Currently, 21 million people want to learn Spanish worldwide. And with good reason: Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, is considered relatively easy, can help you in your career, and is beautiful enough to fall in love with.
With more Spanish learners than many countries have residents, the market for Spanish classes is large. In fact, many websites claim that this language can be learned without lifting a finger: in a month while you sleep, or by playing an app for five minutes a day. However, don’t be fooled.
The real trick to learning Spanish fast isn’t some obscure secret method. Instead, just obsess over the language for a few months and find ways to learn that feel sustainable and rewarding.
Here’s a realistic roadmap on how to get there. No false promises or tricks, just a series of realistic and actionable steps that are especially helpful if you want to learn Spanish online.
How long does it take to learn Spanish?
According to research by the US Foreign Service Institute (information in English) about 1.5 years.
This means that it takes an average native German learner around 575-600 hours to become fluent in Spanish. (That’s the equivalent of about 24 weeks of full-time learning.) If you study “only” one hour a day, that’s about a year and a half.
Of course, this timeframe is a very rough estimate with many caveats. Every learning path is different and there is no perfect way to judge when someone has ‘learned Spanish’. Additionally, “learn” can be a very broad term that can include struggling with grammar practice but also scrolling through Spanish TikToks.
Perhaps the only conclusion we can really draw from this statistic is a fairly reassuring one: that achieving a level of conversation in Spanish is a realistic mid-term goal for German-native learners.
10 steps to learn Spanish quickly and successfully
1. Consider a major change
Here’s an annoying piece of advice: the quickest and the best way to learn Spanish online is with a one-way plane ticket to Mexico or Spain.
In all honesty, one should admit that a drastic change in lifestyle would be the most direct path to fluency. Something that would make it impossible not to learn Spanish. Have you ever thought about it?
- Volunteer, study, or work in a Spanish-speaking country?
- Looking for Spanish-speaking roommates?
- to do an intensive language course in a Spanish-speaking country?
- falling in love with a Spanish speaker?
If you can’t just turn your life around to achieve a language goal, it’s still possible to learn Spanish quickly, but you’ll have to make sure you surround yourself with Spanish in your everyday life. Here are some ideas on how you can do that.
2. Read as much as possible to learn Spanish
Reading in a foreign language may seem challenging at first, but once you find articles and other content that suits your language level, reading becomes enjoyable. In his tips for learning a language fast, polyglot Ollie Richards describes starting with short, simple dialogues that you can find in any textbook.
As you read, you can mark, look up, and jot down words and phrases you don’t yet understand. This will help you remember the words and expand your Spanish vocabulary at the same time. At the same time, you deepen your knowledge of the Spanish grammar structures by reading.
If you are already at an advanced level, you should definitely read the news in Spanish regularly to keep up to date with current events and practice reading at the same time.
3. Take conversation classes with a teacher
With so many apps and games online to teach yourself Spanish, it’s easy to think that old-fashioned language classes are no longer necessary. However, if you want to learn a language quickly, there is no substitute for letting a professional teach you. Online Spanish classes are a flexible and affordable way to get personalized tuition.
In one-to-one lessons, you have the opportunity to speak Spanish from the first lesson and to make rapid progress. There are learners who have been learning Spanish for years but can hardly form a sentence. Others can have a simple conversation in as little as a week or two. The difference? The second group starts speaking before they feel “ready”. Speaking is a very different skill from writing, reading, or understanding, and there is no more effective way to practice it than speaking to another person.
Luckily, and thanks to the internet, finding a good teacher to practice with has never been so convenient and affordable. On online teaching platforms like MySpanishConnect, private online Spanish lessons are available, If you’re serious about learning Spanish, the relationship with your teacher and the financial investment will keep you focused on your goal.
4. Learn Spanish with the first 2000 words
According to the Real Academia Española Spanish Dictionary, there are 93,000 words in Spanish. But even if you speak the language at a native level, the most common words are still the ones you use most in everyday conversations. It is logical that some words are much more common than others. In fact, research suggests that learning the most common 2,000 words enables language learners to understand 80% of what they read.
Flashcards have their drawbacks as a learning method, but they’re great for learning your first 2,000 words quickly. Here are some online flashcards or flashcard sites to try.
- Clozemaster pro: An online game that allows you to practice vocabulary in context. You can play with the 500, 2000, or 10,000 most common words. Instead of memorizing the words, you have to choose from a list of options which word fills a gap in a given sentence. This is excellent reading comprehension practice.
- Memrise: a particularly playful flashcard app. There are packs of the most common Spanish words and lots of games to help you learn. Also, check out our detailed review of Memrise.
- Anki: a minimalist flashcard app that has gained something of a cult following among language learners. It uses spaced repetition techniques to help new words “stick” in long-term memory.
- Duolingo: Duolingo is a great free app to help you build your vocabulary from the basics. The application is limited as you can’t practice or hear real conversations, but the app is definitely useful for learning your first 2000 Spanish words.
Learning Spanish isn’t a numbers game, but when you’re just building your vocabulary, playing with numbers can be a very efficient tactic!
5. Learn the basics of grammar
Many adult learners did not enjoy language classes at school. For many of us, those memories have blurred into one long conjugation exercise. That’s partly why language learning influencers (if you’re new to this corner of the internet – yes, they exist !) often tell us that we shouldn’t bother learning grammar. It’s boring, mechanical, and native speakers constantly break grammatical rules when speaking.
However, as a guide through a new language, a little knowledge of grammar can be very helpful. Rather than avoiding grammar altogether, try to learn the minimum you need to express yourself.
To hold simple conversations in Spanish, try learning the present tense first, and then past tense. Most learners start with the past tense. Then you can use voy + an (I will) to form a future tense. Easy! Once you’re comfortable with these basic grammatical structures, you can add other tenses and rules as you read and listen to them. With a few basics, you’ll be able to express yourself in Spanish in no time. (Even if it still sounds a little awkward!)
And now a short motivational speech
Learning Spanish, like any new language, is a big undertaking. But you can benefit from it for a lifetime. As cheesy as it sounds, you’re embarking on a journey that can bring not only personal fulfillment but also a richer understanding of your place in the world.
In addition, the learning process is a lot of fun. Once you get going, immersing yourself in the Spanish language will become a part of your everyday life, just like exercising or cooking dinner. A year and a half aren’t that long – start today and your language goals are within reach!
