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Language Hacking Spanish: Learn How to Speak Spanish - Right Away
It's true that some people spend years studying Spanish before they finally get around to speaking the language. But here's a better idea. Skip the years of study and jump right to the speaking part. Sound crazy? No, it's language hacking.
Unlike most traditional language courses that try to teach you the rules of Spanish, #LanguageHacking shows you how to learn and speak Spanish through proven memory techniques, unconventional shortcuts and conversation strategies perfected by one of the world's greatest language learners, Benny Lewis, aka the Irish Polyglot.
Using the language hacks -shortcuts that make learning simple - that Benny mastered while learning his 11 languages and his 'speak from the start' method, you will crack the language code and exponentially increase your language abilities so that you can get fluent faster.
It's not magic. It's not a language gene. It's not something only "other people" can do. It's about being smart with how you learn, learning what's indispensable, skipping what's not, and using what you've learned to have real conversations in Spanish from day one.
The Method
#LanguageHacking takes a modern approach to language learning, blending the power of online social collaboration with traditional methods. It focuses on the conversations that learners need to master right away, rather than presenting language in order of difficulty like most courses. This means that you can have conversations immediately, not after years of study.
Each of the 10 units culminates with a speaking 'mission' that prepares you to use the language you've learned to talk about yourself. Through the language hacker online learner community, you can share your personalized speaking 'missions' with other learners - getting and giving feedback and extending your learning beyond the pages of the book . You don't need to go abroad to learn a language any more.
Unlike most traditional language courses that try to teach you the rules of Spanish, #LanguageHacking shows you how to learn and speak Spanish through proven memory techniques, unconventional shortcuts and conversation strategies perfected by one of the world's greatest language learners, Benny Lewis, aka the Irish Polyglot.
Using the language hacks -shortcuts that make learning simple - that Benny mastered while learning his 11 languages and his 'speak from the start' method, you will crack the language code and exponentially increase your language abilities so that you can get fluent faster.
It's not magic. It's not a language gene. It's not something only "other people" can do. It's about being smart with how you learn, learning what's indispensable, skipping what's not, and using what you've learned to have real conversations in Spanish from day one.
The Method
#LanguageHacking takes a modern approach to language learning, blending the power of online social collaboration with traditional methods. It focuses on the conversations that learners need to master right away, rather than presenting language in order of difficulty like most courses. This means that you can have conversations immediately, not after years of study.
Each of the 10 units culminates with a speaking 'mission' that prepares you to use the language you've learned to talk about yourself. Through the language hacker online learner community, you can share your personalized speaking 'missions' with other learners - getting and giving feedback and extending your learning beyond the pages of the book . You don't need to go abroad to learn a language any more.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2016
119 people are currently reading
320 people want to read
About the author
Benny Lewis
18 books355 followersBenny Lewis is a digital nomad and founder of the largest language learning blog in the world, www.fluentin3months.com. He is a world traveller and after travelling non-stop for 21 years, on the road to this day with everything he owns travelling with him.
His internationally best-selling book Fluent in 3 Months, published by HarperCollins, discusses how adults can learn any language from anywhere at any age. He is a polyglot who speaks over a dozen languages (7 of which are at a fluent level or higher), though he could only speak English when he started his travels at age 21.
He has also published multiple language courses with John Murray learning.
As a result of his travels and his focus on integrating himself into local cultures through language, Benny was named National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year in 2013.
His internationally best-selling book Fluent in 3 Months, published by HarperCollins, discusses how adults can learn any language from anywhere at any age. He is a polyglot who speaks over a dozen languages (7 of which are at a fluent level or higher), though he could only speak English when he started his travels at age 21.
He has also published multiple language courses with John Murray learning.
As a result of his travels and his focus on integrating himself into local cultures through language, Benny was named National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year in 2013.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 9, 2016
This book is absolutely fantastic if you want to start speaking and learning practical Spanish right away. Despite decades of vacations in Mexico plus a few classes here and there, I was always afraid to speak the language. I was part of an early review group for the book and a lot of my fellow learners were the same- we knew a fair amount on paper but couldn't speak the language. Some had no experience with the language at all. The course is a "baptism by fire", and despite any initial fears you may have, you'll soon be speaking Spanish! Really it's almost unbelievable. You still have to do the work, which means practicing and some memorization, but it's a lot less verb tenses and stuff you won't use right away and a lot more of the dive right into talking about yourself and having interesting, practical conversations with others using full sentences. The book is easy to read, easy to follow, there are tons of good tips and hints, and the tasks are fun and amazingly effective. Five stars! ¡Bravo!
February 12, 2021
I liked the setup of the lessons in this book. Benny Lewis is cool and inspiring with a relaxed and yet ambitious, fun-loving attitude towards language learning. I liked that he showed examples of conversations and phrases and I could realistically use. I didn't utilize the online part that the book suggests, but I plan to customize my language learning journey in a similar fashion.
September 9, 2016
I was an absolute beginner with Spanish when I started this course, but after two weeks using the methods in this book and doing the assignments, I was able to have a basic beginner's conversation answering questions such as where I live, where I'm from and how long I've been learning the language. I love that it gets me speaking from day 1 instead of having me study a ton of grammar. Love it!
March 3, 2017
THIS is the RIGHT way to learn a language for use! Save the rigor for teachers!
November 16, 2018
I super highly recommend this book to all beginners, brand new or advanced, and really any language learner who is interested in focusing more on conversation skills (see my last paragraph).
I used this as my first workbook as a beginner with zero knowledge and it was amazing!
It really does get you talking right away. After just a few days I felt that I could already say a decent amount. I felt confident to start engaging in (super basic) online conversations with natives after around chapter 5.
The book is focused on teaching you to get your point across, not being 100% gramatically accurate. I feel that this is perfect for beginners, and the rest will come later. Though it does touch on just the right amount of grammer to not scare you away.
I did start getting a little overwhelmed around chapter 7 though. The book kept mentioning some pieces of grammer (conjugations and le/lo/su, etc) but it wasn't detailed enough for me as I'm a big picture person and wanted to know more, so at that point I took a pause from the book and went to some grammar books to learn more, then went back to finish this off.
I mentioned this being good for advanced beginners and beyond too because I showed this to a friend who had been studying spanish in classrooms for 4 years, but not talking much due to nerves. She flipped to the back of the book to the last few chapters and could not understand some of the things. Mostly because the book uses short common conversation phrases (like "in fact", and short responses, etc) that they likely wouldn't teach in a classroom.
I used this as my first workbook as a beginner with zero knowledge and it was amazing!
It really does get you talking right away. After just a few days I felt that I could already say a decent amount. I felt confident to start engaging in (super basic) online conversations with natives after around chapter 5.
The book is focused on teaching you to get your point across, not being 100% gramatically accurate. I feel that this is perfect for beginners, and the rest will come later. Though it does touch on just the right amount of grammer to not scare you away.
I did start getting a little overwhelmed around chapter 7 though. The book kept mentioning some pieces of grammer (conjugations and le/lo/su, etc) but it wasn't detailed enough for me as I'm a big picture person and wanted to know more, so at that point I took a pause from the book and went to some grammar books to learn more, then went back to finish this off.
I mentioned this being good for advanced beginners and beyond too because I showed this to a friend who had been studying spanish in classrooms for 4 years, but not talking much due to nerves. She flipped to the back of the book to the last few chapters and could not understand some of the things. Mostly because the book uses short common conversation phrases (like "in fact", and short responses, etc) that they likely wouldn't teach in a classroom.
August 27, 2024
This a great crash course to learn Spanish
I love this book in a crash course in learning Spanish. It's well laid out and easy to read. Also, you get to down load the audio as well for free.
I read this book first to get a warm up and know what to expect as it will give you a foot up the ladder in learning Spanish.
You should get a journal with different colours pens and stand in front of a mirror and say out loud your new Spanish words. Also, if you can find a native or a local college or Spanish social club.
Overall a great read and a great work book to develop a good command of Spanish.
Best wishes Sean
I love this book in a crash course in learning Spanish. It's well laid out and easy to read. Also, you get to down load the audio as well for free.
I read this book first to get a warm up and know what to expect as it will give you a foot up the ladder in learning Spanish.
You should get a journal with different colours pens and stand in front of a mirror and say out loud your new Spanish words. Also, if you can find a native or a local college or Spanish social club.
Overall a great read and a great work book to develop a good command of Spanish.
Best wishes Sean
January 26, 2018
It is a pretty useful book to get you to start speaking right away. I like the interactive videos you have to make as part of it.
February 14, 2018
Below my level, so can't say what this would be like to use as a beginner, but I picked through it to see if I could find some vocab to add to my deck.
April 5, 2020
Good for reviewing Spanish. Probably wouldn't use it as a beginner.
June 9, 2020
Nice clear instructions. I'm using these language hacking books to refresh my languages whilst on furlough and finding them very easy to use.
August 26, 2020
Really good starter book to give learners a direction to begin speaking immediately. Noticed some things didn’t always match up between the book and audio. Overall, it is a great resource.
Want to read
July 25, 2022i
October 8, 2023
It was pretty hard to be motivated for this one every time that I picked it up. I was never one for a work book but the French version of this was very helpful but I don't think I can produce the same results for Spanish. At least I got through it before our trip. 🇪🇸
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews