One of the more frequent questions that’s asked out there on the inter webs is; can you learn Spanish without taking classes?

What this indicates is a) either there are a lot of antisocial people out there who’d rather hole up in their own space to figure out the deep complexities of a new language or b ) that people perhaps would rather save the money if there are ample resources enough to go it alone.

One of those times I was feeling quite social…

As there are always short answers to questions, I’ll first start with mine. Can you learn without taking classes? Absolutely. Will you learn as fast as you would sitting in a classroom? That entirely depends.

And one those lonely times in an unusually empty Madrid hostel…

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My Experiences

When I first started MySpanishAdventure.com I was really keen on taking the DIY-approach. Cobbling together a number of resources and useful things I’d found to help aid my journey, I then went about setting a schedule and doing my best to adhere to it.

My love for Spanish shining through here…

At first I got off to an alright start. I managed to expand my vocabulary, understand the basics of verb conjugations, hold basic conversations and manage to express myself to ask random strangers to make videos with me and rent me their houses.

After that though I hit a bit of a lull. The inevitabilities of life crept in. I was focused on making money to support my immersion project (which involved writing and working in English) and my motivation began to waver thanks to my self-imposed isolation.

Eventually my study schedule slid and other things surfaced to fill that time. I went off to build other blog projects, start my own business and ultimately, which was probably the most devastating move of all, move away from Spain to embark on new adventures in Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and beyond.

On reflection? Taking classes might have kept me on task back in those early days of the project.

In Granada, Spanish fluency a distant dream away…

Fast-forward a few years later however and I’m happy to say that my immersion project finally came to some kind of conclusion. Just this month I managed to sit the Advanced Level One Official Spanish Language exams here in Madrid and come out with a satisfactory pass.

What I put that success down to? Ultimately biting the bullet and signing up for classes. For which I spent two-hours per day in, every week-day for just over four months.

The Benefits of Classes

The benefits of Learning at a school I’ve written about in detail before. In brief, they are numerous. Classes provide structure, human interaction and a clear path of progression. They also give you the opportunity to receive immediate feedback as well as ultimately test what you’ve learned through examinations.

Human interaction with Spaniards often involves puling weird faces…

This all depends on where you choose to study and what type of institution you decide to study at of course. In Spain you’re lucky to have government-sponsored Official Language Schools, where the course fees are heavily discounted, longer-term and way more likely to be populated by plenty of other students.

You, being a paying student of course, also have the motivation of getting value for that money you plopped down. Suddenly, thanks to that cash, you become far more accountable to get return on that investment than you otherwise would rolling around the number of free applications and tools there are out there.

How you’ll feel studying grammar by yourself…

Finally, classes also provide a further social environment that is great for learners with personality traits that welcome such interaction and are willing to make friends. The camaraderie of being in a class with others? Really helps double-bind your motivation to push through a course, improve and develop your skills.

The Drawbacks of Classes

But I get that classes are not an effective method for everyone. At first, the thought of them, for me at least, turned me off. I thought I could do just fine on my own. Perhaps over-optimistically. Perhaps arrogantly.

And there are plenty of reasons why classes just aren’t worth it. Benny Lewis, polyglot and language-learner extraordinaire, mentions having put down a lot of money on a course to learn Spanish while he was living and working in Valencia, and consequently learning nothing.

Sitting on benches with random strangers beats classes any day…

Costs are one thing. But as Benny also helps to highlight through his excellent blog (hey, I had a guest post there once!) and super successful book, you can also, through sheer force of will, do just as well picking up a language outside of them as you could with them.

You also have more control and autonomy over your learning. Deciding when to put the hours in, what resources to use or books to choose and who to actually practice speaking with.

Learning Without Classes

Learning without classes then really boils down to two questions.

How motivated are you right now and just how likely are you to stay motivated?

Both I and Benny seem to agree that motivation is the number one thing you need to learn a language both inside and outside of taking classes.

I recommend you develop it by doing the following:

1) Setting your expectations low

Tasking yourself with only small amounts of study in the beginning. Being humble enough to recognise your mistakes and be willing to be corrected. Having the patience to look stupid, sound stupid and feel stupid while you bumble through the beginnings.

2) Making friends or contacts with whom you can speak Spanish as soon as possible

Whether that’s a boyfriend or girlfriend, a co-worker or simply bar-mates, getting to know and socialise with people in Spanish will keep handing you the motivation to get better and better. You’ll also see your improvement as your interactions get richer with these people as time goes on.

3) Choosing the right tools to help you build the foundations

Learning the 1000-most used words in Spanish through looking at this frequency list. Using Anki or a SRS-based system to cement that knowledge. Brushing through a page of a good grammar book every couple of days or so. Starting off with reading children’s books. Watching TV shows you’re already familiar with with Spanish subtitles (or vice versa with subtitles in your native language).

4) Think carefully about the benefits of classes and the social and structured learning benefits they bring

With the foundations in place, thinking about making a small commitment to a class to see if it won’t help solidify your motivation and help you get greater feedback. Hell, you don’t even have to do it in-person anymore. Such is the efficiency and usefulness of iTalki.

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So that’s it. Think a little deeper about the type of person you are and commit to a strategy.

Learning Spanish? One of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do.