This is a great article about an Englishman’s adventures in Spain. After many months of struggling to learn Spanish, he finally succeeds after taking a job in a small Spanish town.

Here’s an example of the kind of trouble you can expect in a foreign country if you don’t know the native language:

Two weeks in, and malnourished from an unlucky run of ordering food I couldn’t bear to eat and tired of getting on buses to the wrong place, my then girlfriend spotted an ad for cheap Spanish classes and urged me to join her in attending.

But it was only when I sensed her disappointment at going out with such an uncultured Anglo-Saxon slob was so great that she was considering dumping me for one of the smug tri-lingual Norwegians sharing our hostel, that I agreed to go along.

Learning to speak Spanish is certainly possible without living abroad, but it will speed up the process. The trick to learning Spanish in your home country is consistent practice, especially with native speakers.

It is also wise to have at least a basic understanding of the language before deciding to move abroad to learn Spanish. I highly recommend using Rocket Spanish to help you get started. If you want to know what to expect, you can read my Rocket Spanish review.

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