Field Notes for Spanish Learners: More Method

Drawbacks of language schools and classes
Language schools and classes are great for learning grammar and provide a routine to help reduce the shock of arriving in a new city. The school where I studied in Córdoba for four weeks (Espanex) definitely achieved this. Unfortunately, a major flaw of schools and classes is that much of your input is incorrect speech produced by other foreign students:

4/29/10
I’m more accustomed to speaking Spanish with Brazilians [who study at Espanex] than with Argentines.

The problem of not meeting locals
It's easy to stay in hostels, hang out with other travelers, and have limited contact with people of the country you're living in. Now, that's perfectly valid and offers its own rewards, like meeting really interesting travelers. If your objective is to learn a language, though, it's not ideal.

The truth is, it's hard to meet locals. CouchSurfing and Servas are two great opportunities to break down the local-tourist divide and meet locals who are excited to hang out with foreigners.

Dilemmas for native English speakers
To be sure, it's a huge asset to be born speaking English. That said, there are advantages and disadvantages to being a native English speaker when learning a language abroad.

Advantages:

• Lots of people in the world want to practice English
• Therefore, it's easy to set up a language exchange

Disadvantages:

• You might get spoken to a lot in English purely based on appearance

Some caveats
The method below is intended to get you sounding impressive in a foreign language quickly.
However, it does not include all the basic steps, like learning grammar. For that, you will want a textbook or a class. The method contains some information directed at beginners as well as some insights aimed at more experienced language learners. Also, after spending four months in South America working pretty hard at Spanish, I'm inclined to agree with Douglas Hofstadter, who explained to me in an email that:

"In my view, a language is something that one spends a lifetime learning, not a year or two. There's no doubt that one can get one's feet wet in a language by studying it on one's own, but learning any foreign language deeply is a lifelong lesson in humility."

That said, I believe that in 4 months it is certainly possible to achieve functional, conversational fluency. You will have mastered a limited domain of the language. You won't always know the exact way to say something, but you will be able to talk your way around it. You can reach a sufficient level to travel successfully around a country on your own—which, it must be said, doesn't require particularly extensive language skills.

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