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Spanish Words and Phrases: Is It Worth Investing Time and Money Into Learning Spanish?

Learning foreign language takes time and a little bit of money and many people wonder if it is worth the effort. It usually takes many months of practice, learning of hundreds of Spanish words and phrases and doing the same boring grammar exercises before you can have a confident conversation without stressing out too much that others can't understand what you are trying to say. You might feel like you are missing out on things because you need to go to your Spanish course or just sit there at home and memorise new vocabulary, when your friends watch tv or have fun outdoors.

But despite all those inconveniences I believe that learning another language - be it Spanish or something else - is time and money well spent. It widens your perspectives, helps you understand new cultures and allows you to enjoy your favourite things in a new way. New opportunities become available to you.

If you like music, you finally are able to understand what the lyrics of Spanish songs are about. And you have to agree that music has got different meaning when you can understand the words. When you understand the lyrics you can make better choices in terms of what you listen to.

If you like movies, you will be able to watch them without being frustrated with inaccurate translations, which more than often are unable to express the true meaning of Spanish words and phrases. Subtitles are notorious for inaccuracies and understanding what the actors are saying can help you avoid those inaccuracies.

If you like traveling, you will be able to go on an independent trip to South and Central America or Spain and not worry about getting around and having good time. Traveling is much richer when you can talk to locals, read local newspapers, understand people on the streets and not being dependent on the tour guide speaking your language. The ability to interact with locals adds a new dimension to traveling experience.

If you like book, you will be able to read them in original version and never again miss the true meaning of words. Translations very often can't offer the same emotions that the original version provides.

So do not give up and keep learning. You will not regret about all the time and effort you put into gaining this new skill. Speaking another language is like gaining a new culture.

3 Things That Helped Me to Learn Spanish Words and Phrases

I have been trying to learn Spanish for at least 10 years. My first attempt was to learn on my own. I bought a book with a course but I didn't like it, so I bought a software program. I really liked it but I couldn't stick to it and quit after couple of months. After that I joined a language school and attended the course for a few months. It was good, but I moved to another city so I stopped this course. This was followed by a few years of complete lack of activities as far as learning Spanish was concerned. I actually lost hope that I would ever be able to communicate in this beautiful language. But then I gave myself the very last chance, but this time I decided to do everything possible to succeed. These are three things that made a difference.

1. I found a reason to learn
It does not matter what you are trying to learn - foreign language, cooking, sewing or anything else. You are very likely to fail if you do not have a good reason for that. A reason helps you stay focus and motivated. My reason was that I wanted to go to Spain to live over there for a few years. And I knew I had to know some Spanish if I wanted to make a living over there. Every day I pictured myself wandering the streets of historical Spanish towns and I knew I really wanted to be there. So I kept learning.

2. I found a great teacher
I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a teacher who will not only clearly explain the grammatical rules but also motivate you and make the learning process fun. This is crucial for a success. It doesn't have to be a private teacher. It could be a teacher at the local community college. Even a language learning software is a teacher in a way. I decided to go for a private instructor, because this is what works best for me. Make sure you get a really good teacher, someone you like spending time with, someone who makes learning process fun and interesting.

3. I immersed myself in Spanish
It is a fact that you can only learn to a certain level by attending classes or following learning programs. If you want to become fluent you need to surround yourself with the language. The best way to do it is to go to a place where the language is spoken. And it doesn't even have to be very expensive. You can fly from US to Central America for a couple of hundreds of dollars and live there comfortably for as little as $15 a day. When everything around you is in Spanish - people talking on the streets, newspapers, television shows, radio - you learn extremely fast. And what is even more important is that you learn the real language, and not only the official and often unnatural version of the language commonly taught through books.

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