We have a similar thread in the Welsh forum and I thought it would be helpful here. The idea is to share any successes…big, small or in-between in your efforts to learn Spanish.
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I’ll start things off with a small success: I recently struggled through challenge 3 (had to use the pause button many times). Immediately after the lesson I couldn’t remember ‘I’ve forgotten’ even though I was racking my brains.
I gave up trying to remember, and a couple of minutes later it popped into my head.
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I started SSISpanish a couple of weeks ago as I have had such great success with SSIWelsh which I have been doing for two years. I am now up to Spanish lesson 6 and am finding it a bit easier than the welsh as there are more similarities between spanish and english.
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What a great idea… 
It’s odd how often that works. Stop thinking about it, and the answer will come shortly afterwards. It’s like looking for lost things in the house. You search for ages, and then you give up and a bit later it turns up!
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That is what amazed me about this course, they say something fairly complicated and for a split second you think no way am I going to get that out and then it just comes out. feels weird but a good weird.
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I’ve had that so often!
Once I learned to “let go” and just say the first thing that came out without thinking about it, the right thing (or something close to it) came out more often than not. No idea what magic they do to implant those things in our mind!
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Had my first “Spanish speaking in the wild” encounter the other day at my local Dunkin Donuts. Was able to successfully ask the woman behind the counter if she spoke Spanish, explain to her that I was trying to learn Spanish and would like to practice speaking, and I learned the Spanish for “I’d like”, “bag” (bolsa), and “I’m sorry” (Lo siento…to apologize to the people who arrived in line behind me as the woman was trying to explain change to me in Spanish)
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Had a dream in which I spoke Spanish. Granted, it was two words, Habla espanol, but I’m going to count it as a success.
I also learned that lo siento is another way to say I’m sorry and that estoy muy cansada means “I am very tired.” (I usually have my Spanish in the wild encounters at 5:30 AM)
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My first dreams with Welsh in them didn’t involve any speaking at all - just other people saying things in Welsh, and me running away…
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Hi, All.
After nearly a year with SSiWelsh, I thought it would be a good time for me to try out Spanish. This time, as Aran advised, I decided to make an early start with live conversations, so I spoke to a Spanish colleague after 2 days (3 challenges). She seemed surprised, and thought that I meant 2 months.
I was so pleased that she could understand me, when I said the Spanish for “I can’t speak Spanish”. I was slightly worried when she came out with a slightly different pattern for me to learn as mine was not correct. At first I thought that there must be another version, but then the penny dropped. She was teaching me to say “I can speak Spanish”.
I am looking forward to a few more short conversations.
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Awesome start - well done!
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My Spanish colleague is pushing me to learn and speak more, which is great, if also slightly challenging after only a few days on the course. I find myself forgetting some words and asking her for a reminder.
Today I completely forgot the term “de nuevo” for again and she suggested “otra vez”. I fully appreciate that this sort of thing will happen in the wild and hopefully will add to the experience. Are these two terms fully interchangeable, please? Or, is there a need to use each in a particular context?
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Pretty much - wouldn’t want to promise that they’re a perfect match - but enough for you not to worry about it at all, and let exposure sort out the fine-tuning for you… 
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Had the same thing happen to me with the term “I’m sorry.” The woman I speak Spanish with on Wednesdays told me lo siento before I learned disculpe
New words I’ve learned since the last post:
bolita: ball (used to say ‘bolita donughts’ for munchkins)
calabaza: pumpkin
temblor: earthquake 
miércoles: Wednesday
EDIT: In addition to I didn’t know, I really need to learn how to say I don’t know in Spanish
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Just ‘no sé’…
I regularly go to a Spanish Meetup previously once or twice a month but now changing to once a week. I sometimes talk to “Nativos” and sometimes to Brits with better Spanish than me. I generally make mistakes but I learn or get corrected.
Another small success is that I teach a ESOL class and have a Spaniard and Venezuelan in the class. I tell the Venezuelan what the word is in Spanish when he gets stuck e.g: He: “What does smart mean ?” Me “Elegante” - so everybody wins in this situation.
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Good move - that should have a really valuable acceleration effect for you…
Went to another Meetup last night. Loads of people turned up with quite a few Nativos and other good British Spanish speakers. I understood just about everything that was said and spoke a bit. After this the Group Organiser said that I was improving in my Spanish - praise indeed !
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That sounds like a huge success, Dave - enhorabuena! 
