Discover How Online Spanish Tutors Can Help You Learn Spanish Successfully

Spanish is a beautiful and widely spoken language—in fact, it’s the second most native spoken language in the world and the fourth most generally spoken language. Mastery of Spanish can open many doors, both personally and professionally, and there’s no better way to learn than with online Spanish tutors. 

Can Adults Learn Spanish as a Foreign Language?

Learning Spanish as an adult can be challenging, but it’s very doable, especially if your native language is English or any of the Romance languages. There are several reasons why learning Spanish as an adult is hard:

• Biologically, children’s brains learn languages more easily than adults
• Adults are often so busy that they don’t have time to learn something new
• The cost can be too expensive

While the first issue is a fact and incontrovertible, it doesn’t need to be a roadblock to success. If you are able to find the time and budget to invest in Spanish lessons, you can do it! Fortunately, Eurekly makes this possible. 

How to Start Learning Spanish

Eurekly is a tutoring platform that hosts tutors for many different subjects, including different languages, math, science, business, and more. It addresses the first issue that makes learning as an adult so hard: finding the time. 

Eurekly offers a large selection of tutors so that you can choose one who fits into your schedule. Unlike college classes or in-person tutors that require you to rearrange your schedule, Eurekly allows you to choose the time. Moreover, there’s no travel required, so you won’t waste valuable time. 

The second issue that makes learning a new language challenging as an adult is the cost. College classes, adult education courses, and local, in-person tutors can cost a fortune. Online tutors offer very competitive rates, and you can even sort your options by how much they charge. To give you an idea, tutoring sessions on Eurekly start as low as $7 a lesson. 

While you may be at a disadvantage compared to a child, once you have the time, money—and of course, the will—you will be able to succeed.

Why English Speakers Can Learn Spanish Easily

While English is a Germanic language and Spanish is a Romance language, they share many similarities that make it easier for English speakers to learn the language than Mandarin or Afrikaans speakers. 

English and Spanish share many cognates—words that have the same roots and sound similar. For example, in English we say “map” and in Spanish we say “mapa.” Other examples include “park” and “parque,” “restaurant” and “restaurante,” and “train” and “tren.” There are thousands more. 

While there are many cognates, of course you will encounter some differences. If you’re aware of these differences, you can work with your online Spanish tutor to avoid them. 

Differences between Spanish and English include:

• In English, adjectives appear before nouns (“pretty girl”), but in Spanish, nouns appear before adjectives (“chica bonita”).
• Translating literally from your native language is not always successful when learning a new language. For instance, Spanish speakers say “six thirty in the afternoon,” which is literally “six and a half in the afternoon.” English speakers say “six thirty.”
• False friends are words that sound similar in English and Spanish but have different meanings. For example, an English speaker might think that “carpeto” in Spanish means “carpet” in English, but actually it means folder. Or an English speaker might think that the way to say “disgrace” in Spanish is “desgracia,” when the latter actually means “mistake.”
• In English, there is no difference between male and female verbs, so when learning Spanish, English speakers may find it confusing to remember the male and female versions.
• It will most likely be difficult for English speakers to pronounce Spanish words correctly. This might be the hardest difference to overcome out of everything, since the ability to pick up the correct accent is nearly impossible, according to Smithsonian Magazine. However, you can still learn to speak Spanish fluently no matter what accent you have. 

How Online Spanish Tutors Can Motivate You

English and Spanish are similar, but as you saw above, there are many differences, and that can be challenging to prospective students. Instead of getting discouraged, enlist your online Spanish tutor for help in getting over hurdles and making progress. When you get down, your tutor can encourage you. When you want to quit, your tutor can keep you going. When you learn with a private tutor, you get personalized, one-on-one attention. 

Why Learn Spanish?

There are many reasons to learn Spanish, but you only need one. Some people want to communicate better with Spanish-speaking relatives. Others want to travel or relocate to Spanish-speaking countries. And yet others want to learn to broaden their horizons or keep their minds sharp.

Whatever your personal reason is for learning Spanish, there’s no better time to act upon it. It’s never been easier to get started—so what are you waiting for?