How long does it take to learn Spanish?

The Spanish language is not very difficult to learn, and if you’re coming from languages with similar roots, such as Italian, Portuguese, French, or Romanian, it’s a lot easier.

The biggest initial stumbling blocks – encountered more often by people who come from a different language family – are the conjugation of verbs and perhaps pronunciation.

It’s difficult to say exactly how long it will take to learn the language – everyone is different, it depends on the level you start with, how many hours you interact with the language, your age, and your motivation for learning this new language.

We normally recommend – if you have the time - three to five months of an intensive course (2 hours every day, Monday – Friday) and afterwards continue with an extensive course (2 hours on two days a week.)  If you work or study, you can also take an extensive course but you will need to study more at home and try to interact as much as possible in Spanish in your day-to-day life.

What will take a Spanish student most time will be learning the fundamentals of the language: verbs, basic vocabulary, expressions, language use, listening and speaking.  During the first month of an intensive course you will learn basic communication in the present tense.  In the second month you will learn to speak and understand the past and future tenses. In the third month, you will learn to use more complex structures and expand your knowledge of the present, the past and future tenses while doing this.

You can see a basic learning process on this table which shows the European reference framework of language learning.

At Dime we use a communicative method, so Spanish will be spoken in class from day one – our teachers are experts at getting beginners to speak and use small basic phrases, and little by little more complex structures are introduced.  Furthermore we ensure that classes are held in a relaxing, engaging and fun environment.

With 6-9 months of intense study and practice, it is possible to achieve a level of Spanish with which you can live quite well in the city of Barcelona.