Struggling to master a brand new language? We can relate! It’s been about two years of dedication to Spanish, and some days still feel like a struggle.
Full disclosure: we’re not claiming to be language experts by any means. These are just a few ways we’ve found to be incredibly helpful for increasing fluency in Spanish.
Daily Lessons
For a year and a half leading up to our travels in Mexico, we were doing 30-minute daily lessons through Pimsleur and Rocket Languages. These sessions are audible, meaning we are saying phrases in response to the instructor’s prompts. We have found that saying things out loud gets us used to what it’s like to have an actual conversation with someone. The courses we took in high school were highly ineffective because it’s just cramming-type memorization.
Furthermore, we had to be diligent about doing them every single day no matter what. Skipping a few days here and there sets back progress. Treat your brain like a muscle; use it or lose it.
Embrace the Awkwardness
As soon as we came to Mexico, we quickly learned that all the practicing in the world couldn’t really prepare us for real-life interactions. It was going to be nerve-wracking. It was going to be scary. It was going to be awkward. If there’s anything we’ve come to know it’s that you basically need to just lean into the awkward. You won’t like it, but that’s when you’re forced to learn—and quickly.
Think about the last time you were really embarrassed. You can probably recall just about every horrid detail. When that type of adrenalin-charged situation happens with language, you also retain all those details better than in a calm, relaxed atmosphere.
Dive In!
The final thing that has been a huge help in progressing our Spanish skills is something just about everyone will probably tell you: immerse yourself in the language and culture. Coming to Mexico where almost everyone speaks Spanish forced us to learn more rapidly if we wanted to function in everyday society. Every time we didn’t know a word on a menu or understand a phrase someone said, we’d look it up with a translator immediately. Although we might not retain it, each exposure to new words helped add more pieces of the puzzle.
What has helped you learn a new language?
Right now, our Airbnb host in Guadalajara said he learned to speak English solely by reading books! And despite a bit of an accent, he’s incredibly well-spoken. Isn’t that amazing? We need to pick his brain more on exactly how he did that (i.e. reading children’s books versus novels; looking up each word as he went or just reading it until things started to “click”).We’d love to hear your language-learning tricks. Share in the comments below!