Daily routine

[tszpara]

I've tried numerous times to learn Spanish but often quit after about 2 weeks.

How long do most of you recommend to study daily? 30 minutes? 1 hour?

I have used Pimsleur in the past but am more of a visual person and need to see the words written down to help remember them.

Currently using Fluenz but some lessons I go through in an hour and others I have to go through multiple times.
When you find yourself struggling with a particular lesson do you switch to another program to give yourself a break?
So say switch from Fluenz to Pimsleur for a day or two.

[DaveAgain]

I've tried numerous times to learn Spanish but often quit after about 2 weeks.

How long do most of you recommend to study daily? 30 minutes? 1 hour?

I have used Pimsleur in the past but am more of a visual person and need to see the words written down to help remember them.

Currently using Fluenz but some lessons I go through in an hour and others I have to go through multiple times.
When you find yourself struggling with a particular lesson do you switch to another program to give yourself a break?
So say switch from Fluenz to Pimsleur for a day or two.

Welcome to the forum.

I don't think it matters too much how long you study, I do think doing something every day does help.

If you could commit to finishing one of your courses, whichever one you prefer, I think that would be the best way forward.

[rdearman]

I don't think the amount of time you study is important. I think it is more important what time you study. I say this because I think you need to turn the language study into a habit. It is just something you do at 8 pm, or during lunch, or whatever. But if you do it the same time, day in and day out it will become a habit, and habits trump willpower every time.

(I'd also say 30 minutes to start with)

[Le Baron]

All of the above (especially forming a habit), though you do need some motivating factor. Without motivation it will eventually peter out again. This is what goal-setting is meant to achieve. Since we don't know where you are or what your background is, I can only make general remarks.

As for time spent... Go through a set lesson. If that takes 20 minutes, or 30 minutes or an hour, but you go through it without stopping, then that is the time you study for that day. If on the next day you feel completely lacking in motivation halfway through the lesson, stop for a while and maybe go back to finish it later on. Lacking motivation/getting demotivated is usually caused by too much expectation within a short time. So only focus on the lesson at-hand, not the feeling that you can't understand a film or don't know enough words. Just do the lessons, progressively.

And yes, you can go between written lessons and Pimsleur (or equivalent). Maybe even one in the morning and one in the afternoon or whenever you have time for it. However, do things with structure. Those online things, if they aren't some structured programme, have you flitting from random lesson to random lesson. Don't do that. Work progressively to build a good foundation. That's your goal.

[zenmonkey]

Work progressively to build a good foundation.

This. Work progressively and consistently to build a good foundation.

It's perfectly fine to switch materials if you need to.

[TeoLanguages]

I've tried numerous times to learn Spanish but often quit after about 2 weeks.

How long do most of you recommend to study daily? 30 minutes? 1 hour?

I have used Pimsleur in the past but am more of a visual person and need to see the words written down to help remember them.

Currently using Fluenz but some lessons I go through in an hour and others I have to go through multiple times.
When you find yourself struggling with a particular lesson do you switch to another program to give yourself a break?
So say switch from Fluenz to Pimsleur for a day or two.

In my humble opinion, it's not about the language routine itself, but it's about the activities you do and the material you use. The only way to stick to a routine and make it effective for real when it comes to language learning (especially as a self-learner) is to fill it with activities and materials you're gonna enjoy, particularly in the first weeks. That's probably why sometimes I spend too much time planning my study routine but I want to be sure that I would find it engaging and stimulating as well as challenging enough to allow me to make progress.

[BeaP]

I'd like to second what TeoLanguages has said above me. You could try out a traditional bilingual textbook that has interesting materials, clear and thorough explanations and nice pictures. Spanish has a lot of resources and publishers have started to come out with online versions recently. It's worth it to look around before choosing materials. In my opinion the best ones are specific to Spanish, and you certainly don't have to stick to methods that exist in 20 languages. Pimsleur has a transcript you can use alongside the programme. If you think you haven't mastered something, you can search for extra explanations and exercises online or watch a video on the topic.

[Le Baron]

Pimsleur has a transcript you can use alongside the programme. If you think you haven't mastered something, you can search for extra explanations and exercises online or watch a video on the topic.

I think it might be best not to do that with Pimsleur. Only on the view that it's meant to guide and develop listening/oral work. I'm taking into account those two bits of the OP and seeking to balance them:

but often quit after about 2 weeks...
but am more of a visual person and need to see the words written down to help remember them.

Quitting after 2 weeks is of course a motivational problem and anyone would want to eliminate as many things leading to that as is possible. Yet succumbing to 'mainly visual' will cause listening to trail behind and lack development. As much as only listening would cause written/reading work to trail behind. We have people more tilted towards grammar study, some more tilted towards acquisition from listening and reading input, but in truth one needs some of everything.

Any audio/visual course aims to balance this. They deliberately tell you to listen without reading, at least the first time; or to summarily read the transcript and then listen, or whatever approach they take. I suppose because they know that some unsupported listening is required if it is ever to be developed. It's a fair rule-of-thumb, I think, to say: use the visual aid/transcript when you really need to, but not a permanent crutch. To use it when studying any parts of a listening passage later, but to do one's best to just listen. And Pimsleur, or any of these type, do their utmost to guide you in the listening, rather than just plonking it in front of you and expecting you to know it.

Balanced with some written/visual/grammar content from elsewhere I think it's best to listen to things like Pimsleur as-is.

[BeaP]

Pimsleur has a transcript you can use alongside the programme. If you think you haven't mastered something, you can search for extra explanations and exercises online or watch a video on the topic.

I think it might be best not to do that with Pimsleur. Only on the view that it's meant to guide and develop listening/oral work.

I know originally it's a listen-only method for a reason, but I've had a similar experience to the OP's. I've tried Pimsleur and I became extremely frustrated because I wanted to see how things are written. I also thought that during the same amount of time I could have learned much more with a resource that has written materials. I wouldn't call myself a visual learner, but that's what I got used to, what I feel home at. You need to trust a method in order to stick to it, but after a while I couldn't trust Pimsleur, and I felt that it didn't deliver. Yes, discipline and perseverance are always there to help you, but for me at least there were easier paths to follow.

[frenchfish55]

Quitting after 2 weeks is of course a motivational problem and anyone would want to eliminate as many things leading to that as is possible. .

YEP I fully agree with Le Baron. You have motivation problem. Language isn\t so important for you. You expected learning process to be fun
2nd reason. Pimsler may be not the best option for you. And it\s boring.So try visual resources.Youtube cources, spanish lessons for beginners.
If I were you I would check a lot of diffrent resources and Pimsler is only additional resource when you have other chores (washing dishes etc) listen pimsler or youtube or whatever you want,
I guess there is a thread about resources for learning spanish