What can i do to be able to speak fluently?
i have completed my beginners course in espanol. it includes present tense, present continuous, past perfect and future tense. i can frame sentences but it takes me time. is this normal. i do intend to do my intermediate and advanced level as well. can i not speak fluently with what i have learnt and if so how do i do that? please help! thanks!
8 Answers
Immersion! Fluency is never going to happen here even if you spend your whole life learning in a classroom. There is nothing like immersion. It will take your brain to places it's never been pushed to and you will experience a brain battle that can last from weeks to months. You might get to the point where you think you hate Spanish, but it is just your brain fighting to be kept in the "comfort zone"
I'm an English speaker who's been learning Spanish for a couple years now, and from what I can tell, you're going to need at least some control of the subjunctive to be considered "fluent".
I'd say the best way to help yourself learn faster is to listen to music in Spanish. I started out with Jose Jose and that type.....the kind who sing slowly. As my Spanish got better, I've been able to listen to faster and faster singers. If you're in the United States, I'd recommend Pandora for that. (Pandora isn't available outside the US, I'm not sure why.)
Most of all, keep practicing! Practice might not make perfect, but it gets you a lot closer!
Good luck with Spanish!
Ask yourself this, how did you learn your native language? The answer is by speaking and being spoken to.
Books and studying can only take you so far. At the end of the day, you have to get out and speak to people, it's the only way to acheive fluency.
Put your books down for a while and go out, make friends and start using your Spanish in your day-to-day life. Your progress will increase ten-fold once you start doing that.
The hardest skills to master in attaining fluency are listening comprehension and speaking conversationally. Most classroom instruction teaches grammar, sentence structure, etc., which is not enough to make one fluent, and in many cases is not even necessary. Small children can speak fluently without knowing hardly any grammar or structure from a formal standpoint -- they just know when something sounds right and when it does not seem "right."
To move towards this level, listening and speaking skills are critical. Some suggestions, as farallon7 and kdrinning, stated above are:
- Listening to Spanish radio, both music and talk radio. *
- Speaking along with Spanish radio. *
- Watching Spanish telenovelas, news broadcasts, etc. *
- Attempting to talk to native Spanish speakers, in whatever way possible. *
- Full or part-time immersion. *
Of the above, I found full immersion the most beneficial; however, it is the least convenient as most people cannot take months or years off. You may be able to find native speakers in your area, or visit venues (cafes, neighborhoods, etc.) with large Latino/Hispanic populations. If you do go to a Spanish-speaking country, I recommend going to more out-of-the-way places, where the residents are less-inclined to try out their English,so it forces you to speak Spanish.
I'm at a similar stage in Spanish as you, Ashin. I found the Pimsleur level I CDs quite helpful to "open my ears" to Spanish. Level II or III were helpful but not as impactful as the level I. Most libraries have the CDs. I tried to watch Spanish TVs before doing the Pimsleur CDs, but I couldn't pick up much at all. After the CDs, I could tune in to Spanish better.
Speaking fluently is what we all strive for, I would guess. It will take more than even an advanced course, I suspect, in order for you to speak fluently. It is not as easy as it might sound.
Think about a small child learning to speak English. Is he fluent by the time he is 3, 10, 20? Some people never reach true fluency with their mother tongue, much less with a second language.
My best advice to you would be to strive to communicate what you need to and want to and then just keep studying!
Good luck!
First off, welcome to the forum! Hope you're enjoying your time here so far. 
Second, I would suggest utilizing the search function located in the Q&A and check for this same question. It has been asked and answered very many times and I think you'll find the answers more valuable if you look for them. 
HI ash,as you already have several answers , please also do a search on this site, there are lots of threads on this topic, thanks
