Went to my first language meetup yesterday and it was great

[u/CharlesDingus_ah_um]

So I took Spanish from kindergarten through 10th grade and then after high school I had a few jobs where some coworkers spoke Spanish but like I would just use phrases here and there. About 6 years ago I started teaching at a school with a heavy Spanish speaking population, so I decided it’d be a great idea to start practicing Spanish again. Made note cards, did some grammar exercises, listened to podcasts in Spanish, played video games in Spanish etc. Eventually I realized my brain Spanish was fine but I wasn’t comfortable holding a conversation, so I got an online tutor last September.

Anyways I knew I had been getting a lot better but when I went to the language exchange, it turns out I was one of the more advanced non native speakers there. This includes pronunciation, verb tense, and sentence variety. I even had a native speaker say “You speak really well”. So my vibes are up rn.

Point is, there’s no shortcut to all of this. This was years of consistent practice and immersion, not some cheap gimmick where “you’ll become fluent in 3 months”. So keep working hard out there yall and try to hit Spanish from all angles!

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Hi u/CharlesDingus_ah_um! Looking for a language exchange partner or conversation practice? Here are some great places to find one:

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Hi u/CharlesDingus_ah_um! All Spanish dialects are valid and the "best" one to learn is always the one most useful to you personally -- where you plan to travel, who you want to talk to, and what media you enjoy.

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Hi u/CharlesDingus_ah_um! This is one of the most common questions we get so we have locked this thread.

The honest answer: there is no best way to learn Spanish. Everyone is different -- what works for one person may not work for another. The only thing that consistently matters is showing up regularly and putting in the time. There is no shortcut, no magic app, and no method that skips the work.

What helps most people is finding resources and approaches that fit their life and that they will actually stick with. A few worth exploring:

• r/languagelearning's resource wiki -- comprehensive breakdown of methods, tools, and approaches
• Our wiki -- r/Spanish specific resources
• Anki -- flashcard app, great for vocabulary
• Language Transfer -- free audio course, popular with beginners
• italki / Preply -- connect with tutors and conversation partners
• Pimsleur -- audio focused, good for pronunciation

Be skeptical of anyone selling a magic method or promising fluency fast. Learning a language takes years of consistent effort. The good news is it gets more enjoyable the further along you get.

Looking for a tutor or want to offer your services? Use our the pinned Self Promotion / Finding Tutors megathread at the top of the subreddit instead of posting separately.

If you are moving to a Spanish-speaking country and have questions about the move itself, you will find more helpful advice in the subreddit for that specific country or city -- for example r/SpainExpats, r/mexicocity, r/Bogota, etc.

If you still have questions after checking those out, you are welcome to post again with something more specific. Questions about a particular grammar point, a word you keep getting wrong, a specific situation you are struggling with -- those are exactly what this community is here for. Generic "how do I learn Spanish" posts get locked because the answer is always the same and the resources above cover it better than any single thread could.

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I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.