Learning a language is something that lingers on almost everyone’s bucket list. Some might actually take steps towards that goal like practicing with a language app. The truth is, however, that most of the online language tools available these days can be a little bit off-point.

But using apps alone will simply never get learners to the point of fluency. In fact, it might not even be enough to teach them how to have a full conversation with another person on their own. It will teach you common words and phrases, but actually remembering them when you need them will need a different kind of learning.

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The absolute easiest and most efficient way to get yourself started with Spanish is to know the word for every part of your surroundings. 

Put up sticky notes on the most important objects in your home or workspace, preferably both, and put the word for it in Spanish. If necessary, including how it sounds in English in smaller writing.

Example: Computer in Spanish means “Computadora.” Unlike the English version of the word, the U in there is pronounced as “oo” instead of “yoo” sound.

So here’s how to set up that sticky note:

In the middle of the sticky note, you’ll write “COMPUTADORA”

Underneath, write “comp-oo-ta-dora” small enough to only be noticeable if you actually looked for it to remember the pronunciation.

Start with five words so you wouldn’t overwhelm yourself. Add more whenever you get curious about new items and remove the sticky notes on the items you remember without hesitation.

You wouldn’t imagine how effective this activity is. Learning words with pronunciations will help your brain decipher Spanish pronunciation rules on its own. If you’re a beginner, this helps a lot by giving you a great arsenal when attempting to form your first sentence.

Make a habit out of switching the English word for the Spanish one while using or looking at the object with the sticky note. That way your brain retains the new vocabulary with practical usage and builds the useful habit of thinking in Spanish.
 

Start With Sticky Notes

Finding some Spanish songs you really enjoy can help your brain lock in a lot of expressions and associate real meaning and value to them. 

Of course, it can be anything else, not just song lyrics. Find what works for you, whether it’s iconic sentences from movies, famous quotes in Spanish, or even proverbs. Anything that has short memorable sentences will work.

Make sure not to translate sentences to Spanish, though. There’s a huge chance that something might be incorrect or lost in translation. The last thing you want is to learn something wrong when you’re starting out because it will stick. You’ll also find that most proverbs have some similar version of it in every language and culture.

Remember, you don’t need to understand how that sentence is structured yet, just the meaning and pronunciation of each individual word. You’re simply trying to get your brain to passively get familiar with the language and its structure.

Memorize and Sing Spanish Songs

Once you feel confident enough with the number of words and phrases you’ve learned, it’s time to start turning them into conversations. Don’t aim too high to get to that point; you can start learning basic conversation when you know as little as 20 words. To keep yourself focused, creating goals for your learning is essential.

That being said, creating a goal where you learn a certain number of words per day can be very counterproductive. You keep learning new words that your brain has no context for and no way to use. Lack of practice with actual usage can make you forget these words in days if you don’t keep going back to them all the time. On top of that, you ignore your brain's limit to actually learn and enjoy it.

Instead, set a goal to be able to do a certain task completely in Spanish. It can be such a small task, you don't even need sentences for it. Start with simple things like asking someone where the bathroom is or maybe the classic "introduce myself."

This helps you in so many ways. It gives you a great sense of achievement. You get to say "I can do XYZ in Spanish" even if you don't speak the language yet, which motivates you to make even more progress. It also guides you on what to learn next. Most importantly, learn enough of those minor tasks and you just might end up getting yourself through the first proficiency level of Spanish all on your own.

Create Task-Focused Learning Goals

These three steps will kickstart your learning journey. You’ll get more comfortable with and exposed to Spanish, making it easier to make real progress. However, they won’t take you all the way to having a discussion about the world’s economy in Spanish.

To get to the point where you have complete fluency in a language, you need to be able to think in that language. This is what these steps try to accomplish on a small scale. Beyond basic vocabulary and common phrases, you need to practice reading and speaking.

Once you get to a point where you know what to say in simple situations, practice speaking with someone else who can correct your mistakes. There are lots of communities online and offline where you can do that.

As for reading, don’t aim for a whole book when you still don’t know all the pronouns in Spanish. The best way to start is usually children’s books as they are developed to have essential and simple words and sentence structures. Another option is to find some Spanish celebrities or pages on social media and read their posts and blogs.

Put It All Together

There are countless approaches to learning a language, but incorporating it into your daily activities and thoughts is usually at the center of them all. Some of these steps will work very well for visual learners but not so much the auditory and vice versa.

Understand that the only way to learn is to try different approaches and find the ones that get you excited the most.

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How To Learn Spanish Fast as a Complete Beginner

Start With Sticky Notes

Memorize and Sing Spanish Songs

Create Task-Focused Learning Goals

Put It All Together

Conclusion