You need to know about the two “be”s of Spanish learning. But I’m NOT talking about ser and estar. Those both mean “to be”, but what I’m talking about are the two things YOU need to be while you’re learning Spanish. These two “be”s will help you immensely and they’ll ensure you make it far along the path to fluency. One of the awesome things about them is they’re so simple! The two “be”s of learning Spanish are…
- Be consistent. A regular, predictable, reliable time each day is important. Consistency will get you far. You will actually see progress, as long as you maintain a routine. Something interesting about consistent but brief Spanish practice is it’s more effective than erratic but long Spanish practice. This means you’ll get much better results if you review flashcards for 5 minutes in the morning and listen to a song in Spanish while reading the lyrics on Spotify for another 5 minutes DAILY compared to if you spend an hour of the same tasks twice or three times a week.
- Be patient. You’re not in a rush, and there’s no reason to feel pressure to become fluent. It’s better to realize everyone has their own “speed” in learning, and there’s no deadline. When you can let go of the perceived need to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible, you can find a lot more enjoyment in the learning process.
Just be consistent, and be patient. That’s it. I would almost say they’re the two secrets of learning Spanish – but really, there are no secrets. There are things that will give you good results – and the two things you need to be will allow you to get the results you want.
If you can be consistent, I promise you there will be a moment you look back and will be happy to see how far you’ve come. And if you’re patient, you’ll have fun learning Spanish, knowing you’re learning at the pace that’s right for you.