So you want to learn Spanish in three months, that’s pretty nuts! In this article I’ll give you the expectations that you should have, methods you can use, and tips that have served me over the years.
In my humble opinion, I think to say that you have “learned a language” means that you have at least a B2 level. If this is your definition, the chances of you being able to reach that are very slim.
However, you can get to a point of being able to have basic conversations, introduce yourself, and get directions if you are going to a Spanish-speaking country.
Are you ready to discover the best methods I have found for learning a language in record-breaking time? Let’s get into it!
Can You Really Learn Spanish In Three Months?
The short answer is no, when it comes to real “fluency” (B2 Level) it takes at least one year. However, if you want to reach A2, it’s possible to get there in 3 months.
Although we must keep in mind that such a goal requires discipline and no days off.
A2 means that you can have basic conversations, introduce yourself, and explain how you feel, and what you want in a basic way. To get to this level in three months you must study at least 2.5 hours a day without fail (260 hours total of study time).
What Can You Realistically Expect?
If you’re willing to study at least 2.5 hours a day you’ll be able to reach an A2 level, this level is advanced enough that you’ll be able to use the language a little, but basic enough that you won’t be able to have real conversations yet.
However, if you get yourself in a sticky situation, this will be a million times better than if you had known no Spanish.
As far as expectations go, as mentioned in my article about the A2 level, you’ll be able to:
Talk about routine tasks
Introduce yourself - mention where you are from, and describe your family
Write basic greetings and common phrases
Express your feelings, wishes, and plans in a simple way
Have very basic conversations if the speaker talks slowly and clearly
Can Spanish Be Self-Taught In Three Months?
Yeah! You can learn Spanish on your own if you’re on a budget, however, having a tutor would help a lot. If you don’t want to get a tutor, you can always use an app like HelloTalk or Tandem to find a language partner to practice with for free.
It doesn’t matter so much which one you do, but that you get the time to speak and hear a native speaker express themselves. It’s like the Psychologist Jordan Peterson says - “Experience is the best teacher, and the worst experiences teach the best lessons.”
What’s The Shortest Amount Of Time You Could Learn Spanish?
In my opinion and the opinion of many other language learners, you can’t even begin to say you “know a language” or that you’re “fluent” until you reach a B2 level.
This level requires about 620-675 hours of study time, so if you study for 2 hours a day after a year you could reach this.
However, for someone who is not used to studying languages, or disciplining themselves in such a manner, these 2 hours a day will probably become a burden, resulting in you skipping study sessions.
So if you are the average person, I would say that you should expect it to take 2 years of one-hour-long daily study sessions.
Lesson Plan To Learn Spanish In Three Months
Now that we have set some expectations, I am going to give you the tools that got me to B2 in Spanish within two years, and that got me to A2 in French in just three months.
These are all of the methods that I use daily (or almost daily) during my study sessions. Personally, I would suggest that you incorporate as many as possible - if not all of these methods.
Listening Practice Methods
So you’re ready to get immersed, I dig it! Many of these listening practice methods will also work as “reading practice” because when listening at beginner levels, we need subtitles, transcripts, etc.
Let’s take a look at each of these methods and how you can deploy them in your everyday life.
YouTube Comprehensible Input Channels
Honestly, as Spanish learners, we are frickin’ spoiled with endless YouTube channels that do a fantastic job at creating interesting beginner content.
I have always watched such channels while I cook, and when I lay down before I sleep.
And hey, have you ever asked yourself - can I learn Spanish in my sleep?
And the answer is YES and NO - a part of what you learn every day is processed and “archived” (so to speak) while you sleep.
So while sleeping with Spanish in the background has been proven quite useless, listening before sleeping will bear great fruit! Some of the channels I recommend for you to check out are:
Websites With Bilingual Stories
This method is great for story lovers, or those who remember some older stories for children.
For example, if you always loved the story of Chicken Little, you can go over the English version, and then the Spanish one and you’ll understand more than you “should” because you’ll know what it’s supposed to be saying in each part.
This will make strong new connections in your brain that pair the new language (Spanish) to the old one which your brain knows oh-so-well.
My Bilingual Story Website Suggestions:
Apps Like Clozemaster & Language Transfer
Chances are you’ve never heard of these two apps, which is a damn shame because they are my favorites!
Clozemaster is a super simple app that just shows you useful sentences, and you have to fill in a missing word. There’s no game, no characters, just the language you’re trying to learn.
Language Transfer, however, is an app that you can only listen to. It consists of 90 audio lessons between a Spanish teacher and his students.
These clips are chopped up and only contain the most important part of his lessons.
If you don’t want to hire a tutor, listen to all of these audio clips on the app - at 20 bones a lesson, this app is worth $1,800, but we get it for FREE!
**Example Of A ClozeMaster Spanish Lesson**
Listen To Music & Read The Lyrics Simultaneously
This method is my absolute favorite for two reasons, it’s incredibly easy to do, and it works like a charm! The majority of my vocabulary in both Spanish and French is from repeatedly listening to music and reading the lyrics.
Personally, out of my daily one-and-a-half-hour study session, I use this method for 30 minutes until I reach a B1 level in a language.
Writing Practice Methods
Now that we know how we can get listening practice, let’s talk about how we can start teaching our brain to produce the Spanish language.
This is incredibly important because naturally as adults, we can usually write better than we speak, even in our own native language.
So if we can practice articulating things on paper, the better we will be off in a conversation. Let’s take a look at some of the best methods that I have found so far.
Journaling In Spanish
What? How can a beginner just pick up a pen and start journaling in a new language? With Google Translate of course!
I use this method from day one because it keeps me in touch with the language, and causes me to produce content that is way above my level, yet is comprehensible because I know what I want to say with every sentence.
Check out my journaling method article if you want to know exactly what I do - step by step.
Writing Phrases Taken From Clozemaster
This app (as I mentioned earlier) shows us extremely rich and important sentences, currently in French, I write these sentences down and repeat them to myself daily.
This doesn’t just help me acquire vocabulary (although, that too), however, it also helps me acquire grammar. Try it out and let me know how it goes for you!
Texting Language Partner On HelloTalk
Normally, I wouldn’t recommend that you get a language partner at such an early stage, but hell, you’re giving yourself three months, lol.
I suggest that you find another learner on HelloTalk that has the same level in English that you have in Spanish, this will help because if they are much better, normally you’ll just end up talking in English with them.
Things you can do with your language partner are:
Ask them to write all of the basic greetings in Spanish and pronounce them for you
Have them practice basic greetings
Practice introductions
Have them read a story or poem to you in Spanish
Speaking Practice Methods
Now that we’ve got listening and writing in order, let’s go over some speaking practice methods. Practicing speaking is extremely important, as a matter of fact, I have met people who understand at a B2 level, but can only speak at an A1 level, nuts, right?
Speaking To Yourself
The most basic thing you can do is have a basic conversation with yourself, personally, I do this in the shower every morning.
This helps me practice producing words and phrases that I already know, so maybe today it took me 3 seconds to think of a phrase, but tomorrow it will only take 2.
Give this a try once you have a bit of Spanish memorized.
Imitating Native Speakers On YouTube
This is a method for getting your accent and pronunciation better. I suggest that if you have a 3-month horizon you do this once a week at least. Just watch a video from one of the YouTube channels I recommended above, and repeat their sentences as they did.
This may seem to not be a big deal, but it might be the difference between natives understanding you and them looking at you confused.
What are the words useful for if we can’t communicate effectively, right?
Calling With A HelloTalk Language Partner
Tell your newly found language partner that you want to have weekly calls. These calls will not only form your vocabulary and comprehension, but they will also keep you motivated to improve - knowing that you will have a “Spanish call” in the coming week.
Speaker With An Italki Tutor (Optional)
If you can afford a tutor, I highly suggest that you get one. The difference between a language partner and an Italki tutor is that with a partner, you have to provide time to teach them English.
On the other hand, with a tutor, all of the time is dedicated to you and your learning process.
A good tutor can also give you wonderful lesson plans that are based on your goals, and they can track your progress for you.
Immersion & Other Input Methods
The last section of this article will be about immersion. If you want to get to a good spot with your Spanish in three months, immersion will prove invaluable.
These are the methods that I use to shoot myself forward in the language-learning process.
Change Phone Language To Spanish
The first thing I do when I’m learning a new language is learn the most essential vocabulary for my phone, and I begin using my phone in that language.
Of course, this will bring you moments of confusion every once in a great while (when you are trying to change a setting, for example) but to combat this, I allow myself to change the language back momentarily when it’s necessary.
This will teach you verbs and nouns that you might need to know in the near future.
To change your phones language to Spanish;
Go to settings and search "Languages & Input"
Click "Langauges"
Click "Add a language"
Find & click "Español"
Click your country of choice (Doesn't matter which)
Go To Sleep Listening To Spanish
We know that the brain doesn’t sleep at night, quite the contrary, it speeds up.
Whenever we sleep our brain sorts through all of the information that it receives during the day, and it tries to piece together what is worth keeping, and what is worth forgetting.
Use this to your advantage by listening to my target language before you go to sleep!
However, remember to turn the autoplay off lol, I used to go to sleep listening to narcos and I’d wake up at 2AM to gunshots and an angry Pablo Escobar screaming in my ear “Get on the ground you son of a b***!” So yeah, maybe don’t do it like I did.
Listen To Spanish Music & Podcasts Anytime It’s Possible
Now that I’m learning French, any time I spend cooking, cleaning, or driving, I listen to French podcasts and music.
This keeps me surrounded by the French language extremely often and therefore communicates to my brain that it’s important for the future.
Label Things In Your Home
A classic learning technique that can boost your vocabulary is labeling things in your home with sticky notes. The fridge, the counter, the microwave, etc.
This will create an environment that constantly pushes you to acquire new vocabulary and attach that vocabulary to a physical object, rather than just an idea or image in your head.
Give it a go and let me know how it works for you!
Conclusion: Learn Spanish In Three Months
To conclude, a good goal for the average person would be to get to an A2 level in three months. This is an ambitious goal, yet it’s quite realistic if you have the discipline.
To reach the A2 level, you will need to study for about 260 hours total, meaning at least 2.5 hours a day. But don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be 2.5 hours of hitting textbooks and reading grammar explanations.
Use this time to listen, read, write, and watch beginner videos in the Spanish language.
If you do all of the things mentioned in this article, you’ll successfully reach the A2 level within 3 months, resulting in you being able to:
Talk about routine tasks
Introduce yourself - mention where you are from, and describe your family
Write basic greetings and common phrases
Express your feelings, wishes, and plans in a simple way
Have very basic conversations if the speaker talks slowly and clearly
So what are we waiting for? Let’s study, and let’s have fun doing it! If you're taking on the challenge, please email me, because I would love to hear about your progress and how this worked for you.
Have a wonderful day/evening/night, friend!
Hasta luego,
Ben