The best way to learn conversational Spanish quickly and easily is to listen to as much spoken Spanish as you can. Sound simple? It is.

Anyone who has ever attempted to learn a foreign language as an adult, successfully or otherwise, will know that it does not happen overnight. However, there are those envied few for whom language-learning comes much more easily than for the rest of us. But why is this? What is it they are doing that everyone else is not? The answer is focused listening.

Why is it that the Scandinavians and the Dutch speak such good English? Is it that they are taught that much better than those of us in the English-speaking world? Not necessarily. Is it that English is easier to learn than other languages? Almost certainly not. The reason English comes so naturally to them is that TV shows in Scandinavia and the Netherlands are not dubbed; they have subtitles instead. Therefore, they hear English regularly and then, when it comes to speaking, they find they intuitively know how to construct sentences. Words simply sound right in a particular order when you've listened to the language enough.

Those lucky few who pick up spoken Spanish quickly and easily are just naturally good at listening; that is all there is to it. They do it intuitively, without realizing it. They would not know they were doing it if you asked. Their brains subconsciously pick up recurring phrases, which quickly enables them to construct whole sentences. They are the lucky ones. The rest of us are left slowly piecing words together while trying to remember all those grammar rules. The good news is that their secret is no longer a secret and the rest of us can follow suit by consciously using this technique.

Quite simply, the quickest and easiest way to gain fluency in Spanish is to focus on listening. No matter which book, website or software you are using, aim to spend at least 75 per cent of your study time listening to spoken Spanish. Whenever possible, listen and repeat whole sentences, as your brain will naturally begin to pick out phrases that it hears over and over again. By repeating the words out loud, you will cement them into your memory over time.

You will subconsciously learn which articles precede which nouns and which prepositions follow which verbs. Do not worry about the grammatical terminology and do not worry about memorizing anything or this may result in unnecessary frustration. Besides, there is no need. You will find that you begin to remember phrases one at a time, at a pace that is right for you. Some people learn faster than others - this is normal. We are all capable of learning a foreign language in our own time.

Learning Spanish grammar certainly has its uses. It helps you understand the structure of the language and will help you pick out your own errors when you speak. It is also very important if you wish to write Spanish accurately. However, grammar in itself will not help you gain spoken fluency. Only practice in listening and speaking will do that. Spend up to 25 per cent of your study time on grammar.

Fluency in any language is attained when our brains no longer need to think about individual words while speaking. This is achieved through repeated listening, much the way we learn to speak as children. Think about it: did you learn a foreign language at school? Did you find that you could just about read and write but had real trouble stringing the words together when you had to speak? If so, that is probably because there was little focus on the importance of listening to the spoken language.

Learn Spanish quickly and easily starting today; focus on listening and repeating, not on memorizing. Unless you are in the middle of a grammar lesson, stop worrying about where the adjective goes or whether that word is masculine or feminine. Put most of your effort into listening and, before you know it, you will surprise yourself by constructing a whole sentence without even thinking. After that, it just gets easier.