Is Spanish Easy to Learn? 5 Reasons Why It’s Good for English Native Speakers
If you’ve ever been scared by the thought of getting fluent in Spanish and all the work it takes, este video renovará tu motivación (this video will give you renewed motivation). Is Spanish easy to learn?
Find out!
Because listen up: if you’re an English native speaker, en realidad te será MÁS SENCILLO aprender español (Spanish is actually EASIER to learn for you), and you have more of a head start than you’d think.
So, in this video, yo, Mariana, de Spring Spanish (I, Mariana from Spring Spanish), will give you 5 reasons why that’s the case and why you might be chatting away in Spanish very soon…
Reason 1: Spanish is a phonetic language
Since it is a phonetic language, el español se pronuncia como se escribe (Spanish is pronounced as it is written), and vice versa. Además, solo tienes que aprenderte un sonido por letra (In addition, you just have to learn one sound for every letter). For example, in that last sentence: tienes is t – i – e – n – e – s → tienes. Easy, right?
En otras palabras (In other words), pronunciation rules are consistent in Spanish and there are no “tricks” as there are in French, where vowel combinations create an entirely different sound, or where you may see tres acentos distintos (three different accent marks) in one word and each of them indicates a different pronunciation.
For example:
- beaucoup vs mucho (a lot) — If ‘beaucoup’ were a word in Spanish, since it is a phonetic language, each letter would be pronounced.
- trois vs tres (three)
- heureuse vs feliz (happy)
- eau vs agua (water)
So, once you have trained your ear and learned the Spanish abecedario (alphabet), you’re all set to read every word and be understood.
Now, there are accent marks in Spanish, and although you might think of them as scary or annoying, la realidad es que son simples (the truth is that they are simple). Siempre que veas una tilde en español (Whenever you see a tilde in Spanish), just stress that syllable.
For example: llegue vs llegué. Did you notice the difference? Fácil, ¿verdad? (Easy, right?)
Reason 2: Only five vowel sounds
El español solo tiene cinco vocales (Spanish only has five vowels), and they are pronounced the same every single time. Listen:
- A: casa (house), hamaca (hammock)
- E: elote (corn), elefante (elephant)
- I: isla (island), iglesia (church)
- O: oso (bear), ojo (eye)
- U: hule (rubber), usar (to use)
Easy, right? Sobre todo si se compara con otras lenguas (Especially if compared to other languages), like Danish, which has 40 vowels! So, only five vowels that always sound the same? That’s a pretty good deal, wouldn’t you agree?
Spanish pronunciation es más sencilla de lo que pensabas (is easier than you might have thought), and this makes Spanish easy to learn!
Reason 3: Spanish is widely spoken around the world
El español es la lengua romance más hablada en el mundo (Spanish is the most widely spoken Romance language in the world); es la lengua oficial en 20 países (it’s the official language in 20 countries); y es la segunda lengua más hablada en Estados Unidos (and it’s the second most widely spoken language in the United States).
Why do these facts make Spanish an easy language to learn? Well, because there are loads of people you may practice with (there are more than 450 million speakers around the world —you will certainly find someone) and there are tons of resources for you out there, which is Reason number 4, actually!
Reason 4: Tons of resources
Como el español se ha vuelto tan popular (Since Spanish has become so popular) among language learners, there are tons and tons of resources for you on the Internet, como los videos de Spring Spanish o de otros canales, libros, podcasts y mucho más (like the Spring Spanish videos or videos from other channels, books, podcasts and much more).
Hablando de Spring Spanish (Speaking of Spring Spanish), did you know that we cover very different topics in our videos? From grammar and vocabulary to cultural differences and travel tips. Additionally, we have already prepared a couple of videos where we recommend TV shows, series, and other YT channels that you may find useful.
Para que te des una idea (To give you an idea), Paulísima suggests Netflix originals you should watch; similarly, Cory suggests Amazon originals. In turn, María Fernanda prepared a list of telenovelas, and both Maria Fernanda and Juan created a list of songs for you to improve your Spanish skills. I’ll leave the link to those videos in the description!
Reason 5: English and Spanish are related
Both English and Spanish are Indo-European languages, lo cual quiere decir (which means) that they share a common ancestor. Additionally, a good amount of English words actually derive from French, which is very similar to Spanish.
Prueba de ello (Proof of that) is the vast number of cognates between English and Spanish: words that are almost the same in both languages, like nación and nation, familia and family.
Se estima que hay entre 10.000 y 15.000 cognados (It is estimated that there are 10,000 to 15,000 cognates) between English and Spanish. Look at these examples:
- El viernes, después de trabajar, voy a ir derechito al bar. (On Friday, after work, I’ll go straight to the bar.)
- Mi ciudad favorita es Berlín, la capital de Alemania. (My favorite city is Berlin, the capital of Germany.)
- ¿Sabías que el chocolate es originario de México? (Did you know chocolate is originally from Mexico?)
See? You already know lots of Spanish! Eso quiere decir (That means) you can already use these words in conversations without ever having to memorize anything!
