How To Learn Spanish Quickly

With more and more Indians travelling overseas, both on business and pleasure trips, knowing a second, third or even a fourth language always comes in handy. And while you may be able to speak the Queens language as fluently as the Queen herself, you might have to visit places where English is not widely spoken or not spoken at all. Let’s take the example of Spanish. As the third most widely spoken language after Mandarin (Chinese) and English, Spanish is official language of twenty nations, and widely spoken in several others including the US. Following are the countries that have Español as their oficial language:

o Argentina
o Bolivia
o Chile
o Colombia
o Costa Rica
o Cuba
o Dominican Republic
o Ecuador
o El Salvador
o Equatorial Guinea
o Guatemala
o Honduras
o Mexico
o Nicaragua
o Panama
o Paraguay
o Peru
o Spain
o Uruguay
o Venezuela



What’s at Stake
If you plan to visit any of these countries in the near future, make sure to arm yourself with enough knowledge of the language so that you don’t find yourself completely at the mercy of local guides and are able to carry out some rudimentary communication with the natives. It won’t do you or your trousers any good if you have to visit the loo and people keep directing you to the nearest tapas joint.


First Steps
The first step is to acquaint yourself with the most commonly used words, phrases and greetings in Spanish. Having mastered these, you can then combine and mix words to construct relatively sane sentences. Before I start with the rudimentary lesson, I should let you know that I am a hard taskmaster and if tu do not pay atenciones, soy will cannes tu backsides…Comprende Señor? Alright, so that was a botched up attempt! But at least it got the meaning through!

To start with, let’s imagine that you are being introduced to a spanish gentleman or a beautiful Senorita who doesn’t know a word of English. How will you start the conversation? Practice the phrases below, and at least you’ll be able to strike up a conversation with a Spanish speaking person. It’s fairly easy since the pronunciation in Spanish is easy to master. Words are pronounced as they are spelt, with a few exceptions.

Hola – Hello

Como esta usted? – How are you?

(Note: Usted and tu are interchangeable? Tu is similar to the same tu in Hindi, and signifies familiarity. It is used to address friends and people in the same age group. Usted is similar to Aap in Hindi. It’s used in formal occasions and to address strangers and elders.)

¿Como se llama? / ¿Cuál es su nombre? – What’s your name?

Mi nombre es Rahul / Me llamo Rahul – My name is Rahul.
(Note: llamo is pronounced as yamo, with the ‘L’ being silent)

¿Usted tienen gusto de una bebida? – Would you like a drink?

¿Hay un próximo resturant? - Is there a restaurant nearby?

¿Usted habla inglés? / ¿Habla ingles? – Do you speak English?

No, hablo Espanol. – I don’t speak English.

Soy un turista - I am a tourist.

¿Cuánto es éste? – How much is this?
Era un placer de haberla conocido. - It was a pleasure to meet you

Here are a few more commonly used words:

Muchas gracias - Thank you very much!
Bienvenido – You’re welcome.
Adios – Goodbye.
Buenos dias/tardes - Good day/morning.
Encantado - Nice to meet you.
Con permiso - Excuse me.
Por favor – Please.

Numbers
Uno - 1
Dos – 2
Tres – 3
Cuatro – 4
Cinco - 5
Seises - 6
Siete – 7
Ocho - 8
Nueve – 9
Diez – 10

Once you feel that you have grasped the basics of Spanish, use these Xpert tips to become as familiar with the language as possible:


Take a Crash Course
One of the most obvious ways of quickly learning a foreign language is to take a crash course. Foreign language crash courses, instead of focusing on improving your written skills, concentrate solely on helping you learn enough Spanish so that you are able to get along without feeling all at sea in a foreign land.


Rent a spanish movie with english subtitles
An excellent way to increase one’s familiarity with a foreign language is to watch a movie in that language with English subtitles translating what’s being said. Play the movie again and again, and you will start picking up newer words and expressions thereby enriching you vocabulary. Watching foreign movies will also help you get a grasp on the accent and the diction.


Instructional books, cds and tapes

You can also purchase instructional audio Cds and tapes that provide Spanish lessons. Record and store the lessons on your MP3 or mobile and listen to them wherever you are. One of the biggest advantages of trying to learn Spanish using an instructional audio CD is that you can then get to listen to the way a particular word is being pronounced. For example the Spanish word of dog is Perro, but its pronounced is Perrrro. As long as you don’t pick up the pronunciation, you will never be able to understand the finer nuances of Spanish.

If you are trying to learn Spanish from a book, read out loud and listen to your voice. Don’t try to first think of a sentence in English and then translate it in Spanish. The sentences in Spanish are constructed in very different way so direct translation will only hinder the speed of your progress. Instead of trying to translate, just speak out a sentence as you normally would.


Learning online
There are a number of websites that provide lessons in Spanish. Most of them will allow you to join for free and will also send you free daily or weekly newsletters with small Spanish lessons. Keep collecting these newsletters and get print outs. However, it’s so much better to a pay for a membership at one of these sites. Rocket Spanish (http://www.rocketlanguages.com/spanish/premium/signin.php) is a site that I have personally greatly benefited from.


Carry an english/ spanish dictionary
Its extremely important to carry a bilingual dictionary while traveling in a foreign country. Though may you have a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, there are still thousands of Spanish words whose meanings you may not know. So if you have to buy a packet of condoms in Mexico, just browse through the C section and you will get all the protection you need.


Spanish is a really beautiful language and is dramatic, expressive and emotional. Learning to speak fluently in Spanish will not just give you the confidence to converse fluently and easily with a native, but will also make it far easier for you to get accepted in their circle. You never know, your linguistic skills might assist you to seduce a beautiful chica!