Is Spanish really the simplest language to learn
Spanish, Spanish Espaol, and Romance languages (Indo-European family) are spoken as first languages by approximately 360 million people worldwide. Mexico had the most speakers (more than 85 million) in the early twenty-first century, followed by Colombia (more than 40 million), Argentina (more than 35 million), the United States (more than 31 million), and Spain (more than 30 million). Spanish is the (or an) official language of 18 American countries (Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia,, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela), as well as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and is spoken in Europe and Africa by Spain and Equatorial Guinea.
Spanish difficulty level solely depends on a learner
A few personal factors such as knowledge of a second language ~ Knowing a second language makes it much easier to learn subsequent other languages. This is especially true if you have already mastered another Romance language, as much of the construction and many of the words are shared by this group of languages.
- If you are starting with Spanish right after knowledge of the English language, things could be a little difficult for you because this will be your first attempt to learn a new language.
- You may, however, stand to benefit from a friendly Spanish-speaking community/neighbourhood in case you live nearby or have friends living there. Practising in person with others is far more beneficial than self-learning or learning online without a teacher. Being blessed to have Spanish speakers nearby allows you to put your Spanish skills to use more frequently and helps you practise spoken Spanish.
- Learning Spanish is far easier if you begin at a young age. Children learn new languages more easily because they have a greater number of connections (synapses) between brain cells (neurons) to pick up information and internalise it. They also gain to benefit from the developing language centre in the brain.
- If you’ve studied Spanish in school, you may already have a basic understanding of the language on which to build. Having a head start, no matter how small, can make the process go more smoothly.
Learning a new language is always rewarding, especially when the odds are stacked against you.
Sure, it might not be easy. But if a bit of a challenge stopped people from trying things, the Olympics would be very boring to watch. One caveat, though: You will not get far if you approach Spanish as a chore. Find a reason that inspires you to study. Before you begin working on it, you should also decide what level of fluency you want to achieve. If you just want to learn some basics for an upcoming trip, then your learning journey will be much easier than if you want to become completely fluent in the language. Whatever your reason is for studying, the journey will be well worth it.