Will I ever be fluent?
I've been studying Spanish dilligently for three years. I consider myself fairly fluent in reading Spanish and I can definitely get my point across in speaking it. My problem is listening to regular spoken Spanish in conversation. I can only seem to make out one out of five words or so... enough to know what the conversation is about, but not enough to be an active participant. I listen to Spanish radio all day at work, try to watch as much as I can of the Spanish television, but I still can't seem to wrap my head around it. I find myself trying to translate every word in my head. Will I ever be fluent? I'm getting discouraged.
8 Answers
Please, don't be discouraged...it takes time!
I found that my learning, interest, and ability to communicate came in stages (which included many plateaus where I was stuck).
I suggest an Immersion visit to a Spanish-speaking country, if you can afford it. It really creates a jump in your ability to focus, understand, and use your language. If that's not possible, I suggest a native speakers as a Skype tutor who will help your listening comprehension and speaking abilities. I can recommend one if you wish.
¡Buena suerte y puedes hacerlo!
I feel the same way! I can read and write quite well, but when it comes to actively participating in conversations, I often get intimated. I've been told by several speakers that my pronunciation is good, but I still feel a mental block when it comes to conversing with people.
I'm currently a college student, with a minor in Spanish (major is psych), and I have to say I LOVE the language. I practice a lot outside of class and do a lot of reading. However, it's very discouraging when I am attempting to listen to a conversation and the person is speaking too fast for me to be able to understand the entire sentence. :'( I would say that complete fluency is biologically nearly impossible past the age of say 3 years old. After that, accent will never be quite like that of a native speaker. But in terms of being able to say that you have the ability to speak/understand the language is very, very possible. That's why I am still working hard! 
I am working towards being able to hold conversations, more so than simply "hello. how are you?" or "where is the bathroom?" I am fascinated with the intimacy between a native speaker and his/her language. I am definitely planning on visiting a Spanish-speaking country to improve my skills because there I'll be much more dependent on using it to communicate. I just don't have the money atm! Good luck in your studies and know that you're definitely not alone in your frustration!!
May I take the opportunity of making a suggested approach that; to my mind, could work better for you, given that your comprehension is very good and since you have also dedicated yourself to listening to radio and watching Spanish TV as well:
a) I have been learning Spanish on my own. Since I do not have access to live Spanish TV, I try and translate my thoughts and what I would say in English in Spanish. I had purchased some DELE CDs for the A1 and A2 levels and some books of ELE as well with CDs that are oriented towards the Latin American accent.
b) In tandem, virtually the whole day in my spare time and during lean periods at work, besides whilst driving, I listen to Latino music. I try and remember the lyrics through repeated hearing and also memorising the lyrics not by rote, rather through comprehending their meaning and logic of construction. It is an excellent approach and I try and sing these numbers to myself. Believe me, it works wonders. You will start recalling words, sentences and phrases as well much faster.
I am 64 yrs old and am pursuing my quest of learning this lovely language that has an amazing richness of expression and such lovely music, for my personal satisfaction.
Much elder that you are than me in learning Spanish, I trust that my experience may prove to be of help to you.
with best wishes Ashok
Hola.. Si sigues con tu gran dedicación y esfuerzo, no tengo dudas de que hablarás español con fluidez. No sé qué edad tienes, pero para los adultos aprender un nuevo idioma es más difícil porque tendemos a compararlo con nuestra lengua madre.
Yo he estudiado varios idiomas y hablarlos con fluidez ha requerido un gran esfuerzo de mi parte. La clave del éxito: paciencia, paciencia, paciencia y más paciencia. Y aceptar las cosas como son, sin tratar de buscar el por qué de todo.
Aprender a separar las palabras que uno escucha en español hablado es un arte, pues es un idioma muy fácil de pronunciar y permite que la gente lo hable muy rápido. Busca videos en español en Youtube y ve televisión en español con subtítulos hasta que llegue el momento en que no los necesites más.
Los niños aprenden los idiomas como las esponjas. Lo absorben todo sin hacer preguntas. Y lo aceptan. Por eso es que aprenden tan rápido. Lee mucho y trata de hablar con quien puedas siempre que tengas la oportunidad de hacerlo. Y no te preocupes si cometes errores. Todos los hispanoparlantes cometemos errores hablando y escribiendo todos los días.
Así que, ¡ánimo, amiga! Ya verás como cambian las cosas.
Recibe un cordial saludo.
Francobollo
I believe you can be fluent! Just don't stop learning. )
I know how you feel. The same thing still happens to me. I think you just have to keep at it and you will get there. Hopefully you will get some responses here that will help. Good luck!
Una recomendación, si tienes amigos hispanos sería mucho mejor que hablaras y practicaras mucho con ellos,yo me sentía igual con el ingles porque había estudiado como 4 años y no me era posible ser fluido, entonces lo que yo hice fue practicar mucho el ingles con gente que su lengua materna es el ingles y eso me ayudo a que mi ingles fuera mas fluido, así que ANIMO!!!
This is just an idea, but maybe the problem is reading and listening require different kinds of practice.
Have you ever tried thinking in Spanish? It's a suggestion I heard from another site whose owner boasts that he can learning any language within a few months (fluentin3months.com). Perhaps if you can learn to hear it in your head, you can learn to hear it with your ears.
