Five minutes a day: a realistic plan to be ready for Spain

Being "good at Spanish" is a big goal. Being able to order a coffee, ask for directions and handle a small problem in Spain is a much smaller one, and it is reachable with a few minutes a day. This plan is for that second goal.

Be honest about the goal

Five minutes a day will not make you fluent. It will make you ready: able to handle the situations you will meet on a trip, and much less likely to freeze. That is a very useful place to be, and it is the right target for a holiday.

A five-minute routine

1. Two minutes - listen and say. Pick three phrases and say each one out loud after hearing it.
2. Two minutes - the replies. For each phrase, learn what someone is likely to answer. Here is why that matters.
3. One minute - review. Go back to yesterday's phrases and say them without looking.

Consistency beats length. Five minutes every day usually works better than one long session a week, because you meet each phrase again just as it starts to fade.

A four-week order to learn in

Week 1 - Greetings and the bar

Hello, please, thank you, and ordering a drink or a coffee. Start here because you will use it on your first day. Our guide to ordering in a Spanish bar covers it in detail.

Week 2 - Eating and shopping

Asking for a table, ordering a meal, asking the price, paying.

Week 3 - Getting around

Taxis, directions and public transport.

Week 4 - Small problems and small talk

The phrases that rescue you when something goes wrong or when you simply need more time.

Watch your readiness, not the clock

It helps to measure progress in situations rather than minutes. In Hola Calle you can add your trip date and follow a readiness percentage and a countdown, so you know what is still worth learning before you land in Spain.

If you would like to see how this approach differs from other ways of learning, take a look at our comparison pages.