No puedo hablar español... :(

[laepelba]

Puedo leer un poquito español ... puedo escribir un poguito español ... pero no puedo hablar español. rrrrrr.......

Hoy fui a la iglesia española con mi amiga. Asistimos el servicio y almuerzo luego. Yo entendí alguno del servicio. Todos las personas fueron agraciados a mi. Pero se me olvidó todo lo que yo aprendía sobre hablando español. ¡TODO! rrrrr..... No pude pensar y decir una oración completa. rrrrrrr......

Where did my brain go!? I'm sure that no one I talked to would have guessed that I've been learning so much Spanish for these past several months. Argh!!

Just wanted to share. And my trip to Uruguay and Peru is probably going to be the first two and a half weeks of July. (sigh.....)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Puedo leer un poquito español ... puedo escribir un poquito español ... pero no puedo hablar español. rrrrrr.......

Hoy fui a la iglesia española con mi amiga. Asistimos al servicio y almuerzo almorzamos (or y al almuerzo) luego. Yo entendí alguno algo/un poco del servicio. Todas las personas fueron agraciados a mi amables conmigo. Pero se me olvidó todo lo que yo aprendía he aprendido sobre hablando hablar español. ¡TODO! rrrrr..... No pude pensar y ni decir una oración completa. rrrrrrr......

[...]

Poco a poco, Lou Ann.

You'll need a bit more practice and more trust. I'm sure you could have made a conversation if you had felt more confident.

Would it be some consolation that I'm feeling just the same with my German?
*sigh*

[irmamar]

Quizá te ayude ponerte delante de un espejo y hablar contigo en español.Podrías empezar con frases sencillas, claro, tipo: ¿Cómo estás?, ¿cómo te llamas?, etc. Y después ir ampliando lo que has estudiado. A veces pasa, la mente se bloquea y se queda en blanco. ¡Ánimo!

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Would it be some consolation that I'm feeling just the same with my German?
*sigh*

Malila - thank you for the corrections ... I'm still working on those conjugations. I need to sit down and spend some more time on that, for sure! Anyway - it would be more of a consolation ... except that I know that you speak, what, like four languages already? Amazing! Haben Sie Spaß....

Originally Posted by irmamar

Quizá te ayude ponerte delante de un espejo y hablar contigo en español.Podrías empezar con frases sencillas, claro, tipo: ¿Cómo estás?, ¿cómo te llamas?, etc. Y después ir ampliando lo que has estudiado. A veces pasa, la mente se bloquea y se queda en blanco. ¡Ánimo!

Irmamar - that is a great idea! I have been reading out loud to myself (I'm working on the first Harry Potter novel in Spanish). But in front of a mirror would definitely help. Yes - it was definitely a "mind-block" thing. Words that I KNOW weren't coming to mind or out my mouth. People were kind and corrected me ... but how did they know that those were things that I really DO know already!? Ugh........

Thanks both of you for the consolations. I need to keep practicing with real people! I'll probably go to church with them again as many weeks as I can between now and July.....

[Jessica]

mmm! ¡No puedo hablar español tampoco! It sounds bad!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Lou Ann: Only three, in spite of myself (I didn't choose any of those).
But this is the first time I'm studying a new language with the "conventional" methods, and I struggle every day with slow rhythm for learning, few people to practice, doubts that books cannot solve at once, and even my own laziness for spending a few more minutes every day with it.
So I have only learnt to take it easy and be conscious that mastering a language takes patience and time.


@Jessica: you're only starting... be patient and do your homework... you'll see efforts will be worth it.

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Puedo leer un poquito español ... puedo escribir un poguito español ... pero no puedo hablar español. rrrrrr.......

Hoy fui a la iglesia española con mi amiga. Asistimos el servicio y almuerzo luego. Yo entendí alguno del servicio. Todos las personas fueron agraciados a mi. Pero se me olvidó todo lo que yo aprendía sobre hablando español. ¡TODO! rrrrr..... No pude pensar y decir una oración completa. rrrrrrr......

Where did my brain go!? I'm sure that no one I talked to would have guessed that I've been learning so much Spanish for these past several months. Argh!!

Just wanted to share. And my trip to Uruguay and Peru is probably going to be the first two and a half weeks of July. (sigh.....)

Just it sometimes happen to me with the English

[María José]

Sigue intentándolo. Aprender una lengua necesita mucho tiempo y paciencia. Pero al final se consigue.

[laepelba]

Gracias a todos ... yo seguiré intentándolo. ¡Me quiero aprender! ¡Mucho tiempo y paciencia ... y práctica!

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Gracias a todos ... yo seguiré intentándolo. ¡Me (Yo)quiero aprender! ¡Mucho tiempo y paciencia ... y práctica!

Is just your mind playing games. It is already defeated!

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by chileno

Is just your mind playing games. It is already defeated!

Yes, you're right. I know! I have a tendency to be hard on myself..........

Si, tú eres correcto. ¡Yo sé! (No sé como se dice los demás...)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Lou Ann: Like the good old singer said: "And it's gonna take time, a whole lot of precious time, it's gonna take patience and time to do it right, child".

"Yes, you're right. I know! I have a tendency to be hard on myself..."
"Tienes razón. Lo sé. Tiendo a ser muy dura conmigo misma."

That's a good attitude as long as you don't sit down and cry. But I see you're working hard to make it better, so you're doing what's right.

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Yes, you're right. I know! I have a tendency to be hard on myself..........

Si, tú eres correcto. ¡Yo sé! (No sé como se dice los demás...)

Compare:

"Sí, tienes razón, lo sé (no sé cómo se dice lo demás)"

"Sí, tienes razón, lo sé. Tengo cierta tendencia a ser demasiado exigente conmigo misma."

"Eres correcto" tiene otro significado en español. Por ejemplo, una persona es correcta cuando es educada y sabe comportarse en un ambiente determinado. "You're" right" se traduciría mejor por "tienes razón". No sé en otros países, en todo caso ya me corregirán

"Lo" es un pronombre neutro que no tiene plural y se refiere a una frase anterior. Por ejemplo, aquí podrías sustituir "lo demás" por "el resto de la frase": No sé cómo se dice (o mejor "cómo decir") el resto de la frase.

[laepelba]

I love that you both answered at the same time with just about the same exact information. Thank you both!!

And, no, Malila - no tears. That would certainly NOT be helpful at all. I just keep plugging away. It was just frustrating after all the time I've spent that I couldn't put a sentence together when it was important!

Thanks again for the encouragement, everyone!

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

I love that you both answered at the same time with just about the same exact information. Thank you both!!

And, no, Malila - no tears. That would certainly NOT be helpful at all. I just keep plugging away. It was just frustrating after all the time I've spent that I couldn't put a sentence together when it was important!

Thanks again for the encouragement, everyone!

Do not feel frustrated. It is ok to work hard, but why do it so hard when you could be having fun doing it?

I think that is the difference.

[laepelba]

Well, I have to look at it as working hard. If it were up to doing whatever I feel like doing, I'd be sitting on my deck drinking margaritas all the time and would never end up learning to speak Spanish.....

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Yes, you're right. I know! I have a tendency to be hard on myself..........

Si, tú eres correcto. ¡Yo sé! (No sé como se dice los demás...)

Also you can say ( Tu estas en lo correcto). Or you can say the same than Angelica said before.

[irmamar]

¿Y por qué no preparas frases hechas hasta que te salgan solas? Por ejemplo, en una reunión social de ese tipo, tus frases hechas pueden ser algo así como:
"Son ustedes muy amables"
"Muchas gracias por todo"
"Sus hijos son encantadores"
"Tiene una mujer/marido/familia muy agradable"
"¿Hace tiempo que viven aquí?"
"Tengo que irme pronto"
etc. En fin, lo que veas tú que se podía estar hablando en esos momentos

[laepelba]

Thanks for those suggestions - I'll remember those for sure! The funny thing is that I have two phrases that I have memorized from the beginning to help when I'm speaking with someone: "Lo entiendo más que lo hablo." and "Estoy aprendiendo hablar español." Yet, when I tried to say them, I got all tongue tied and couldn't remember how to say "entiendo" or "aprendiendo". Aagghh!! I KNOW those sentences. They are helpful. And even THEY escaped me. Like I said ... it was stuff that I KNOW that wasn't even coming to mind.

[tacuba]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Well, I have to look at it as working hard. If it were up to doing whatever I feel like doing, I'd be sitting on my deck drinking margaritas all the time and would never end up learning to speak Spanish.....

Buy some music from Spain and/or Latin America. Print out the lyrics. Make the margaritas. Put the music on. Follow along with your lyrics and enjoy your margaritas. See, like Chileno is trying to say, you can enjoy and learn at the same time.

If you need some suggestions for music, I'm sure many members here would be glad to help.