Learning Spanish: is your mother tongue an ally or a foe?
There is a popular myth: to start speaking Spanish, you need to "switch off" your native language and dive straight into full immersion. Popular apps love this approach—no native speech, only pictures and guesswork. It sounds great, but in reality, it often leads to wanting to close your laptop after a week and never touch it again.
In our project, we often see this "beginner burnout" and want to explain why trying to ignore your life experience is a bad idea.
Learning Spanish as an Adult
We are often promised a "natural path" just like children. But let's be honest: we already have a powerful tool—our native language. Trying to ignore it means overcomplicating the task for yourself. When you try to completely remove your native language, your brain, instead of memorizing words, spends all its energy on decoding: "What do they even want from me in this exercise?"
It is important not to confuse a modern approach with the outdated "school" method. In the past, Spanish was taught exclusively through grammar textbooks and endless text translations. This method was created for those whose goal was to read classical literature in the silence of a study, not for real-life communication. In practice, it looks like this: you seem to know the rules, but you still can't say anything in a real situation.
Saving Time: Why Explanations in Your Native Language Are Necessary
In modern methodology, using one's native language is called "scaffolding." It is a temporary support that helps you understand complex topics faster:
- Abstract concepts: Try explaining the nuances of the Spanish subjunctive without translation. In your native language, it takes a couple of minutes; through "immersion," it can take weeks.
- Saving time: A short explanation in your native language saves up to a third of the lesson time, which is better spent on speaking practice.
How Not to Quit When You Can't String Two Words Together
As an adult starting to learn a language, you find yourself in a strange situation: your thoughts and ideas are adult, but your vocabulary is like a child's. We are used to being persuasive, joking, and arguing our position, but in Spanish, we can barely make an appointment at the city hall or explain something to a courier. This is often demotivating.
At such moments, your native language helps you maintain control. If you can quickly clarify a nuance or translate a word, you don't feel helpless. This isn't a weakness; it’s simply a way to keep your confidence while you build your foundation.
When Support Starts to Get in the Way
It is important not to turn the help of your native language into a permanent habit. While translation helps at the beginner level, it can start to slow down progress at the intermediate level.
If you constantly cling to translation, the brain gets lazy about building direct connections. Instead of immediately associating a Spanish word with an object or action, it builds a long route through your native language every time. As a result, speech becomes slow, and "clutter" arises in the head. To speak fluently, these auxiliary tools must be removed—gradually, but on time.
How We Found This Balance at How2Spanish
We have seen from our own experience: an excess of Spanish at the start simply burns out your energy. Therefore, in our app, we have set up the system like this:
- For beginners: We explain the logic of the language in your native tongue, but immediately using examples that will be useful to you at the bank, in a shop, or when processing documents in Spain.
- For those already in the flow: The native language gradually disappears. In exercises, you see text in Spanish, but if you get stuck, you can always click for a hint. You regulate the difficulty level yourself.
- Memory training: Each word goes through several types of exercises (recognition, translation, listening). This way, the word moves into your active vocabulary without tedious rote memorization.
Bottom Line: How to Learn Spanish Fast?
If your goal is to understand how to learn Spanish fast, do not strive for maximalism.
- At the start, use translation to save mental energy.
- Choose resources for learning Spanish that explain complex things in your language but are oriented toward real-life speech.
- Transition to full immersion gradually, once your foundation is stable.