How much time do I need to learn Spanish?

I am about to start my career in tourism management, for which we need to learn a foreign language. I would like to opt for Spanish. Can anyone tell me how many weeks of classes would it take to get a good grasp of Spanish? And what should one concentrate on: grammar or speaking fluency?

[Rusty]

Both grammar and speaking fluency in Spanish are a life-long pursuit, but to get to the point where you feel confident enough to hold a meaningful conversation could take as little as 16 weeks if you entirely immerse yourself. By immersion, I mean that you breathe, eat, and drink Spanish 24/7. If this isn't possible, one-on-one training with a competent native speaker who exposes you to the language through various media could achieve about the same results, but I think it would take even longer.

Ultimately, your passion to learn, your time commitment and your ability to understand grammar elements will be the governing factors in how fast you will be able to converse with some degree of confidence.

[Fazor]

My spanish teacher in highschool (then again in College. Same teacher, was conveniant!) use to talk about how she studied spanish for years; going as far as to get her doctorate in Spanish. Yet, the first time she went to Mexico, she was at a total loss (okay, not total loss. She had her doctorate, remember. But she did have a lot of problems communicating). It was only after living there for a few months that she became pretty fluent.

Now, that's not to say classes dont help. They very much do. Her point was that there's a big difference between learning the language and living it. Do both, if possible.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Rusty and Fazor. It depends on how much time and attention you give to learning.
Still, any language needs many years to accomplish an advanced level. On principle, I dare estimate a formal course of 6 hours a week to take some two years to reach an intermediate level.
After you have started, you decide what you need to concentrate on, according to your priorities.

Good luck!

[CrOtALiTo]

I think that you at least need a whole to learn the Spanish. Because the Spanish is harder than the English. Because the Spanish has more words and it has more hard to learn.

[Fazor]

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo

I think that you at least need a whole to learn the Spanish. Because the Spanish is harder than the English. Because the Spanish has more words and it has more hard to learn.

¿Tú crees? Creo que inglés tiene más reglas que no estás intuitivo. Creo que inglés tiene más reglas complicadas tambien.

[Rusty]

Crotalito probably meant that he recommends a whole year and that Spanish uses more words to say the same thing in English. It was already established in another thread that English has more words than any other language.

Learning any language has its difficulties.

[Fazor]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Learning any language has its difficulties.

Yo acuerdo.

[sosia]

To master anything,You need 10.000 hours, or 10 years with 3 hours daily
http://norvig.com/21-days.html.
but I don't really now if you're real or a bot.
Saludos

[Elaina]

Originally Posted by sosia

To master anything,You need 10.000 hours, or 10 years with 3 hours daily
http://norvig.com/21-days.html.
but I don't really now if you're real or a bot.
Saludos

I agree with Sosia.........it takes years and even then you will find that there are words you had never heard before....

That’s really a tough question and it depends on many factors such as your previous experience with other languages, your personality, your present age, your learning style and your knowledge of your first language. In my opinion one should concentrate on speaking more than grammar, also if you learn by interacting with someone you can grasp the language much faster. For some interacting learning log on to <spam> or <spam>.

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by Fazor

Yo acuerdo.

(Yo) estoy de acuerdo.

Originally Posted by sosia

To master anything,You need 10.000 hours, or 10 years with 3 hours daily
http://norvig.com/21-days.html.

Great essay by Peter Norvig. I remember reading that some time ago.

Originally Posted by sosia

but I don't really now if you're real or a bot.
Saludos

Good call.