Is it patronizing to learn Spanish?

Hey Reddit, I've been dating my girlfriend for about a year and a half now, and her family and her have welcomed me with open arms and love in their hearts. My girlfriend is a second generation immigrant from Mexico, and her and most of her immediate family are bilingual and speak perfect English/Spanish.

However, some of her other relatives only know enough English to get by. Which is fine, but I sometimes feel ostracized during family gatherings (pre-covid) because I can't interact with them to much capacity.

In our time apart, I decided it would be nice to learn Spanish on my own time without telling her, and making it a surprise for the next time we're face to face as a little bonus present on top of the valentines day gifts we missed out of sharing due to the snow storm.

I told this to friends and got mixed support. One of them told me it's patronizing and a little selfish to learn it and not even bother to ask her for help. Another said that circumventing her knowledge as a native speaker would come off as rude, and that it would be more meaningful if she helped me along the way.

I'm really torn. I want this to seem like a nice gesture, but I don't want it to be backhanded. Should I just tell her, or should I make it a surprise?