“Help! I’m studying Spanish, but I can’t understand native speakers when they ask me something!” or the classic, “I don’t have anyone to practice with!”

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.

Learning to have a natural conversation is probably the hardest part of learning a language.

What the process is really about is finding a balance between genuinely advancing your target language vocabulary (and grammar too of course!) and allowing your brain to do its job. 

A lot of communication is subconscious. Remember how you learned your first language as a child. You listened and listened and listened….until one day you tried to speak. And then some words, and then sentences, and then out of nowhere - you were a pro.

As long as you practice consistently, your brain will do the rest.

Jim and May share a few funny stories this week about having difficulties understanding each other’s families while learning their target language. And they provide tips on comprehension when it comes to dealing with natives!

Links:

• An Honest Review of Baselang
• Episode 024 - Interview with Connor Grooms, CEO of Baselang
• An Honest Review of Lingoda
• Duolingo
• Episode 040 - Interview with Polyglot Steve Kaufmann
• Level up your Spanish with our Podcast Membership
  • Get the full transcript of each episode so you don’t miss a word
  • Listen to an extended breakdown section in English going over the most important words and phrases
  • Test your comprehension with a multiple choice quiz

Thank you to our patrons for making this podcast possible:

Tiansheng Lian, Jennifer Wilson, Adrian Major, Jenny, Christy Warne, Russ Moore, Annette Baesel, Christian Gonzalez, Jill Heichelbech, Jean Lorio, Rebecca D Robison, Wylie Hargrove, Kristin Royer, Deb Shroyer, RamPandaPuss, Amy, Josh Powell, Hoy Shih, Neil Moore, Craig Stenger, Jennifer Wilson, Paula Lisowsky, Joseph Scriba, Kenneth Revelson, and DJ Brasier.

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