[Jessica]

Originally Posted by laepelba

And there probably aren't many native speakers near where you live, are there? I don't know what to tell you about the pronunciation ... because actually, I only get coached on my pronunciation when I speak with friends/students/etc. who are native speakers and they tell me that I'm stressing the wrong syllables. (sigh....)

If you're really enjoying learning Spanish, you should look for a summer-study-abroad opportunity to live for several weeks in a Latin American country or in Spain, etc. They say that LIVING in the culture, even for a few weeks, would improve my usage a LOT!

Also, I don't know if you saw a post a couple of months ago about using a certain website to practice listening skills. Take a look at this: http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/index.html - it has helped me more than anything else with my listening skills!

thanks! and yes not many native Spanish speakers here

I still have trouble with English....r and w; l and n :P