Imagine the scene, you have just purchased Rocket Spanish or Learning Spanish Like Crazy. You eagerly open the packaging; cast aside the wrapping and dream of the new life you've just invested in. Already, you can feel the sun, taste the sangria and hear the sounds of the mariachi strumming strains of Spanish flamenco.

You look behind; there perched just on the top of the hill is the house of your dreams. Your Casablanca!

Then your peaceful reverie is broken by the strident sounds of the present reality in which you live.

You wake up! You really can smell the coffee; it's on the table next to you!

Not only have you never been to Spain, or any other Latin American country but your dream of learning Spanish as you travel in Spain, seems a whole other lifetime away.

The stark reality for you is probably somewhat different, maybe you're stuck in a nine to five job (which you no doubt love: don't you!), with a wife/husband at home, lovely kids, a mortgage, credit card debt, auto repayments you're struggling to make, as well as a whole load of other ties to your home situation.

Yes, it's a fantastic idea, but the reality is, for most, not a very practical one.

For you, the only possibility of immersing yourself in the language and culture of a Spanish-speaking country is when you're eating tacos or burritos with a cheap bottle of Spanish red in the backyard.

Or is it?

Cheer up! Put the pills back in the bottle and do yourself no harm, there is an answer. You are not alone. Most people undertaking quick Spanish learning courses feel exactly the same at some point.

Hopefully, this article will help you to start off on the right track to successful Spanish learning.

One of the biggest setbacks to people learning to speak Spanish effectively is a lack of cultural context.

However good the Spanish course, there can be no substitute for actually living in a Spanish-speaking environment. So the easy answer to learning Spanish is:

Below are a couple of questions you might consider.

 

In case I forgot to mention it. This is a test!

Don't panic! The correct answer before we start is 'C.'

In order to learn Spanish effectively and quickly we should:

A. Forget about the language course, wrap it backup, send it back to the vendor and request a refund?

B. Leave the family, pets, mortgage, credit card bills and car. Get on the earliest plane to a Spanish-speaking country, preferably one that has plenty of beaches, where you can sit, sipping sangria all day and into the night, immersing yourself into the culture of wherever your plane landed and live happily ever after?

C. Find some other alternative to reproduce the effects of language learning immersion techniques. These must be readily accessible to you in your current situation?

As previously revealed the answer is C.

All teachers of language, myself included, will agree that the ideal is to learn Spanish, or any other language for that matter, whilst living in a Spanish speaking country or culture.

But you probably have to face stark reality; life is not quite that simple. Unless you happen to be an undergraduate, wealthy businessmen or a single, unattached person.

So how do you overcome the difficulties of learning a language without visiting the country?

Here Are Some Sure-fire Tips to Help You Accelerate Your Learning in this Situation.

1. Recognize that there are ways to help yourself right where you live.

Wherever you live in the 21st century, you will find that immigration and travel have led to almost every country, in every large city, almost every small town having Spanish-speaking groups within them.

Your task, should you choose to accept it is to locate them. To do this, you can:

a. Either do an Internet search for Spanish or Latin American Spanish groups in your area. b. Research the local Yellow Pages or telephone directories.

Once you've located these groups, you have unearthed a valuable resource for rapidly increasing your Spanish.

Spanish communities (as do other communities) tend to live together; this is helpful in preserving their own cultural identity. However, if you are friendly enough, and open as to why you want to be involved in their lives, they may allow you into their cultural life. This is a massive bonus for you. Believe me! The area of culture cannot be under stated if you are to gain fluency in Spanish.

2. Internet Chat Rooms:

These forums are excellent places, if you want to contact other learners and experience language speakers. If you're lucky enough to find a native Spanish speaker, with a Webcam; and they are prepared to help you, you've hit the jackpot!

So the Sixty Four Thousand Dollar question is how do I find the forums?

Good Question. Follow the simple instructions below.

In your Google search bar enter this search term: "forums+spanish", don't forget to include the quotation marks around the search string.

Once you have located that the forum you particularly want: register, start posting and become an active member.

You can conduct the same research as above, for blogs about Spain. Type in, "blogs+Spanish".

You will find the advice of users of these forums and blogs usually helpful and concise. More importantly, if it is a non-subscription forum, the help is free! That's the word your pocket loves to hear. Free!

A word of warning - Don't forget to observe the usual safety precautions if you arrange a meeting with anybody that you have met online.

3. Media: Internet access; provides many opportunities for you to gain valuable free resources that can quickly accelerate your immersion learning, these are television and radio.

If you compare Rocket Spanish or Learning Spanish Like Crazy, you will know that they take different approaches to the same area of learning the language. Rocket Spanish concentrates on a visual and auditory experience, whilst, Learning Spanish, Like Crazy tends to the audio capacities of the human brain.