Do THESE 4 THINGS To Speak Spanish In the Next 30 Days (Study Plan Inside)
If you want to make massive progress in your Spanish conversation skills in the next 30 days, you must follow the 4-step study plan I’ll give you in this article.
This study plan is similar to what we give to the students in our Spring Spanish Academy and if you stick to it every day for 30 days, you’ll be amazed by how much your Spanish has improved! You won’t get fluent, but you will make massive progress!
Paso 1: Get at least 15 to 30 minutes of Spanish INPUT every day
You need to listen as much as possible because the more you listen, the more your brain will start making sense of what Spanish is supposed to sound and look like. It’ll help you with listening comprehension and speaking at the same time!
Here are some ideas for things to listen to:
- nuestros videos ( our videos) (Tip: we also have videos that are 100 % in Spanish, and they go with Spanish and English subtitles)
- podcasts
- otros canales en YouTube (other YouTube Channels)
- libros con historias cortas (books with short stories)
- algún libro con conversaciones en español (a textbook containing conversations in Spanish)
By the way, I want you to do this and everything that follows for 30 days straight because:
- It takes 30 days to pick up a new habit
- Thirty days is short enough to stay motivated
- Thirty days is also long enough to really notice how much progress you’re making and how much easier it becomes to speak Spanish in conversations!
So, ponte las pilas (lit., put your batteries on; more idiomatically, get moving) and commit for 30 days!
Paso 2: Focus on finding and learning chunks
In everything you read or hear, focus on finding word combinations (or chunks) you hear native speakers use over and over again because these chunks are what will allow you to speak Spanish yourself without thinking about grammar!
So, if you’re watching telenovelas (soap operas) every day and hear the characters use chunks like “mucho gusto” or “por la tarde” or “nos vemos”, you know they’re correct, so you can use them yourself too without even thinking about the grammar behind them.
Finding chunks is something you do WHILE you’re getting input, so it doesn't take much extra time. And being aware of chunks and actively looking for them is going to come naturally to you after you have practiced this a bit.
Bonus: in our videos, we highlight these chunks for you, so that will help a lot.
Paso 3: Spend 5 to 10 minutes a day memorizing chunks
Your brain will absorb a lot of Spanish naturally if you listen to Spanish for 30 minutes every day. But now, you need to make an active effort to memorize some of the chunks you've identified. That'll help you the most while speaking.
Learn them through flashcards, like this one:
FRONT:
___________ (See you) por la tarde.
BACK:
Nos vemos por la tarde.
Do 5 to 10 minutes of flashcard learning and reviewing a day, and you'll be imprinting Spanish on your brain!
If you’d like to get a head start with this: we create flashcard decks for every single one of our video lessons and give them to members of our Spring Spanish Inner Circle!
Paso 4: Implement / Speak Spanish!
After listening and reading so much, and memorizing chunks, don’t forget to actually go out and use your Spanish! You don’t have to practice speaking every day, but we recommend you plan a speaking session (or just go out and speak with Spanish native speakers) at least once or twice a week.
PERSON 1
¡Hola! Te cuento que acabo de hacer un reto de 30 días para mejorar mi español.
(Hello! Let me tell you that I just finished a 30-day challenge to improve my Spanish.)
PERSON 2
¡Wow, amiga, pero hablas muy bien! ¡Felicidades!
(Wow, friend, but you speak very well! Congratulations!)
PERSON 1
¡Gracias!
(Thanks!)
You’ll notice that focusing on chunks will help you a lot while speaking Spanish. And if you do this for 30 days, you'll have so many chunks in your brain that fluent sentences will start rolling off the tongue!
Summary
So, quick summary of what the next 30 days will look like for you:
- Get Spanish input every day (listen and read) for 15 to 30 minutes a day
- While getting input, focus on identifying Spanish chunks
- Spend 5 to 10 minutes a day memorizing chunks with flashcards
- Practice speaking and feel how Spanish sentences start rolling off the tongue!
The more you do this, the better you will get… but even sticking to this schedule will get you massive results!
Ready for your 30-day challenge? Don’t lose momentum and get started right away! We have a Spanish from Scratch playlist with 30 videos for 30 days… what a coincidence! Watch the first lesson now, and you’re on your way to a successful challenge!
