Have you found it easier to learn Iberian Spanish or Latin American Spanish?

[Onionman]

When I first started learning Spanish I was taught by a lady from Valencia. I was doing ok but didn't make great inroads. Then I moved to Miami and was being taught by a guy from Venezuela, if I'm not mistaken. I certainly think I found it easier to "hear" the language with him. But when I returned to London and started again with Spanish language groups I regressed badly.

Has anyone else had this experience of struggling with variants on Spanish?

[RiotChick88]

I live in South Florida and was taught Spanish in high school. I remember starting Latin American Spanish  via rosetta stone realizing a difference. For me, Latin American Spanish is easier and less of a headache because Spanish spoken down here is Latin American or broken Spanish. It's like English here to UK English.

[Onionman]

Yeah, I found Latin American Spanish easier to take on board, albeit I never properly mastered it. But the analogy with speaking English is a relevant one. A lot of people that speak English as a second language hear American English easier than British English, and vice versa.

[RiotChick88]

Yeah, I found Latin American Spanish easier to take on board, albeit I never properly mastered it. But the analogy with speaking English is a relevant one. A lot of people that speak English as a second language hear American English easier than British English, and vice versa.

Yeah exactly. Of course if I were in Spain or Mexico I would learn Iberian Spanish but fortunately people here tend to speak a little bit of the butchered version.I Remember when I did speak the proper Spanish learned in school being looked at kind of weird too haha... I've got a friend from Canada who said it's the same with french. French in France is perfect yet in other languages like Haiti, Canada, and the like it's broken down and simplified as well! Very interesting.

[Trellum]

My friend has the same problems with the Iberian Spanish, her Spanish is good enough, but she still gets confused with the meaning of some things as well as some words.  I try to help her the best way I can tho, but I'm not always there!  I have told her the best she can do is to merely focus on Latin American Spanish for now, once she masters it she will definitely get most of the things said by Iberians.

[czarina84]

Actually, I don't have a problem with either.  I didn't realize it early on while I was learning, but I was actually learning both at the same time.  As I furthered my learning I realized it.  The pronunciations are different and so are some of the meanings, but for the most part, I don't have any difficulty switching back and forth.