How to learn Spanish through Immersion

     So many people have asked me how I learned Spanish without any formal schooling. Well I didn't just travel to Spain and suddenly knew how to speak Spanish. So many people believe that immersion is the best way to learn a language and that by moving to a foreign country that you'll automatically pick up the language. Well this isn't true........not entirely.

                                                                                                             Effort

     You STILL need to put in effort. This means speaking and practicing everyday! you have no idea how many people I've met in Spain that have lived here for 20 plus years and can barely order food in Spanish. You still have to try and put in the effort and the only way to do this is to get out and integrate.

                                                                                                            Integrate    

     What I mean by integrate Is to make friends who speak Spanish and spend lots of time with them. At first I had to use google translate to speak with my friends. You have to avoid English speaking people. I know it's and comfortable, but this will hurt your language learning big time. It will be as if you never left your home country! So how can you make friends? this is simple go to intercambios!

                                                                                                          Intercambios

     What is in intercambio? well its a place usually held in bars where you can meet people who want to learn English. Intercambios are called language exchanges in English. You mingle, drink, play language games, and eat free tapas. You take turns speaking English and Spanish. I was extremely shy when I first went and only spoke English. When I made friends my friends would only speak to me in Spanish, forcing me to learn and this helped me out a lot. I was also offered my first teaching job! I was hired to teach conversation classes in the bar with free beer and money after every class!

                                                                                                          Classes 

     You can also do the obvious and take Spanish classes, but just make sure your teacher is only speaking to you in Spanish. I took a few classes when I moved to the Canary Islands and although it was difficult at first you will learn faster I promise you! I realized I was learned more on my own after about 3 months because I was using the language daily so I later skipped classes altogether.

                                                                                                      Thinking in Spanish

     This is a hard one, but its very important. You have to think in Spanish. This means that when you see a white car you first thoughts should be "coche blanco" instead of white car. When you do this after a while it will become a habit and then you won't even realize that you were thinking or even dreaming in Spanish.


                                                                                                        Apps

     There are various apps and programs that I used to help me even before I moved to Spain. I no longer use them, but they were extremely helpful. If you would like to know specifically what these apps are and other methods I've used please check out my youTube video below about how I learned Spanish.






     Well that's pretty much what I did and after about one year I started to feel comfortable speaking. I think after about 6 months I was conversational though. I hope this as helped you and that you also understand that yes you'll learn faster through immersion, but only if you practice. Being immersed is no guarantee, but it does give you the opportunity to practice while forcing you out of your shell!

Until next time,

Hasta luego!