What's the best/quickest way to learn to understand spoken Spanish?

Question

I've been taking Spanish classes for years now. I can read it, write it and speak it pretty well, but I have a really hard time understanding it when it's spoken quickly by native speakers. Any suggestions on how to understand what people are saying?

Answer 1

You need to practice it. You need to find someone who speaks fluently and force them to only speak to you only in spanish.

Answer 2

You just have to immerse yourself in the language. While going to a country certainly helps, if you can't afford to do that then watch Spanish television (if you happen to have that on your cable system). And if you have a TiVo, then record a show and if there is something you can't understand, go back and listen again.

Answer 3

The most effective way to learn a language is through immersion. Surround yourself with speakers of Spanish and converse with them in their language. Visit Spanish-speaking countries.

Answer 4

What I would suggest is just to go to Spain and to be around native speakers. Listening more to spanish and practicing to understand it, is a good way to get better.

Answer 5

just tell the natives to slow down a little bit and explain to them you are trying to learn the lenguage. They'll understand most of the time they also use alot of slang and its hard to understand them. Just listen very carefully and if you have any question asked them.

Answer 6

Watch the telenovelas on the Spanish channel (Univision, Galavision). You´ll get used to the accents and you´ll pick up a lot of vocabulary and idioms that you could never learn from a book.

Answer 7

Lots of people in spanish-speaking countries are happy to talk to you if you are paying attention and taking in what they are saying. However, you need to negotiate a bit.

So that they speak in a way that you can take in, it helps to learn the spanish phrases for "Please can you speak more slowly" and "Please can you speak more simply". Also, "What does such-and-such a word/phrase mean" (Que significa la palabra/frase X?'.

Don't forget all the things you know about good manners. Remember to say please and thank you, returning favours and polite introductions and things. Its easy to forget these things when you're under the stress of speaking a foreign language.

Answer 8

what i do is i just listen very closely and see if there are any words that i can understand fully. after you do that, you just catch on. i'd practice with someone on my level or higher.ex. i speak spanish with my sister sometimes.

Answer 9

The best watto learn a language is to go to a country/place that speaks it and immerse yourself in it - short of that marry someone who speaks it !