Learning Spanish by Osmosis 

So. You moved to Spain with many goals in mind, one of the biggest being to learn or improve your Spanish. However, upon getting here, you’ve realized that sitting down and studying a language takes an awful lot of time, which you either don’t have or aren’t willing to make. Sister, I’m with you. 

In my case, I was super motivated to sit down and study my Spanish verb tenses and vocabulary for the first three or so weeks, but as I made more friends and got more situated, my desire to spend an hour or two studying was quickly replaced by my desire to meet with people or explore new places or simply aprovechar my time in Madrid. Which, by the way, is not a crime, despite what you may think when people question your lack of fluency after X amount of months. 

My excuse is that I spent my four years of university studying languages, therefore I don’t want to spend even more time studying grammar. I wouldn’t blame anyone for choosing to do almost anything else over sitting and studying grammar, especially when– in my experience– that isn’t the only way to learn a language, nor is it the most effective. 

Though I am no expert on learning languages, I’m not too far off from it. In writing this advice piece on learning languages, my credentials include an undergraduate degree in modern languages and something like a B1 level of Spanish, acquired simply from being in Madrid. I’ve done the grueling hours of grammar study and vocabulary repetition, and though it works, it comes with a strange complex of anxiety. I find that when I’ve studied a language extensively, my brain tells me I need to have flawless grammar and excellent pronunciation, because I’ve sunk so much time, effort, even money into “becoming fluent.” Speaking a language is, obviously, never about perfection, but try telling that to my anxiety. The best thing about learning a language through osmosis is pretty simple: because there are no expectations of perfection, there is a LOT of room for error. There is no reason why I should be good at this language that I haven’t studied, therefore it’s totally okay to make mistakes. 

Before I go into my list of tips for acquiring a language through ‘osmosis,’ I do want to say something about Spanish people: generally speaking, they are incredibly helpful, kind, and forgiving when your Spanish isn’t perfect, and especially when you ask for help. Everyone I’ve met here– coworkers, workers at restaurants or cafes, people in public, et cetera– are very encouraging and happy to help you learn new words or phrases. You just have to not be afraid to ask! 

And, believe me, my Spanish is far from perfect– like, really, really, far. However, I can hold my own in a conversation, and can generally understand and be understood by the Spanish speaking population, so I consider that a win. 

Conversation! Conversation! Conversation!

I’m willing to bet that if you're an English aux, there is at LEAST one teacher at your school who wants to improve, learn, or practice their English. I’ve had multiple teachers propose a language exchange (intercambiar) where we speak in English for X amount of minutes then switch and do Spanish. Speaking practice is the best thing you can do for yourself, and I promise you will not be judged harshly for your bad grammar. 

Maniquí Bar in Malasaña does language exchange meetups! I've been before, and it's tons of fun. You can practice lots of languages there (not just Spanish and English), and it's obviously an excellent way to meet new people. 

Here's a snapshot of my coworker Nuria and I at Madrid Fashion Week. These are the perks of befriending your awesome coworkers-- Spanish help and awesome events to go to!

 

Join a sports team

Joining a volleyball team here is easily what has most propelled my Spanish learning. I asked the team to only speak to me in Spanish, even if that meant for about a month I had little clue what was going on and must have seemed like the least interesting and most shy person del mundo. However, knowing my sport in English helped me learn a lot of random vocabulary in Spanish, and fast. 

The same goes for joining a regular workout class or any sort of group exercise. I’m no neuroscientist, but I’m willing to bet that stimulating the body and the mind simultaneously can only mean awesome things for your language learning. 

Podcasts 

Hopefully you don’t consider this sitting down to study, because I don’t. I really love The Language Tutor on YouTube (from when I was) sitting down to study Spanish, and his videos I totally recommend. However, if you don’t want to sit down and watch a video, he also does podcasts in quick, easily digestible 5-15 minute episodes. It’s such an easy way to get in a little extra grammar learning. Here is the link to his YouTube, and here is the corresponding podcast on Spotify (and here on Apple Podcasts). 

Follow Instagram accounts

In this case, I don’t even mean people who post in Spanish, like magazines or influencers– there’s a corner of the Internet with hundreds of Instagram accounts specifically designed for people learning languages. 

Here are some I follow:  

@martainspanish 

@howtospanish

@eflanguageabroad (not just Spanish, but tons of others too!)

Pro tip: I highly recommend following the ones that go in the ‘opposite direction’ – i.e., I follow accounts for both English speakers learning Spanish and Spanish speakers learning English. I think it gives a more well-rounded way of seeing how things translate!

Always order in Spanish (duh)        

I mean, I hope you do this without me having to say it, but just in case. It’s the easiest way to get comfortable using Spanish on the daily, even if they respond back to you in English. 

Switch your phone to Spanish

Another obvious one, but always a good strategy. You know your phone so well that you’ll learn the Spanish terms in no time just by changing your settings.

Conclusion 

This is just a short list of tips, but honestly, as long as C2 fluency isn’t your ultimate goal, these small ways of immersing yourself in Spanish will take you a long way. Good luck kids!