Post: #1

I have been working on my spanish for over a year now, and starting to take it very seriously here the past three months. I feel like i've made progress, but every time I go to Medellin I see just how much more i'll have to go to master spanish.

How long did it take you guys to go from beginner with zero spanish to intermediate? Or beginner to good? I'm talking about people that had to learn spanish as adults....

Furthermore, what do you think the average amount of time (hours invested) or years it takes to get fluent in any language?

Starting to get a little discouraged, but the chicas keep motivating me

Post: #2

According to Malcom Gladwell, in Outliers it takes 10,000 hrs to become a master at anything.

Post: #3

You can't really rush language. I started learning French and Spanish as an adult on my own. I did take both languages as a child (French for five years and Spanish for one) but it was just in school, rote learning, sitting in class, listening to teachers repeat imperfect tenses (or whatever you call them) and copying it down into my book.
The most powerful experience is immersion. If you can immerse yourself into a Spanish speaking environment as much as possible. Start watching Spanish tv. Get used to the pace of Spanish speakers. Get used to their nuances. Get used to how they position their words to construct sentences.
Doing something is the most effective way of learning it. If you speak Spanish to a person or people, it is much faster in terms of picking it up than if you just sit there and listen to it.

I learned a great deal during my trip to the Dominican Republic (even though it was only a week). I was forced to really dig into my brain and whip out whatever Spanish I had. Whenever I ran dry, due to the fact that there were plenty of Haitians there, I was able to fall back onto French which I am better at speaking.

My point is, simulate the immersion process as much as possible and there will suddenly come a point where it clicks and it all makes sense.

Hope that's been of help.

Gracias.

Post: #4

I took 2 years and a half. Then I could write complex texts and have a formal conversation.

Post: #5

(12-20-2010 04:02 PM)Mrs. Chocolate Wrote:  I took 2 years and a half. Then I could write complex texts and have a formal conversation.

I estimate I had put in around 3,000 hours into my Spanish since I started 2 years ago. A Berkley PhD in education (teacher of teachers) told me to keep in mind that language learning has four aspects.

Reading
Writing
Conversation
Listening

I have overly developed reading skills, followed by listening skills. I need to obtain formal instructions to improve my writing and conversation skills.

If you want to learn quickly, I suggest getting a private tutor that has industry certifications. Language learning is not something you want to pinch pennies on.

Post: #6

I am already using Livemocha.com and making a ton of progress. Just wondering what time frame it takes the average person to learn it fluently.

Post: #7

(12-27-2010 01:02 AM)bigbootyluvr Wrote:  I am already using Livemocha.com and making a ton of progress. Just wondering what time frame it takes the average person to learn it fluently.

Try Pimsleur too.