Hi Amanda,

You're not alone in hitting that wall. I've been there and done that, and it can be frustrating when it happens in a structured classroom that moves at its own pace rather than one I need to move in. My first major wall was in my second year of Spanish when the class was learning body parts; it was the first time that I actually felt overwhelmed by vocabulary, and my mind was shutting down.

Unfortunately at the time, there wasn't anything I could do but grind through it because this was a high school classroom. However, now that I'm learning at my own pace, if I hit a wall, I use a few techniques to help me get refocused:

1) I forget about learning something new and simply review. This takes any pressure of needing to grind off.

2) I come on this site and write a notebook entry using what I know with special focus on what I'd just learned. This gets me some practice so I'm less likely to forget it.

3) I take a break for a few days. I used to think I needed to practice daily or I'd forget, but more often than not, removing myself from that language for a bit of time helps recharge both my capability and motivation.

I hope these help. I wouldn't worry about hitting walls; many of us probably do. As long as we pace ourselves comfortably and don't quit learning in the long run, we'll be okay.

Q:How do you eat an elephant (learning Spanish)?

A: One bite at a time!

My favorite techniques....

1. I read a Spanish Bible every day. It has Spanish and English side by side so I can easily get help with  the words I 

don't know.

2. I write several entries per week on Italki notebook using what I know.

3. I talk with my Italki Columbian language partner 2 or 3 times per week. 50/50 Spanish /English

4. I listen several times per week to Light Speed Spanish on YouTube. My favorite Spanish teachers.

5. I listen to News in Slow Spanish Latino on my iphone app 

6. I keep a list of new Spanish words and phrases to review on my iphone Notes app....words I have actually encountered in real life.

7. I keep the radio in my truck tuned constantly to Spansih radio.

8. I never ever give up!  I spend significant time in Spanish every single day.

I always recommend to watch as many movies/ cartoons  ( or other) as you can in the language you want to learn or improve  (in your case Spanish). If you already reached a decent level of Spanish, try to watch it without english subtitles so you can focus more on the spoken language and get used to it out of a "scholastic " context  ( that will help you get more familiar with it). Train daily,  even if it will take only 10 minutes, is important to never lose your practice. Try to watch a short video in Spanish or write down some vocabulary you learned recently. Get a book or a dictionary and try to memorize as much vocabulary as you can and try to repeat it every day, you will learn it without even realize. Use the new vocabulary to create several sentences. Try to get some spanish speakers friends and practice with them, on internet is good, but Face to face is even better, and from my experience LISTENING TO SPANISH PEOPLE SPEAKING SPANISH TO EACH OTHER is the best way of learning. Speaking is important  , but listening can be it even more. This way you will learn the language naturally and get a pretty good accent too.Listen to music in spanish,  and search the lyrics while you are listening. Search the words you don't understand ( if you are at a good spanish level try to search them not by translating them in your language , but searching the meaning/ descpription of the words in spanish). Read some books or even articles in spanish and search the words you don't understand (as I told you above).Speak in every given occasion! Don't be afraid of mistaken, I think is also important to make mistakes because you have the opportunity to learn the correct version of the fact. When you are done, ask for corrections. 

Entiendo tu frustración. Lamentablemente, y lo digo como estudiante de idiomas y como tutora de español, es el proceso normal que todos tenemos que pasar para lograr un buen nivel.

De todos modos, si has sentido que algún nativo de español no te ha tenido paciencia, solo puedo recomendarte y casi OBLIGARTE a que cambies de persona!!! No te quedes con esa idea o con esa gente porque solo hará que te conviertas en más tímida o temerosa a la hora de hablar español. Creo que somos muchos los que tenemos paciencia y damos tiempo a nuestros alumnos para que se expresen como puedan y en el tiempo que necesiten.

No te rindas, sigue adelante, todos pasamos por este nivel alguna vez. Es normal y los errores son buenos porque así se aprende. 

besos!

Hola, I am not a learner but a Spanish native speaker.

But I can feel your frustration as I am learning English and a bit of Japanese. Well I would like to corroborate what people said above ( listening to music, talking with natives...)that is really helpful, but you might try to think about learning what you like, but in Spanish. Lets say you like sports, so then you try to get vocabulary related to that field. If you like sociology, perhaps you prefer to read a book of Max Weber in Spanish instead of in English. 

I like to read things in English that are interesting for me. I understand that this might not be suitable for beginners, but it is really helpful with intermediate and advance levels.

Have you read Spanish novels in Spanish language already? You might try wonderful ones as Mario Vargas Lloza, Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende...Honestly, Dickens it is quite difficult to understand but absolutely enjoyable.

Mucha suerte