“When I hear Spanish spoken I understand everything, but when I want to speak… I get stuck or the words don’t come out…“.
There are many things you can do to improve your Spanish: you can take a course or study on your own and work on grammar, increase your vocabulary, improve your written production and also your listening comprehension through movies and videos. All these things will surely help you make progress and meet your goals.
However, to be able to speak Spanish fluently and feel confident about yourself requires practice. And, for obvious reasons, the practice should be done with at least one other person. Many times, not living in a country where the language being studied is spoken, Spanish students dedicate almost 100% of their study time to theory and most of the time they are not completely satisfied with the results.
It is very common that before deciding to learn to do something (speak in another language, cook, dance, or whatever) we imagine ourselves doing it, as in a “mental movie“. And it is also very common that we get frustrated if, when we want to put what we have learned into practice, it does not turn out as we had imagined.
In the case of Spanish, students may “imagine” speaking like the actors they see in movies, the singers they listen to, or the Spanish-speaking people they meet. But, when it comes to speaking… they face different uncomfortable situations such as silence, desperate gestures, tongue-tied, excessive sweating, stuttering, etc.
As pointed out in the Dictionary of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), “for many students, oral expression is the most difficult skill in learning the target language” and many times the students’ responses are reduced to very short sentences or monosyllables (“sí, no, no sé, también, nunca, me parece bien o mal; pienso que es interesante, no recuerdo, tal vez, es difícil explicar en españolo”, etc.).
There are people who need to improve their communication skills in Spanish for specific reasons (work, travel, love, etc.). On the other hand, there are others who have studied it in the past and want to keep their Spanish alive. In both cases, the problem arises when these people do not have many opportunities to practice “speaking”. And, on the first occasion of conversing with a Spanish speaker, they end up saying the phrase “Entiendo todo, pero no hablo bien” (+ nervous smile).
One of the fundamental things to gain confidence is not to be afraid of making mistakes or wanting to say each of your sentences perfectly. The important thing is that the natives can understand you, you don’t need to obsess over grammatical errors. If you’re too worried about making a mistake, you’re not going to be able to talk much. People will understand you even if you make some mistakes.
That is why I believe that practical conversation lessons are essential to improve your spoken fluency, your level of real conversation in Spanish and your listening comprehension skills. But, in addition, they will help you become familiar with your own voice speaking in another language. In this way, you will be able to get along with ease in Spanish in different real-life situations, interacting with native speakers without feeling inadequate.
If for you it is not enough to practice autonomously, you need a guide or you do not have someone to practice Spanish with, surely I can help you with my conversation lessons. In this way, you can enrich your vocabulary, gain confidence, sound more natural and improve your fluency.
If you don’t want to think about it anymore and want to start right now, write to me to find out how I can help you at any time! Also, if you decide to practice in the summer season, you can take advantage of special promotions.
Do you have a hard time more to speak than to understand when you listen? Share your experinece in the comments.