The problem with Spanish learners is...

Spanish learners have a list of problems but they can be widely categorized in two groups: language based and psychological. Speakers with other mother tongues have some of these problems but this is what happens to Spanish native speakers.

When you learn anything you ask yourself questions about what you are doing, unless it is something simple. I will point out today some of the stuff with which I coach my clients to help them along the learning process.

Both aspects are combined and cannot be separated. People get blocked in their learning process because of psychological hurdles triggered by specific linguistic aspects. This applies to pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and everything else.

The first thing that a learner needs to internalize is that they are going to learn to use a different way of doing the same things. Since many people in Spain live in flats I use my flat metaphor: imagine that you live in a flat (the Spanish language) and your neighbour lives in his flat (The English language). One day he invites you over and surprise: most of the walls are in different places. You wonder: how can they live with this floor plan?

People don't speak English, they live using it. That means that you are learning not to say things but to say things differently. Their way. And for them it works the same as your system (insert language of choice) works for you.

So that was the first hurdle: things are different and that is OK. Other alternative worlds are possible. A second hurdle, not specific for spanish learners is stage fright. Years of experience, on both sides of the trench, have told me that the biggest problem is not fear of poor performance, but peer review. I don't know about children today in schools, but in the traditional education system in Spain, listening and not speaking - keeping a low profile - was more often than not a formula for success. Or at least for survival. Volunteering to do things in class was suspicious and doing things well all the time was high treason. And producing strange sounds in a foreign language could bring you to the category of laughing stock.

Not very long ago(five years or so) I had a student come to me in an intensive course. He was getting ready for NATO STANAG English levels (so a military course) and at the end of the course he had a test. That would qualify him in the vicinity of B1 of the European common framework.

But he had a problem. He confided to me that he had never spoken a word of English. And in less than four weeks he had to pass a test that included writing, reading, listening and speaking skills.

Lack of practice has never made masters. Many spaniards do not practice their English. Not because they do not have the chance. They do not dare. And he did not dare. He had been learning English - rather studying it. he was not bad at any other skills. But speaking... he had never even tried. The worst part is he had been able to get that far without it.

Language issues depend mainly on the differences in "floor plan" that I mentioned in passing before. There are substantial differences (obvious!) but learners are not aware of where the differences lay (not so obvious). You don't need to be a linguist to know some of these things:

The sound system of both languages is very different. Yes, but how is it different. Most learners have no clue what is really happening when they try to pronounce English and fail to sound native-like.  There are several factors: vowels, intonation and priority/emphasis settings among others. English has twelve vowel sounds, whereas Spanish has five. In addition to this, vowel sounds in Spanish are linked to how they are written. As if this were not enough, English has short and long vowels and they establish lexical differences. Finally, not only are similar vowels in both languages pronounced slightly differently, but there is a central, vital vowel sound in English, called "schwa" in phonetics, which according to studies, amounts to roughly 45% of vowel sounds pronounced in any variety of English. This sound does not exist in Spanish and it overlaps with the areas of the mouth for all five vowels in Spanish.

Consonants are an additional problem. Whereas all vowel sounds involve vibration, consonants can be pronounced with or without it. For example the difference between /p/ and /b/ which exists in both languages. However, many of the existing "vibrating" consonants in English (technical term "voiced") just don't exist in Spanish. Other than plosive sounds like /p/ and /b/ and the affricates, there aren't any consonant couples, which means that Spanish speakers don't have any contrast elements to be aware of such differences. That's why it is so difficult for them to achieve those important nuances.

Intonation is also different: at word level the intonation in each word is fixed by different systems, but at sentence level English uses intonation much more - and uses it much more efficiently - to achieve emphasis and to process old and new information. Vowel length and specially systematic vowel reduction (using schwa or even syllabic consonants) is alien to Spanish. Not knowing this impairs listening skills and speaking quality. Intonation contrasts add relief and heavily contribute to emphasis.

Emphasis in English is achieved mostly by two means: intonation (see above) and sentence structure. Most Spanish learners are unaware of two facts: sentence order is quite fixed in English (not as much as in other languages like German). In comparison Spanish is anarchic. Every system has its advantages, but getting used to a rigid order and the reasons for it is a cultural shock: from "almost everything goes" to "everything has a place and a reason to be there". Inversion for questions, re-inversion for questions in reported speech, adjective placement or the existence of a default order for some verb complements are puzzles that may well make the learner give up if left unsolved.

Spanish learners are ironically famous for being strong on grammar, but they have been, so far, in an almost medieval way. Many of those who have succeeded have done so by trial and error and without knowing very well why. Grammar is a backbone that has to be there, but should not be seen. And learners need to understand what they are doing. Not until they stop feeling confused, helpless and puzzled, will they really make progress. But so far, for many, it is a matter of arcane and mysterious things.