Why Can’t I Learn Spanish? 5 Most Common Obstacles to Overcome

Every person is unique in his own way.

It means that people are different. Some are good at swimming, others don’t. Some can hardly calculate three different numbers while others can do that in a second.

The same is with learning Spanish. Some people already speak it, others don’t.

But there is one tiny but so big thing at the same time: those who don’t speak Spanish don’t mean they won’t.

Even though Spanish isn’t one of the hardest languages to learn, some people struggle quite hard to learn it. That doesn’t mean that they should give up because they simply aren’t talented for that.

On the contrary. Those people have to find the way, another path to get to the goal.

For many of those, knowing what makes you can’t succeed in learning Spanish is helpful a lot.

That’s why, in this post, we will show you the 5 most common obstacles in learning Spanish you can overcome and very quickly start learning the language successfully on your own or with Spanish tutors.

Let’s dive in.

5 Most Common Obstacles on Your Spanish Learning Path

There Are So Many Hard Things to Learn

Does Ser vs estar in Spanish seem quite challenging?

Or perhaps the subjunctive mood everyone talks about that gives them a headache?

And so many words and phrases to memorize!

Yes, there are many things to learn so can you say that you speak Spanish.

But that's with every other language you would learn. You even learn in your native language every day, you just aren't aware of that.

What to do about it?

Learning any language can't happen overnight, nor even the easiest languages.

It is a process and it takes a lot of time and dedication.

For a start, book a lesson with Spanish tutors. They are professionals and native speakers so no better person can teach you Spanish pronunciation better.

Make learning fun.

There are tons of Spanish movies, tv shows, and soap operas you can watch and enjoy but learn the language at the same time.

Moreover, practice your listening skills with Spanish podcasts. You will also improve your vocabulary, learn everyday words, even Spanish slang words and different Spanish dialects.

And while we are talking about vocabulary, did you know that Spanish and English have many similar words? You already know them, you just aren't aware of that. Take a look at the English words in Spanish and you will know what we are talking about.

I Study A Lot But Without The Results

You give all your best effort to learn Spanish but somehow there are no results.

That Spanish grammar is really difficult, isn’t it?

And so many words and phrases to remember...

You probably feel overwhelming, thinking how dumb you are, even quit learning because you clearly aren’t born to learn foreign languages, especially Spanish.

What to do about it?

First of all, there are no dumb students.

If you really learn hard but nothing happens and you don't know that you've learned anything perhaps the problem is in the learning method you are using.

For a start, stop with learning and think about your current learning method.

How do you study? What is in that method you find hard or maybe even boring?

What do you do to learn the language actively?

Do you learn it passively, too?

When you watch movies on Netflix, for example, that's passive learning.

If you, on the other hand, visit Spain or some other Spanish-speaking countries and communicate with the locals, that is active learning. 

Find out what best suits you and how you can easily and quickly learn vocabulary, understand grammar, or practice pronunciation.

Wishing to Speak Spanish Fluently As Soon As Possible

Every student wants to speak Spanish fluently, to learn the language and speak it perfectly in several months.

In most cases, that doesn’t happen and they want to stop studying.

What to do about it?

The first thing you have to understand is that learning any foreign language, Spanish as well, can’t happen overnight. It can’t happen even in a month, especially if you start learning Spanish from scratch.

Before you start diving into the world of the Spanish language, culture, and world, you have to know that it takes time, patience, and a lot of dedication to achieve that desired fluency.

Organize your day to learn Spanish effectively. Book a lesson with Spanish tutors at least three times a week and practice the vocabulary you’ve learned so far. Learn to use words and phrases in real conversations.

Don’t be impatient when you come across some hard part, whether it is in grammar or learning to pronounce words properly.

After some time, you will see the improvement. The key is patience and giving your best effort.

Constantly Making Mistakes

You started to talk to a native Spanish speaker about the thing you like, for example. During the conversation, you made several grammar mistakes, plus you used some words incorrectly.

The world has come to an end, you think.

Well, it hasn’t.

And it’s not as awful as you might think.

What to do about it?

Even though you will feel embarrassed, wanting never to talk to that person again, nor to see him in your life, believe it or not, making mistakes while learning a foreign language is a completely normal learning process.

Moreover, it is one of the learning ways and it is quite helpful because you learn how you shouldn’t use the things you’ve used incorrectly.

Don’t think that you look stupid in front of a native speaker. Every native speaker of any language is always impressed by a foreigner who wants to learn his native language. They usually are more than willing to help these people in every possible way and not to laugh if they make some mistake.

So, from now on, bravely step into a conversation with Spanish native speakers, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and after a conversation, feel free to ask about your mistakes. That’s the way you’ll learn the best.

Not Using Spanish Leads to Forgetting It

If you live near some of the Spanish-speaking countries, that’s ideal for you because you will often have the opportunity to visit those countries and speak with the locals.

But many people aren’t that beneficial.

Speaking Spanish means constant practice and learning all the time.

But how can you use the language every day? How to practice Spanish if you don’t have the opportunity to visit Cuba, Spain, or Venezuela, for example?

What to do about it?

In these situations, the immersive approach is an ideal solution.

You simply have to immerse yourself in the language.

Luckily for you, nowadays everything is possible and quite easy.

The only thing you need is a device and internet connection and voila! Problem solved.

Thanks to the Skype language exchange, you can immerse yourself into the language pretty easily. Find a language exchange partner, connect with him and that’s it.

There are also other useful methods to immerse yourself in Spanish, such as reading Spanish blogs and books, watching movies, or chit-chatting with native speakers.

The whole point is to feel like you are there, in the Hispanic world, speaking with the locals. This way, your brain will be ‘forced’ to understand that it has to be 100% on to memorize all that and use everything at an instance.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, you aren’t the only one who struggles with learning Spanish.

But thanks to these most common problems and solutions to overcome them, you will see that you don’t have to be a wizard to learn Spanish.

There will be good and bad days for learning Spanish. Some days, you will learn everything you’ve planned, even more, but sometimes you won’t be able to remember a single word, let alone use it correctly.

But that’s all part of the language learning process.

The main thing is not to forget why you are learning Spanish and that learning isn’t magic. It is magical but in some other way. That kind of magic is called fluency.