Ask Lemmy

Immersion. Not like half-ass, but pure immersion.

Cross over to Mexico (or Spain if you're European).

Spit on a soldier.

Your stuff, gone.

Your jailmate wants to kill you.

Youre gonna learn Spanish real fast, hombre.

Ooooh okay

So first, set your expectations. Learning a language takes a lot of time. A LOT. How long overall really depends on how much time per day you do it. But rest assured, if you do stick with it you are going to learn it. If you dedicated every waking hour, you could get to a high level in maybe half a year. But you'd have no life and would probably burn out. A more reasonable pace is 1.5-2 years. That sounds like a lot, but remember you don't have to be fully fluent for it to be useful and to make connections in the language. Even after a couple months, you'll be able to do a lot. And besides, two years is going to pass by anyway - the only question is do you want to be bilingual by the end of it?

I highly, super recommend checking out Dreaming Spanish - it's a channel/site that teaches Spanish through a method called comprehensible input. Basically, all you do is watch, listen, and read in Spanish totally in Spanish, no translations whatsoever. That sounds intimidating, but the beginner stages they really talk at you like you're a baby almost. They talk with their hands a lot and use drawings. That's the most important part, because in the beginning you won't be able to understand any Spanish or hardly any. But by making it so simple you can basically understand even though you don't know the words. After a hundred or so hours of this, you can move on to slightly less easy content. And so on and so on until you can understand just regular media in spanish. At that point, your learning will really take off, because you can watch things that you're actually interested in and that will capture your attention more.

They don't do any explicit grammar or vocabulary practice. That's on purpose, the arguments of comprehensible input is that language isn't learned, it's acquired. You didn't learn English by rote memorization, you listened a lot. If you can hear a few words and make the connection to the meaning by watching, and then you hear that word dozens or hundreds of times more - you will have a better understanding of that word than a simple translation flashcard could ever give you. Because words don't have just one meeting they're complex and change in different situations. But the best part is through this method you won't even realize that you're learning these words. Same goes with grammar, with this method things just kind of sound right. You can use the correct grammar, but you might not necessarily be able to explain why. Just like native speakers.

I've personally listened, or watched over a thousand hours of things in Spanish in a bit over a year. And at this point most media is almost as easy to watch as English for me. I also read the full Harry Potter series in Spanish. (It was rough at first, but after I got used to the writing style a lot of the times I'd forget it was in Spanish in the more exciting sections) I need to practice speaking more, I can definitely do it and be understood but it lacks pretty significantly behind my understanding but that is really just a question of how much practice I can get. But once you've banked 1k, 1.5k hours the rate at which your speaking will improve is way faster than the process of learning so far.

Check out this this playlist of videos that really explains things in more depth. It has English subtitles you'll have to turn on. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlpPf-YgbU7GrtxQ9yde-J2tfxJDvReNf

They have a ton of free content, and if you want more you can pay just $8 a month - but honestly if you do a few hours a day after a couple months you'll be able to just watch some YouTube videos of native speakers and you won't really need dreaming Spanish anymore. But the site does have a handy hour tracker that you don't need to pay for at all that I still use to this day.

I've tried to learn French, german, and even Spanish before but until this try when I discovered this method, I didn't really get anywhere. At this point I'm almost comfortable saying that I'm bilingual. And it really doesn't take that much effort just make it a routine, and once you can get into more advanced and interesting videos just watch things that you're interested in. When you really get good, you can just watch the TV shows and movies that you already like to watch, but put on the Spanish dub. It's that easy. I'm not doing anything differently now than I was before I knew Spanish but I'm learning every day because I just do the things I normally did but in spanish!

You can start their Super Beginner (most basic level) here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlpPf-YgbU7GbOHc3siOGQ5KmVSngZucl

But I'd recommend doing it on https://www.dreamingspanish.com/ where it will automatically track your watch time, let you filter by person/accent/level/topic, etc.

The beginning is by far the hardest part. The least interesting videos, the least level of comprehension. It will feel like a chore. Luckily the beginning is where you have the most motivation to push through it.

You have to completely immerse yourself in Spanish content if you want to learn it quickly. Switch your phone and PC to Spanish. Start only watching Spanish language videos and shows. Read only Spanish language news. Listen to only Spanish language music. The only time you should hear or see English is when you're communicating with someone who doesn't speak Spanish.

That's the fastest way (without moving to a Spanish speaking country).

Fastest? Moving to a Spanish speaking country. Total immersion is how the French Foreign Legion teaches French from my understanding.

I would probably do a mix of a language program, say Duolingo, Pimsler tapes or Rosetta Stone, and asking a few of your Spanish speaking friends to speak primarily Spanish to you, switching to English only when you are completely lost on a concept. Between the two you should pickup Spanish or rather, their dialect of Spanish, fairly quickly.

Michel Thomas audio course… look him up and his method of teaching. Would highly recommend.

The quickest way is probably complete immersion, but I'm guessing that's off the table. Second best would likely be one-on-one tutoring.

Some great suggestions already, also consider flooding your entertainment with Spanish. For example if you were a big fan of the office and know all the episodes, try watching the whole thing with Spanish dubbing and subtitles. Immerse yourself as much as you can

It won't be fast, but I've had amazing results with Dreaming Spanish.

THE best way would be to go live in a spanish speaking country The second best is getting a latino girlfriend The third best is geting yourself a private tutor.

The cheaper the way the longer it takes.

The best language learning system I've ever used is called Language Transfer, and it's completely free (supported by donations).

It focuses on getting you to use constructs and patterns that you already know in your own language and transferring those to the new language. That way you start off with a good vocabulary and basic grammar.

They have Spanish, as well as German, French, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Swahili.

There is also an app, which is plain but extremely usable.

Anki or similar for flashcards if you want an app. Physically writing things tends to yield better results for most people, so I used to do flashcards and write my answer and, after a few cards, make a sentence out of that.

Get a book or take a course on grammar (many different ways to accomplish this depending upon budget and learning style that works best for you).

Constantly be getting input, even if you don't understand it.

Shadowing -- what comes out of your mouth might sound very different to what you want to say. Work on that accent, intonation, etc.

All of the above were actually about learning Japanese (my 3rd foreign language) and I guess German (my second) to a lesser degree. The only thing I'm aware of with Spanish is that the varieties can differ a lot between Spain and the new world, so you might want to make sure you consume resources related to that.

Another recommendation for Dreaming Spanish!

A while back I had an hour commute, so I started doing Pimsleur. They're CDs/audio streams where a native speaker says something, and you repeat it aloud. Each half-hour session covers a conversation, and the sessions build on each other.

They only cover conversations (not writing) so they're not a full answer, but they're a great addition to whatever else you're doing. You can find the CDs in a lot of libraries, and the first session is on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O9Rf02Lxnw

I've learned many languages from many sources, and rosetta stone is the fastest and the most comprehensive.

you can move at your own pace, they have audio, written and reading positive reinforcement, speaking exercises, it's pretty fun overall, and extremely practical and encouraging.

it is also by far the most premium experience, nothing else comes close.

you can tell the devs and linguists put a lot of work into developing the course and it really shows when I compare it to any other app or program I've used.

Spanish was one of the first languages I learned, and I used Rosetta stone for it and can testify that spanish in particular is fantastic, although I haven't really come across a Rosetta stone course that isn't highly effective.

for when you're walking around or you don't have a lot of time to sit at a computer, pimsleur audio courses are the best runner-up

they're amazing for training your ear to acknowledge foreign languages and feel comfortable with unfamiliar cadences and speeds.

either one will help you get used to the language, but you will learn more words and phrases quicker with Rosetta stone; it's the best language program out there.

Don't bother with course materials I would say. Just speak Spanish with them as much as you can. Maybe watch a few Spanish-language tv shows, especially some intended for kids (Sesame Street?) since those usually have clear pronunciation.

Really the first important thing in a new language is to train your ear to break down the sounds of continuous speech, so it sounds like words instead of mush. That takes some tens of hours to get traction at all. So do lots of passive listening with your coworkers. Stuff like grammar and vocabulary come next and can be gradual. Course materials can help with grammatical subtleties but basic speaking and listening come first.

Also, try to quit speaking English quite early if your coworkers will put up with it. Speak Spanish and use a dictionary if you don't know a word. Don't bother with flash cards. You'll forget stuff and have to look it up again and that's fine. After a few repetitions it will stick.

Try to make your pronunciation very accurate. That will help in all areas. We think of phonetics, vocabulary (lexicon), and grammar as separate things, but they are all interrelated and mutually reinforcing.

You will find yourself thinking in Spanish instead of English pretty quickly. You are basically reformatting your brain so just roll with it.

Be aware that your English can actually get worse from this process. At least mine did. Decide if you are ok with that.

Find a Spanish course, I guess..

Go live in Mexico for awhile. Nothing beats immersion. There is no other silver bullet and even that one won't work if you don't commit to speaking the language often and badly.

Picking up a 2nd (or more) language is just going to be hard. There's not a magic shortcut, or anything you can buy or course to take that will make you fluent in a month.

That out of the way, there are lots of resources out there!

Look up comprehensible input channels on YouTube (eg, Dreaming Spanish). You can find something at your level, even down to the point where they'll mostly point at pictures and say words. Eventually add in things like cartoons, news, podcasts, or social media when you feel up to it.

There's debate about whether you need anything besides input. I'm partial to a mixed approach, so I'd say get a good textbook too.

Anki is great for vocab flashcards (but you'll have to find decks, which can be annoying). Apps like Duolingo can be a good supplement too.

Make a habit through the day or thinking about how to say things in Spanish. Repeat your sentences in your head, or think about what the Spanish version would be of signs you see.

It's just a long term goal though, to get anywhere meaningful. Engage with your target language every day.

Learn a hundred words,

The most common ones, or the ones that are most relevant to your vocation.

Use them incorrectly and ask "como se di-se" (how do you say) to those who are multilingual, or trying to learn English

The only way that has worked for me long term is taking a language course, doing the exercises in the corresponding workbook and learning the words using flash cards (I always used the Leitner system).

Workbooks also often come with an audio CD for listening exercises, so if you don't have the time or money for an actual language course you might be able to make do with that instead.

What hasn't worked for me is apps that teach you random words and sentences without explaining all of the basic grammatical rules of a language.

Laziest fast way is to watch a ton of Spanish speaking movies with Spanish subtitles

Live in spain

Obligatory: https://youtu.be/G3R4-lj4aaQ

Use it as much as possible and don't be afraid of making mistakes.

You can have conversations with offline text gen AI models. They are usually fluent in many languages. It is not a great primary source but you can treat them like a private tutor that can answer your specific questions and it can point you in the right direction.

Spanish is my native tongue, so this might not work as well as I expect it to, but Pimsleur courses are GREAT to get quick phrases and learning to think in the language. They try to teach you very close to how native speakers learn it, and because of the repetition you tend to remember most of it.

That being said most of their content is focused on visiting a different country, so you might not need the very basic phrases like "I'm American, I don't speak ", but they give you an idea on how the language is structured.

Finally, while Pimsleur and many other suggestions here are great, it varies from person to person so you might need to find what works best for you.

Tell your colleagues you’d like to learn their language and ask if there’s someone willing to correct you and endure you talking their language badly. Then get to learning in the best way you can and practice with them.

Duolingo is pretty good and you can get it free without ads if you create a “school” account so you can be a student under the teacher that is you.