Attention All Users!
Will I be able to finish in less than 2 months?
1 Answer
Hi, El chico salvaje
For a start, why are you in such a hurry to finish...and finish what...learning Spanish (?) or learning English? If you mean finishing watching Paralees videos within 2 months then yes, that's possible! it will depend on your previous experience of learning Spanish, your existing level of competence and above all, time!
Everyone is different, but learning a second language is not a simple task, but is usually a vastly complex and time consuming one! How fast you progress will depend on how much time you are willing and able to dedicate to the task of learning, as well as other factors that I will mention later on..
I believe that extremely gifted linguists can learn languages in something between 6 months and 1 year, when learning through the 'immersion method' of living in the country which speaks the target language you are wanting to learn and therfore being constantly exposed to hearing native speakers speak your desired language - whether Spanish or English - and interacting daily with the natives. However, because most of us are not usually gifted to that extent it would greatly help us to be much more realistic when considering how long it will take us to learn a second/foreign language!
Various factors will affect a person's ability to learn a foreign language:
1 Exposure to the language: Living in the country where your desired language is spoken is by far the best (most effective) way to learn a language and living amoung the natives and taking every opportunity to practise speaking and using it on a daily basis will ensure the best results. This can be combined with enrolling on a Spanish/English course to learn from qualified, native teachers at a local language school. Staying with a friendly and helpful native family while learning will vastly increase your rate of progress!
2.The amount of time you are able and willing to dedicate to the task: The more time you give, the greater your chances of faster progress!
3.Your experience of learning foreign (other) languages: People who have already learnt a second language often report that learning a third one becomes easier. This can certainly be true if the next language is in the same family group, Romance languages: Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian or Scandinavian: Swedish, Danish, Finnish, and Norwegian (I am not sure if this group includes the Icelandic language)
4 Natural aptitude/giftedness for languages: Some people are born with a natural capacity (gift) to pick up languages relatively easily and quickly compared to the general population. This is innate, and although you can develop this inborn gift, with help, no language teacher can possibly give it to you...you've either got it or you haven't! The good news is that you can still learn another language/other languages even without such a gift... it will just take more hard work and definitely more time ...so please be patient with yourself!
5.Help, support and encouragement received: If you can recieve help from a native speaker/native speakers who speak Spanish and offer to help them in return with their English, you will almost certainly gain in confidence and increase your competence at the same time.Forums and teaching sites like this one and others are immeasurably beneficial! If you can afford Spanish lessons, which can be cheaper online, then you will also make faster progress!
I think that I have included the main factors above, but this is not an exhaustive list! I'm sure native speakers and others could think of some factors I have unintentionally overlooked!
Fluency is much more about accuracy and developing a flowing style of speaking than speed! Perhaps an analogy related to car driving might help. When a person starts learning to drive they often drive in fits and starts, jumping foward in jerky movements as if they were using Kangaroo petrol, but with a great deal of practise they usually develop the co-ordination between their hands and feet so that gear changes and moving between the gears especally moving off in first gear, become much smootherI It is the same when you are learning to speak a foreign language: most people speak the words they can say easily quite quickly, only to stumble on an idiom or verb a few seconds later! Speaking and driving more slowly really do help!
So, to answer your question, if you are asking/meaning, can I become fully fluent in Spanish within 2 months... no, sorry ...it's unlikely you will be able to learn Spanish in two months unless you are extremely gifted and even then it will probably be a big struggle, if not impossible, to achieve fluency in such a short time! Most people would be able to learn basic words and phrases and some verbs, but fluency and accuracy? No!
Instead, I would encourage you to enjoy the journey (process of learning) and not be in a hurry to reach your destination (desired level of fluency)1
I hope this helps 
