How I Became Fluent in Spanish...FAST (self taught)

Summary

In this video, the speaker shares their personal journey to becoming fluent in Spanish. They emphasize that it was a gradual process, not a quick fix, and credit their success to a combination of self-teaching, using the Duolingo app, listening to Spanish music, reading books in Spanish, and immersing themselves in the language through daily practice and routine. They also took a course with Lingoda to advance their skills and boost confidence. The speaker encourages patience and consistency, highlighting the importance of creating your own learning environment and taking breaks when necessary.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker became fluent in Spanish primarily through self-study, but struggles with imposter syndrome when claiming this achievement.
• 📚 The journey to fluency in Spanish was not a quick one, and the speaker emphasizes that patience and consistent effort are key to language learning.
• 👶 The speaker's initial interest in learning a second language was not specific to Spanish, but the desire to be bilingual was a long-held dream.
• 🛒 The speaker's language learning journey began in earnest after working in a local grocery store where Spanish was commonly spoken by customers and co-workers.
• 🐦 The Duolingo app was instrumental in building the speaker's foundational vocabulary in Spanish, making learning accessible and engaging.
• 🎵 Listening to Spanish music and learning song lyrics helped the speaker to grasp the language and relate to the content more personally.
• 📖 Reading books in Spanish, especially those the speaker was already familiar with in English, greatly improved vocabulary retention and understanding.
• 🌐 Lingoda, an online language school, provided the speaker with an opportunity to practice speaking Spanish with native speakers and improve conversational skills.
• 🏡 Creating an immersive environment by reading, listening to podcasts, and speaking Spanish aloud during daily routines was a significant part of the learning process.
• 📲 Changing the phone's language to Spanish for a year forced the speaker to learn and use the language in everyday situations, aiding in language acquisition.
• 💪 The speaker stresses the importance of practice, repetition, and integrating Spanish into daily life to maintain and improve language skills.

Q & A

What does the speaker attribute their fluency in Spanish to?

The speaker attributes their fluency in Spanish to self-teaching, with the help of various tools and methods such as language learning apps, music, books, and consistent practice.

What language was the speaker initially targeting to learn, and how did this change to Spanish?

The speaker initially did not have a specific language in mind but wanted to learn any language other than their native language. The change to Spanish occurred after realizing the majority around them spoke either English or Spanish and the practicality of learning Spanish due to its prevalence.

How did the speaker use the Duolingo app to aid in their language learning process?

The speaker used the Duolingo app for its convenience and accessibility, allowing them to learn foundational words and phrases in Spanish at any time and in any place.

What role did music play in the speaker's language learning journey?

Music played a significant role by helping the speaker to grasp the language better. They listened to Spanish songs, taught themselves the lyrics, and related to the songs to make memorization easier.

Why did the speaker choose to read books in Spanish as part of their learning process?

Reading books in Spanish helped the speaker to retain more vocabulary and understand the language in context. They started with books they were already familiar with in English and then moved on to other books in Spanish.

What is Lingoda and how did it contribute to the speaker's Spanish learning experience?

Lingoda is an online language school offering certified classes with native speakers. The speaker took a course to identify their level and advance their Spanish, which helped them improve their conversational skills and boost their confidence.

How did the speaker create a Spanish learning environment when they were the only Spanish speaker in their family?

The speaker created their own environment by reading books, listening to podcasts and music in Spanish, and practicing speaking Spanish out loud even when alone, such as during chores or in the shower.

What was the speaker's strategy for dealing with the intimidation of starting with a book in Spanish?

The speaker started with a book they were already familiar with in English and then moved on to simpler books in Spanish to gradually build their vocabulary and understanding without becoming overwhelmed.

How did the speaker use their phone to aid in their Spanish learning?

The speaker set their phone language to Spanish for about a year, which forced them to learn and use everyday Spanish language and reminded them of the language daily.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the consistency and patience needed to learn a new language?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of being consistent with studies and patient with the learning process. They advise against giving up too soon and to keep practicing even when facing frustration or plateaus.

What is the speaker's hope for the future regarding their Spanish fluency?

The speaker hopes to one day create a video completely in Spanish, indicating their ongoing commitment to improving and maintaining their Spanish language skills.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Self-Taught Spanish Fluency Journey

The speaker shares their personal experience of becoming fluent in Spanish without formal education. They started with the Duolingo app to build foundational vocabulary and continued learning through music, relating to Spanish songs to improve their listening and pronunciation skills. The speaker also incorporated Spanish into their daily routine by practicing phrases related to their habits and reading books in Spanish, even starting with children's books to ease into the language. They emphasize the importance of practice and consistency, suggesting that even struggling with the language is a part of the learning process.

05:02

📚 Advancing Spanish Skills Through Various Methods

The speaker discusses various methods they used to advance their Spanish skills, including taking a course with Lingoda, an online language school, to practice conversational Spanish with native speakers from different countries. They also highlight the importance of creating a Spanish-speaking environment at home by reading, listening to podcasts, and even changing the phone's language to Spanish. The speaker encourages practicing speaking Spanish, even if it's just talking to oneself, and stresses the value of patience and consistency in language learning, reminding viewers that language acquisition is a gradual process.

10:04

🎉 Reflecting on Spanish Fluency and Encouraging Persistence

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker reflects on their journey to Spanish fluency and offers encouragement to others. They express hope that their video will be helpful and invite viewers to stay for more content. The speaker reiterates the importance of persistence and consistency in language learning, suggesting that taking breaks and not being too hard on oneself are also crucial for successful language acquisition. They end on a positive note, promising to create more content and expressing gratitude for the viewers' time.

Keywords

💡Fluency

Fluency refers to the ability to speak a language smoothly and effortlessly, with a high level of comprehension and expression. In the video, the speaker discusses their journey to achieving fluency in Spanish, which is the central theme of the video. Examples include the speaker's use of various methods to learn Spanish, such as apps, music, and books, all contributing to their fluency.

💡Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where individuals doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as a 'fraud'. The speaker mentions it when discussing their self-taught fluency in Spanish, suggesting that they feel undeserving of the credit they receive for their language skills.

💡Duolingo

Duolingo is a language-learning platform that offers free, game-like lessons in multiple languages. The speaker credits Duolingo for helping them build a foundation in Spanish by learning basic vocabulary and grammar, which is a key part of their language learning process.

💡Music

In the context of the video, music serves as a tool for language acquisition. The speaker mentions listening to Spanish music and learning the lyrics to songs as a way to grasp the language, emphasizing the role of music in enhancing language learning through relatability and memorization.

💡Personal Routine

A personal routine refers to the regular activities one engages in daily. The speaker suggests incorporating Spanish into one's routine as a method for learning the language, such as saying phrases related to daily activities in Spanish to reinforce memory and usage.

💡Reading

Reading is highlighted as an essential part of the speaker's language learning strategy. They mention reading books in Spanish, including those they are already familiar with in English, to expand their vocabulary and understand the language in context.

💡Lingoda

Lingoda is an online language school offering classes with native speakers. The speaker took a course with Lingoda to identify their language level and advance their Spanish skills, emphasizing the importance of interactive learning with native speakers for conversational practice.

💡Environment

Creating an environment refers to surrounding oneself with the target language to facilitate learning. The speaker, being the only Spanish speaker in their family, creates an environment by listening to Spanish podcasts and music, and speaking Spanish even when alone, to immerse themselves in the language.

💡Practice

Practice is the act of repeatedly performing an activity to improve or master it. The speaker stresses the importance of consistent practice in language learning, suggesting that one should practice speaking Spanish, even if it's just to oneself, to improve fluency.

💡Consistency

Consistency is the practice of doing something regularly over time. The speaker emphasizes the need for consistent study habits, such as daily flashcard reviews or routine repetitions in Spanish, to achieve and maintain language fluency.

💡Patience

Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. The speaker advises viewers to be patient with themselves during the language learning process, acknowledging that learning a language is a gradual journey that requires time and perseverance.

Highlights

The speaker became fluent in Spanish through self-teaching, overcoming imposter syndrome.

The journey to fluency in Spanish did not follow a quick-fix method but took considerable time.

Bilingualism was a long-held aspiration, with Spanish emerging as the chosen language due to its prevalence.

Work experience at a local grocery store exposed the speaker to a bilingual environment, sparking the decision to learn Spanish.

Duolingo app was instrumental in building foundational vocabulary in both French and Spanish.

Listening to Spanish music and learning lyrics helped in language acquisition.

Incorporating Spanish into daily routines, such as meditation, facilitated memorization of phrases.

Reading books in Spanish, especially familiar ones, significantly advanced the speaker's language skills.

Starting with easier reading materials is recommended to avoid overwhelming beginners.

Lingoda, an online language school, provided a platform for conversational practice and confidence building.

Creating a Spanish-speaking environment at home was crucial for consistent practice.

Setting the phone language to Spanish for a year forced immersion and was beneficial for learning.

Practice is emphasized as essential, even if it means speaking Spanish to oneself.

Online resources were leveraged extensively for language learning, including courses and podcasts.

Consistency in language learning is key to achieving fluency.

Patience and not rushing the learning process are advised for effective language acquisition.

The speaker promises to continue practicing Spanish to retain the acquired knowledge.

The speaker contemplates creating a video entirely in Spanish as a future goal.

Transcripts

when people ask me how I became fluent

in Spanish I I generally tell them that

I taught myself but my imposter syndrome

won't let me claim that so yeah here I

am hola is

I'm gonna show you guys or tell you guys

how I learn Spanish how I became fluent

in Spanish it feels so good to finally

say that so hopefully in this video you

can take away a couple of gems on How I

Learned Spanish over the years

disclaimer this is not a five steps two

three steps to video and I did this in

30 days type video this took quite a bit

of time if I'm honest but don't let that

discourage you because you can get there

faster than you think and I'm about to

show you tell you how I've always wanted

to be bilingual from as

long as I can remember and I didn't know

it was going to be with Spanish Spanish

wasn't my initial target language at

first I actually didn't care I was like

I just want to know something other than

my native language I think it's so cool

to be bilingual

um it's gonna help you you know later on

in life unlock different levels learn

new people cultures Etc I thought it was

the like the coolest thing ever once I

graduated high school I realized that

the vast majority around me still spoke

either English or Spanish I started

working at the local grocery store here

in my hometown only to find that nearly

all the customers spoke Spanish along

with some of my co-workers they were

bilingual both English and Spanish and I

just thought to myself it's a no-brainer

why not learn the language I started

with the Duolingo app now before y'all

hate on my little birdie Duo this was

really helped for me because it was

something free on the go and I could

learn it when anytime I want online and

it was extremely helpful it helped me

build the basics in both French and

Spanish but it really helped me build

foundational words whether it was verbs

like to eat to walk to work things that

I use in my everyday vocabulary in

English I was able to pick up super

quickly because of Duolingo and it was

really fun I thought it was really fun

and educational and it helped me a lot

so don't overlook it music I listen to a

lot of music in Spanish that helped me

grasp on despite hearing it here and

there from when I was younger or not

really paying attention to it when I was

younger or in high school I

started teaching myself the lyrics to

Spanish songs I would find songs I could

relate to and personalize therefore I'd

want to memorize it more it was easy to

memorize because I could really relate

to the song I love listening to music

finding something that connects you

whether it's a hobby or something that's

related to you finding vocabulary words

that went with your personal routine

whether it was reading in the morning

you know going to work exercising for

example I love to meditate in the

morning so I would say things like me

gusta Ami me gusta meritare La manana

learning small phrases like that that

were relatable can help you remember

those things because why you do it every

day and you're not going to forget

something that you do every day

including your routine one of the things

that I love to do one of my biggest

Hobbies I am such a bookworm I love love

love to read I have a select few of

books in on my shelf that I have read

over and over and over countless times I

can recite them back over and over and

over I don't get sick of them so what I

did was like okay if you memorized a

book get a Spanish version of that and

then see how much you know in Spanish

already and then learn more vocabulary

that way and it's going to be something

that you're interested in so then you're

going to retain it even more so an

example of that that I have

um I've read the seven spiritual laws of

success by Deepak Chopra numerous of

times I still reread it I could probably

recite this book front and back maybe

not in practice I'm still working on it

in practice but um yeah I ordered it I

ordered the other book in Spanish La

siete is

um and this has helped me greatly I will

say at first it is intimidating you open

the book and you're like

I only recognize like five words but

that's okay that's okay because you have

the other one and your native language

or English it's going to help you

translate and then if you still feel

stuck there you can always go on the

internet for extra help and resources

but it is a great great help it helped

me immensely don't get a thick dense

book I understand if you like Harry

Potter that is great but I would not

recommend a thick dense book because

it's going to take you a minute to get

through it and it might start

overwhelming you more than it would

actually help you start with something

small this is a very small read or just

fine little small Spanish reads in

beginner Spanish I even bought a couple

like third grade reading level fourth

grade reading level books in Spanish

just to see where I was at or even just

to begin there that was a great help as

well but don't don't add more work to

yourself you don't want to have to

reteach yourself the book as well while

trying to pick up on the language as

well I actually took a lingoda Sprint I

think it was last summer I wasn't gonna

do this until I kept seeing it over and

over and I thought why not give it a try

now for those of you who do not know

what lingoda is lingoda is an online

language school with certified classes

with the native speakers of the target

language that you want to learn I took a

Sprint Court Sprint slash course last

summer I wanted to identify where I was

in my Spanish and also Advance my

Spanish so I thought why not it was so

cool because I got to speak with people

from all over the world different

Spanish-speaking countries and it really

helped me advance my Spanish by having

small simple day-to-day conversation I

also boosted my confidence in speaking

Spanish especially when you have other

students there with you online and

they're complimenting your Spanish

You're complimenting them it's a great

great environment I highly recommend it

creating the environment so I am the

only one in my immediate family who

speaks Spanish

yes if you don't have someone in your

circle you could practice with or say

you are the only person in your

household trying to learn the language

or even speak a language that's

completely different you have to have to

have to create your own environment for

me I do that by reading books in the

morning listening to Spanish podcasts

listening to Spanish music or even when

I find myself alone or in the shower or

doing tasks by myself I try to say

things out loud whether it be the task

that I'm doing is

things like that whether it's house

chores or just things that you like to

do or start talking to yourself out loud

that also helps greatly something I also

did was I put my phone in Spanish for

about a year that was a bit stressful

for a minute I don't know if you want to

do that but that helped me greatly it

forced me to learn everything it

reminded me every day what Spanish

everyday Spanish language that was being

used that was also very helpful as well

well practice practice I cannot stress

practice enough you have to practice

even if you're talking to yourself just

say it just do it try to initiate

conversations and something that we have

a huge advantage of is online something

that you're on right now

um take advantage of online of all the

research you could possibly resources

that you could possibly think of that

would be helpful whether it's taking a

course online or listening to a podcast

or just simply repeating the list of

books basically everything that I just

told you repeat repeat put it on repeat

put it in your routine make it your

routine switch your entire routine in

Spanish can you explain to someone your

routine in Spanish things like that

that's how I became fluent in Spanish

quickly and how I am still continuing to

retain all the information because you

if you don't use it you will lose it so

continue to do those things in the

process of retaining information

take breaks when necessary your brain is

also already doing so much work as it is

while it is an extraordinary thing to

have it also needs breaks so give

yourself breaks don't cram in a whole

bunch of things as if don't cram on a

whole bunch of vocabulary words if

you're not able to do it or if you're

struggling with one couple of phrases or

just us the grammar or whatever it is

you may be working on if you're

struggling with it take some time and

actually stretch the time out I've heard

of the challenges

learning this language in 30 days

learning this in 60 days learning this

in 90 days while that is possible also

don't be so hard on yourself it is very

easy to think and believe that we

learned our native languages overnight

and effortlessly when you think about it

it took a long time now I'm not saying

it's going to take your entire life or

you have to live your whole life again

just learn a new language no absolutely

not at the same time you had to have

patience with yourself you didn't have

the same vocabulary at the age of five

as you do now now do you so just be real

with yourself and take your time it's

okay and give be patient with yourself

you will get it I promise put in the

work and be consistent you have to put

in the work if you're not

keeping a steady Pace or being

consistent with your studies whether

it's flash cards reading or just

repeating your routine every day in the

your target language you're not going to

get there as fast as you'd like you have

to have to have to be consistent people

fall off of their goals because they

gave up too soon so no matter how much

frustration or how many plateaus you

come across don't stop trying just keep

going all these all of these things is

what I did to become fluent in Spanish

maybe one day I'll create a video

completement in espanol

maybe I hope this video was of great

hope for you

um stick around if you want more and

thank you for watching this adios

[Music]