Hola amigas y amigos,
Let’s lay it straight on the table. The biggest lie in Spanish-learning is:
“Some people have a talent for languages, some don’t”.
Often expressed as “i’m just not a talented language-learner” (spoken perfectly in the English language, which the person speaking once learned from zero as a child!)
So, let’s explore and hopefully dispel this fallacy once and for all (so you can get on with getting really fluent in Spanish with our help!)
Do you need to be a “talented” language learner to become fluent in Spanish?
I’ll start with a big admission of self-doubt.
i love, and I mean love, oil painting. Particularly the landscapes of Spain. I do it every day.
But it’s hard, and I still struggle with a lot of self-doubt about how far I’ll be able to take it.
I know my persistence can get me a long way with anything, but did I really get any “natural talent” thrown in at birth?!
Fortunately, the other day I was reading a famous book on oil painting (Alla Prima II by Richard Schmid) and I came across some very heartening advice.
Richard Schmid claims that becoming really good at painting has got nothing to do with talent.
He says tying your shoes in the morning or signing your name is way more complicated than the skills you need to make a good painting.
So, if you’re able to do those things, you’ve got all the skills required to become a top level oil painter.
All you need is to put the effort into continuous learning and years of practice, and you’ll get there in the end.
And it made me wonder…
Is this the same with language learning?
And I decided that without a shadow of a doubt, it is.
If you can speak your own mother-tongue, if you can understand people when they talk to you in your own language, you’ve got all the prerequisites necessary to become highly fluent in Spanish.
You’ll be able to understand everyone and you’ll be able to talk to them fluently about whatever you want.
Anyone can become 99% bilingual in Spanish if they can speak their own language, and that includes you.
It’s got nothing to do with special “talents” that some people might have for learning a language.
Because let’s face it, we’ve all learned our own language to the highest level of fluency.
Is it harder when we’re adults?
I don’t believe so.
A baby takes years to reach high level fluency in their own language.
So, we can imagine the same should easily apply to learning Spanish as an adult.
It’s going to take time, but if we don’t give up, work at it, and enjoy it, we’ll get there in the end.
And as adults, we’re much cleverer learners (because we’ve done so much learning around so many topics), so that works in our favour as well.
Putting time to one side for a minute – it’s going to take quite a bit of it, but it’s worth every minute – fix this idea in your mind:
Language learning is not a special talent that some people have and others don’t.
All of us can do it.
Just look at all the kids that grow up bilingual in places like Catalonia, speaking Spanish and Catalan to the highest level.
For them, it’s the easiest thing in the world.
Not every kid in Catalonia has got special language learning talents that allow them to grow up speaking and understanding two languages, Spanish and Catalan.
They are just humans, and all humans are incredible language leaners!
So, if you’ve ever felt disheartened or thought you don’t have what it takes, it’s not true.
All of you can become incredibly fluent in Spanish, understanding everything and speaking to anyone on any topic you like.
As I always say, if I, Ben, can do it, anyone can. All it took me was time, ganas (desire), an endless love for the language, and never giving up.
You can do it.
Un abrazo,
Ben y Marina
P.S. If you need a little help along the way with the learning part, we think we make the best Spanish-learning courses on the planet.
We start with the understanding side of things, which is really the key to everything.
This is what babies do, they just spend a couple of years nailing their understanding before they nail speaking.
As an adult you can skip the wait and be speaking from the get-go, but you’ve got to have your listening spot on.
That’s where we come in.
So stop worrying about talent.
Get your learner’s hat on.
Get to work.
Fluency is on the way. Start now with your listening:
