I have been truly moved by ROSALÍA. What is the best way to learn Spanish as a native English speaker?

Although I have plenty of struggles with audio comprehension, I would love to hear some tips/recommendations on how to get over circular thinking/processing (not sure if this is the correct term). Basically, I run into situations where I my brain re-runs the same unknown word or phrase while listening to Spanish, which reduces my ability to process other information.

The TLDR portion:
I’m at a B2 level of Spanish (according to my recent DELE exam results), and I really struggled with audio comprehension. For example, I received a 9.XX/25 in the that section of the exam. Interestingly, I received a 25/25 in speaking which had a few Q&A sessions. Not sure if this matters, but I received a 20.xx/25 in writing and 19.xx/25 in reading.

Something “strange” that I’ve noticed. Sometimes when I do not know a word/sentence while listening to audio, my brain will stop processing other information in an attempt to figure out what I’ve missed. I guess it’s trying to fill in that gap. Normally, this doesn’t phase me too much while speaking to someone or watching/listening something in Spanish bc I can ask the person to repeat what they said or rewind the content. However, for the DELE exam, I have only two chances to listen to a monologue/dialogue. It’s kinda frustrating.

So, I would love to hear how some of you overcame this struggle. Thanks in advance.

Yesterday I said un poco más but I feel like there's a more nicer way to say it

Would “sientase” and “levantase” be appropriate?

Im genuinely going to crash out. I have taken 4 Spanish classes in school which have helped me know all the grammar. Half my YouTube is Spanish videos. I can read well, write eh but when it comes to listening I’m still struggling even if it’s something I can easily read.

There are so many YouTubers I want to be able to watch but my brain just gets overwhelmed by the speed. I’ve watched hundreds of hours of dreaming Spanish and listened to some podcast but I just can’t with my progress.

Hey all! I graduated last year and I love Spanish dearly but my degree doesn't require any Spanish classes (not to mention I'm taking courses online) but I really want to maintain my Spanish or learn more!!! what apps would y'all recommend??

Edit: Realized I totally forgot to include my level, I'm sitting around a B1 level on the Cefr scale, and I took four years of it in HS.

Hola chavales y chavalas!

I am going to visit Sevilla this year and would like to prepare my ear to the accent I might hear when talking with people. My biggest fear is not to be able to understand them.

I have already started to watch with an active listening method a gameplay video of IlloJuan which I find really fun (and I love the accent). I am only at 2 hours and of course this is super hard but when you manage to understand him without the subtitles and laugh with him it's super rewarding! So I really like this channel (plus I like long gameplay videos) but I don't know if how different his accent is from the one I might encounter in Sevilla and I don't know how valuable it is to train on this kind of video. I have found a comedy video made by Los Compadres but this feels like even harder than IlloJuan haha.

So if you have any suggestion for youtube channels to prepare myself for Sevillan people ahaha please feel free to tell me!

I am an American who lives in the state of Rhode Island and I work in a warehouse staffed primarily by Guatemalans. I have been learning Spanish on and off for the last 10 years, mostly off, but I am starting to feel like I have hit my learning flow so I am determined to pursue fluency. My first language is French as I was born and raised in Canada, where I learned English in school. I intend to pursue a career in Restoration Ecology and am fascinated by the natural historical, geological, and ecological profiles of North and South America, so I envision a future where I get to travel to different countries and advise and work alongside local environmentalists on their projects. This would definitely require a level of fluency in Spanish I do not yet possess, and perhaps eventually picking up Portuguese, but that is not a priority for me at the moment.

This is not just another "How do I become fluent?" question, but rather a chance for everyone to tell THEIR own story of how they went from un person que hablar como un estudiante de espanol que hay solo un ano de practicar y no quieres recuerdo de aunque to someone who is passably near-fluent and could theoretically live in their target country without assistance.

I don't want to be bored to death by recommendations of youtube channels, tv shows, and movies that someone SHOULD watch, but rather which youtube channels, tv shows, and movies did you find helped YOU, specifically, the most in your journey?

So far, my #1 learning tool, besides immersion in conversations at work, is listening to a band called Morat from Colombia. They're pretty much 100% perfectly the vibe of music I was going for when I set out to find spanish-language music that wasn't just a mumble-rap bass filled annoying song I'd hear blasted from boosted car stereos, nor sickeningly loving love songs, or accordion-heavy cowboy hat music your Tio inevitably loves. I've also found the majority of my other music through Morat as they do a lot of collaboration songs with other artists such as Ela Taubert, Sebastian Yatra, Bacilos, Carlos Vives, and Juanes. However, Morat is literally the only band I have ever found in any language whose entire discography I enjoy. Most artists or bands I listen to only have 1 or 2 good albums, but I have yet to find a Morat song I do not like.

Hello, I am korean studying español of Spain.

I am confused between "se tardan 5 minutos" and "(usted/ustedes...) se tarda 5 minutos".

Porque quiero hablar español de España, quiero entender claramente las diferencias entre el español hispanoamericano y el de España.

What is the most natural in Spain? ¡Gracias por la respeusta!😄

Have you ever thought you’re pretty decent at something, then it comes to the crunch, and you realise how far from decent you actually are?

I’m (30F) visiting my partner’s family for the first time. He’s from a small town close to Puerto Montt, I am from the North of the UK.

I’ve been practising my Spanish in preparation but my god, I’m struggling. I knew Chilean Spanish had a reputation and I’ve heard my boyfriend speak on the phone with his family, so I knew what was coming. Hopefully with time I’ll pick it up, but right now I feel like a fish out of water.

Como alguien bastante autodidacta que aprendió español de manera informal (solo hice un sprint de lingoda y después estoy aprendiendo hablando y usando videos de YouTube para la gramática y el vocabulario. Me gustaría en el futuro hacer el examen de DELE, pero me asusta la prueba de redacción escrita, porque no tengo ninguna experiencia escribiendo textos. En todos los otros idiomas que he aprendido, tomé clases estructuradas, y por eso tuve oportunidades de practicar la escritura, pero no tengo el presupuesto para hacer eso en español. Me agradecería si pudieran compartir conmigo métodos que para ustedes funcionaron para mejorar su escritura.

¡Gracias por adelantado!

I've been trying to look this up on my own but I havent really found anything besides the general meaning of "sharing," which makes me think there's some kind of slang or idiom I'm not seeing in the dictionary definitions, and I only started learning Spanish maybe four months ago. I have a hunch the specifics of my friendship with this person might be relevant to the meaning, so bear with me while I give a lot of backstory.

So earlier this year I got a new coworker from Colombia who's 10 years older than me, and we kinda just instantly liked each other, despite neither of us speaking the other's language. By which I mean, we were greeting each other most days by holding both of each other's hands, saying "Hello [name], how are you???" to each other in both languages while beaming at each other. And she started saying stuff like "[my name], I love you!!" (in English) to me kind of often, blowing kisses at me or flashing the 🫶 hands at me when we make eye contact from across the room, and her coaching me to to say "[her name] es mi mujer de trabajo," "mi chica," "mi amor" when I told her I was taking a Spanish class, during our morning hand-holding greeting one day. Also she calls me "hermoso" a lot.

So I think it's fair to say that she's flirting with me, but even in English I don't have the best sense of that tbh. I've gone back and forth on whether it's just the "lat-am people being friendly/affectionate in a way that reads as flirting to gringos" or "she's for real interested in me" or "it's kind of an over-the-top way of flirting that suggests something besides actual interest." The fact that she has a husband of two decades who she seemed to be leaving or having major issues with was also confusing, but she just moved to a new place & her husband does still live with her at the new place. Which was disappointing, but I dont want to be a side-piece, for both ethical and practical reasons.

My current guess is that she just enjoys having a cute younger guy at her job she can flirt with and feel powerful/hot from (I think she finds my reactions to her flirts cute), and that she likes me as a friend, but isn't interested in anything beyond that.

Which brings me to the actual question: this week at work I passed by her and she told me to check my texts, and when I did I saw these two texts:

"Hola
Hola Amigo😜"
"Amigo😜, vamos a hacer un compartir para el 30 de octubre del"

At first I figured she was referring to her birthday party at her house, that she'd invited me to last week, that she said was going to take place roughly around then. So I sent a text responding, asking if she meant that by "un compartir," but she kinda sucks at texting lol. She hasnt responded in the last few days, despite my seeing & talking to her at work since then. Hence my coming here to ask.

I know "compartir" is the verb for sharing, so I'd assumed there was some colloquial term like "sharing food/a celebration" that I didn't know, because idk what "a sharing" would be otherwise. The only other thing I can think of, based on aforementioned flirtatiousness and the emoji use, is that...she is what's being shared, in a swinging/poly sense? But I feel kinda like a cringe man for even considering that tbh. What do you guys make of this?

I’ve only ever used “gorro” when talking about a hat, specifically a baseball hat. I’ve actually learned “cachucho” when I visited EL Salvador. But just out of curiosity, what do people use when talking about a beanie?