How quickly can someone learn a new language? You can buy things that say they will teach you to speak in a few weeks or even a few days. I'm trying to learn Spanish quickly, but like learning any other language, it's a long, hard process that can take months or even years to master. You can learn some Spanish very quickly, but most of what you learn will be swear words and slang that you won't be able to use in real conversation.
Some of the Spanish words I know come up in my dreams sometimes, but most of the time they are about how stupid I am and how I don't know any other words. Some people can learn Spanish or any other language very quickly because they have what is often called a "ear for languages." I wish I could be one of them.
I agree with the school of thought that says immersion is the best way to learn a language, no matter how well you learn languages. The best way to really learn a language is to live in a country where the language is spoken. You can also use interactive software, read books, and listen to tapes. Or, I found a different and more interesting way to learn that involves music. Even though this sounds interesting and kind of fun, I can't say that I want to learn the words that are in the lyrics of the Latin songs I've seen here.
To really learn Spanish quickly and well, it would be nice to use all of the above methods together. Ideal and probably very successful would be to live in the country, listen to tapes and music, read books, use software, and only speak the language. Unfortunately no one really has the time this would entail so we must instead settle for a long, drawn out, frustrating process.
