Understand Spanish but can't speak it? Why it happens and what helps
After a level test, one of the comments our teachers write most often is that the person understands much more Spanish than they can say. Some have lived in Barcelona for years. They follow conversations at work and in shops, but when it's their turn to speak, the words don't come.
It's also what people tell us they want most. When we asked people at their level test why they're learning Spanish, more than half said "to speak to people with confidence".
Why it happens
Understanding develops first. For almost every learner, listening and reading move ahead of speaking. You recognise far more words than you can produce.
Daily life gives little speaking practice. Conversations in shops and at work are quick, people often switch to English, and nobody corrects you.
Learning by living here builds vocabulary, but not always grammar. Many people who learned this way can talk in the present tense but not yet about the past, which our testers note more than anything else.
Groups are harder than one to one. People speak at the same time and the topic moves on before you've found your words.
What helps
Speaking in every lesson, at your level. Speaking time is what turns what you understand into what you can say.
Being corrected while you speak, so mistakes don't become habits.
A few phrases that give you time to think. We've put the most useful ones in Spanish phrases that give you time to think.
The past tense, if it's what you are struggling with. Start with how to talk about your weekend in Spanish.
Starting at the right level. About one in five people who take our level test start at a different level from the one they expected. How our level test works.
Will I keep up in a group?
Groups are formed by level, so you join people who are at the same point as you. Classes are taught in Spanish from day one, and teachers adapt their language and use pictures and context so everyone can follow and take part.
You can join a group that is already running on any Monday, as long as it's at your level. If you come to every class in your first week and the level isn't right for you, we move you to another group or another start date at no cost.
Find your level
To find out which group would suit you, book a free level test. It takes 15 minutes by phone or video call, or 20 minutes at our school on Carrer d'AragĂł 405.
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