become fluent in spanish

i want to become fluent in multiple languages and spanish is one of them im taking a spanish course in college and im doing great but for the life of me i cant have a conversation outside of the classroom

El sábado pasado hablé en español un paquito con algunos hombres al partido de fútbol.

I have been working more on writing those Spanish verbs in different ways. I emailed my professor about some grammatical Spanish things and for one of them I was just guessing, and I was exactly right. I think that’s crazy! :D

According to the DS I have master 257 Spanish words… which would put me at about 10% of basic fluency. So far, so good.

I wrote down three Spanish verbs tonight in the 10 different ways that I know how to use them: present, preterit, imperfect, present perfect, past perfect, subjunctive, present progressive, tú commands, nosotros commands, and Usted/Ustedes commands.

My goal is to do this for every verb possible. It helps because I make myself think and not look the answers up in my textbook.

Last week, I spoke in Spanish with a couple from Bolivia. The woman corrected me once. I didn’t understand everything she said in Spanish, but I think I got the idea. They kept trying to talk to me in English and I only wanted to talk in Spanish. But it was good practice.

Hablé en español con una pareja de Bolivia el jueves pasado.

I’ve been using the BYKI free software to bone up on some of the stuff I forgot from highschool. My fiancee and I are also using the Pimsleur audio system to learn some spanish, and as of last night we bought MY SPANISH COACH for the Nintendo DS… some of this espanol has to rub off somewhere.

I just got one for my birthday and I would some day like to get the My Spanish Coach game. I can’t afford Rosetta Stone, but maybe this will learn me a little :o)

I understand almost everything that is said to me, but when it’s my turn to talk, I get all jumbly. It’s like I can let my brain go soft when someone else is speaking and let it go on autopilot, it just makes sense. When I speak, I have to figure out what I want to say, then translate it into sound in my brain (I never really learned how to read or write it very well- I learned on the streets, not in school) and once I get the sounds right, I have to say them out loud. I usually get my point across, but sometimes not very well.
I can’t go abroad right now, but I often work with migrant farmworkers, so I am immersed.
Maybe it’s a confidence thing.

I’m on my way there. I’ve studied in Spain and Mexico and I’m going back to Mexico this summer. :)

I’ve one year of training under my belt, and I love the language so far. I hope to increase my knowledge.