How to relearn Spanish

It’s amazing how many people ask me if they can relearn Spanish after taking it in high school or college, but then not practicing it for a long time. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly like riding a bike – the language skills do atrophy, and it will take some time and effort to get back to your formal level. Spanish skills need to be maintained with regular use to have any hope of keeping them up over time. The good news is that any foundation you had developed in school in earlier years will absolutely give you a leg up over someone who never learned a second language at all. It will be easier to dust of your old skills rather than starting from scratch.

How to pick up Spanish after a long break

I remember taking a vacation to the Dominican Republic just a few years after I graduated from college. In that interim period, I had used my Spanish sporadically at work, and watched the occasional Spanish movie just to keep up with my skills. Still, I was very far from practicing regularly. Despite the lapse, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I had retained. I spoke Spanish the entire week that I was on vacation. Everyone that I encountered there understood me, and I even got a few compliments on my accent (I am very obviously not a native speaker based solely on my appearance.) Needless to say, I was very impressed with myself.

Only a few short years later, I took a vacation to an island off the coast of Mexico. I stepped off the plane, was asked something by a customs official, and… Crickets. I had completely understood what he had said to me in Spanish, but when I went to formulate my response, my mind came up blank. I was a little bit shaken, but resolved to be persistent and still try to speak Spanish the entire trip. Sure enough, it did come back, a little bit more slowly this time. As the vacation went on, it became a little easier to slip back into “Spanish mode”. However, I did still find myself fumbling for words that should have been easy vocabulary, and struggling to properly conjugate my words. It was understandable but certainly sloppy. I got no compliments this time around.

This was a jarring experience, and it demonstrated to me just how quickly you can lose your Spanish skills if you don’t keep up with them. I had spent a considerable time of money, time, and effort learning Spanish throughout high school and university, so I was determined to not let it go to waste. After that second vacation, I resolved to get some more regular practice in and keep my skills strong.

Can you relearn a language?

The positive news is that it absolutely took less time to learn Spanish the second time around. Rather than rote memorization, it was more like dusting off skills that were hidden somewhere just beneath the surface. The knowledge was already present, it just had to be tuned up.

What is the best way to remember a language?

You can learn a lesson from my mistake and start keeping your skills sharp sooner – here is how you can relearn Spanish quickly.

How do I get my Spanish back?

Even if your Spanish has gotten rusty, you can get your skills back. In many ways, learning Spanish a second time is much like learning for the first time. To jump-start your Spanish skills once again, head on over to our list of the very best apps for learning Spanish.

Frequently asked questions about relearning Spanish

How can I relearn my mother tongue?

Many people ask how they can relearn a language that they only spoke as a child. Even if you were very young when you stopped speaking your mother tongue, you can relearn the dormant language faster than starting from scratch. Most people find that many of those former connections still exist, despite being inactive for so long.

Can you forget your second language?

Yes, and it happens much more quickly than learning one! It takes consistent practice to keep up your language skills, and if you let them fall by the wayside, they will atrophy.

Why do we forget languages?

Over time and with less use, people find it more difficult to remember certain words without a lengthy pause. Some people claim that if you forget a language, that means that you never learned it properly in the first place. I don’t buy that, I believe that any skill will get rusty without regular practice. But, if you lay a good groundwork with your language learning, you will certainly retain it for a longer period of time. The good news is that none of it is ever truly forgotten. We may need to dust them off, but those skills rarely atrophy entirely.

How do I not lose my Spanish?

It is certainly easier to keep your Spanish skills sharp versus letting them fade away and then trying to relearn them. Studying takes a lot of time and effort, but maintaining your skills should be comparatively easy. There are a number of ways that you can retain Spanish for longer after graduating. There is no direct substitute for real-world practice, either via a study-abroad program, conversations with a Spanish-speaker (in-person or via the internet, or working with a qualified instructor. That said, there are a number of apps that can help you retain your Spanish. Check out the next section for a link to our comparison table. In addition, you can listen to Spanish radio and television, free Spanish audiobooks, read Spanish books, and watch Netflix in Spanish.

What is a good Spanish refresher course?

Check out our list of the very best apps for learning Spanish.

How long does it take to remember a language?

According to research by the FSI (US Foreign Service Institute), it takes an estimated 480 hours to reach proficiency in a language. That would be almost two months even if you had 10 hours a day to dedicate to practice and never took a day off. But, that’s for learning from scratch. In my experience, if you were already a competent Spanish speaker, you should be able to relearn Spanish with about a week’s worth of practice for every year that you let it lapse. I went for about four years without a lot of dedicated practice. So it took about a month for me to dust it off, with about an hour or so a day of deliberate effort. Of course, this can be different depending on your individual learning style, how long you spoke Spanish before stopping, and countless other factors.

In closing, it is possible to relearn the Spanish language fluently. You just need to give it some time, be patient, and follow these tips. We hope that this article will help you remember the Spanish that you forgot!

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