One of the main things that motivates Spanish-learners is that it’s the second most-spoken language in the world. But learning it requires effort and practice!

What makes it difficult?  Well, here are 10 things:

 

1. Verbs ser (to be) and estar (also, to be). In most languages, there is no difference between these verbs. This makes comprehension difficult for the foreign student who cannot translate to their language and give it a parallel meaning.

 

1. Nouns ending in A and E. There are many difficulties between the male / female norm, which makes memorization and learning difficult. 

 

1. The subjunctive: Similar to the grammar of being / is the subjunctive verbal mode that, for example, the English do not have, which makes learning difficult.

 

1. The pronunciation of certain letters such as g, j, r. In other languages, these letters are not exaggerated so much when pronounced as they are in Spanish, which often makes their pronunciation difficult for students.

 

1. J and h both are a grapheme that does not exist in other languages, which can be difficult for the foreign student.

 

1. Intonation is another difficulty faced by students who are learning our language, since in Spanish, this is quite flat.

 

1. Being a language with a certain grammatical complexity and extensive vocabulary, written expression becomes a challenge for students.

 

1. There is a big difference between formal language and colloquial language. Sometimes students take time to learn the differences and know when to use one or the other.

 

1. In spanish, we use many expressions  when speaking, and this can make it difficult to understand the message.

 

1. The use of comma presents many questions to  students.