Why am I not making progress in my Spanish course (Part II)?

This is the eternal question that many people that study Spanish language ask themselves. Suddenly, they feel stuck and studying the language becomes a nightmare. Don’t worry. It’s more common than you think.

In the last week’s article we began to explain the factors that can affect your progress in your Spanish course. We also provide some tips to help you overcome these obstacles.

This week we will continue to delve into other possible causes and share with you more useful suggestions. So, make yourself comfortable and get ready to make the most of your Spanish course.

The “academic rucksack”: inherited teaching methods

As children we become accustomed to a certain method of learning. Whether we follow a classical, conservative system or a more innovative, alternative one. Our way of acquiring and learning new things is shaped by these previous educational experiences.

When we learn a second language, instinctively, these inherited mechanisms are activated and we are predisposed to certain ways of receiving information. It is easier to learn something when you use a familiar method.

For example, if your previous training has been more traditional, focused on memorisation and repetition, you will probably feel more comfortable with grammar exercises and vocabulary lists.

Similarly, carrying out a communicative and unstructured task, where you have to apply different skills than usual, is likely to be more challenging.

So, what is the solution?

Although there are no foolproof recipes, we believe that the first step is to be open to new things. You may find the exercises proposed by your teacher useless, abstract or complicated, but try to give them a chance.

Take every opportunity to expose yourself to Spanish. Because most classroom tasks pursue more than one objective, which is often not perceived by the learner. So, dare to step out of your academic comfort zone… And let yourself be surprised!

You can also adapt the exercises worked on in class to your own learning style. For example, extract vocabulary lists, make concept maps, record and listen to your own audios, watch tutorials on Youtube… anything that contributes to improving your command of the language, on your own terms.

If you feel lost, don’t hesitate to ask your teacher for help. He or she will surely provide you with valuable tools.

I only speak Spanish in class

This is one of the phrases we hear most often in our Spanish classrooms. Not living in a native environment is usually the first cause for this “disconnection”. But it is also more common than it seems in immersion courses.

Many students are forced to interact most of the time in their native language (or a second language other than Spanish). This reduces their possibilities for practicing and slows down the process considerably. Frustration sets in and, with it, demotivation.

What can you do to increase your chances of speaking Spanish?

Although this will depend very much on your personal situation, here are some ideas that you can explore at your own pace:

• Attend talks in Spanish (Charla en español). In Valencia there are many places that open their doors for natives and foreigners to practice languages.
• Enrol in a dance or singing class, an art workshop or any other course in something that really interests you. Although it may be difficult at first, in a few weeks you will see your Spanish take a 180-degree turn.
• Surround yourself with Spanish in your life. You can listen to music, podcasts or films in Spanish (with subtitles). Change the language settings on your phone. Read something that interests you every day. Send messages in Spanish to your friends. Upload posts in Spanish on your social networks and reply to comments. In short, make the new language part of your daily life.
  • Rehearse in front of the mirror. It’s a technique that never goes out of fashion. Practice your speech before having a conversation with native speakers. Focus on the situations that are most common in your everyday life (going to the bakery, taking the bus, talking to your neighbours, etc.).

At our school we know how important it is to continue practicing the language outside the classroom. Therefore, every week we organise a talk in Spanish (charla en español) for our students and former students. In addition to that, we propose cultural activities aimed at getting to know the places and celebrations of interest in the city, as well as interacting with native speakers in real situations. Take Spanish with you wherever you go!

Wrong motivation

There are two main types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic.

The first has to do with the personal satisfaction you get from learning something. You are motivated by curiosity or genuine interest. Extrinsic, on the other hand, relates to the external rewards you receive from studying Spanish.

Imagine that you enrol on a Spanish course with the sole aim of obtaining a student visa, being promoted in your job or meeting the expectations of others. This would be an extrinsic motivation. In other words, studying Spanish is a means to achieve a goal end and not a goal in itself.

The problem arises when, for example, you don’t get that position in the company you wanted so much. Studying Spanish loses all meaning and becomes a heavy burden. At this point, it is important to know what really motivates you to learn another language.

Here is a very simple exercise that can help you to find it out:

• Make a list of the reasons why you have decided to learn a second language.

• Analyse which of them are internal and which are external.

• Prioritise the reasons that are most important to you. You may find it helpful to assign a score to each one.

If you come to the conclusion that your reasons for studying Spanish are more external than internal, don’t worry. This does not mean that your learning process is destined to fail. In fact, there is a little trick to transform the nature of your motivations.

Let’s go back to the example at the beginning. You are excited about moving up in the company and a second language will make it possible, even if you are not really interested in it. Well, try to think of all the advantages you will gain in your job if you get promoted.

Imagine the job doors that will open for you when you master the second most spoken language in the world. See yourself as a completer and more prepared professional. Expand the boundaries of your goal as well.

Now, transfer that sense of pleasure to your Spanish class. When you solve an assignment in the classroom or give a presentation, convince yourself that this will bring you one step closer to what you long for.

Additionally, change your thinking system from “I have to do it to get what I want” to “I want to do it because I’m excited to improve”. And most important of all: celebrate even the smallest progress.

With these two small adjustments to your process, you will find that over time you will get personal satisfaction in learning. Because it goes beyond a specific goal.

It is also about realising how you overcome your limitations. Discovering your inner resources and appreciating the multiple benefits that studying Spanish can offer you.

Pleistocene mistakes

Even though you have made progress in your Spanish course, do you still make the same mistakes you made at the beginning? No matter how much you go over the content and practise, when it comes to speaking or writing, you make the same mistakes again. You feel that you have entered a loop with no way out and disappointment gains the upper hand.
Such persistent mistakes are often called fossilised errors.

Like a dinosaur fossil, they are problems that the learner carries with them from the beginning and that become entrenched in their system.
Eliminating them seems an impossible task, both for the learner and the teacher. However, we believe that the key lies in identifying the nature of the error.

First of all, we must distinguish between fossilised and fossilisable errors. The latter are linked to the difficulties inherent in each language and not so much to the particular competence of the speaker. They are mistakes which the learner does not immediately recognise. They slip away automatically even at moments of maximum concentration.

On the other hand, learners are able to identify fossilised errors quickly. They can also occur sporadically at advanced levels, either through carelessness, nervousness or tiredness. These errors tend to be consistent over time.

How can fossilised errors be extinguished once and for all?

Whether permanent or transitory, they are mistakes that are part of our academic history. They serve to tell us where we are on the road and how we are travelling along it. This is key in teaching intervention.

There is no magic method to eradicate them, but there are some techniques that will help you deal with them. Here are some of them:

• Identify the mistake. You can do this on your own or with the help of your teacher. If you decide to do it yourself, it often works to record yourself speaking spontaneously and listen to what you have said, for example.

• Become aware of the structures where they occur most frequently and the context in which they occur. Do you make the same mistake when you are tired or stressed? Is the form similar to how you would say it in your mother tongue? Do you always make mistakes with certain conjugations?

• Analyse the cause of the error. Create your own hypotheses and then check with your teacher whether you are right or wrong.

• Ask your teacher to provide you with suitable activities to correct the most frequent and common mistakes in your production. These should be tasks focusing on the functions, sentences and structures where the error occurs.

Finally, remember that making mistakes is an essential part of learning. Many factors come into play, such as interference from the mother tongue or the difficulty of the new language itself. Environmental factors and the learner’s physical, mental and emotional state also come into play. There are no totally individual errors.

That is why we invite you to put on your archaeologist’s glasses and work hard on those “fossils” that prevent you from progressing in your Spanish course.

Excuse me, can you repeat?

We know. You are one of those students who in your Spanish class are able to understand the audios, exchange information and debate with your classmates. But, once you go out on the street, you can’t understand a single word the native speakers say. Don’t worry, you are not alone.

Although this is a fairly common drawback, many of our students get frustrated by it. They find themselves at a standstill and feel that their work in class has not been worthwhile. Do you identify with them?

If so, pay attention to these little tricks we will give you to develop your listening comprehension:

• Choose audios adapted to your level. Just like in the gym, to develop your auditory muscle, you should start with easier tasks. In addition, understanding this material will help you gain confidence.

• Podcasts are a good option Because, as well as covering different topics, many of them are made for learners of Spanish. The pace is slower and some come with transcriptions.

• If you can, get transcripts of the material you listen to (audio or video). This will help you to identify each word separately.

• At first, don’t try too hard to understand all the words. Try to focus on the context. Once you are sure you get the idea, you can go deeper.

• When you are with native speakers, don’t hesitate to ask them to speak more slowly or to repeat things back to you as often as necessary. It may be awkward and unnatural, but it will save you a lot of misunderstandings. Most people appreciate the effort you make to speak their language, and Spaniards are no exception!

• Pay attention! On many occasions, when a person speaks, students do not listen carefully. In their heads they are constructing the right sentence to answer the first thing they have understood. The problem is that they lose a lot of valuable information along the way. So, avoid getting distracted. It’s OK if you don’t manage to answer all of their message.

• Don’t settle for audio. It is very useful to watch videos with sound, as your brain associates what it is seeing with what is being said. Non-verbal communication can be a great ally in deciphering a native speaker’s speech.

• Although it is vital to become familiar with the different accents of the Spanish-speaking world, it can be overwhelming at first. We recommend that you focus your individual practice on just one accent, at least when you are starting out. Over time, you will be able to incorporate the others, but don’t leave them aside!

• And to close, shake off your embarrassment and dare to make mistakes. It is surprising how, in situations of stress or anxiety, the brain freezes. The same happens with our ability to interpret what we hear. Breathe. You are learning and it is normal to make mistakes.

We hope you have enjoyed the second part of this article and that you can put our suggestions into practice to continue making progress in your Spanish course. Don’t miss our next post!

Remember that in our Spanish courses you will learn this and much more, take a look at our list of courses and start improving your Spanish today!