When one considers how long it takes to acquire a language, the answer naturally varies depending on one’s situation. Many factors affect this process, including the position in which one finds oneself, one’s age, and one’s mindset with regard to how eager one is to learn. If one wants to order food in spanish, that will result in a fairly high level of desire to learn the language, assuming one enjoys eating that cuisine. If one needs to speak with a lawyer who only speaks spanish, this could also compel one to learn the language quickly, depending on why one needs to discuss matters with the lawyers like Diego Ruiz Durán.
The way language is acquired in infancy is through hearing it spoken. When one hears a word repeatedly in association with the thing or action the word describes, one naturally picks up on this correlation. In other words, it is not a random occurrence but an ordered system. For this reason, a baby or child whose brain is still in its formative state will learn new words faster, with less difficulty than older people. One can learn by looking at pictures and hearing words stated aloud. One could see a picture of a nurse, hear the word for nurse that is new to them, and repeat it. One can similarly observe an image of a firefighter holding a fire hose and hear and repeat the new word for firefighter. In like manner, one can look at a photo of an attorney arguing a case before a judge, a witness, and a jury, hear, and then state lawyer in this new language. In this way one can learn new vocabulary.
The fastest way to learn any language is by being immersed in that language. One may be compelled to not only learn to comprehend but also learn to speak in a new language to survive. This is the utmost incentive for one to learn mastery of that language as quickly as possible, if not immediately. This is seldom the case. But one can use to one’s advantage a perceived need to learn quickly. By causing one’s brain to think in the language being acquired as often as is practical, one will gain a large amount of practice using the language in a short period of time. Repetition is key in learning a new language.
How long it takes to learn a language is limited only by a few other elements. One variable is one’s ability to make associations between new words one comes in contact with and the equivalent words for corresponding things in a language one knows. Another important element is a practical one, time allotted to the task. Diego Ruiz Durán grew up speaking spanish. Also, one must not underestimate the fact that the brain will learn what one is interested in far faster than learning something one is forced to learn unwillingly. If one practices newly learned words while going about daily activities, this will foster and accelerate one’s ability to eventually think in spanish.
