What I have learned after learning Spanish for ten years

I realized I have been learning Spanish officially for ten years! I wanted to share some things I have learned along the way! 

Languages need time to sit in your brain

After I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish, there was a 2-3 year period where I studied Spanish a little bit every day, but not as intensely as I had been studying before. After that time, I studied Spanish intensely for a week and realized how much more Spanish I could understand. I came to the conclusion that languages need time to sit in your brain and sort themselves out. 

Grammar isn’t as important as I once thought

I love Spanish because of the grammar and conjugating verbs. Spanish classes in school focus a lot on the grammar. It makes grammar seem like a whole lot more than it actually is. I have realized that grammar is just the structure of the language, which means it shows you where words go in a sentence. That is actually syntax, which is a part of grammar. Grammar really just explains why a language is why it is. Yes, it is useful to know conjugations and adjective agreement, but when you are trying to have a conversation, you probably won’t have a need to explain why you have structured a sentence the way you have or say why you used “muchas” instead of “muchos”. Once I shifted my thinking away from being grammar focused, I learned and remembered much more of Spanish.

You need a why

I study other languages besides Spanish. I took French classes in college because I need to take one other language for my degree. I am starting to study other languages, as well. When I started studying other languages, I always asked myself why. My reason is easy for me for Spanish. I study Spanish because I love it. That is enough reason for me. For French, I had to take it, but it grew on me and now I enjoy learning that too. You shouldn’t try to force yourself to learn a language. You need to have a desire, passion, and a reason. This will keep you motivated. 

Learning a language is a great journey that hopefully everyone gets to take at least once in their life. It is an ongoing process and technically we all are still learning our native language. One tip I will give you is this: you have to let go of the fear of making mistakes. I hear mistakes every day in native English speakers, so it is okay if you language is not perfect.