Fact or Fiction: Can You Really Learn Spanish in 3 Months?
Can you learn Spanish in 3 months? This is a common question students ask to set their goals.
The 3-months claim is very popular among language learners, and even if it sounds too good to be true, people still hope it is.
Getting fluent in any language gives the concept a vague halo. To some, to be fluent is to keep a basic conversation going, and to others, to sound native.
Becoming fluent in Spanish quickly depends on several factors, like the number of hours you dedicate to practice, the level of exposure to the language, and the kind of techniques like the traditional classroom method vs full immersion experience.
Consider that to learn a language you need discipline, consistency, and to follow a curriculum as well.
Choosing the right path for you and picking up those things that truly work are major decisions and will separate you from those taking the long way to learn a language and speak Spanish.
Read ahead to find out if you can learn Spanish in 3 months!
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Defining Fluency
Since there are too many opinions on the internet, let’s realistically define fluency ourselves.
According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages or the CEFR, there are six learning levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.
If we think of fluent as someone that can have conversations about work, school, family, spare time, traveling, describing interests, giving opinions, sharing plans, experiences, personal ambitions, and events in a time-bound context—past, present, future—, we are talking about someone of the B1 or third level.
We strongly believe you can speak Spanish in 3 months with these expectations.
According to the Foreign Service Institute in the US, if you know English, it can take up to 600 hours to learn Spanish.
You can fully learn the language in one year by committing 1.5 hours every day or 6 months with 3 hours daily. So, if we want to master three levels out of six, the three months claim starts to make sense.
If you don’t have 3 hours to give to this project daily, don’t worry, most people don’t.
Below are some tips to speed up the process to gain more learning quality in fewer hours.
Read next: 11 Best Free Spanish Language Learning Websites
Setting Goals
You know what’s coming: the SMART goals.
It’s the best way to bulletproof your plan and see if you can learn Spanish in 3 months. Here’s how it’s done with some examples:
- S: specific – I will learn B1 Spanish within 3 months.
- M: measurable – To get to the 3 months finish line, I will dedicate 2 hours a day to learning Spanish.
- A: Attainable – Speaking like a native in 3 months is not attainable, but having trivial conversations with enough vocabulary and grammar skills is.
- R: Realistic or Relevant – You can use either of those words in your SMART goals, but we will answer both here: ask yourself if it’s realistic to dedicate two hours a day—or any time you want—according to your schedule, responsibilities, and willingness.
Relevancy is more profound. It has to do with the ultimate motive behind the why.
Why are you learning Spanish?
It could be because you’re moving to Mexico soon, or you wish to travel to Spain, or maybe your best friend is Peruvian, and you want to strengthen the relationship while learning a second language.
Tips So You Can Learn Spanish in 3 Months
Stick to a Curriculum
You can learn Spanish in 3 months with consistency and the right curriculum. This is indispensable to have realistic goals.
If you’re learning Spanish by yourself, get inspired by curriculums and syllabi online. If you want formal Spanish lessons, ensure the institution has an expert-certified curriculum—more tips ahead!
Just to get the correct notion, here are some examples of the topics you should practice for the A1 and A2 CEFR levels or beginner Spanish:
A1: greetings and goodbyes, introducing yourself, introducing others, meeting people, exchanging personal information: questions and answers, daily routines, family members, traveling in a foreign, Spanish-speaking country, food and leisure.
To learn these topics, you need the following skills:
Alphabet, basic grammar structure, spelling, verbs in infinitive and present tense, regular verbs, gender, numbers, pronouns (demonstrative, possessive, personal), and basic pronunciation of vowels and consonants.
A2: high-frequency words, experiences like shopping and employment, geography, basic mailing and messaging, reading and listening to simple texts, menus, letters, advertisements, everyday expressions, and easy idioms.
To learn these topics, you need the following skills:
Past and future tenses, conjunctions, prepositions, more complex grammar and vocabulary, irregular verbs, articles, and adverbs.
See also: The Ultimate Spanish Study Guide for Beginners
Remember the Big Four
To learn Spanish in three months, you must consider the following four pillars: reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
Without either, it’s impossible to be fluent and have worthy interactions in this language.
It’s important to give importance to all of them and to focus on those that don’t come as easy to you. For example, many people experience more difficulty listening than speaking, so we suggest you get more practice from external resources.
Some people thrive in one pillar more than the rest, and even though you need to give the same attention to all, this can be a testament to your learning style.
Discover Your Learning Style
There are many systems of learning styles.
One has four styles and responds to how we perceive and process input—visual, auditory, reading-writing, and kinaesthetic. Others have seven styles, and they tell us how we retain information more effectively—visual, kinaesthetic, aural, social, verbal, and logical.
Take a quiz to discover your learning style and how you can learn Spanish in 3 months in a more functional way.
Hand-picked for you: 8 Tips for Teaching Spanish
Build Your Vocabulary Fast
Feel more relaxed while having conversations in Spanish by building your vocabulary knowledge.
To build it according to your needs and interests, you can try to get into the habit of reading something you enjoy or want to learn about in Spanish 10 minutes a day.
This will reinforce reading skills.
If you want to strengthen your listening expertise, you can also watch YouTube videos in Spanish for 20 minutes a day.
Choose a rhythm and speed from a creator you’re comfortable with.
One of the best tips anyone can give you while learning a new language is to keep a journal. You can go back to new words and phrases easily, but it will also show your progress from one day to the next.
Are you in need of a fast track? Learn cognates. They are words in Spanish and English that share the same roots, therefore, are similar or even identical.
Here’s a list with translation rules to remember them more easily.
Do Not Seek Perfection
Perfection is language learning’s most aggressive enemy.
Students who want to be perfect from day one fail to achieve perfection and get frustrated. Then they must deal with shame.
All of these situations are a great barrier in terms of fluency.
Seek motivation instead, and try to speak with a native, knowing perfectly that you will get some of the tenses wrong, will sound foreign, and will fail at making some points.
No one is expecting perfect grammar, unnatural vocabulary, or onerous progress. Trust the process.
Read also: 10 Learning Habits of Highly Effective Spanish Learners
Take Every Chance to Practice
As we have covered, you can learn Spanish in 3 months, but with practice.
Going through the theory is a good start. But reading, listening, speaking, and writing will make the difference.
The best tip we can give you, the one thing that can really set you apart from others’ learning speed, is to practice at any chance with a native speaker.
This is the best, fastest way of learning pronunciation, grammar, common expressions, and idioms and to feel more comfortable knowing you’re with a true expert.
You Can Learn Spanish in 3 Months
Let’s dabble in the quest of learning Spanish in 3 months together!
We offer an expert-certified curriculum and authentic Spanish instruction at Homeschool Spanish Academy. Real human connection and native-speaking teachers are one of our biggest differentiators.
Benefit from our innovative, human-centered learning strategies and achieve your learner-specific language goals.
Choose relevant topics for you and see how much you love being on the fast track of language learning.
We’ve been teaching Spanish for over 10 years and have mastered student-tailored Spanish programs and progress tracking.
Let our support team take care of you.
You can learn Spanish in 3 months and speak Spanish from your first class!
Try a free class today! We can’t wait for you to join us!
Join one of the 40,000 classes that we teach each month and you can experience results like these
“This is the best way for your kid to learn Spanish. It’s one-on-one, taught by native Spanish speakers, and uses a curriculum.”
– Sharon K, Parent of 3
“It’s a great way to learn Spanish, from native Spanish speakers in a 1-on-1 environment. It’s been fairly easy to schedule classes around my daughter’s other classes. The best value for us has been ordering multiple classes at a time. All the instructors have been great!”
– Cindy D, Parent of 3
“HSA offers very affordable, quality, one on one classes with a native speaker. My son has greatly benefited from taking classes. We have seen his confidence increase as well as his pronunciation improve, because he learns from a native Spanish speaker. HSA has quick, personal customer service. Our family has been very pleased with our experience so far!”
– Erica P. Parent of 1
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