Learning Spanish: Why is it so Hard to Understand Spanish Speakers || Improve Listening Skills

Have you noticed it is hard to understand Spanish speakers when they are speaking with each other? Here we'll explain why, and how you can improve your listening skills in Spanish. There will be a Spanish listening activity in Spanish towards the end of the video. Also, you will find more intermediate and advanced listening activities on our channel.
More useful tips: www.whynotspanish.com/spanish/...
Transcript and quiz: www.whynotspanish.com/spanish/...
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In this video, we are talking about tips on how to improve your listening skills in Spanish. These tips will help you better understand Spanish speakers in conversations. First, let's start with the why. Most Spanish speakers do not enunciate when they speak. Another reason is that Spanish is the second fastest language in the world after Japanese. So when you combine those together it can make for a lot of difficulty understanding.
There are two types of listening passive and active listening. Passive listening is where you have things like Spanish music in the background but are not really paying close attention. This is could help you learn the musicality of the language but will not really help you that much. We recommend trying to do active listening. This is where you listen to something and take action like you would in a conversation.
Here are our tips to practice active listening.
1. Have a conversation in Spanish
When you are having a conversation always look to say something back and expand.
2. Get scripts or subtitles
Get scripts or subtitles of what you are watching or listening. When you are reading while you hear it will help you better understand by being able to see the sentence structure and better understand the context. Also if you are listening to music try to find the lyrics for the song and sing along.
3. Slow it down
When you listen to slower versions of the audio you have more of a chance to understand. You can do this on KZbin by going to the settings box (the little gear wheel) and then click on speed. Write the words you understand down then go back and watch it at normal speed to see if you can pick out the words from what you have written down.
4. Predict the content
Try to predict the vocabulary that you might see in the video you are about to watch. Look up any words that you think you might need or that will be used.
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Book Suggestions
Beginner
1. Relatos / Stories: Historias Cortas Para Aprender Espanol: Niveles A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 / Short Stories to Learn Spanish: Levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 (Spanish Edition)
amzn.to/2G9pg3P
2. 100 cosas que debe saber una chica / un chico
amzn.to/2pq6H26
3. Cocina Fácil Internacional. Fideos y Pastas
amzn.to/2GLvMfb
4. Fitness. Guia Holística para Principiantes
amzn.to/2HQNZai
5. Las Frases del Éxito: Frases célebres para cambiar tu vida de más de 100 personajes históricos exitoso
amzn.to/2Gbd6aT
INTERMEDIO
6. Diccionario práctico del Estudiante
amzn.to/2FYbAWc
7. La tregua. Mario Benedetti
amzn.to/2GR5l85
8. El dilema del omnívoro
amzn.to/2IBY9wQ
9. El curioso incidente del perro a media noche.
amzn.to/2GN7m52
10. Una curiosidad para cada día del año
amzn.to/2GLxLjt

[@WhyNotSpanish]

Bienvenido a la sección de comentarios. Por favor, póngase cómodo. A la derecha encontrará a los que critican y a la izquierda, a los defensores. Más adelante leerá a los hablantes de español que no tienen ni idea de por qué están viendo este video, pero igual comentan. Un poco más adelante tendrá el placer de leer a los que se burlan de un acento extranjero pero no se atreven a hablar otro idioma, por vergüenza. En el pasillo siguiente encontrará a los que corrigen a los que escriben mal, luego tendrá el placer de ver a los que hacen publicidad y promueven sus propios canales. Por último usted que viene a ver comentarios: tenemos palomitas, gaseosas, y chicles; ojalá su visita haya sido placentera. 😂 Chicos, este video fue hecho en el 2017. Los invitamos a ver videos más recientes. Abrazos y gracias por su sentido del humor. . Welcome to the comment section. Please make yourself comfortable. On the right you will find those who criticize and on the left, the defenders. Later you will find the Spanish speakers who have no idea why they are watching this video, but still comment. A little later you will have the pleasure of reading those who make fun of a foreign accent but do not dare to speak another language, out of shame. In the next corridor you will find those who correct the spelling mistakes, then, you will have the pleasure of seeing those who advertise and promote their own channels. Finally, sit and enjoy: we have popcorn, soda, and gum; I hope your visit has been pleasant. 😂 Guys, this video was made in 2017. We invite you to watch more recent videos. Hugs and thanks for your sense of humor.

[@sanchezaguilarjuancarlos4945]

😆😆😆😆

[@frankperez8655]

I make fun of this.... y tambien hablo español mamacita

[@titopinan]

vamos a jugar play

[@indigent8701]

no me jodas es buenisimo, soy español son las 4 de la mañana y estoy viendo esto.

[@indigent8701]

a por luisa me quedo hhhh

[@-TroyStory-]

When trying to talk with native speakers, use this sentence early: “Despacio, por favor, estoy aprendiendo!” :)

[@marcelobuenano4616]

Si deseas podemos practicar yo hablo español de forma nativa

[@stefaniclowdis7406]

I do this, but some people refuse to slow down.

[@agustinbarquero8898]

@@marcelobuenano4616 Podemos practicar? Por que yo lo necesito...

[@rodgerfields9406]

@@stefaniclowdis7406 I agree. They will acknowledge the request but continue talking at breakneck speed.

[@f.joannerosales400]

@@rodgerfields9406 I don't think they are trying to talk fast ...it is just how they speak....even if they slow down for a bit most cannot keep that slow speed...they just automatically speed up again.

[@menorcaventura3442]

Learn this phrase: “déjamelo pensar”. “Let me think about it”. This buys you time. 😂

[@almagayo4745]

It’s better if you say déjame pensarlo

[@L.D.G.J]

Déjame pensarlo not dejamelo pensar

[@cdn6917]

Nigga that’s not how you say it. It’s déjame pensar or déjame pensarlo

[@kmunna3648]

Lmaoo

[@maroua9279]

@@almagayo4745 thanks

[@lmak392]

Don't stress your mind, I'm a spanish native speaker and even for us it could be difficult to understand sometimes, spanish speakers speak faster than english speakers, sometimes we tend to ignore parts of the speech when we consider someone has a bad pronunciation but we take the last words as reference, other thing could be that spanish language has a rhythm that you have to get used to, listen to the vowels carefully, not to the consonants. watch soaps operas, they exaggerate the pronunciation of the vowels. by the way,,, I'm a english learner from mexico, If someone wants to practise with a native, I'm charmed to help.

[@lmak392]

Nice, I need someone to practice as well. I could help you with your spanish, if you want we could talk through some social network.

[@lmak392]

Sure, it does for me. you want me to send you my fb?

[@LisaLevitt]

Hi lmak392, just saw this thread and I would like to exchange practice too. If you still have time and interest, let's connect through Facebook or WhatsApp.

[@kiriancurry9780]

lmak392 I'm 6 months late but if you're still interested I need the practice! And I can help you out with spanish as well

[@donnamartinez759]

lmak392 I have a question? Is it saberlo or saberlo??

[@tristyncoffey839]

1:06 I can’t believe I understood what she said, I guess the 5 years of intense studying and practice has paid off

[@davidanthony8363]

it took you 5 years to learn Spanish?

[@52andattitude48]

@@davidanthony8363 they mean trying to keep up with her speed

[@rachellepike8615]

David Anthony everyone is different. I’m still learning my native language 😂

[@tobysimango4595]

Jordan Guzzi 5 years ,you've just become my biggest motivation bro, I'm going to keep on moving

[@pola5646]

s r obviously exaggerating watch some Spanish series u will find out yrself

[@masterbonesmith]

Sometimes, I find it helpful to turn off the translator in my head and just know the meaning of the Spanish words as it's spoken.

[@aaronjones6851]

HEY GUYS

[@SakuyaLuigi]

Yeah, I'm working on that as well. Most times I'm sitting there trying to translate, when I just need to KNOW the words. It's a process.

[@gcounsel]

My question is how do you turn off the translator in your head. I am better at reading and writing but speaking and listening I am struggling.

[@rudyfidelino3995]

Adrian Taylor Try watching as much Spanish TV & movies as you can. Even when your "translator" can't keep up, you can figure out what's going on by watching the action. Because you're able to follow along thanks to the visuals, the "translator" isn't as necessary and over time might (hopefully) turn off. When I first started watching Spanish TV, I tried to watch a show called "Física o química." After about 10 minutes, I gave up because the kids (it's kind of like the Spanish version of "90210") spoke too quickly & used way too much slang & lenguaje familiar for me to understand. After about a year of watching other Spanish TV shows, I gave "FOQ" another try, and whaddya know? I was able to understand enough to be able to follow it pretty well! Wherever you live, you should be able to find Spanish-language movies & TV shows over the Internet, whether directly off the networks' websites or through Netflix. There are actually a lot of great shows out there! My current favorite is "Estoy vivo" on RTVE.es. You can watch it from the US without a VPN, and all the episodes feature subtitles (in Spanish) if you can't quite catch what they're saying. Give "Estoy vivo" a try. It's awesome!

[@elizabethnagy3884]

yea i always try and translate which is what not to do but its so hard not to

[@ScrashAndroid]

JAJAJAJA I am spanish speaker, And we have the same problem listening english audios, so , It's just practice, You can learn spanish, I'm sure, You can, YOU CAAAAAAN!! Good Luck

[@gumersindo1769]

yo lo soy tambien xd

[@jsphat81]

If you think she speaks fast, dont ever try your Spanish with Dominicans, Chileans or Southern Spaniards! They will make you want to quit! They're hard as hell even for native speakers.

[@Cobyboss12345]

Lol I went to the Dominican Republic for a month and they speak fast! After going there it was easy to understand everything she said because she speaks clearly.

[@hananokuni2580]

Dominican and other Caribbean varieties of Spanish are descended from the Canary Islands norm. In fact, you can send a Cuban, Dominican, or Puerto Rican to one of the Canary Islands and the natives will think that the foreigner is in fact an inhabitant from one of those islands. One characteristic of the Canarian norm is that final S and S before a consonant are never pronounced. Another is that D between vowels is often omitted. So, for example, when a Mexican, Colombian, or Spaniard would say "despistado" (absent-minded), the Dominican or Canarian would say "de'pi'ta'o". "Acostado" (to be lying down, to be sleeping) would be pronounced "aco'ta'o". "Está atascado" (He/she/it is stuck in something) is pronounced "E'tá ata'ca'o". This can easily be confused with "Está atacado" (He/she/it is attacked), so keep conversational context in mind. Here is a video of a woman in the Canary Islands speaking her native language. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXqXeqWHqpKkerM Just as there are, say, New England English, Southern English, and Midwest US English, there are Colombian Spanish, Argentine Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, and Mexican Spanish, to name a few. Most US learners of Spanish are used to the way Mexicans or Colombians speak, which is slower and more carefully pronounced. So following anyone speaking in Canarian norm can be difficult without prior experience.

[@angelagn1380]

Yes, you're right. When I talk to other Latinos, they tell me that my accent is difficult to understand and that it is very fast.😂😂😂 (I'm Dominican) 😇

[@jimsmith8383]

Cubans, fast as hell. Even the Mexicans I work with say Cubans are too damn fast.

[@bruno-vicious]

Dominicans have TOO many slang words. Just understanding their slang alone is a language in and of itself.

[@jamesblack993]

First day of learning Spanish. Yay! Hears 1:06. *Alrighty then, I may as well quit.*

[@WhyNotSpanish]

+End Line 😂 don't quit yet! It's too soon. Gracias por ver el video.

[@jamesblack993]

WhyNotSpanish I was just kidding, Spanish is fairly easy to comprehend compared to something like Norwegian or Swedish which I also attempted to learn. I also quite like that language - speaking it makes me sound sexier ahaha! Mucho gracias for your videos!

[@WhyNotSpanish]

+End Line ¡abrazos!

[@craigoharkano8620]

What is your native language? Because Norwegian is supposed to be one of the easiest if not the easiest language for native English speakers to learn. Pero el español es más guay.

[@Kim-fd9ig]

Yo no hablo rápido XD

[@AmyStylinson]

I find Spanish much easier to hear than French. French is sooo much harder bc they don't pronounce all the letters in words so it's hard to really see what they're saying lol

[@donnamartinez759]

Amyyy hell yeah

[@pterafirma]

C'est parce que la liaison entre mots

[@denisek7]

Totally agree~ I gave up on french because of that - my teacher let me read 1 text 5 times and I still couldnt get it right - too frustrating so I enjoy learning other languages now ^^

[@khoji5368]

Amyyy Spanish is basically French 👍

[@nobodyimportant7290]

I dont understand how non native english speakers can understand us either, lmao.. i live in minnesota, the city, and we speak so fast.. (if youre not perfect at english never ask a minnesotan to tell a story..) we just kinda stumble over words lol.

[@facedown9754]

Second fastest language in the world! Ah ya! And almost impossible to keep up! I can read Spanish better than understand because I can read it and figure things out..It’s brutally hard in conversations

[@Jonathan-qc3wk]

Which one is the first?

[@TPNE99995]

@@Jonathan-qc3wk she said it in the video, it's Japanese

[@martinescobar1023]

It happened to all languages, I have english as second language.

[@LaDeeDah]

Reading it is definitely easier

[@preciousoh705]

Native Speaker: 1:06 Me: Yo tambien

[@episkal4849]

Hasta yo , que hablo español , me agarró por sorpresa que hablara tan rápido 😂

[@thegamerx6170]

@@episkal4849 jaja XD

[@elliecopteroiii1098]

No has visto a los del caribe, mi hermano un gringo escucha eso y queda con epilepsia xD

[@Aryant7-7]

@@episkal4849 yo lo esperaba más rápido XD

[@gumersindo1769]

@@episkal4849 yo entiendo bien ._.

[@muhammadwaxali4494]

I worked construction from 15-25 and worked with guys from Mexico North & South, Guatemala, Costa Rico, etc (the list goes on and on). I speak a decent amount of Spanish but could not compare myself to a native. With some guys, I was able to understand nearly every word they said while others I could barely make out a sentence. Had I seen subtitles of what they said, I could understand. But what I’m trying to say is, to really master this language, it is extremely important to expose yourself to as many different cultures/accents that speak this language. When you speak to a foreigner in their native language, you are speaking to their heart.

[@santiagorodriguezhernandez6554]

Claro, yo como colombiano hablo el lenguaje común de mi país pero, debo adaptarme a como se habla en otros paises

[@peterpike]

I've discovered that as Spanish grammar rules "click" in my brain, it's easier to understand it when I hear it spoken. I suspect it's because I start to predict what's coming, as you mentioned in the video, based on the context. One of the big difficulties I had was the differences in "a" or "o" endings when someone was speaking Spanish fast, and now that I'm more comfortable with grammar, my brain is able to "fix" what I misheard just based on the content of the sentence.

[@menorcaventura3442]

It’s because we native English speakers really lack vowel discipline. Think of all the ways you can pronounce an E... “Mercedes” is three. Mursaydees. Spanish has five vowels and five vowel sounds... “Mercedes” (a Spanish word meaning the plural of “mercy” all Es are pronounced the same.

[@kxzzani9551]

She was speaking so fast that when I tried to enable captions it said error

[@sclosh7501]

Pues la verdad es que mucha gente no nos entiende porque cuando estamos hablando entre nosotros hablamos muy rápido y además decimos muchas cosas sin ni siquiera enunciar

[@marcelobuenano4616]

@@sclosh7501 que viva el español carajo

[@Winmar]

It could be worse; enabling captions caused my computer to explode

[@Droosmom1970]

I recognized nosotros and cosas and that was it lol

[@Face_Reality]

@Es Mayra tu habla Espanol ok... Mas o menos. Es bien.

[@nrof]

En mi familia hablamos tan rápido en español que a veces ni nosotros nos entendemos, incluso mensajes de voz que nos dejamos entre nosotros duran 1 segundo, hemos tenido que aprender a hablar "más lento". A veces hablando en inglés usamos la misma velocidad para hablar que en español y no tiene un buen resultado :) Pero no se desanime es cuestion de hacer "oído".

[@unsaltedbutter_]

Este me ayuda mucho saber que incluso a veces los nativos tienen problemas con la comprensión de las palabras, no he estado aprendiendo para mucho tiempo, como puedes ver mirando mi vocabulario😂

[@gordoncaylor7684]

Thank you for the "out-takes" ...your mistakes while making the video. It is encouraging to know that everyone struggles with language, whether their own or another, an expert or a novice!

[@dreamersmediaparadise3521]

Gordon Caylor hey mr finey

[@bluetickhound16]

That’s funny!! I was thinking the same thing and when I dropped in to comment, I see comments from two other channels (Español con María and How to Spanish) that I have recently subscribed to!! It has been frustrating to try and learn Spanish at the level I’m trying to get to but knowing that my instructors have had the same struggles trying to gain proficiency in English is very reassuring, if that makes sense... I’ll get there for sure because I refuse to give up.

[@bluetickhound16]

Espanol Con María, ¡ Su video sobre el grito de mariachi es muy gracioso! 😂😂😂

[@perrymiller99]

1:10 That's how it sounds to me all the time

[@jamesavery4016]

“Spanish is the second fastest language in the world after Japanese” Bruh, those are the only two foreign languages I’ve ever learned... I should’ve chosen slower languages haha

[@breezeloveable]

Same here ! I studied japanese for a couple of years smh . The speed is crazy😪😪😫😫

[@ojinavi]

Im Japanese but Spanish sounds a lot faster for me lmao

[@menorcaventura3442]

Try learning Turkish.

[@jamesavery4016]

@@menorcaventura3442 that’s funny you should say that, I am trying to learn Turkish actually 😂 Merhaba, nasılsın? Çok az Türkçe biliyorum, amma velakin çabalıyorum

[@menorcaventura3442]

@@jamesavery4016 your Turkish is far better than mine. 😊

[@timetofly-]

Yo a las 3 de la mañana: ah caray, a ver como que que no me entienden por hablar rápido xd

[@MichaelRicksAherne]

Soooooooo happy I found this channel. Never took this seriously in high school. 20 years later, it's time to get it done. Thanks Maria!

[@PawPatrolEnjoyer]

It's my second year of learning Spanish now and I've really enjoyed it until now... Our teacher is starting to throw all of the comprensión oral at us and I just can't understand it. This actually made me feel good as it wasn't as rapid as our learning texts and I actually understood everything haha... Thanks and greetings from Germany

[@josalbert1214]

I think, you must listen and listen every day Spanish but it has to be according to your level. I do it, and it's working and also these recommendations help a lot!!!!!!!!

[@JL-ps3gm]

The best thing about your videos is that you enunciate so clearly. That is so helpful.

[@Fernwald84]

Stephen Pinker in his excellent book "The Language Instinct" describes how spoken language does not consist of independent words separated by pauses but is a continuous sound stream. Because of this, passive listening can help you begin to mentally break up this sound stream into individual words (which is what people with linguistic fluency do automatically).

[@alvrix87]

After 32 years, i finally learned h0w to draw a d0g😢

[@ThatsJustEric]

😄

[@SergeiVlassov]

39 and the same here

[@Bishoujo8]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@alia2583]

😂😂😂

[@davidkelly8145]

52 and still can't draw especially a dog.

[@davidcottee3464]

The tip on captions and using 75% speed were amazing. These tips combined with the context of drawing a dog (visual cues) made such a difference to the learning experience. ¡Muchos gracias!

[@angela.iranna]

This is my second time listening to this video and doing the listening exercise from 2 years ago. Now that I've recommitted myself to learning Spanish during quarantine this last week and revisited this video, I have noticed a major progress! I've been watching all my favorite shows on Netflix with Spanish audio and Spanish subtitles and it's easier to understand Spanish now. What helped me was to let go of trying to translate to English in my head but instead keenly listen and extract the gist of what I'm hearing and then practice responding back. So I'm yelling back at my tv screens in Spanish! lol But thank you for being such a great teacher! I love your style!

[@andrewwilliams9580]

You are the first Spanish person I understand fully. You talk a little bit fast and I like it. You make gaps between each word. Other Spanish speakers don't. You pronounce every letter. This is how I speak my English if someone is foreign and isn't understanding.

[@Emily-wq4dn]

In my Spanish class, the video examples they use during classes and tests have native speakers who speak really fast and don’t articulate their words much so this video definitely gave me some great tips to get started on my extra practice.

[@robinchanteusedylan8326]

These are very helpful tips. Enabling cc in Spanish really does help in understanding the spoken. Thank you for all your videos. 👍☺

[@seanjmoran]

I love how you differentiated between active and passive listening and then gave us a lesson en español sobre cómo dibujar un perro. The outtakes at the end are funny too. I see I’m not the only one struggling, even natives can too! Thanks for sharing 🙏 subscribed ✅

[@alexandraraidenritter8169]

Thank you for adding the Bloopers at the end! It gives me confidence to know that I'm not the only one who uses wrong words or mispronounces the right words. I lack confidence in my Spanish-speaking ability because I stumble over my tongue frequently!

[@joellanderson5137]

Sitting there hoping that the sounds will make sense someday, (Story of my life).

[@wallacesousuke1433]

That's me trying to understand native English speakers xD

[@w3r958]

@@wallacesousuke1433 😂 lmao

[@mattingray5651]

Like most beginners, I don't understand every words during a conversation, but I just listen for key words, then guess the meaning. Then I try to imitate what I heard for the same situation (no ideas of the words or exactly what it means). This helps me to accelerate conversational skill. Btw, Spanish is my #4 language.

[@GSPV33]

Wow. 4 languages! Impressive

[@rhiannynms]

I remember when I stumbled across this video about maybe a few months ago and honestly I did not hear nor understand a thing when she talked really fast at 1:06. fast forward to now, I came back to see how far my ability of verbal recognition by hearing has improved and Im so proud that I can say I heard and understood every word she said clearly this time.

[@graceandglamor]

This method is SO helpful. Thank you for taking the time to load the transcripts and of course the videos themselves.

[@jiboyoseo]

You're one of the best Spanish teachers in KZbin. Not even kidding, tysm for the effort, love youuuuuuuuuuuu really

[@WhyNotSpanish]

You are very sweet! Muchas gracias. ☺

[@addmylifeto]

Therefore you not the best learner xD

[@dianalorita8248]

Jiboy Check Super Holly, she's very good too.

[@selietawilliamson5630]

What a helpful video. You gave me "permission" to do things I've always felt that I shouldn't. Such as pausing the video, using CC, slowing the speed down. In this video, I used the pause technique and it really helped me take the time to pay attention to words or phrases that I don't know. Thanks, Maria, you are a great teacher!

[@rickytoussaint4949]

I am a Spanish 3 student in college and listening is my weak point. This video helped me SOOOO much! I understand everything you were saying with the help of subtitles. MUCHAS GRACIAS HERMOSA!!!

[@beckyb8929]

Thank you! I tried slowing the video down and figured out you were talking about dogs after a few sentences (haven't taken Spanish or spoken it in decades). Loved the way you repeat and use words over so we can keep hearing them. I will put your videos on my schedule and see how it goes. Thank you! You are a really good teacher and not boring, even slowed down.

[@aaltmann]

What a great lesson! What a great video. thank you! I played at normal speed but found it useful to turn on captions and stop and repeat every now and then. She enunciates very clearly, which as she points out in the video is not always the case with native speakers at my local Mexican market.

[@johnhawthorne4716]

I like your out takes, it shows me that learning any language, that is practice and practice and more lol.

[@adamd3145]

I have been getting a lot benefit from listening and reading to make sure I understand then going back repeating the sentences out loud with you (with the subtitles) at .75 speed and then at full speed. It's helping my mouth to get used to making the sounds. Thank you for the videos.

[@kendraa7013]

I literally just found your channel today, and I am so happy!! I'm trying to become fluent in about 4-5 months because I want to study abroad, and I've been trying to find videos I can play in the car while I'm driving and such. Thank you so much for the effort you put into these!!!!

[@gumersindo1769]

x2 xd

[@27foxymoron]

This is one of the most helpful language ed vids I've seen. I just subscribed. Thanks for sharing.

[@YT_APN]

Adjusting the speed is a GREAT tip!

[@futurez12]

Aaron Plays Nintendo I'd prefer to listen to natives speaking slowly than slowing down normal speech. Words become quite unnatural when slowed artificially, which can affect the true sounds of the words.

[@scifigrl92]

You can’t adjust the speed on a KZbin videos

[@makaylalovelace3769]

Jenny Liebowitz Yes you can, you go to playback speed

[@hamerharoldvasquez4644]

Yeap, you have to push our noses

[@brennamorarodriguez7289]

The tips were so helpful. I had no idea about the settings. Muchas gracias.

[@mnotinglife7934]

I am so glad I found this channel! I am trying to learn Spanish and I appreciate how you break down strategies. Thank you so much for putting out this content! I'm going to work on these concepts and check out your other videos as well. Thanks, again!

[@nicedog1]

Hi Maria. At last I have been able to properly respond. I listened to the instructions about drawing the dog. I must admit that at normal speed it was difficult for me to track, apart from the odd word. I went through the transcript and used a dictionary to look up some of the words to make sure I understood it all. I then went back to the video and listened again and could hear what you were saying most of the time so that obviously worked well as a leaning technique. I think that being able to hear and understand whole phrases also works for me but at the moment understanding Spanish is a bit like looking at a jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing but I will keep trying. Thanks very much for responding to my question with this helpful video. Mike

[@WhyNotSpanish]

That's great to hear. I'm happy this worked for you. Yeah, Spanish is sometimes like a puzzle! But with time, and dedication it will start to make sense. Make sure you consistently practice using different techniques so your ear gets "trained". I'd love to hear from you in the future about how you're progressing, so keep us up to date! - Maria

[@nicedog1]

I will do. I am definitely into this now and won't be giving up. Thanks again to you both!

[@catlady715]

Hello, nicedog1. I tried what you did and yes, it does work. Reading the transcript & looking up words I didn't know made listening & understanding the second time much easier.

[@nicedog1]

CatLady71 That's great. Glad it helped 👍

[@rudyfidelino3995]

nicedog1 This reply might be too late, but to give some perspective: about 4 years ago, I discovered you could watch TV shows from Spain via the Internet. Spanish TV became my hobby, or even my passion. For the first year, I watched at least one episode (in Spain a typical episode is longer, from 65-80 minutes) every single day. I slowed down a bit, but still watch 5-6 hours of Spanish TV per week. Yes, my listening comprehension has improved by leaps & bounds. But after almost 4 years of watching Spanish television, I *still* struggle. While I understand so much more than I did before (95% vs. maybe 80% at the beginning), a frustrating amount still escapes me. But I will stick with it because I simply refuse to give up. By the way, a Venezuelan friend got hooked on one of the shows I was watching & started watching it with her parents (she was born & raised in Venezuela; her parents just recently arrived in the US). Even they couldn't understand a fair amount of the dialogue (the show was full of slang & lenguaje familiar). She said that the three of them were constantly stopping the show & asking each other what the characters said. That made me feel so much better about my struggles.

[@gboydatkipp]

Yo aprecio tu determinación! It's awesome to see your out takes, and how hard you work at putting these videos together. The activities and quiz questions are just perfect! Thank you a miili! ¡Muchísimas gracias por hacerlos! ¡Tu eres la mejor!

[@Nickel138]

I had no idea captions had a Spanish option. This is great. Awesome video. I loved the bloopers!

[@torakincaid5984]

Useful. I slowed it down and I turned on the captions. I was shocked at how much I understood! I am excited!! Thanks!

[@maxhowe413]

This is excellent

[@olivierma2691]

Many times I find that the natives never bother to articulate, even in formal speeches. This seriously affects the sentence structure the beginners are used to and makes it very difficult to understand. Are there any rules about omitting sounds and linking words? In so many speeches they omit so many sounds that I don't think I can understand them no matter how many times I have listened!

[@grilledflatbread4692]

Hard to generalize because it depends on the country of the speaker. For example, in the Caribbean we drop many words and sounds (some claim the most difficult accents to understand are either Caribbean or Chilean). In the Caribbean they drop the 's' sounds at the end. Note this is considered a 'vulgar' accent so if an educated Dominican is speaking to others they will adjust the accent to sound more 'standard'. What I consider a neutral accent is probably Colombian. The peninsular accent is very pretty but it sounds as weird as the Queen of England sounds to Americans.

[@mauronaranjo]

Olivier Ma It depends de accent the native speaker is caming from. For example, a person from Chile doesn't articulate like a Colombian from Bogota or a Mexican do.. For example; In Bogota people say de word Pues with all the letter but people from Venezuela say Puej. In other places you hear some people say porque.... In Puerto Rico they say Polque... and so on...

[@DavoCoxon]

I'm Mexican and in spanish, you can´t omitte letters you have to pronounce every letter clearly. contrary to English when the schwa substitute vowels

[@makaylalovelace3769]

David González But Dominicans omit the ‘s’ all the time 👀

[@menorcaventura3442]

@@DavoCoxon thank you. This is all English speakers failing to understand their own spoken language habits. Yo hablo ambos idiomas con fluidez y reconozco que el Inglés no se pronuncia como se escribe para nada. “I wanna getta lidal bid ov food.” Para decir “quiero comer un poco”.

[@MaestroPdx]

Amazing. I have been saying this for years. I have a BA in Spanish and in the early years I listened to Spanish TV for hours not understanding anything. But if you just keep listening your ears pick up up the cadence of the language ... like a drum beat ..... you still can't understand but you feel the rhythm ... keep listening as much as you can and eventually you will start to hear words but not understand yet ..... eventually combined with vocab and grammar study it all comes together. But just listening even when you don't understand it does help.

[@DariusRamelis]

Awesome! I used to watch videos in spanish with English subtitles, now I'll listen in spanish with Spanish subtitles! 😁 me encanta los videos de ustedes! Muchas gracias! 😀xx

[@GreenPandaTea]

I didn't follow anything, I was just watching her draw the dog

[@WhyNotSpanish]

😂

[@SxyGrl44]

Lol. It was a little too fast for me. I understand like every few words... therefore, its hard to communicate with a Native speaker unless they slow it down and pronounce every word .... but of course everybody is not going to do this for me so I need to get up to speed.

[@yohermosodulce4229]

GreenPandaTea punas tarde amiga muy bien cabeza amor 😍

[@vladimirtchuiev2218]

This video reminded me despite of at least 2 years in Duolingo, the creepy owl didn't prepare me on how lost I had been feeling in Madrid while I visited there. I understood most of what I've read but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the hell the natives were saying :X

[@NealB123]

Duolingo is a great tool for learning basic grammar and vocabulary but it certainly doesn't prepare you for real life conversation. You'll have to rely on other resources to become a proficient speaker/listener.

[@Maestro-tl9od]

Same. Been learning daily with Duolingo for 3.5 years and still can’t understand a word a native speaker says. Can’t even have a conversation. It’s pretty discouraging lol

[@Michal50071]

You can't rely solely on Duolingo. You have to incorporate other things into your routine, such as watching movies/series, listening to music or podcasts, reading out loud, journaling, chatting with Spanish speakers, etc. The way I learned English as my second language was mostly by binging KZbin and being fully immersed daily. It even went far as to where I talk to myself and think only in English. Now, I'm doing the same thing with Spanish, and little by little I'm acquiring the language. The most important thing is to have fun, for it to not feel like a chore.

[@Niall69Irish]

@@Michal50071 are you slavic?

[@kristenwestergaard1254]

Hace mucho tiempo que estudio espa~nol y este video es uno de los mejores que he visto.! Muchas gracias por las sugerencias!

[@GailBecker-MSED-CM-Author]

I am a Spanish teacher, but I love the way you explain in detail so that none Spanish speakers/beginners and Spanish natives who speak broken Spanish (incorrectly) could understand it better. You, Paul, and the lady from Butterfly Spanish are the best thus far. All Spanish speakers are not good teachers because they teach broken Spanish and that is not good for my students. That is why we teachers have to watch these videos as a form of research.

[@clintonpitre]

Thanks so much, i did not know we could slow down the video speed

[@WhyNotSpanish]

Sí. No muchas personas utilizan esa herramienta para escuchar más despacio.

[@transformrecruitment7068]

Yo tampoco, gracias!

[@DomoniqueMusiclover]

Is this only on the website version? Or is it on the app and web version? Because I definitely didn't know either... Interesting

[@luzangelalozano5919]

No se por que ando viendo esto si no soy gringa y entiendo el Español xdxd Saludos desde México

[@LuisGonzalez-xj9xl]

Luz Angela Lozano Jajajaja yo también ando en las mismas 😂

[@andreymilena6551]

@@LuisGonzalez-xj9xl me puedes enseñar español

[@gumersindo1769]

xd igual

[@trinitygrau4978]

Entiendo español mas o menos; a veces es difícil, verdad? No tengo confianza cuando yo hablo, así que necesito escuchar de mas.

[@ferchi1920]

@@gumersindo1769 yo te enseño maje

[@vancelee1980]

Thank you for everything you are doing. I came across your videos a few days ago and I find them very helpful. Everything you are doing is really helping me build my confidence. I can only say so much in a comment but your videos are incredible.

[@gogotrololo]

I'm impressed. Your lesson is on active listening, you say to predict the content, then you give the BEST example I've ever seen for this by drawing a dog with instruction! You said what you were going to do, I 80% understood the direction, did my bet to predict our next move, and then you did it! It sounds silly, but I was able to completely realize what you meant by "Active Listening" Muchas gracias! Usted es una maestra mas estupendo :)

[@alanguages]

Passive listening is better than nothing, but NOT much. Heck, even native speakers don't pay attention, and ask them what was said, and the likely answer is I don't know. The worse scam is listen to a language while you sleep and then the next day, you are going to be fluent.

[@cshaffer1847]

omlet du famage

[@adb012]

But watching anime is active listening. Passive listening would be to have anime playing in the background while you are cooking and NOT watching at it.

[@tsntana]

Corey Shaffer First thing that came to my mind. :)

[@newagehero9605]

adb012 thanks for pointing that out !! so active would be watching TV?

[@adb012]

If you are paying attention (i.e. trying to understand what they say, trying to correlate what is being said with what is being seen, etc...), then yes, absolutely! The only "but" is that I would say that watching TV is active, not that active is watching TV, because there are of course other ways that are also active (listening to radio program or music, participating in a conversation, etc...).

[@NiroS91]

te entiendo perfectamente there 1:08 ') grancias por ti y cody me vuelvo mejor, hace media uno no podia entender eso

[@onyx8924]

I can honestly say your tips are very useful. And I can honestly say I understood almost everything you said in the drawing instruction instead of just the gist of what you said like I usually do with people when they're actually talk it. Great video!

[@bblaam27]

Oh my God thank you so much this is just what I was looking I never actually thought about slowing down the freaking audio thank you so much. Amazing teacher

[@jesussierra5044]

Everyone should try drawing the dog without looking at the screen and see how much you can follow😉

[@romueltheknight6860]

I don't know how well I could draw the dog if it was in English, let alone in Spanish without watching 😂

[@Valentix4God33]

1:06 "Pues la verdad es que mucha gente no nos entiende porque cuando estamos hablando entre nosotros, hablamos muy rápido y además decimos muchas cosas sin siquiera enunciar."

[@Alejandro-ed4hq]

pronunciar*

[@brianv1372]

I could learn Spanish anywhere. But I'm subscribing to YOUR channel because you seem like a happy-go-lucky lady with a great attitude who obviously enjoys teaching. The bloopers are a nice touch. We should ALL have a good sense of humor and be self-deprecating. Te llamo Brian. Te has ganado un nuevo suscriptor. ¡Muchos Gracias!

[@valentinogallego4091]

I was searching for people actually speaking spanish and having normal conversations. In this way I can single out the words that I don't know and improve. I liked the segment you did on drawing the dog. Thanks you had many good points and tips

[@seanwilson9302]

It's been 22 years and I still haven't found out what the Rock is cooking 😔

[@HerNameisNoelle]

Great video. Very helpful. I just subscribed. Muchas gracias María

[@WhyNotSpanish]

¡Con mucho gusto!

[@j.d.2896]

I added the captions and play it at 75% speed. Very helpful. I need to look up the unfamiliar words now. ¡Muchas gracias!

[@D9412G]

I have found this very informative. I tried turning on the CC and slowing down the speed of the video as you suggested which really helped. Thank you!

[@iznahere5858]

thank you. this was a really fun practice. Ignore haters. Remember, even if no one benefits, you have done your job well.

[@WhyNotSpanish]

Thank you so much! That means a lot.

[@pinoynobody2329]

Saludos, me llamo Angelico Felipe y yo he encontrado tu consejo bien ayudoso, muchas graçias, por çierto soy de Filipinas un país que solía hablar Castellano. Me gustaría aprender El Castellano como una lengua segunda después de nuestra madre lengua, espeçialmente de entender Español cuando está hablando. Lo siento por mi mal Castellano no hablo bien, El Castellano todavía. :)

[@mycurlysky9482]

lo entiendo. y no es malo

[@babyfnafhs6243]

La mayor equivocación que tienes es escribir ç, esta letra en castellano no existe. Existe en otras lenguas españolas, como el catalán o el portugués pero no en castellano. Segundo error es escribir la primera letra de un idioma en mayúscula, los gentilicios y los idiomas van en minúscula siempre excepto cuando van detrás de un punto o empieza la oración.

[@deathboi3998]

Damm.i am mexican and learning tagalog for the exact same reason, that spaniards colonize us

[@joemarienabor7277]

Soy filipino tambien. yo quiero aprender el idioma de español. can you teach me? please.

[@gumersindo1769]

@@mycurlysky9482 pero se comio las c xd

[@anthonydc50]

Thanks for the tip about slowing down KZbin videos. I tried it here and it made it much easier to pick out each individual word that was being said.

[@Philosopearl]

This was a great tip. The ability to slow down the playback speed was also very useful. Thanks, Maria!

[@aletskun3877]

OMG This video was so effective :0 I mean, yeah, maybe being mexican helped too. But now my spanish is flawless

[@CamDollM3]

I used the subtitles and slowing down the video. You are greatest adviser, thank you for the advice 😊😊😊😊

[@juliojhonatanmezachumpitaz5230]

CamDollM3 where are you from?

[@CamDollM3]

Julio Jhonatan Meza Chumpitaz where are you from?

[@juliojhonatanmezachumpitaz5230]

CamDollM3 Peru

[@CamDollM3]

Julio Jhonatan Meza Chumpitaz okay, Canada

[@juliojhonatanmezachumpitaz5230]

CamDollM3 we are from the opposite ends of America (continent)

[@jimsmith8383]

Glad I found these videos, yo puedo hablar un poquito de Español pero ACTUALLY understanding it is the hardest part.

[@austinwallace4624]

Gracias para el gran video! Soy hablante nativo de inglés. Aprendí que es mas mejor cuando estoy hablando con otras de tus video. Tambien me encantan los bloopers después! Jaja!!

[@Dougs_Bible_Teaching]

When you suddenly start talking it takes me a second to understand your speaking English

[@Triada35]

Soy chileno y no tengo la menor idea de que hago aquí a las 3 am ajja

[@zzyzx686]

This was very easy to understand, and I wouldn't need to keep learning if everybody spoke so clearly and used an easy vocabulary as you or your friend do. The main difficulty with Spanish from my sight is that most native speakers omit spaces between words. This doesn't matter if all the words they use are words you are well familiar with. As soon as a word I do not know slips in, and that always seems to happen sooner than later, I lose track of the conversation and it can be very hard to pick the flow up again. Half understood words can generally be interpreted in a fashion if one has understood the context, but not when it has been lost.

[@marymyers4751]

I slowed down the video and used Google Translate for words I did not know. It helped a lot. Thank you. I used the subtitles.

[@jackiehammerton]

Hola Maria! Gracias por tus videos! Me encantan! Mi novio es de Espana y quiero aprender mas el espanol para communicar con sus amigos y familia. Quiero vivir en Espana algun dia tambien entonces necesito aprenderlo. Para leer y escribir no tengo problemas, pero para esuchar... madre mia no puedo entender nada! Gracias por tus consejos!!

[@WhyNotSpanish]

Bueno, pero vas por buen camino. Tu español (por lo menos escrito) no tiene muchos errores. Ya tienes la motivación. Ahora debes ser paciente contigo misma y ser constante. ¡Un abrazo!

[@yohermosodulce4229]

Jacquelyn Hammerton hola punas dais amiga como estas muy bien queres aprandar español yo boco hbrar español ayuda

[@57ffjjimenez]

Lo mismo me pasa a mi con el ingles lo puedo leer,pero no me entero de nada cuando me hablan

[@deathboi3998]

@@57ffjjimenez Ve peliculas en netflix en ingles con los subtitulos en ingles. Tarde dos años para poder entender sin dubtitulos y, hasta entiendo el inglés etnico de los afroamericanos, ellos usan otras palabras y pronuncian diferente

[@evanserickson]

Watch stuff in Spanish and use Pimsleur Spanish. Pimsleur is a game changer for listening.

[@ewilliamsz2099]

I understood everything she said

[@dennismartineau9147]

Thank you Maria. These ideas are powerful. I needed these tips. Many thanks!

[@leftbrosfpv]

Thankkkkkkk you for your content! Soooo helpful!

[@frankperez8655]

Spanish is the second fastest language in the world Eminen : hold my dialect

[@KMO325]

This is good advice. Unfortunately I am borderline ADD, so if I am not 100% dialed into a conversation, I loose my place immediately. Last night, I was practicing my Spanish with a tutor from iTalki & She wanted me to read aloud from an article in Spanish, but she posted two articles. As I was getting the first one up I took my ears off of her for one second and could not understand what she was saying for like a minute. The thing with me on s that I am not an absolute beginner, but also not intermediate yet. Is there an online placement test that I could take to gage my exact level? If I knew definitely where I am at I could make a better plan-of-action for myself and for tutors/teachers such as yourself.

[@LaDeeDah]

Me too

[@noxlotl_]

Not much but I'm so proud of myself, I managed to pick up some words when she sped up in the beginning and managed to sort of understand ... Yay, improvement !

[@KindredSpiritJosh]

Close captions helped me as I was taught in high school to read and write Spanish but we spent little time on conversing. My vocabulary is very limited but I'm working on it

[@parkwaypro9838]

Not understanding what people are saying here in Costa Rica is the bane of my existence. I can speak it ok, read some of it and spell some of it, but I can't comprehend what people are saying to me because they speak so fast. It can be painfully awkward. When you are taught Spanish you are instructed to open your mouth wide and enunciate everything, but those rules don't seem to apply to native speakers who blow through words with the velocity of an automatic machine gun! I made a joke the other day with my fast speaking doctora: "¡Ustedes hablan muy rapido y ustedes MANAJEN sus autos muy rapido!" I think she got it. She laughed. Trying to hear and interpret spoken Spanish fucking sucks.

[@aclemons6674]

Parkway Pro mae los ticos hablan lentisimo. Especialmente en el valle central, venga pa' aca en Guacimo mae el campo

[@rmiranda2420]

really I thought we the costa Rican people speak clearly and slowly. Is it really too difficult to understand us?

[@aclemons6674]

in the campo i harder for many a reason. i live in the campo

[@hugobarrera7205]

Parkway Pro .that's exactlly what happens to me with English, I can read .write and even speak fluently in englsh , but when it comes to listening .sometimes I can't understand no more than 10percent of what is spoken

[@futurez12]

hugo barrera That's because you're dealing with people who've grown up speaking the language and have been doing so their whole lives. They're experts at speaking English because they've had all this practice. Unfortunately, the majority of learners haven't spent the equivalent time practicing listening to it. There lies the problem. As learners we can only hope to reduce this gap as much as we can, but we'll almost certainly NEVER catch up.

[@b__mart]

1:06 I’m actually proud I understood every word

[@isaiah9750]

Te agradezco por el vídeo, siempre he tenido problemas con mi forma de escuchar el español pero, recientemente mi forma de eschuchar ha estado mejorando.