046 – Cómo Entender a los Nativos | How to Understand Natives
“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 have practice consistently, your brain will help you out the rest of the way.
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
- Keep learning with La Escala
Turn each episode into Spanish practice with La Escala, our online learning community.- Follow along with interactive transcripts, explore breakdown audios in English, and test your understanding with quizzes.
- Stay consistent with weekly challenges and connect with other Spanish learners.
- For live conversation clubs and guided grammar practice, explore our Frequent Flyer and First Class plans.