Unable to comprehend spoken Spanish
¡Hola! I moved to Honduras, Central America nearly two months ago. Where I can see my reading and writing skills improving (I practise grammar and new vocab daily,) my ability to speak and understand what a Honduran is saying does not exist. Unless they speak very slowly I can't understand a word they're saying.
I'm completely surrounded by Spanish speakers all day, every day with only one other person able to speak english. It's humiliating and I feel terrible that I'm unable to speak with anyone.
Is it possible I just have the inability to learn a new language?
¡AYÚDAME!
8 Answers
Most Spanish learners have trouble understanding what native Spanish speakers say. One reason real Spanish is difficult to understand is that the Spanish in classrooms and textbooks is very different from how people really speak. Some of the differences include:
We as native Spanish speakers use different words and phrases in spoken Spanish than we do in writing.
– We use slang a lot. I don't recommend learning slang unless you plan to visit a specific country or region, learn the slang used in that country or region, because Spanish slang is different in each country.
– We sometimes skip syllables or words.
– Just like in English we link words together when we speak, we pronounce words differently when we say them together than when we say them one-by-one. This is called “connected speech”.
If you only learn Spanish in a classroom, you probably only hear very careful pronunciation.
So how can you get better at understanding spoken Spanish?
One of the best way to improve is by training your ears to Spanish with the aid of an accent reduction specialist and spend hours and hours listening to people speaking Spanish.
You learned English so I am sure you can learn Spanish. I remember as a teenager going on an exchange trip to France and someone spoke English to me and it took me a while to understand because he was talking about a 'cocker' spaniel dog, but saying cocker in a completely different way.
When you learned English you spent a longtime listening to English before starting to put sounds together and communicate.
My advice is when reading Spanish, read it out loud to get used to the sounds. Listen to music - try and find some Honduran music you can enjoy. I enjoy Gaby Moreno - she is not Honduran she is Guatemalan, but I assume the accent may be similar.
I am good at listening but it took a while to unlock my ears and my brain. Even now I tune into French easier than Spanish, it being the first foreign language I learned.
I don't know your situation eg present level of Spanish and how much you need and can communicate with locals.
I sometimes read an article in two different places eg rtve and el mundo or abc or el país. Look up new vocabulary then listen to a related video on El País Youtube, 20 minutos and rtve. It is a good way to expand vocabulary and improve listening. Ver Taal has lots of exercises in a similar vein.
This site has various speakers, including Honduran. Spanish listening
I remember the first time I went to Mexico I found it difficult to get used to a new accent [I am used to speakers from Spain] and was pleased when I spoke to someone from Barcelona.
You need to do some concentrated listening. This site has subtitled videos
This site has subtitled videos but most are from Spain ticele
However, as you are actually in a Spanish speaking country try and find an intercambio - someone who wants to improve their English and help you with your Spanish. You spend 30 minutes on each language. NB when you are new to a language it is hard and tiring to listen and speak.
When you listen to your native language there are lots of short cuts ie you don't always finish sentences and you will be surprised when talking to friends how many idioms and colloquial language you use. Some of the time, if you are with a group you could sit back and listen and not try to respond. If you are worried about responding you are likely to be stressing about what to say and not listen properly.
Try and find a site or a book with phrases and vocabulary specific to Honduras.
Make sure some of your listening music etc is pure enjoyment.
Relax, keep your sense of humour and you will improve quickly.
You now live in Honduras, so you are now learning the language by immersion, which is the absolute best way. Two months is a very short time to expect a lot, so allow yourself more time to absorb the language at your own rate.
Age has a lot to do with speed of learning as well as retention of new material.
If you have an understanding of music as by ear, your language learning will come more naturally. If you have no comprehension of music, such as not being able to sing on key, language learning will be a challenge.
I don´t know if people from Honduras speak the way most Carribean people do, "eating" the Ss and some vowel sounds, but if they do, this will definitely add to the difficulty of picking up the language, but it can be accomplished. My Spanish is from Mexico, where we have very clear pronunciation, and I have to really concentrate a lot to understand Cubans and other Caribeños. Again, two months is a very short time, so give yourself a chance.
Hello Susie,
Welcome to the SpanishDict forum 
You asked:
Hola! I moved to Honduras, Central America nearly two months ago. Where I can see my reading and writing skills improving (I practise grammar and new vocab daily,) my ability to speak and understand what a Honduran is saying does not exist. Unless they speak very slowly I can't understand a word they're saying. I'm completely surrounded by Spanish speakers all day, every day with only one other person able to speak english. It's humiliating and I feel terrible that I'm unable to speak with anyone. Is it possible I just have the inability to learn a new language? ¡AYÚDAME!
Please do not worry or panic it is perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed when faced with such a situation! I was in a similar situation many years ago when I was a teenager on holiday in Spain when I went into a shop in Campo Amor, in Malaga (I think) in southern Spain in a non tourist area. I wanted to practise my Spanish (which was somewhere between beginner and intermediate level) but I could not clearly understand what the shopkeeper was saying in reply and then he asked me to speak in English instead, I felt gutted and really embarrassed! Many years later I learnt that Andalucians often drop the last sounds of their words...which can catch you out (or confuse you ) if you are not expecting that!
It is usually much easier to understand a language in a written form because you have much more time to take it in (understand it!)! When Spanish-speaking natives speak to non-native learners at their normal speaking pace it can be quite hard to understand what they are saying, and this is especially true if you have had little exposure to the language before finding yourself in a total immersion experience like you are in! My poor mother had the same problem in LIma, Peru, where I was born, when my dad was working there many, many years ago! She had to learn Spanish the hard way like you are doing but my dad's company provided free Spanish classes for him for the first 3 or 4 months.
It sounds like you are doing some of the right things in trying to expand your vocabulary and to improve your understanding of the grammar of the language. You may feel completely out of your depth like a 'fish out of water' right now in your life but this does not necessarily mean that you are not capable of learning a foreign language. It just means that you need more help and support, more appropriate resources that are tailored to your exact needs, and above all greater exposure to the language spoken at a more relaxed/gentle pace!
One of the biggest mistakes beginners make, and I used to make it, is to try to focus on and understand every word that natives speak ...you cannot succeed in doing this ...it is impossible and you only end up hearing an occasional word they say here and there and miss the idea (gist) of what they are trying to communicate! I can tell you from my personal experience that it does not work! The key to success in understanding any language is to listen to the general idea of what they say /are saying even if you miss a lot and do not understand every adjective, verb , noun etc... One of my Spanish teachers who was married to a native Spaniard taught me this!
As you expand your vocabalary and grammar at other times, especially your understanding of the verbs which are the building blocks of any language, you should find that this feeds through to the times when you listen to natives again and you begin to understand more of what is being said. This is usually a gradual process and does not happen overnight, The changes may simply be understanding that somebody is /was doing something eg talking or working even if you do not catch who was doing the action!
I would recommend that you watch all the teaching video clips that our online teacher Paralee has created ...they are free and are very helpful, well produced lessons on a fairly wide range of different grammar topics that can help you to better understand the Spanish grammar. She explains everthing very clearly. The first ones are explained almost completely in English and she gradually increases the amount of Spanish in each lesson. They are only about 15 minutes long. Here is the direct link: enter link description here
I would also recommend that you try to watch these funny and short video clips in Spanish wth English subtitles about two young girls in their early 20's called Lola and Ana who share a flat in Spain to help you understand Spanish spoke by natives. Understanding spoken Spanish is still my weakest area compared to writing, speaking or reading and my native Spanish teacher who teaches me in private classes in Skype recommended this website! My native Spanish teacher has told me that Spanish grammar does not vary greatly between different Spanish speaking countries, although the idioms can vary considerably and each have their own slang! These videos could help you understand Spanish at a much slower pace. Each video builds on the knowledge and vocabulary in previous ones. Here is a link to the videos: enter link description here
I am sure that you will also receive other helpful responses from concerned people here!
I hope this helps
Here's a link to some podcasts which I use in addition to this site. Each one is fairly short no more than 15-20 minutes long and each is of a varied level of spoken Spanish some quite slow and others at normal speed. I have found them very helpful. Don't despair, one day you will just find yourself understanding the locals.......enter link description here https://www.spanishpodcast.net/listado-episodios
For what it's worth, go to bed a half an hour earlier than normal. Have a radio that turns off automatically after a set period. It should be synchronized to a news/talk station. Do this night after night. You will start to understand more. Time and repetition!
And additional or alternate way is to set the radio to turn on a half an hour earlier than normal. You don't want to get out of bed anyway, so just listen to the days news.
I turned off English subtitles (on television) a long time ago. I found myself reading the English instead of listening and paying attention to the actual broadcast.
You've got lots of great ideas here. I'd like to add just one. Find a local bar or cafe near you. When you go in, tell your server, in Spanish, that you are trying to learn the language, but you need to practice, especially in understanding what is said to you. Then ask politely if you can practice with them, which would be nothing more than chatting a little bit with them, and ask them to have patience with you. I'm sure they'd agree, and speak with you a little more than just an in-and-out customer.
Then make that a regular place for you to go. You'll find that each time you go, your first server, and even other servers, will get to know you, and will probably speak to you so that you can understand them, and maybe even give you a few pointers.
As a bonus, you may even become friends with some of them. ¡Buena suerte!
I would say to watch all your TV in Spanish with English subtitles. It might not be as enjoyable as if you were to watch it in English, though I am sure you would quickly get used to the way each word sounds. Your brain will learn how to connect the dots and match words with sounds.
Hope that helps.
