It took me 4 years to learn German, but I studied a lot at school and I devoted a lot of my personal time to it. The same with Spanish. I found one-on-one lessons very effective and I think speaking is key! Take a look at this article. It shows 10 mistake that people make which often hold them back from learning a language: http://coursefinders.com/en/studentlibrary/1343/10-mistakes-people-make-when-learning-a-foreign-language Good luck!