Learning Spanish With a Passion

When I think of Spanish, I think of passion. I imagine the dizzying smell of dark chocolate, or the sweet scent of almond trees wafting in the summer breeze. I think of the vivid red trail of a flamenco dancer’s dress as she whirls and stamps her heels to the vigorous strumming of a classical guitar.

If you’re a romantic like me, the benefits of learning  Spanish should be obvious to you. French may be the language of love, but Spanish, oh Spanish...I love to just listen to it, every consonant and vowel uttered with such clarity. You know what I mean.

Romance aside, however, the simple precision with whichSpanish is spoken is what makes it so beautiful. I suppose the beauty of Spanish is rooted in the simplicity of its pronunciation. This precision and simplicity can be misleading. Beneath the beautiful and musical surface of Spanish lies intricate grammar that follows countless rules, followed by a mind boggling amount of exceptions to these rules. That said, I believe Spanish really is like music.

You can be romantic but you also have to be painfully serious about finding out how to learn Spanish. You can of course start with phonetics and memorize the alphabet. You can also start leaning how to speak Spanish words to increase your vocabulary. This is the part where  you will begin to feel like everything’s a chore but if you love Spanish, you must also be committed to learning how to speak Spanish correctly.

Memorization is an unavoidable part of teaching yourself Spanish,but there are things to do to make it more fun. When memorizing nouns, take note of gender, remember that all nouns, including inanimate objects and even abstract concepts, have gender. To make things easier, always accompany nouns with their appropriate articles (“el” or “la”).

Gender is also very important when verbs come into the picture. Unlike in English, Spanish verbs are conjugated depending not only on tense and quantity but also on the gender(s) of the noun(s). Although the rules for conjugating verbs are quite precise, you will find that many verbs, even the most commonly used ones such as “esta” (“to be”), have exceptions.

Learning Spanish, especially teaching yourself Spanish, might at times prove difficult and tedious. But in the end, not only will you feel a sense of deep satisfactionbut you will also gain a deeper appreciation for the various cultures around the world that speak Spanish.

think about how despite its inherent difficulties, Spanish is the most spoken language in the world in terms of native speakers. Imagine how 329 million people from parts of the United States, South America, and the Caribbean have all mastered and even transcended its convoluted rules and idiosyncrasies. And you can too!