External factors that can affect language skills
I have studied Spanish for several years and I am beginning to recognize a few external factors that directly impact my ability to understand and speak the language. I write this post as an encouragement to all students here, realizing these observations may not apply to everyone.
First, I am most effective in understanding and using the language when I am fresh and well rested. I know this is no surprise, but I can often think and pass between languages very well when my mind is rested. As the day progresses, I’ve noticed my capacity to work in Spanish is continually diminished, until I am hardly functional at all by late evening. I hope this symptom will eventually pass or, at least, become less extreme.
Second, I am least effective when I am most anxious or stressed. This effect, I’m happy to say, is becoming less pronounced since I am more frequently exposed to the language. But there are still times when I am stressed and go totally blank, sometimes in both languages. I become unable to recall even the simplest phrases or vocabulary.
Finally, the time-span I require to pass from one language to the other is becoming shorter, but this condition also follows the pattern noted in the above observations.
I suspect age has an impact on these factors, and other members may not recognize these problems at all. My education and careers have been in the fields of science and mathematics, so language is a relatively new skill for me. It may be helpful for others to realize that external factors can affect our abilities to handle language.
I just thought I’d share some observations.
19 Answers
Second, I am least effective when I am most anxious or stressed.
That, along with other negative feelings, like embarrassment or lack of confidence, could be, by far, the most crucial factor. There are numerous studies that prove that memory just doesn't work when you are stressed or feeling anxious, and for learning languages, enjoying the language is one the key factor for learning fast and efficiently.
I like to speak correctly, so I tend to "over-monitor" myself in a foreign language.
Big mistake! I do that too, which is why I have not made much progress in some of the languages I've attempted. My spoken English improve tenfold in a month, because I was surrounded by foreigners and we were all drinking. After a few beers, I couldn't care less about my mistakes and I began to talk and focus on communication.
These all happen to me 
.
I also used to have a big problem with not understanding what I was being asked, even if I could understand perfectly when the question was posed to someone else. As soon I realised that I was only hearing part of the question because I started panicking about what I was going to say before the question was finished, I started waiting until the question was finished and then I could answer without a problem.
I still have a horrendous time when I'm put on the spot. My mind goes completely blank 
.
Í'm in the same boat, including the math and science part, but my Spanish skills are at their best when drinking beer with native speakers.
The factors that I find most debilitating in their capacity to affect my ability to understand and speak Spanish well, include:
1 Tiredness. However, having said this, sometimes I am more relaxed when tired and less inclined to try to translate word for word in my head I have been training myself to listen and understand the heart of what is being said not every word.
2 Stress
3 Fear of making mistakes
4 Not being relaxed in the company of the people I am talking to : fortunately this is fairly rare since I am a very sociable person who makes friends more easily than enemies. but some people who are very critical can make me feel less inclined to take risks and talk/share things, especially in another language!
5 Being unwell: thankfully I am seldom sick/ill
I believe the fear factor is too high when the time comes for the person to start explaining/expounding in the foreign language, and that's because he or she lacks practicing speaking and writing.
You have to be sure of what you are writing is correct, and you do that by transcribing a whole novel from the foreign language to the foreign language. If there are words you don't know, look them up in the dictionary, which by the way it should be a dictionary of definitions in the foreign language and not a bilingual one.
Then you start to read out loud a paragraph while recording yourself, listen to your mistakes, accent etc and then re-read the same paragraph and re-listen looking for your errors etc and repeat the process reading the same paragraph until you are more or less satisfied and then repeat the process with a new paragraph etc.
The you try to redact directly from your mind to the writing pad in the foreign language. Practice, practice, practice.
Doing all this in the same sequence outlined here, will get tyou to write very well in the foreign language, fluidity in your writing and when speaking, and will soften your accent in the foreign language.
Conan el Barbaro. Did he study a lot?
even if I could understand perfectly when the question was posed to someone else
I can definitely sympathize with this. I have often found that I immediately know an appropriate response when the conversation is directed towards another person, but when I become one of the main participants, I am often at a loss. I think that over-monitoring and nerves often play a large part in this for me as well.
I do, however, recall that with my first go-round with Spanish (about 10 to 15 years ago), I seemed to have much less trouble just shooting the breeze with other Spanish speakers. For about 2 years, I worked alongside a group of people who for the most part spoke no or very little English (most were immigrants from either El Salvador or Guatemala). I developed friendships with several of these individuals and often (at least daily) was called upon as a sort of go-between for them and upper management.
In any case, communicating back then always seemed somewhat "seamless" to me, and it may have been due to several factors. For one, I felt extremely comfortable around the people I was speaking to, and we had a relationship (as co-workers) where communication was somewhat of a necessity. Another reason that I felt so comfortable was that I was always treated with an almost humbling amount of kindness and encouragement by the people I was speaking to. It may also be that I was not nearly as interested in grammar as I am now, and perhaps because of this was much less likely to "get in my own way" with too much self-monitoring.
Still, I think that age has probably played at least a small factor. When I look back, I see that I was definitely much more cocksure, boisterous and outgoing as a young man and have grown a bit more reserved and possibly introverted with time. This almost certainly has played a part in my own troubles in terms of speaking ability. Certainly, there is an element of anxiety now that I don't remember ever having experienced when I was younger.
All good responses. I agree that fatigue, stress, and not wanting to look stupid all adversely affect language skill. I don't want to encourage inappropriate drinking, either, but I've found that a beer or two helps me with #2 and #3, though it may exacerbate #1.
This is all so true. I am sure it happens to everyone. We can only keep on trying the best we can even though we know we aren't perfect. The people who have the opportunity to speak Spanish with others everyday are very fortunate.The rest of us need to use things like this website, college courses and Skype which is great for the rest of us. I really appreciate Skype and the people who are willing to talk with me..
heliotropema:
Follow my advice and you'll get through...
If it is of any help, please read my blog at:
http://learnspanish-english.blogspot.com/2011/05/learning-spanish-english.html
Anyone can do it, in any language!
I find it interesting that so many people encounter the same problems I do. I'm thankful that posts like this are here.I do not have the good fortune to practice with anyone constructively.It might be the area I live in,but most times that I attempt using what little spanish I know,I do not receive the support or help that so many speak of here.I'm very reluctant to use it.I keep pressing on,in hope ,that I can get to a point this doesn't happen.This is not a pity post ,It's what I am experiencing.Where are these people that I always hear about that respect the fact that someone is trying?
Ah, unfortunately, two beers and the only Spanish I can remember is "Tengo sueño". But it is a lot of fun to see native speakers cheerfully give me those smiles (usually reserved for toddlers) when I mangle their lovely language!
I'm super tense when I talk spanish. I can't say anything without micro-monitoring myself and rushing to the dictionary after every conversation to prove to myself that I made ANOTHER mistake and that I am pathetic at spanish. It's not until recently that I could remind myself that it's the very reason I am studying the language in the first place - because I want to become better. So I'm going to keep studying, and one day I'll be a natural!
I believe I am the opposite of you Dogwood, in that my Spanish improves as the day goes on. I find it much easier to read, think and understand Spanish between 11PM and 2AM. Then again, I have always been a night owl and I tend to be better at most things later in the day.
I tend to become instantly nervous when I am speaking to someone fluent in both languages. However, when I communicate with Spanish natives who are also in the process of learning English, I have much more confidence. I guess this is because I know they are struggling in the same way that I am.
As a musician, I have come across many students who never progress or reach their full potential because they are unwilling to perform publicly until they can play perfectly. I always encourage people like this that they are never going to be able to perform in front of people very well until they have made several dozen mistakes in public and have lived to tell about it. Once you know the world isn't going to come to an end and you realize how accepting people are, your stage fright diminishes rapidly.
I have been trying to apply my own advice when it comes to speaking Spanish. If I wait for the day that I am perfectly fluent before opening my mouth, that day is never going to come. It is only going to be through making mistakes and learning from them that any of us will ever achieve our goals.
It's a bit of a balancing act. Sure, you have to go with that mindset of 'who cares if I make mistakes', and not punish yourself too much. But at the same time, if you actually want to improve (not make the same grammatical errors again) you HAVE to be conscious of them and definitely make an asserted effort not to do it again. The key is just NOT to overly kick yourself.
I've made lots of errors in the spanish learning process, and each and every single time, I logged those very same errors on my 'to not do again' list on my mental hard drive. However, I never let that affect me adversely. I didn't start stuttering and feeling bad about myself after referring to a noun I knew was feminine with the 'lo' pronoun. And I NEVER ever started to apologize for myself with whomever I was speaking with when I realized my error in the middle of the conversation. I've noticed this happens a lot with some people.
So the key is balance. Realize what you're doing wrong, just don't let it affect you negatively.
-Charlius-
