experience. - VeeDraws, Mar 26, 2013

Language goals, depends on the individual. You could attain the level of a high school student and be fluent and maybe even articulate. You don't have to be perfect. - VeeDraws, Mar 26, 2013

Answer 6

Thanks for everybody who answered, you were really helpful I'm taking it seriously but i was just asking for assessment, i mean to make myself on track

Answer 7

I find that doing all the lessons in SD and being active in this forum really helps