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

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]

Channel: Kiara Thomas

Views: 1,451,042

Keywords: #learning, #spanish, #fluency, #newtoyoutube, #howtobefluent, #bilingual, #freelearning, #lingoda, #duolingo, #selftaught, #english, #newvideo, #espanol, #kiara, #mexicanspanish, #texas, #noschool, #selfeducation, #selfinvestment, #development, #languagelearning, #idiomas, #language, #education, #learnforfree, #online, #courses, #books, #translate, #apps, #tips, skills, #fastlearning, #howtovideo, #stepbystep, #howIdidit, #youcandoit, #learnfromhome, #environment, #experiment, #outsideofcomfortzone, #lifestyle, #knowlegde, #access

Id: qf4QELxolIY

Length: 10min 19sec (619 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 22 2022