The Language Learning Curve: What’s the Best Way for You to Improve Your Language Skills

Becoming fluent in a new language is a journey… and in my research with language learners I’ve discovered a “language learning curve” that most people follow. Before I share that, here’s how the language learning journey went for me. After 5 years of learning Spanish at school, I was only able to remember the bizarre phrase “tengo diez peces” (“I have ten fish”). To be honest, when I started Spanish, I honestly never thought that I would get much further than “buenos días”, so maybe talking about fish was a step forward from that! As it turned out, I returned to Spanish as an adult in evening classes at university, and then jumped between various self-study courses before moving to Spain for an eight week language course. I experimented with any and all materials available, and (perhaps most importantly) moved into an all-Spanish speaking flat within a month or so. I spent the next two years in Spain, and the year after that in Colombia. I remember watching Spanish TV on the first night after moving to Spain (Valencia), and wondering if I would ever understand what they were saying. After a few months in Spain, I was able to work my way through a newspaper (El País - probably not the easiest one for learners!), stopping every second word to look something up in the dictionary, taking one hour to get through an article. With listening, for a while I could only pick out words and phrases. Later, I started to connect the dots - moving from getting the gist of something to understanding subtleties of conversation. I remember the feeling of frustration that everyone passes through when they can understand more than they can say, and then the joy of finally being able to express myself as I wanted to. Becoming a confident Spanish speaker took me a long time, and it was anything but a linear process. I certainly haven’t finished learning, and I hope I never do. Fast-forward a few years, and I became curious to understand whether other people’s experiences learning languages were the same as mine. I run a website for Spanish learners, Spanish Obsessed, with my Colombian partner Lis, and we asked our readers to share their experiences learning Spanish. We created a survey asking for responses around various data points, in the hope of piecing together the typical language learning curve. We were to delighted to get over 500 responses! Based on these we derived a few interesting insights into how people learn a new language. Before I get into the data, a quick caveat: This is not a strictly scientific, controlled study. Responses were self-reported, and while the people responding to the survey come from a variety of backgrounds, may not be completely representative of all language learners.

The Language Learning Curve: How Long Do Most People Take to Learn a Language?

We asked people how long they had been learning Spanish, and what level they thought they had reached. Here’s what we found: Digging deeper into the chart above, we can see:

• For the typical language learner, it takes around 18 months to reach the “pre-intermediate” stage, or 25% of the total time they’ll spend studying to reach near-native level. This is the honeymoon phase of language learning, where everything is new, motivation is high, and progress is quick.
• Things start to slow down between “pre-intermediate” and “intermediate”. This is where learners move from fumbling their way around some basic phrases to stringing sentences together. It’s also marked by a big increase in comprehension. Around two thirds (66%) of the time spent learning a language is spent here.
• Once you make the jump to upper-intermediate, it becomes easier and things speed up. The hardest jump is between pre and upper-intermediate.
• Reaching a native level of proficiency takes a long time… Our advanced learners have been studying an average of six years. Initially, I thought this seemed like far too long. However, this is the average, across a large group of learners. They are a mix of people, including casual learners.

How Much Time Per Week do You Need to Learn a New Language?

We also asked participants how long they spent on Spanish each week:

• Motivation seems to be at its highest at either end of the language learning spectrum. Beginners are filled with,a hunger for the language. Likewise, the most advanced learners spend a long time each week on their Spanish.
• There’s a definite wane in time spent studying once learners get over their initial honeymoon period. Study time drops from nearly six hours to around three hours per week, as learners figure out that they’re in this for the long haul, and the quick early gains start to subside.
• High level learners still spend a long time studying Spanish, using a mix of activities, including listening, speaking and reading. This perhaps reflects their consistency and continued motivation. Good things come to those who wait (and work for it!).

What Language Skills are the Easiest to Learn?

Respondents also rated a variety of language skills (such as speaking and reading comprehension) between 1 (easiest) and 5 (most difficult). Not surprisingly, everything gets easier as learners improve. Here’s what we found overall:

• Grammar is hardest for complete beginners, but quickly becomes one of the easiest skills. It seems that once beginners have an idea of the absolute basics, grammar quickly falls into the background.
• Interestingly, speaking skills (both fluency and accuracy) are at their most challenging around the elementary/pre-intermediate levels, while listening comprehension is actually slightly easier. This reflects that feeling that learners go through of understanding more than they are capable of producing. The good news is that this gets easier over time.
• Speaking was rated as the hardest skill for all levels, while reading was the easiest. No surprises here!

The 4 Stages of Language Learning

Based on our findings as well as our own experience, we’ve broken down learning a language into four stages. We’ve included an approximate time-frame for each stage based on our findings, however remember that this is an average and it’s possible to learn a language much faster with the right approach and motivation. Here’s what you can expect learning a language to native level fluency:

Stage 1: Beginner - Elementary (0 - 6 months)

At this stage, you’re full of enthusiasm for the language. Everything’s new, and you can immediately see how to use phrases and vocabulary that you learn. You’re in the honeymoon period - you have time and energy to devote to this, and as a result progress is quick as you learn the easy “low hanging fruit” of the language. “Grammar” is a large, scary concept, but you’re not too worried about that for now. Everything’s difficult, but you’re making rapid progress so feel good. Focus areas for beginners:

• Enjoy the quick progress you are making, and use this time to start building a language learning habit.
• Understand that you are learning a lot, quickly, but that things will get harder.
• Decide now whether or not you want to commit for the long term.

Stage 2: Elementary to Pre-Intermediate (6 months - 1 year)

This is the stage that sorts the wheat from the chaff. Those who took up learning Spanish as a fad are starting to drop off, and you realise that you are in this for the long-haul. You have a choice to make: learning this language is now either a labour of love or a struggle. You’ll find that your motivation starts to wane, and the time you spend on Spanish nearly halves. Progress slows down as the easy wins available to beginners dry up. Speaking starts to become a major frustration, as you realise how far your tongue is behind your ears. This is one of the hardest points to break past in learning a language. Focus areas for pre-intermediate language learners:

• Motivation and persistence are key here. Although it now seems more of a struggle, if you revisit your initial motivation that will keep you going.
• Choose to view this as a labour of love, rather than a struggle.
• Understand that this is, in many ways, the hardest point in the language learning curve. Things will only get easier, and you will only get better from this point!

Stage 3: Pre-Intermediate to Intermediate (2 - 3 years)

Good things come to those who persevere! This is the steepest part of the learning curve, but if you are able to make it to intermediate level there’s a good chance you can keep going. You’ll have a decent enough grasp of grammar and base vocabulary to understand 80% or more of what you hear and read. Speaking skills (both fluency and accuracy) show marked improvements as you reach an intermediate level, and you can start having more in-depth conversations. Listening is also a lot easier at intermediate level, and you’ll enjoy your interactions a lot more at this stage. Focus areas for intermediate language learners:

• Have as many real conversations with real people as you can.
• Increase your input as much as you can - now’s the time when you should look to watch Spanish TV, read the newspaper in Spanish, and change your Facebook to Spanish (if you haven’t already!).

Stage 4: Upper Intermediate and Beyond (3 years +)

After 3 years (or maybe sooner, of course!), you’ll start to break into fluency. Everything becomes easier, and you start to enjoy Spanish and live in it, rather than view it as an object to be studied. You can have fulfilling conversations with native speakers, you can understand a variety of types of Spanish, and as a result of this spend more time in the language. This has the happy consequence of further improving your Spanish, which becomes a loop: the more you enjoy Spanish, the more time you spend immersed in it, and the better you become. From this point onwards, it’s up and away! Focus areas for advanced language learners:

• You’ll be finding Spanish really enjoyable now, so make sure that you keep trying to bring Spanish more into your life. The more immersion the better, and you don’t have to go to a Spanish speaking country to do this.
• You don’t need to compartmentalise your time into “study time” any more. Look for ways to integrate Spanish into your life, without necessarily having to set aside an hour each day specifically for the purpose

Where are You on the Language Learning Curve?

Where would you put yourself on the language learning curve? How long have you been learning the language? Do my findings resonate with what you’ve found in your language learning journey? Let me know in the comments - I’ll spend time getting back to each of your comments, so jump right in!

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Must-Know Spanish Sentence Structures #16 - Describing Emotions

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! The Sentence Patterns series brings you a great new way to learn Spanish! With this series, you’ll build on your conversation skills by learning the most common and useful sentence patterns in Spanish.   In this lesson, you will learn how to use the sentence pattern “You are…” Visit us at SpanishPod101.com, where [...]

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Turismofobia – Tourismphobia EP276

What is tourism phobia? What is happening in Spain? Learn Spanish listening to this episode while you learn about current issues in tourism. Transcript: Turismofobia - Tourismphobia EP276

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CBG 2.13 | Wie viel Schokolade isst du jede Woche?

​In this episode of Coffee Break German we’ll be learning how to translate “much”, “many”, “some”, “few”, and lots more quantifying words – something learners often find difficult. By the end of this lesson you’ll be able to talk confidently in German using the words viel(e), wenig(e), etwas, manche, and say how much chocolate you eat, how many glasses of water you drink, or how many portions of fruit you have.

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Conversational Spanish: 88+ Spanish Conversation Starters and Questions

How can you speak Spanish in a more conversational, everyday way? Textbooks can be surprisingly unhelpful in this regard. They might teach you useful grammar and vocabulary, but it's often presented in an unnatural, forced way that doesn't reflect how people actually speak in real world, conversational Spanish. "What are the days of the week?" "What colour is your shirt?" "How many rooms are there in your house?" These questions might be helpful in the classroom, but they're not much use if you want to speak Spanish in the real world. With that in mind, in this article I'm going to cover some realistic Spanish conversation starters and phrases you can use in a real conversation. This is a Spanish-focussed follow-up to this previous article about general tips on meeting strangers and starting conversations, and this one with more tips on social and conversational skills.

How to Break the Ice in Spanish

The English idiom "to break the ice" can be translated literally into Spanish: romper el hielo. But how do you do it? What's the perfect line to start a simple Spanish conversation? After decades of trial, error, and dedicated practice, I've settled on some favourites. For example, here's one that usually works well for me: "Hola, soy Benny." (Hi, I'm Benny.) I know: revolutionary, isn't it? If you feel like that one is too advanced for you (perhaps because your name isn't Benny), here's another one you could try: "Holo, ¿cómo te llamas?" (Hi, what's your name?) Where do I get these ideas from? The truth is, it doesn't matter what you say to start a conversation. What matters is how you say it. Most people like to be sociable, and as long as you're not rude or inappropriate, people will probably respond well to you. And if they don't, it’s their issue, not yours. They're probably just having a bad day; don't take it personally. Move on to chat with someone else. If you’re still stuck, here are some more Spanish conversation starters you could use:

• "¿Está desocupada esta silla?" - Is this seat taken?
• "¿Sabe qué hora es?" - Do you know what the time is?
• "¿Sabe a qué hora cierra este lugar?” - Do you know what time this place closes?
• "¿Sabe dónde está el/la [place]?" - Do you know where the [place] is?
• "Hola cariño, ¿cuál es tu signo?" - Hey baby, what's your sign? (I'm kidding, don't use this one really.)

Spanish Phrases for “Getting to Know You”

Some people think that so-called "small talk" bores people and should be avoided. On the contrary, small talk has its time and place. I’ll explain why in a second, but first, let’s have a look at some of the typical “small” questions:

• ¿De dónde eres? - Where are you from?
• ¿A qué te dedicas? - What do you do for a living?
• ¿Qué estudias? - What do you study/What's your major? (a common question if you're a student.)
• ¿Qué te trae por aquí? - What brings you here?
• ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí? - How long have you been here?
• ¿Cómo conoces a José? - How do you know José? (You might ask this if e.g. José is the mutual friend who introduced you, or the host of the event you're at.)
• ¿A quién conoces aquí? - Who do you know here?
• ¿Con quién estás aquí? - Who are you here with?
• ¿Vienes seguido por aquí? - Do you come here often?

Note: for simplicity's sake I'm using the tú form of verbs for all the examples in this article. In a formal setting you might want to use usted instead, and in some countries they say vos. Be sure to use the right "you" for your specific situation. So, what are the benefits of small talk? Firstly, it’s safe and easy. Most people take a while to "open up" and feel comfortable when talking to a stranger, and small talk helps to bridge the gap. Secondly, small talk provides valuable information about who the other person is and how they relate to the situation you’re in - an instinctive priority everyone feels when meeting a new person. Don’t be afraid to engage in small talk!

Topics for More In-Depth Conversations in Spanish

Small talk only gets boring when you linger on it for too long. Conversation is about exchanging energy, not information, so don't stand there grilling the other person with questions like they're at a job interview. Think of small talk as the launchpad that will get you to a more stimulating topic. What will that topic be? It's up to you! What are you interested in? Hopefully you and your conversation partner can find some common ground. Here are some questions that might get the ball rolling, grouped by category:

Spanish Phrases to Discuss Home and Family

• ¿Tienes hermanos/hijos? - Do you have any siblings/children?
• ¿Qué edad tienen? - How old are they?
• ¿Qué hacen tus padres? - What do your parents do?
• ¿Donde creciste? - Where did you grow up?
• ¿Ves a menudo a tus abuelos? - Do you see your grandparents often?
• ¿Eres cercano/a sus padres? - Are you close with your parents?
• ¿Cómo es tu pueblo natal? - What's your hometown like?
• ¿Tienes alguna mascota? - Do you have any pets?
• ¿Qué raza es tu perro/gato? - What breed is your dog/cat? (Interestingly, Spanish uses the same word, raza, for both “race” in the human sense and “breed” as applied to animals).

Spanish Travel Phrases to Start Conversations

• ¿Te gusta viajar? - Do you like to travel?
• ¿Cuál es el lugar favorito en que has estado? - What's your favourite place you've been to? (In Spanish you talk about places you’ve been in rather than places you’ve been to.)
• ¿En qué países has estado? - Which countries have you been to?
• ¿Has estado en [Roma]? - Have you been to [Rome]?
• ¿Querrías ir a [Barcelona]? - Would you like to go to [Barcelona]?
• Si pudieras viajar a cualquier lugar, ¿dónde viajarías? - If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
• ¿Hablas otros idiomas? - Do you speak any other languages?
• ¿A dónde fuiste la ultima vez de vacaciones? - Where was the last place you went on holiday?
• ¿Cuándo empezaste a aprender [español]? - When did you start learning [Spanish]?

Spanish Conversation Starters for Work and School

• ¿Qué te hizo convertirte en [médico]? - Why did you become a [doctor]?
• ¿Te gusta tu trabajo? - Do you like your job?
• ¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de tu trabajo? - What do you like the most about your job?
• ¿Qué es la cosa más difícil sobre tu trabajo? - What's the most difficult thing about your job?
• ¿Fuiste a la universidad? - Did you go to university?
• ¿La disfrutaste? - Did you enjoy it?
• ¿Qué consejo le darías a alguien que quiere convertirse en [programador]? - What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a [programmer]?
• ¿Si pudieras volver atrás en el tiempo, estudiarías [psicología] de nuevo? - If you could go back in time, would you study [psychology] again?

Spanish Conversation Starters: Food

• ¿Te gusta cocinar? - Do you like to cook?
• ¿Cuál es tu comida favorita? - What's your favourite food?
• ¿Te gusta la comida [italiana]? - Do you like [Italian] food?
• ¿Puedes recomendarme una buena restaurante cerca de aquí? - Can you recommend me a good restaurant near here?
• ¿Qué comen en su país? - What do they eat in your country?

Spanish Conversation Starters: Hobbies

• ¿Qué haces para divertirte? - What do you like to do for fun?
• ¿Te gusta [leer]? - Do you like to [read]?
• ¿Cuál tipo de música te gusta más? - What's your favourite type of music?
• ¿Cuál es tu [película/libro/banda] favorita? - What's your favourite [film/book/band]?
• ¿Tocas un instrumento? - Do you play an instrument?
• ¿Cuál es la peor película que has visto? - What's the worst film you've seen?
• ¿Practicas algún deporte? - Do you play a sport?
• ¿De qué equipo eres? - What team do you support?

Deeper Conversations in Spanish: Tell Me More!

Once you've learned a little bit about the other person, how can you expand the discussion on the current topic? As well as offering your own insights and opinions, you can drill deeper and find out more of the other person's. People do love to talk about themselves, after all.

• ¿Estás de acuerdo? - Do you agree?
• ¿Qué piensas tú sobre [X]? - What do you think about [X]?
• Háblame/Cuéntame más de [X] - Tell me more about [X].
• Si no te importa que te pregunte... - If you don't mind me asking...
• Alguien me dijo que... - Someone told me that...
• Escuché que... - I heard that...
• ¿Estás de acuerdo en que...? - Would you agree that... ?

Changing the Subject in Spanish

What if the well runs dry? Fear not. In any long conversation, the topic will naturally change over time. Once again, it's the energy that matters, not the information being shared. Unless the other person has something that they're absolutely desperate to say on the current subject, they won't mind (or perhaps even notice) if you make a smooth transition to something else.

• Eso me recuerda... - That reminds me...
• Hablando de eso... - Speaking of which...
• Por otra parte... - On another note...
• Estoy cambiando de tema, pero... - I'm changing the subject, but...
• Me preguntaba... - I was wondering...
• Te voy a decir una cosa... - Let me tell you something

How to Sound Natural When You Speak Spanish

You might be able to have a conversation, but are you conversational? If you’re a native English speaker, you no doubt pepper your English with, like, y’know, little expressions and turns of phrase (and stuff like that) that kinda make you sound more natural, know what I mean? Y’see, every language has stuff like this, but it’s not really taught in textbooks. These little verbal sprinkles are a big part of the difference between speaking naturally and merely speaking correctly. Here are a few you can use in Spanish:

• ¡Por supuesto! or ¡Claro que si! - Of course!
• ¿En serio? - Really? / Seriously?
• ¡Oye! - Hey! (literally, "listen!")
• ¡Hostia! - Damn! (This mildly rude exclamation is very common in Spain, but not so much in Latin America.)
• ¡Ostras! - A family-friendly version of “¡hostia!”. It literally means “oysters!”
• ¡Dios mio! - Oh my god!
• A ver… - Let’s see…
• ¡No me digas! - No way! (Literally: don’t tell me!)
• ¡Vale! - Okay! (Used in Spain, "dale" is more common in the Americas.)
• Qué yo sepa - As far as I know.
• Digo… - Literally “I say”, but you can use this to correct yourself after you misspeak. “Somos dos... digo, tres personas.”
• O sea - I mean.../Or rather….
• ¿Sabes? = You know?
• Una pregunta... - Literally “a question”. It’s very common in Spanish to preface a question with “una pregunta”, the same way you might say "Let me ask you something" in English.

If you want someone to repeat themselves in Spanish, a normal, polite thing to say is "¿Cómo?", like saying "sorry?" in English. Also note that if you're texting someone in Spanish, laughter is written as "jajajaja", not "hahahaha"! In casual English you might address someone as "dude", "buddy", "mate", "man", and many other alternatives depending on your dialect. Spanish has many such words. In Spain it's very common to call people tío/tía (uncle/aunt). In Colombia, men might address each other as guevón, and in México there are many words, like mano or morro. It varies massively from country to country, so be sure to find out what your local equivalent of these words is! The word bueno literally means "good", but it's commonly used in Spanish as a filler word, in the same you might start a sentence with "well..." in English. Likewise with pues (“well” in English).

Go Forth and Converse!

I hope you find the above Spanish examples helpful. They’re just the beginning - keep practising your Spanish skills, and you’ll find that your general conversational skills should develop alongside them. In my experience, Spanish speakers tend to be a friendly bunch, so what have you got to be afraid of? Did I miss anything here? Do you have other examples of useful Spanish conversation starters and tips? Let me know in the comments.

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Diferencia entre muy y mucho – Muy and mucho differences

Learn how to use muy and mucho in Spanish. Improve your pronunciation and learn how to use muy and mucho automatically and effortlessly. Subtitles available. How to use muy and mucho in Spanish

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Spanish Vocab Builder #108 - World Countries

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