My thoughts on beginning the journey to learn Spanish I love the English language! I feel truly blessed to be native English speaker and have access to the many educational and entertainment choices the language provides. However, being an English speaker in the United States, learning a second language is highly discouraged. Americans believe English is the only language they need! So very wrong! Being an educated person,I realize that knowing English is not enough in today's world. Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, and Spanish is spoken in over twenty countries and by four hundred million people! English, although a dominant language, is not the one, true world language (although that may happen one day) that Americans believe it is! It is a wonderful and powerful language, but there are languages that offer a different perspective after they are learned. Learning a second language is a very hard thing to do. It takes many hours, months and even years, to become fluent in both reading and writing. But for those who make the effort, it is very rewarding. I find learning Spanish, incredibly difficult. It is an amazing language but so very different from English. English has a fairly set word order and in Spanish, I always think I am placing the words in the wrong places! I am at the A1/A2 level so I have a long way to go. I find knowing where to start the most difficult thing about learning Spanish. I learn words, I speak phrases, I use a translator, but I find myself confused about how it all fits together. I will do my best and I will never give up! The best advice I have had so far is to start speaking immediately! I can't do that until I get some words in my head to speak! I love Spanish and I hope to speak it well, very soon. Thank you Italki community for all your help!