Top tips

We know that learning a language can be hard! To help you on your way to becoming fluent, the Spain Buying Guide has put together our top 10 tips for learning Spanish:

Don’t expect too much - it can take time to learn anything, so don’t expect to become fluent straight away. You will make mistakes, but try not to be embarrassed – giving it a go is better than not trying at all, and you will get better!
Listen to Spanish TV, radio – even conversations! Language is first and foremost about oral communication, and you are unlikely to pick up every nuance of sound and intonation by just reading and writing. Listen to Spanish music, watch Spanish movies or cable TV. When walking around your local village, listen to Spanish people speaking and see what you can pick up.
Practice, practice, practice! The only way you will master a language is if you practice speaking it! Mastering grammar means nothing until you can actually speak Spanish well in conversation. Practice at home, out loud and as if you were speaking normally.
Be consistent - It takes a lot of time and commitment to master a new language. Set aside a specified amount of time every day to practice. Even just 20 minutes daily will be much more helpful than attempting to ‘cram’ for an hour or two every couple of weeks.
Talk to yourself - your listening skills are likely to develop quicker than your speaking skills – meaning in conversation you may be able to understand a conversation before you are actually able to respond and join in. Combat this by talking to yourself as much as possible; if there is no one else around you are more likely to lose any inhibitions that may stand in your way.
Use flashcards - carry them around with you. Write the English on one side and Spanish on the other. If you carry them around with you all the time, you can take advantage of any time you spent waiting for and taking the bus, waiting for someone or standing in a queue to practice your Spanish!
Label everything - make labels in Spanish for everything in your house and keep them on until your can correctly name the item without looking at the label.
Take a class! Local colleges or adult education centres will usually have evening classes. Not only will this give you a fixed time to study each week, but it will also mean you are surrounded by people in the same position in you – hopefully encouraging each other!
Visit tourist attractions - get a feel for Spanish culture – visit museums and markets. You can tune your ear to locals speaking, read the paraphernalia and improve your cultural knowledge!
Read out loud - one of the most important things you can do to work on your pronunciation, plus you will receive all the benefits of reading. When you are at the very beginning of your learning process, we would recommend reading out loud as much as possible.