Study Tips For Learning Spanish Fast

Learning Spanish can be fun and exciting, but if you don't have a
good study plan in place it can also be frustrating and time
consuming. Check out these five study tips to help you learn faster
and easier.1. Study ShortKeep your learning sessions to 15-30 minute
intervals, and take 5-10 minute breaks in between, with refreshments.
This will keep your brain sharp, focused, and relaxed, and keep you
from feeling tired or overwhelmed. If you do start to feel tired, TAKE
A BREAK! As far as how much to learn at these sessions, some feel that
it's best to keep it high intensity, while others find this style to
be too much. Don't be afraid to experiment to see how much you can
push yourself in a single session without feeling overwhelmed.2. Don't
Cram!Cramming is quite possibly the WORST thing you can do, in ANY
learning situation. After about half an hour, you start forgetting
what you've learned, and you don't retain much, if any, information.
Keep in mind: Five 15 minute sessions a week is far better than one 3
hour session. Reason being, if you review for a few minutes each day,
the longer space between the study periods will have a "Pimsleur
Effect" on your learning ability. (Pimsleur courses use a sort of
constant review that continues through each lesson of the course. This
is one reason they're so effective.)3. Work At Your PeakIf you try to
learn when you're upset, tired, depressed, etc., you'll feel like
you're getting nowhere, and you'll get fatigued much faster. The best
time to study is when you're most alert, and feeling 100%. This is
basically the Distraction Principle. If you don't pay attention to
what you're doing, you're not going to do it as well.4. Create a
Familiar EnvironmentWhen the brain recognizes a situation it's in, it
responds much better to unfamiliar material. While it's not necessary,
it can be a big helpto study in the same place, and at the same time
each day. Even things like what you eat and drink before and during
your learning sessions can make a difference. For instance, think
about starting your first job. Didn't you feel out of place for a
while? Did you find it difficult to get things done as efficiently as
you thought you could? Once again, the Distraction Principle comes
into play. You're in an unfamiliar setting, and so the brain must
focus itself on identifying this new place so it (and you) can get
comfortable. Meanwhile, your full attention isn't on what you're
doing.5. Review Before Bed!This is possibly one of the most overlooked
treasures in learning new information! The brain rehearses new
information during sleep, allowing this information to sink into long
term memory. About 10 minutes before you go to bed, take a quick
breeze over your materials for that day, not trying to memorize
anything, per se, but just being reminded of what you went over.
You'll be amazed at how much this can accomplish for you! How
effective this is for you, depends on how you do it. If you can make
the 10 minutes memorable by interacting a bit, you'll have a higher
retention rate when you do an actual review the next day. Proof? Well,
have you ever had something really strange happen before you went to
bed, and then had a dream related to it? Expect to dream about
something to do with your language every so often, too.