5 Essential Habits You Need to Learn Spanish

I always had a love for the Spanish language as far back as I can remember. When I was little, I remember always trying to read the Spanish instructions on products like detergent and bleach to see if I could identify their meaning in English.

Prior to college, I had only taken two years of Spanish in high school. Señor Sánchez, my Spanish teacher, truly sparked my interest in the language because of his enthusiasm when teaching and the way he introduced us to the possibility of study abroad when he invited an alumna to tell us about her experience studying in Chile. Unbeknownst to me at the time, these moments planted the seeds for the path I ultimately began to carve out for myself. This path was one of allowing my passion for the Spanish language to transform into something much greater: A passion for making cross-cultural connections by igniting my curiosity about the world beyond what I knew it to be from the environment in which I was raised.

Even though I have always had a sort of obsession with the Spanish language, I didn't really take my learning seriously until I was in college. In fact, my Major was Undecided when I first enrolled as a freshmen at UTC (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga). When I finally learned to validate my aptitude for language learning, I quickly came to understand the habits that were essential for me to cultivate in order to develop fluency in the language. I went from small-town Chattanooga, TN where I had to very intentionally seek out opportunities to practice my Spanish, to living in the largest metropolitan city in the U.S.- where Spanish is the second most spoken language and the opportunities for me to engage in the language are abundant.

Throughout my journey in traveling through and living in Spanish-speaking countries, I have found myself in situations where I have been required to rely on these habits in order to foster meaningful connections cross-culturally.

Here are Five Essential Habits You Need to be Fluent in Spanish:

1. Repeat Everything

If you are ready to take your Spanish to the next level, develop the habit of repeating new words to yourself frequently. If you think about it, that is how you learned to speak as a child- repeating everything you heard over and over until it became natural to you. When acquiring a new language, you must adopt the same approach. Repetition is how we internalize new information. One of my go-to ways of implementing this habit when learning new vocabulary was to physically write new words and phrases five or more times while saying it out loud. This was especially when I recognized that I would often forget certain words I knew I had previously learned. Writing, of course, is just one method of many. You can also say the word out loud several times to yourself. Google search examples of how to use the specific word or phrase you are trying to internalize and practice saying it out loud. Repeat until it clicks. I promise it will, eventually! Dale tiempo y ten paciencia con el proceso. (Give it time and have patience with the process.)

2. Translate Everything

Get in the habit of questioning how you would translate every single thing you think about into Spanish. This is a great habit to have because as you work to develop it, you will realize just how much a lot of concepts, words and phrases simply do not directly translate into Spanish. This will prompt you to learn more about cultural nuances and find new ways to express your ideas more naturally with the language. Especially throughout the initial stages of my Spanish learning journey- I would often ask myself, Does that sound natural though? This question often led me to research forums of English to Spanish translation and interpretation discussions where I could almost always find the topics I was wondering about. This helped me understand that I am not the only one wondering about these things and more often than not, there is an answer to my question about how I could most naturally express the concepts I wanted to express in Spanish. Sounding natural was always important to me in learning Spanish because it was a matter of showing respect for different Spanish-speaking cultures. Also, in my experience, it has become evident that the more natural you sound in the expression of the language, the more people feel comfortable engaging with you in the language, thus the more you’re able to foster meaningful connections with people while continuing to learn and develop your fluency- which is a never-ending process.

For example, I remember wondering to myself how I would translate the phrase “a few years ago” in Spanish. I remember thinking to myself, is "ago" even a word? To be completely transparent, I didn’t actually learn the answer to that question the first time I wondered about it. It wasn’t until I had a real conversation where I needed to express this idea. While I was studying abroad in Madrid, my taxi driver asked me, ”¿Cuánto tiempo llevas estudiando el Castellano. Es que hablas muy bien?" (How long have you been studying Spanish? You speak it very well). I was doing such a great job of sounding organic up until this point in the conversation. Then I realized, I never figured out how to say "ago". So instead, I used the Spanish I had to communicate the idea: Empecé unos años atrás (I started a few years back). Ultimately, this taxi driver taught me how to say this phrase in Spanish, “Se dice, hace unos años. Suena más natural" (You say "hace unos años". It sounds more natural.) I humbly corrected myself, thanked the man and added that phrase to my mental dictionary. This experience leads me to my next important habit to develop… you gotta get used to being uncomfortable in these types of situations.

3. Get Comfortable with being Uncomfortable

Making errors needs to be so normal for you that you're not even embarrassed anymore when you make them. Get in the habit of being uncomfortable with this process and learning to laugh at yourself. I promise, it makes this experience so much more tolerable. Trying to be perfect will never allow you to reach your goals. If you think about it, you can apply this to your everyday life too. Be open to criticism and be willing to listen always for how to continue to improve. There is no way you should expect to be perfect at a language that is not your native tongue. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Always be open to being corrected so that you can always build upon what you already know.

I remember the feeling of embarrassment that I felt when the taxi driver I previously mentioned told me the other way to say “some time ago” in Spanish. These days, when I think about that moment, I wonder to myself, why was I even embarrassed? Spanish is not my native tongue- of course it won’t be perfect when I am actively learning it! That was literally the reason I was in Spain- to learn to speak Spanish!

Another situation in which you must normalize the discomfort is when wanting to try out your Spanish with a Spanish-speaking person who might initially respond to you in English. Considering the discomfort and slight sense of embarrassment in that situation, our instinct is typically just to carry on the conversation in English and give up on our efforts to speak in Spanish. I want to challenge you to kindly explain that you are trying to practice your Spanish in moments like these, and if that is okay with them, you’d prefer to carry on the conversation in Spanish. Especially if they understand what you are saying and seem like a kind person. You might even make a new friend by doing this! Be open to the possibilities and don’t let fear of embarrassment get in your way.

For some reason, language learning tends to trigger some kind of insecurity within us. It’s as though we feel like we should already know all the things or we shouldn’t even be trying to speak at all. Who made that rule? You don’t honestly think you should know how to speak Spanish fluently from those classes you took in high school and/or college right? Especially if you didn’t spend significant time and effort studying the language or immersing yourself in a Spanish-speaking culture and actively engaging in conversation with the language often. Do you use everything you learned in those math and science classes in real life? Are you embarrassed that you don’t remember everything on the periodic table? Of course not! So why do we do this with language? I have some idea around this but that’s a topic for a different post. Let’s move on to our fourth habit for now.

4. Talk to Yourself in Spanish

When you have no one else to practice with, practice by talking to yourself! I used to have entire conversations with myself in Spanish when I had no one else to talk to, just to practice new concepts I had learned. I used to speak to my entire family in Spanish even though none of them spoke Spanish. They always supported my endeavors to learn the language but would just smile and carry on about their day whenever I would try out my new Spanish with them. Did I look crazy?" Absolutely! Did it matter? No! Because I was practicing, repeating concepts I had previously learned and thereby internalizing the new information- which is, of course, the ultimate goal. And let’s be honest…. you probably already talk to yourself anyway! Why not start doing it in Spanish?

5. Learn Songs in Spanish

Last but not least, learn some songs in Spanish! Learning songs in Spanish is an excellent habit to develop because not only does it enhance and expand your overall vibe, it also helps you train your ear to recognize when certain word combinations are being used in Spanish. Learning songs in Spanish gives you a better sense of how it sounds when words flow effortlessly together. Then you can practice singing your favorite songs and of course, the repetition will help make it stick. Certain phrases you hear in your favorite songs, you will realize you can use them in real conversation. Here are some of my favorite songs you can begin learning to get started:

Juanes “La Paga” (soft rock/ especially good for preterit tense practice)

Julieta Venegas “Limón y Sal” (Pop / present tense practice/ reflexive verbs)

Ozuna “Dile que tú me quieres” (reggaeton / language fluency)

Maná “Mar y Area” (soft rock/ Lots of rich vocabulary)

Buika “Mentirosa” (a more jazzy / classical vibe)

Shakira “No” (beautiful melancholic sound/ practice subjunctive tense)