Learning Spanish as an adult, six months in. Keep meeting Americans who took 2-4 years of Spanish in high school but barely remember any of it. For those who took Spanish in school, what's your honest assessment now? Anything stuck, or is it mostly gone?


27 comments

  3. I know quite a few words still, probably over 100 easily. Can’t make it into a coherent sentence though

  5. Some basic words and phrases. But I was certainly never fluent in high school and am not as an adult.

    My niece and nephew go to an immersion school – starting right away in grade school, they learn in both English and Spanish. So I’m curious how much more they will end up retaining as adults.

  6. I speak very bad Spanish

    Like I probably sound like a bit of a moron, but I can get the basics out and almost be conversational

    As for understanding it I can never understand it talk way too fast and my brain doesn’t process it that way

  7. Yes, but I lived with Spanish speakers for a number of years and listen to a lot of music in Spanish

  9. Barely any. I learned more from working in Mexico for a couple months than I ever learned in school.

  10. Why would it stick if you don’t use it? Unless you live in a Hispanic dominant neighborhood or you practice regularly, you’re not gonna remember much. Although yesterday I randomly remembered “dormir” means “to sleep” while showering.

  11. Didn’t take Spanish, worked in kitchens and Home Depot for a couple years. It’s weird how easily it comes back.

  15. I took two years in high school and then another year in college. Didn’t finish my degree at that time but went back later and ended up taking on a Spanish minor. Mind you at this point I was in my early 30s. I struggled with conversation the most but could read and write very well.

    20 years later and my son is now taking Spanish and I can have some short conversations with him but he has easily surpassed me.

  16. I’m in my 50s and took Spanish in high school for 2 years. In 2020 I started doing Spanish again on Duolingo everyday. I remembered quite a bit. According to Duolingo I now know 4,100 words just from practicing about 10 minutes a day. I can’t speak it for shit but my friend and I text each other in Spanish using Google Translate and I understand about 90% of our general conversations.

  17. I can understand it when spoken slowly enough that I can put context clues into the words I don’t know. Can’t speak it for shit though.

  18. I know enough Spanish from highschool classes still that you could drop me in a random Spanish country and I could probably find my way home.

    I wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation but I could communicate somewhat

  19. A few, but working construction out west I learned far more. Immersion does wonders

  20. I remember all the spanish I need. Donde esta la cervasa? Donde esta el bano Donde esta la mujeres? LOL

    In truth, I remember very little, my Wife and I are considering taking a spanish class at the junior college since its more an more helpful to know spanish.

  22. About 12 years after my last Spanish class I spent 10 days in Mexico. By the 10th day I could have full conversations with a cab driver. As soon as we left, I forgot everything again.

  24. I can understand it somewhat if the speaker speaks clearly and somewhat slowly.  I got sucked into the Chilean miner saga about fifteen years ago.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could understand most of the Spanish-language coverage of it.  I can’t respond much unless the answer is yes or no.

  25. I can muddle thru with some pigeon Spanish, but that’s from working in kitchens in my 20s and less from school 

  26. I can introduce myself and ask some basic questions like where is the restroom or how to I get to blank location.

    I tried so hard to learn Spanish, even in college I spent time before and after class with my professor trying to learn. It just never clicked in my brain, I would love to learn another language, but my brain just doesn’t work that way I guess.

    My siblings are bilingual, my brother speaks pretty decent Spanish as his wife, and therefore her extended family are from Mexico. My sister learned German fluently, and briefly taught the language.

  27. Took Spanish for five years up through AP and IB Spanish in high school. I think I got a 3 in AP and a 5 in IB? Haven’t taken any since, except for some Duolingo during Covid.

    Went to Spain 10 years later and I could get us by conversationally. I still know the basic structure of verbs and conjugations, but understanding “real” spoken Spanish as opposed to a teacher speaking slowly was pretty difficult. I could read enough to get us food and around the towns.

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