#I think in spanish how to#

What the snake oil salesmen will tell you So when it comes to the question of how long does it take to learn Spanish, we’re talking about becoming conversationally fluent. But as a beginner, aiming for a more achievable goal puts less pressure on yourself and can save you a lot of frustration. Of course, there is nothing wrong with trying to become fluent at a native level. add a 1% improvement per 5 years.” – Tim Ferris There is a point of diminishing returns where, for most people, it makes more sense to acquire more languages (or other skills) vs. “To understand 95% of a language and become conversationally fluent may require months of applied learning to reach the 98% threshold could require 10 years.

#I think in spanish how to#

In my opinion, the majority of people wanting to learn Spanish should aim for “conversational fluency” because it is very achievable for everyone.Ĭonversational fluency allows you to enjoy most of the benefits of knowing how to speak Spanish, like being able to travel with confidence to a Spanish-speaking country, communicating with a loved one, or using Spanish in a work setting.įrankly, most people are never going to reach “native-level fluency” because it takes exponentially more work to get there, and the added benefits of which may not be worth it.īest-selling author and polyglot Tim Ferris puts it this way: You can hold a 2-hour conversation with a native speaker and afterwards they wouldn’t be able to tell that you didn’t learn the language from birth. You can accurately communicate emotions and subtle shades of meaning. You can express yourself spontaneously and precisely in complex situations involving groups of native speakers.This includes all jokes and cultural expressions. You can understand 99-100% of anything you hear or read, regardless of subject matter.Your pronunciation is clear and accurate, and you’re easily understood by native speakers.You can comfortably hold a 1-on-1 conversation at a normal speaking pace and you can usually get your ideas across regarding a variety of topics without having to repeat yourself or stop to think too much.For more complex or technical subjects, you don’t understand as much but you can still get the gist of what’s going on. You can understand about 95% of what you hear or read about everyday topics.When you say you want to learn Spanish, then I assume you want to eventually become fluent.Įveryone seems to have their own definition of what fluency really means, but it can generally be boiled down to two different levels: I’m going provide a definitive answer to this question once and for all, as well as demystify some of the conflicting opinions you may have heard or read on this subject.īut first, we need to agree on the following: “You need study 30 hours a week for 5 years”Įverywhere you look, you’ll find answers to this question that are either unhelpful, exaggerated, or downright misleading.“It’ll take you just 10 days with our secret method! Learn while you sleep!”.

“Ummm, well it depends on a lot of different factors…”.

(Or, Creo que … / Opino que …)Ģ. Para mí el español es más fácil que el francés.ģ. Me parece que los niños ven demasiada televisión.How long does it REALLY take to learn Spanish? It seems to me that children watch too much television. Translate the following questions and answers into Spanish and then read the answers further down:ģ. ¿Qué le parece?: What do you think? To practice: ¿Qué opina de …?: What do you think about …? ¿Qué opinas de …?: What do you think about …? If you want to get involved in discussions with locals, it would be a good idea to learn some of the question and answer phrases in this article.Įn mi opinión …: In my opinion … Asking someone’s opinion in Spanish: You may often think they are having a huge argument from their raised voices and the way they throw their arms around, however this is normally just a healthy discussion. Spanish people are very opinionated and love having a real discussion on any subject whatsoever from politics and “la crisis” to food, the weather and the local supermarket prices.

A useful part of knowing a language and interacting with Spanish people is being able to ask someone’s opinion and also to give your own views.