If you have the chance to go abroad to study Spanish, you would be able to practice Spanish by reading street signs and murals, talking to taxi or Uber drivers, and coming across various other people in your daily routine. But what if you can’t travel yet, you can’t immerse yourself in a Spanish-speaking country? Here, we will explain how to become fluent in Spanish without immersion.
- If you have never learned a foreign language before – where, and how do you even start?
- If you are more advanced in a language, what is the best way to keep it if you can’t travel?
- And when you don’t necessarily have the opportunity to speak Spanish on a regular basis without immersion, how do you regularly practice?
After all, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
As much as I would like to tell you that I have secrets that will allow you to learn to speak Spanish quickly, it takes dedication to truly master a language from the very beginning.
The good news though is that you can achieve fluency in a lot less time without actually having to travel.
In this short guide, I will explain how to create a Spanish immersion at home without living in the country.
How long should it take to become fluent in Spanish?
If you follow these guidelines, I believe you can become fluent in Spanish within 12 months without immersion. So, let’s start:
1) Find a conversation group on Facebook or Telegram
One of the best ways to practice speaking Spanish is in a group because you can all hold each other completely accountable for anything you say. There is a team effort to help each other learn.
Here are a few of the top Facebook groups I am in, and from here you should be able to find a study partner – someone who would like to learn English, and is a native Spanish speaker. So, you can share your English, and they can share their Spanish.
Facebook Groups to Find a Native Spanish Speaker Partner:
- Learn Practice and Speak Spanish and English with Native Language Speakers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/learnspeakspanishandenglish/
- Learn And Practice Spanish And English With Native Speakers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/171387153569780/
2) Absorb Spanish All-Around You
Bruce Lee said, “Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.” To really learn Spanish well, you need to absorb it inside you, not just memorize it. It’s better to do this slowly and gradually – like with cooking delicious roasts or ribs, slow and low. In my experience, you can do a number of things, including the following:
- Changing the language settings on my phone to Spanish helps me learn words I wouldn’t normally come across – “altavoz” for “speakerphone” for example.
- Changing the language setting on my social media into Spanish has helped me to passively absorb it. I again come across new words I wouldn’t normally talk about.
- Read a book in Spanish. When you don’t understand a word, write it down in your notebook as a new word that you’ve come across. At the moment, I am reading El Principito to learn more Spanish. You can read it for free here on PDF.
- Listen to music in Spanish and practice the words with LyricsTraining.com for Spanish Songs. You can find some of your favorite songs on LyricsTraining.com and practice your listening and writing skills for free with this website. Then you’ll also be able to sing the lyrics when you’re with your friends!
3) Use the “Label Method”
Labeling the things in your house with “sticky-notes” will help you to constantly bombard your brain and visualize the newly acquired information. Keep the labels on the things around your home or room until you’re learned the word.
4) Journal
Journaling is a good practice that will force you to write and think in Spanish. If you keep an online journal, you can use Google Chrome and the LanguageTool Chrome Extension to check your grammar and spelling on all Spanish words. If you are familiar with Grammarly, it is the Spanish equivalent. I love it when I need to proofread my Spanish, as it automatically tells me when I am missing an accent or if the word is wrong. I highly recommend this tool as a quick proofreader on your work. It isn’t going to be a 100% solution to correcting your Spanish, but it will be a good start and is especially helpful with reminding me which words need an accent or tilde.
5) Podcasts & Radio
If you go onto iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify you will find lots of free podcasts, and many with transcripts that you can read as you listen. One great place to find many podcasts is here on Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/site/Search/index?v=spanish
6) Cook with Spanish
Learning Spanish can be made even more fun when you take part in activities in Spanish, and cooking can be one of them. Learning the names of various cuisines along with the names of ingredients is a great way to get acquainted with the culture and the language. Read the recipes in Spanish and cook meals from Spanish websites. I recently cooked empanadas with a Colombian recipe (in Spanish, of course), and they came out delicious! And at the same time, I also learned new words for ingredients to make the empanadas.
7) Work With an Online Spanish Tutor
Hiring an online Spanish tutor gives you the most value for your time and work because you are the focus of every session, and you can get personalized feedback in a friendly and positive environment. A private Spanish tutor can help you with Listening and Speaking, and give you the structure to improve your writing and reading (with an improved vocabulary).
Conclusion:
So now that you’ve learned that it is indeed possible to learn a language to fluency without immersion abroad, it’s time to get out there and start learning it.
About the Author:
Specializations: Spanish Tutors on Zoom
Bio: Hello! My name is Daniela Cardona from Bogotá, Colombia. I've been having fun for more than 8 years, teaching students from ages 2 to 80. I have a certification in TESOL, and I've traveled around the world finding different ways to approach languages from its roots. All my classes are focused on my students' needs and that's how I developed, over the years, my approach to methodology. First, you're going to acquire excellent conversational skills. Second, we will establish precise grammar rules through clear and real examples during our sessions, and third, but not least, we're going to have a lot of fun while nourishing your vocabulary, everyday expressions, and approaching real-life situations to strengthen your communication. I hope we can be in touch soon!
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