Speaking Spanish in Paraguay

It's my opinion that being able to speak the local language is essential and the older you are the harder it is to learn it. So I tell people if they are over 50 and don't speak Spanish to stay home. I moved to Costa Rica without knowing the language and it was a horrible experience not being able to communicate. So I carried a spanish-english dictionary with me everywhere I went and was always looking up words every chance I got. At 40 it took me 2 years to begin to have a good beginners grasp on the language. 2 years later I was fairly proficient but still if I don't put a lot of conscious effort into correct pronunciation then people don't understand me. Us Texans speak very soft and Latinos speak very "hard".

Absolutely necessary.   Paraguay is not like some Spanish speaking countries where English can often be found among the locals.  Here, it is very difficult to find anything but Spanish, and sometimes you are lucky to find Spanish and instead you find the local tongue, Guarani.  Moving here at 40 without a lick of spanish, I realized that I would need to work hard to get by.  Luckily, I had a lot of help and a lot of practice.  Like someone else mentioned, as you get older language does get harder, but i do not agree with if you are over 50 you cannot learn.  I have been here five years and I am still learning.  Do people understand me? Yes, they have since year two.  Am I perfect?  I doubt I will ever be, and everybody seems to be okay with that.  I recommend Rosetta Stone followed by classes.  I am now using it to learn French, so I'm actually 48 learning two languages at the same time.  I have five levels of Rosetta Stone spanish for sale if anyone needs it.