CLEP Spanish: Best way to learn for someone with ZERO prior knowledge

[cookderosa]

300 hours? Name that tune. Show me the money. Go for broke. However you want to say it, I would challenge the math.

Why? Because the assumption that learning is linear is going to be a problem. This isn't like driving a car on cruise control, learning is messy and inconsistent.

A small example. My 8th-grade son is studying conversational Spanish using a really great course on Udemy. He watched lessons 1-3 a total of 3 times each per suggested by the instructor, no problem, 100% mastery. Lessons 4,5, and 6 took at least 4 times each - probably 95% comprehension. He's been on 7 and 8 for 2 weeks - still having trouble, the word list is growing really large now, and he's starting to have grammar thrown into the mix. I'm not saying his pace is an example of success, I'm saying his pace is an example of normal. He hasn't even had to write anything down or do written translation. I would argue that even with excellent motivation and ability, the bucket of content is just too big to go so fast.