Failing spanish class
Currently enrolled in Spanish 3 regular class (junior year), I've been failing every single tests and quizzes since the beginning of the junior year. I'm an A student enrolled in several AP classes, but this regular spanish 3 class gives me more stress than anything else.
I study hard, memorize vocabs on quizlets, learn grammar and practice answering questions as well as double checking with google for more exercises, etc. But no matter what I do, I've been getting 60-80 for all graded assignments apart from the homework and projects. It's extremely frustrating to have studied 2+ hours for a single chapter and a seemingly-easy fill in/match test, in which you have to read the sentence or paragraph and fill in the correct answers.
I've always been bad at spanish, but this year at this rate, I'm going to have a C for the first time ever in my life. Please understand I work and study hard as much as or even more than any of the other classes.
My friends have been getting 90-100's easily without even studying.
What can I do?
tl;dr I study extremely hard, but I fail everything. what can i do? I'm on the brink of breaking apart. That's how serious and stressful I am towards this course.
8 Answers
Welcome to SpanishDict. Maybe you were not ready for Spanish 3 yet. I'm not sure what to tell you other than what Jubilado has suggested.
We have many resources here that are free and you are welcome to them any time. Maybe take a year off from Spanish classes and start over next year with a tutor. I just believe that if it is that stressful you are not going to learn that way. Good luck and try not to stress about it. Make a decision and stick to it.
I will give another option:
Maybe quit the class. But don't give up on Spanish.
Try a different approach. Read books, watch films, Tv shows, whatever you can in your area. If there are real people ( hispanohablantes, I mean) see if you can find somebody to give you lessons or just conversation . Keep this up, at least once a week for a year, combined with reading, at lest a page of a Spanish book every day.
I guarantee that if you then re-enroll you will pass all the tests with flying colours!
Relax about it and study for fun! If my guarantee fails, I invite you to come and stay with me in Spain for a month, for free. How is that?
- Try a different method, e.g. audio learning.
- Try a different learning venue, e.g. when a kid at school I used to learn French vocab while wandering around the local museum, which was very calm & peaceful.
- Don't cram: learning a language is different from learning other subjects. Cramming lets you remember large quantities of information for short periods of time, but it doesn't give you true understanding or permanence, which you need for successful language acquisition.
- Do a little every day as opposed to a lot once a week.
- Try thinking the in language in your head instead of in English.
- Always carry a small dictionary around with you so if you think of word you don't know in Spanish, you can look it up.
- Read/watch things that you enjoy.
- Don't make it a chore.
If you're a good student and work hard, just maybe the teacher isn't doing such a good job. Talk to your teacher and ask him or her why you're having such a problem. Above all, try not to stress about it. In the long run, it won't be a big deal.
Really excellent advice in all the other posts. . .
Here's another couple ideas that might help you carrotwizard: Use the free lessons SD offers, and the Learning Game threads. (I explain below)
First) There is a set of Video lessons that still can be accessed through Flashcards on the SD drop down menu. Once you get to the Flashcard main page - find the search engine on the right side of the first set of flashcards(& below Create Flashcards) and type in Learn Spanish 1.1.
To make it simpler I have a link H e r e - Go directly to Learn Spanish 1.1 flashcards
Once you are there notice that above the flashcards there is a banner. Click Video Lesson and you will begin with the first lesson set of the basic unit of lessons. There is a video and exercises for Lesson 1.1 and 14 more lessons in the unit. There are 4 units for a total of 60 lessons. They feature as maestra: Paralee Whimire 
!
Those lessons are free and were V e r y helpful to me when I was in Costa Rica - living in a (only) Spanish speaking home and attending an intensive course in a Language Institute.
Second) There is Fluencia - the new Spanish program from SD. They will start you out for free. Eventually there is a cost. - I paid for a year, and it's Much less expensive than a tutor. - In fact - I spent as much on 4 (1 hr.) lessons in Costa Rica as I did this last January purchasing a year membership with Fluencia. . . Go to the drop down menu (upper left corner on this site)Click to drop list & click either the link - Learn Spanish or Want to learn Spanish? It will take you to a registration/sign up for a free demo of Fluencia. - I worked for about a half hr. this morning on the free lessons that demos the program with no end in sight for the gratis lessons. Fluencia currently has 582 lessons - and I think they are developing even more!
Third) This is my last, but not least. Take part in the forum learning game threads on SD. You go to the drop down menu and pick Q & A. Then look at the questions for the ongoing Learning games like ¿Qué es esto? ; "New" Drop one - Add One ; The English Word of the Day ; La Palabra del día (Spanish word of the day); Recuperación de Palabras; Picture of the Day; E - Z learnin' in S & E: The Rhyme Asylum; or One of the periodic A to Z threads.
: - ) 
Hello Carrotwizard,
Welcome to the SpanishDict forum 
I am really sorry to hear (read) that you are finding the experience stressful and consequently that you are not enjoying learning Spanish! It sounds like you need to take a break from learning Spanish for a while and then come back to it with a different approach! 
Enjoying the learning process is important for learning most things in life but it is absolutely essential for learning languages and I speak as someone who is, and has been, learning two foreign languages Spanish and French, for some time, and who is also about to take lessons in Brazilian Portuguese! I have already sent a message to a lady who is a native teacher, in Verbling today.
If you don't enjoy the experience you won't be motivated to keep learning and it will become something that you dread rather than look forward to...as you have sadly discovered ! Instead, just be kind to yourself , relax and perhaps take a break from it for a while (perhaps 3 -6 months) and stop seeing learning a language simply as an academic exercise or perhaps another trophy to add to your successes; it is more like a living animal with which you enter a relationship. I believe it should touch/affect your whole life: your mind, your will and your emotions, not just your intellect!
Learning a language is like running a marathon or taking part in a long-distance, cross- country run where you need to build on what you already know and can do and keep practising; it is not like a 400 metres sprint: done it, I can tick the box, forget about it and move on...you can't do that if you want to make progress (unless you simply want to collect exam certificates)!
If the tortoise and the hare were to learn a language, asssuming that they both were to start off with similar abilities, the tortoise would win 'hands down' (easily) because, with her attitude, she would persevere and would not give up! The hare would probably be in such a hurry to achieve fluency that he would miss the signs along the way and have to re-learn many things again
Annie's advice is great when you feel ready to take up Spanish again. I am NOT saying that you give up learning Spanish forever, but if you are 'stressed out' simply trying to get good grades you might be better taking a break and returning to it later ,with a totally different attitude and approach,
I hope this helps
Don't forget 500 million native speakers learnt it. If they can, then so can you !!
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