04 Oct 2014 7:28 PM:
When I first joined this forum, I mentioned that my Spanish was not good, even after studying it for years. For several months following that statement, I've thrown myself back into actively practising it.
I read all the advice about submerging yourself etc. to let your brain adjust to another language. Don't translate, just LISTEN. That was quite helpful, at first. The trouble is, there's only so much time you can spend listening to something when you've no idea what they're on about. It gets boring after a while.
I'm very limited with what I can listen to from here in the UK, it's either the news, radio or a very limited selection of progs, of which I have no idea what they're about. There seems to be an awful lot of politics and sport. Politics I can't understand even when reading the subtitles. (My reading skills are probably my best.) I've even sat and listened to sport! I have no interest whatsoever in sport! I did manage to pick up what "Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" meant. I have a slight suspicion it may mean someone has just scored a goal.
I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm never going to be fluent/half-fluent/quarter-fluent/eigth-fluent. It would have been nice to have been just a tidgy bit fluent, a "poquito fluento", but no.
The trouble is: it hurts failing. I can't explain to anyone else because none of my friends has learned a language and they don't understand the difference from learning, say, cake decorating. They think that the longer I do Spanish, the automatically more fluent I'm becoming. Following that logic, we'd all end up as translaters for the EU.
When I listen to the radio now, Spanish of course, I feel frustrated, disheartened and stupid. It's time I gave up. I just wanted to tell someone.
body p
Thread:
At the point of giving up.
--------------------------------------