Listening

[LivetoErr]

I have trouble hearing the separation of words. Does that come with practice?

Today I was listening to something and she said, .".. es tan..." and I heard "están".

Everyone says, you know what is being said by the context; however, if I'm not hearing the separation of words how do I know what the context is? This is, definitely, my biggest obstacle when it comes to learning Spanish.

[songsing]

When I was starting out it was really hard for me to understand native speakers because Spanish is basically spoken as one long word with little pauses sometimes (or that's what I've heard). So you just sort of have to do a lot of listening along with seeing what they're saying to get a since of the language's flow and sound. It's a lot different than reading!

[Rosa]

I thought that I was the only one with this problem. When I just started learning Spanish it was even worse so I think it does get better as learning increases. If you are playing your audio just go back and listen to it several times. It does help but never give up .

[1honeybrown]

It really just comes with practice.  Repetition is key.  Studying the words, repeating and listening to the words that you are saying, testing yourself-all are great for getting your ears in tune with what you are saying and getting your mind to actually distinguish the words that you are saying.  Just apply yourself and practice.  There are some great Spanish language apps that you can record words and play them back to hear the proper pronounciation.  Get used to hearing yourself distinguish between the words, then you should take off from there.  Good luck! :angel:

[justusforus]

I have to agree with most.  Between many dialects and regional variations, the speed with which many native speakers talk does make it difficult for me to hear the separation of words as well.  It does get easier with more familiarity, but maybe many find this same issue when learning a new language.

[Linguetronix]

I had this exact same problem too (and since others have mentioned it as well, we know we're not alone!). To improve my listening skills, I listen to different songs and try and transcribe their lyrics. Often, I end up joining different words, just like you did. One way I can figure out that I transcribed it incorrectly is when it doesn't make sense. Hope that helps you!

[Peninha]

Everything comes with practice and before you know it I'm sure your ear will be trained for the language. Sure, it's necessary an effort, but with the help of teachers or audio tapes you'll surely make it.

[TimT90]

I had this exact same problem too (and since others have mentioned it as well, we know we're not alone!). To improve my listening skills, I listen to different songs and try and transcribe their lyrics. Often, I end up joining different words, just like you did. One way I can figure out that I transcribed it incorrectly is when it doesn't make sense. Hope that helps you!

I also do this, ^ and I find it very useful in being able to distinguish between words. Context truly is key here, but that's really hard to do when your ears finally hear a word you understand, your mind processes it, you rejoice, & then realize that you've missed about 5 other words that were said. :confused: Or is that just me? lol

[czarina84]

I have this problem, too.  The way that I'm working through it is listening to songs while reading the lyrics and watching shows and movies in Spanish while having subtitles on.  The lyrics and subtitles are in Spanish.  It's to help familiarize myself with the words that way when I hear them, I can separate them out.