How to Speak Spanish Fluently? 10 Strategies to become fluent Spanish.

Posted 12 June, 2023

Wondering how to become fluent in Spanish?

We have had hundreds of students who always, at the most basic level, ask themselves questions like, How to learn Spanish quickly? How long does it take to speak Spanish fluently? How to become fluent in Spanish?

It is expected that when you decide to learn a new language, you want to learn it quickly. It is also normal that after hours of study, you feel confused and do not know how to continue.

At Learn Spanish Now, we understand everyone has different learning processes and rhythms. Therefore, in our Spanish lessons online or in our Spanish lessons in Medellín, Colombia, we can accommodate our curriculum according to your needs and requirements.

Click here for more information about our Spanish classes.

However, some steps you can apply daily will help you become fluent in Spanish. Here are 10 strategies with real examples that will help you speak Spanish fluently.

Our first recommendation and under which all other strategies are gathered, is:

1. Make Spanish part of your daily life.

Try to use Spanish almost as your first language. Incorporate it into as many settings in your life as you can. This will help your mind get used to thinking in Spanish, and at the same time, you will develop and practice the four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. to become fluent in Spanish

2. Think in Spanish.

Adopt the habit of thinking (in conscious Spanish) about the actions you are doing.

You can start with routine verbs like:

Me estoy cepillando los dientes.
Hoy quiero desayunar yogur, granola y fruta.
No quiero usar tacones. Quiero usar zapatos cómodos.

And so you can create habits in which you get used to thinking in Spanish in your day-to-day.

You can learn all these verbs and many more in our online Spanish course, hosted on an interactive platform with guided courses that will help you become fluent in Spanish whenever you want and wherever you are. Click here for more information.

3. Change the settings of social networks to Spanish.

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, cell phone, and, if possible, computer.

This will help you force yourself to practice Spanish. And remember that the words you don’t understand, you can always translate and, thus, add new vocabulary to your Spanish list.

4. Read the news in Spanish.

While discovering what’s happening in the world, you will practice and/or learn structures and vocabulary.

If you are still in the learning process, some sentences are expected to be complex for you to understand. This should not prevent you from reading the news in Spanish. As a quick access tool, you can install the Google Translate extension in your browser to translate those words or sentences that cause you trouble.

Here are some recommendations for Colombian and international online newspapers to read in Spanish about the world.

Colombian newspapers with national and international news:

El Espectador (from Medellín).
El Tiempo (from Bogotá).
El Colombiano (from Medellín).
El País (from Cali).
El Heraldo (from The Colombian Caribbean region).

International newspapers in Spanish:

5. Watch series, movies, and tv in Spanish.

This is a very productive activity to become fluent in Spanish, in which, while you entertain yourself and practice listening and reading comprehension (if you use subtitles), you can also learn many cultural references and slang expressions depending on the show you are watching.

Here are some recommended original shows in Spanish. Remember that platforms like Netflix allow you to search for shows based on the original language of your choice.

Comida callejera de América Latina (Street food in Latin America).
Bolívar (A show based on the life of El Libertador, Simón Bolívar).
Las crónicas del taco (Taco Chronicles).
El robo del siglo (The Great Heist).
Andes mágicos (Magical Andes).
Las chicas del cable (Cable girls).

Nevertheless, remember that you can also watch any show in whatever its original language. Setting the subtitles in Spanish and trying to understand them is another exercise.

6. Listen to music in Spanish.

Although it seems one of the most challenging exercises, this is also one of the most productive to become fluent in Spanish when the habit is adopted. Fill your Spotify or Youtube with playlists in Spanish. Get your ear used to listening in Spanish.

If understanding the songs is very difficult for you, remember that you can also look up the lyrics to help you understand.

An extra exercise is to try to sing the songs. In addition to practicing your listening, you will also practice your pronunciation.

These are some of the artists in Spanish that have a clear voice and melody.

Vicente García, República Dominicana.
Julieta Venegas, México.
Manuel Medrano, Colombia.
Cultura Profética, Puerto Rico.
Andrés Cepeda, Colombia.

7. Travel to a Spanish-speaking country.

When traveling to a Spanish-speaking country, many Spanish students fear making mistakes and feeling ridiculous, even when they know the structures well. This is one of the most common mistakes when trying to become fluent in Spanish.

We recommend talking, being fearless in making mistakes, and asking others to correct you.

If you still don’t know any Spanish and are interested in coming to Medellín, we offer a Survival Spanish Course so that you can learn the basic steps to communicate in any Spanish-speaking country. If you prefer to learn these steps before your trip, or you are going to travel to a place other than Medellín, Colombia, don’t worry; we have also adapted our Survival Spanish Course to the online version, where we will share material that you can print or keep in your cell phone or laptop.

Click here if you want to know more info about our Survival Spanish Course.

8. Read literature in Spanish.

If you enjoy reading and literature, you must add books in Spanish to your library.

Here we recommend some books adapted for students where you can enjoy the pleasure of literature while practicing your Spanish.

Lecturas ELE: a collection from the Instituto Cervantes that makes it easier for Spanish students to read representative works of literature in Spanish, respecting the spirit in which they were conceived and how they were constructed and adapting them to the learning levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. (Levels B1 to C2).
Short Stories in Spanish: you can get books from level A1 to level C2 with short stories in Spanish so you can practice and enjoy reading according to your level in the language.

9. Produce texts in Spanish.

You can create a kind of diary where every day before going to sleep, write a few paragraphs about what you did that day. In this way, you can practice some past tenses, among other structures and vocabulary.

You can also make a plan or to-do list for the next day. Thus, you will practice the future tense and ensure you know each action or task in Spanish.

10. Study with us and learn Spanish now.

Grammatical comprehension is one of the great strategies to understand and become fluent in Spanish.

Review the 6 services we offer you, thought that we all learn in different ways but also structured and based on international standards so that you can apply and/or certify your knowledge in any Spanish-speaking country.

Online Spanish course.
Private lessons online or in-person.
Group lessons online or in-person.
Survival Spanish course.
Spanish for companies.
Preparation for the SIELE and DELE Exams.

Follow these recommendations, and we assure you that you will be able to turn Spanish into a natural language for you.

If you still haven’t decided which language to study, here are 10 reasons to learn Spanish.

Become fluent in Spanish, and remember this process takes time and effort. The key is to stay motivated and consistent in your practice.

Do you have any other ideas on how to become fluent in Spanish? Tell us in the comments.