r/LearnSpanishInReddit

I teach Spanish as a foreign language and I've been thinking about this a lot lately. We as teachers tend to assume we know which topics are the hardest (subjunctive, ser vs. estar, the preterite/imperfect distinction) but I wonder how much that matches what learners actually experience.

So I wanted to ask directly: what's the grammar point that has cost you the most, whether it's something you struggled with early on or something that still trips you up now? Any level, any background.

It doesn't have to be a "big" topic either. Sometimes it's something small and specific (a particular verb, a pronoun rule, a preposition)  that just never quite clicked.

Every time I ask this I end up surprised, there's never one obvious answer.

Hi everyone!

I’m a native Spanish speaker from Chile and I’m looking for people who would like to practice Spanish in a relaxed and friendly way. I work in language teaching, and I’d also like to improve my own teaching skills with non-native speakers.

I’m especially interested in helping learners feel more confident speaking naturally, improving pronunciation, learning useful everyday expressions, and having real conversations instead of only textbook practice.

All levels are welcome — beginner, intermediate, or advanced. We can talk about culture, travel, work, hobbies, daily life, or anything that helps you practice comfortably.

In exchange, I mainly ask for patience and good vibes while I continue developing my teaching approach for Spanish learners.

If you’re interested, feel free to comment or send me a message telling me:

• Your current Spanish level
• Your native language
• What you’d like to improve
• Your timezone or availability

This is probably a very general question, but I figure why not ask anyway. Perhaps, I can learn about some new ways for improving my audio comprehension and/or building my vocabulary.

A little about me (TLDR): Originally, I was planning to take DELE C1 this November, but I recently found out that I'm running a marathon on the same day. Rather than traveling to NYC to take DELE C1 in October or finding another fall marathon to run, I decided to postpone DELE C1 until May 2027. Although the May 2027 DELE is a year away, I think this postponement will give me ample opportunities to improve on some of my weak areas, not only for the DELE exam, but also learning Spanish.

Although I took DELE B2 in November 2025 and passed, my scores reflect an extreme deficiency in audio comprehension. My other sections were not too bad, but I wished that I performed better (at least 20+ points) in the reading and writing portions.

• Comprensión de lectura: 19.06/25
• Comprensión auditiva: 9.17/25
• Expresión e interacción escritas: 19.75/25
• Expresión e interacción orales: 25/25

I think part of my struggles with listening comprehension is that the quality of the recordings hard to follow (at least for my ears). When there is a bunch of static, random sounds or echos, I lose focus. As a way to get used to this, I have started to listen to talk radio broadcasts, where the audio is not a "top-tier" as single-person podcasts.

I’m returning to USA after a brief immersion/school experience and looking for next steps.

Background: I minored in Spanish 15 years ago (wow, time flies!) but never became truly fluent, never studied abroad, etc. Lost much of it since then. My partner never learned at all! We both just finished a program in Oaxaca for 2 weeks - 4hrs/day one-on-one instruction - and saw major improvement! We plan to do another similar experience in about 6 months (maybe in Guatemala or Colombia). Meanwhile, we live in a small town with no Spanish speakers 😭 so we’re looking for something online… and I’m overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options. Help!!! 🤣

What do folks recommend to stay fresh and maybe even learn a bit more between now and our next immersion?

Hello everyone!

i wanna know how to learn spanish myself

i'm using Dolingo for learning spanish but i don't think it is enough

for me i know nothing but what i've learned on Dolingo «unit 9»

some people recommended watching «coffee break» videos in spanish

others recommended watching funny videos on Youtube

others recommended exchanging language but i don't know spanish 🙂, i'm arab if anyone is interested in Arabic... i don't know

now i really need to know how to start learning it, i really want to learn spanish as i really like spain 🤎📖

Can anyone give me some advice, based on your experiences, on how to start and what are the best free learning resources?

should i start with learning grammar, vocabulary or situations?

Thanks 🌺

Hola! Acá tutora de español, quería saber a través de qué medios consiguieron el suyo? Por redes sociales, apps, academias de idioma?

I’ve been trying to learn Spanish for a while now and one thing I noticed is that “traditional” studying gets exhausting really fast. After like 20–30 minutes of vocab lists or grammar exercises my brain just shuts off.

What worked way better for me was learning more passively through content I actually enjoy. I started watching Spanish YouTube videos and shows with double subtitles (Spanish + English) and it suddenly became much easier to understand patterns, common phrases, pronunciation etc. without constantly translating everything in my head.

I’ve tried a few tools for this and currently use Sublo sometimes because it makes the subtitle part pretty smooth, but there are definitely other good options too depending on how you prefer to learn.

Honestly feels way less like studying and more like just consuming content normally, which makes it much easier to stay consistent.

Curious if anyone else here learns this way or if you’ve found better methods for improving listening comprehension?

As an advanced Spanish student (C1-C2) what would you say is holding you back?

I teach Spanish to Beginners

Hey everyone,

I’m a Spanish teacher and have been teaching for a little over 4 years now, mostly beginners and intermediate learners.

If you’re curious about learning Spanish or just want to see how I teach, I’m offering the first 3 classes for free as trial sessions so you can decide if it works for you.

A bit about how I teach:

I expertise in teaching absolute beginners in Spanish

1-on-1 classes, so it’s more personalized

Focus on actually speaking and understanding the language, not just grammar

If you’re interested or want more details about timings, course plan, fee after the trials, feel free to comment or DM me.

Thanks for reading!

I just hit the 1,750-hour mark in my Spanish journey using the Comprehensible Input (CI) method. I’ve been documenting this for a while, but this specific block of time has been the most eye-opening yet, mostly because I finally added reading into the mix.

I just got back from an immersion trip to Playa del Carmen and Tulum, and for the first time, things actually felt slow. Here are my biggest takeaways from this milestone:

• Reading is a game-changer: I started with B1/B2 graded readers. I used to be a "listening-only" learner, but reading really solidified the past tenses (he said/she said) and expanded my vocabulary in ways listening alone wasn't doing at the same speed. Tip: Use a Kindle so you can tap-to-translate instantly.
• The "Eavesdropping" Phase: I noticed I can now overhear and understand side conversations at beach clubs or on the street without "focusing." My brain is just processing it in the background.
• Media Comprehension: I’ve been watching Hoy Día on Telemundo. I’m at about 90% comprehension now. It feels like watching the Today Show in English.
• The Subtleties: I'm starting to pick up on regional jargon (jergas) and starting to use them in context with locals.

I'm a 55-year-old learner, and if you’re in those "boring middle hours" (500–1,000), keep going. It gets so much better once you can actually live in the language rather than just translating it in your head.

I made a video breaking down the specific breakthroughs and my plan for the final push to 2,000 hours if anyone is interested.

Happy to answer any questions about the routine or the transition to reading!

I think one of the biggest reasons people are afraid to speak Spanish… is because Spanish sounds like a superpower when natives speak it.

Seriously.

When you hear two native speakers talking, it feels impossible to keep up. Everything sounds fast, connected, emotional, almost like words are melting into each other.

And then beginners think:

“There’s no way I’ll ever sound like that.”

So they stay quiet.
They overthink.
They wait until their grammar is “perfect.”

Every Spanish speaker I know would rather hear broken Spanish than silence.

Mistakes are part of learning anything new. Babies make mistakes. Athletes make mistakes. Musicians make mistakes. Language learners are supposed to make mistakes too.

The problem is that many students treat Spanish like a school subject instead of a living language.

Spanish isn’t learned only through theory.
It’s learned through repetition, emotion, conversations, awkward moments, laughter, and confidence.

That’s why I think tutoring matters so much.

A good tutor isn’t just there to explain grammar rules.
They’re there to guide you through the uncomfortable phase where your brain understands more than your mouth can produce.

They help you stay motivated when progress feels slow.
They help you stop being afraid of sounding “stupid.”
And little by little… you start falling in love with the language instead of fearing it.

You realize natives aren’t speaking fast to confuse you…

They’re just speaking naturally.

And one day, you will too.

Side note:

When I was learning English, I had nobody to practice with… so I used to talk to myself in the mirror 😭

Sounds sad, but it actually helped me lose the fear of speaking and making mistakes.

Confidence comes before fluency.

[FIXED by AI]