I’ve been learning Spanish for three years now. I’m somewhere between A2 and B1, and I’ve finished countless apps, courses, books, and grammar units. I can understand about 70–80% of what the locals say to me here in Madrid.
But speaking?
Most days, I’m still stuck saying “sí,” “no,” and a handful of memorized phrases.
It’s incredibly frustrating to understand the world around me, yet still struggle to join the conversation. So, I ask myself:
Why is input easy, but output feels impossible?
Just to make things clear, input refers to the language you absorb (listening and reading), while output is the language you produce (speaking and forming sentences).
And even though input and output sound like two sides of the same coin, they don’t develop at the same pace at all… especially if you’re already an adult. Let me explain further.
Why Adults Can Understand Easily but Struggle to Speak a New Language
Kids learn languages effortlessly because their brains are still highly plastic. They don’t study grammar or memorize vocab lists; they absorb language and automatically produce it.
Adults? Completely different story.
Once we pass our mid-20s, learning a new skill — especially language — requires intention and repetition. The good news is: adults can still memorize vocabulary and understand grammar fairly well. That’s been true for me.
The problem is speaking.
(And if you want to understand the science behind why the adult brain learns differently from a child’s, I wrote a separate blog about that here. It goes deeper into what neuroscientist Andrew Huberman says about adult learning and plasticity.)
Then, I realized input is easy because everything is right in front of me:- vocabulary lists from lessons
- example sentences in books
- structured lessons that guide me step by step
- spaced repetition apps that refresh words for me
- high-frequency words I constantly hear around Madrid
- Spanish podcasts with transcript that I listen to
- Spanish movies and series I watch regularly
- understanding spoken language
- understanding written language
- recognizing vocabulary
- interpreting meaning
So, of course my comprehension of the Spanish language grows. I’m practicing Spanish input every single day.
But that doesn’t mean I can speak. Understanding something is NOT the same as being able to say it.
This is the part that changed everything for me: Comprehension and production use different brain systems.
Recognizing a word is easy because your brain just matches what it sees or hears to something already stored in memory.
Producing that word is much harder — because now your brain must retrieve it with no cues.
A real example that happened to me: It was raining and I wanted to say “umbrella.” I knew the word. I had heard it many times.
But my brain blanked.
My friend said paraguas and instantly I thought, “Yes! That’s it!”
So clearly, I knew it — but I couldn’t retrieve it myself.
This is exactly what happens when Wernicke’s area is trained, but Broca’s area is not.
Broca’s area handles:- forming sentences
- organizing grammar
- planning speech
- retrieving words from memory
- coordinating your mouth and tongue
- turning thoughts into spoken Spanish
And for years, I wasn’t training my Broca´s area as much as my Wernicke´s area.
Input Hypothesis vs. Output Hypothesis
Krashen’s Input Hypothesis: “Just get enough input and speech will emerge.”
Krashen believed that if you receive enough comprehensible input — meaning language that you mostly understand, even if it’s slightly above your current level — then speaking will eventually appear on its own. In his view, the brain “acquires” language naturally as long as the input is understandable and consistent.
He also warned that forcing speech too early raises anxiety (the affective filter) and blocks learning. When your stress goes up, the input you receive stops being “comprehensible,” and your brain can’t process it effectively.
And honestly, he’s right about the anxiety part.I’ve felt it myself:
- worrying about forgetting words
- fearing judgment
- sounding strange
- freezing mid-sentence
This emotional pressure shuts down learning.
But here’s the flaw from Krashen´s Hypothesis for adult learners: Input builds comprehension… but not speaking.
Swain’s Output Hypothesis: “You can’t learn to speak without speaking.”
Merrill Swain argued that output is not just a result of learning — it is part of how learning happens.
Speaking forces you to:- Notice your gaps — you instantly see what you can’t say
- Retrieve language more deeply
- Move beyond passive understanding
- Break through the “comprehension ceiling,” where you understand a lot but can’t express yourself
That comprehension ceiling is exactly where I’m stuck: high comprehension, low output.
My Observation as an Intermediate Learner in the Intermediate Plateau
Obviously, everything I’ve discussed above is still a hypothesis for now. These ideas aren’t final answers. But as someone actually learning a new language as an adult, here’s what my own experience has shown me:
1. Krashen´s Input Hypothesis is half right, it mostly applies to kids: Adults don’t automatically start speaking just because they’ve consumed a lot of input. I’m proof of that. I had tons of exposure, but speaking didn’t magically appear. 2. Forcing myself to speak too early made me anxious: As an intermediate learner, I stumble over my words a lot. I forget vocabulary, mispronounce things, or completely freeze. And honestly, it’s embarrassing, which makes me avoid speaking even more. 3. Swain is right: Speaking helps identify gaps. Yes, when I speak, I instantly notice what I can’t say. But I feel like writing down every mistake or missing word isn’t something I can realistically do every day. 4. Comprehension ceiling is real: I focused so heavily on input that my Spanish stayed passive. Without practicing how to say things, I remained stuck in understanding mode instead of speaking mode. My conclusion so far: Input alone never becomes output. Input builds understanding.Output builds speaking. To get unstuck, I need both.
Unstucking Myself: How I’m Learning to Actually Speak Spanish
After understanding how adult language learning really works, I built a method that fits how my brain operates.
These are the principles guiding it:- Adults must study intentionally — input is necessary but not enough
- I need a wide foundation of vocabulary and grammar
- Passive vocabulary does not turn into active vocabulary without speaking
- Forcing output too soon creates fear and exhaustion
- Speaking in front of others is stressful — so I need a safe way to practice output
This led me to design my own approach.
My Spanish Learning Method Built on Research and Real-Life Experience
Step 1: Identify What to Study (CEFR)First, I need to know what to study. That’s why I follow the CEFR framework. It lays out exactly what a learner at each level should be able to do — the topics, vocabulary, and grammar you’re expected to handle.
Since I’m at B1, I use a B1-level textbook as my guide. A typical chapter comes with clear objectives like:- hacer definiciones
- hablar del pasado
- describir situaciones
- expresar causas
These objectives give me the input base I need before I even think about practicing output.
Before I start practicing output, I make sure I actually understand the lesson. I study the grammar rules, learn how the patterns work, and memorize the key vocabulary from the chapter. I also complete the activities in the book just to check that I’ve really understood everything before moving on.
- based on the topic of the chapter
- using the vocabulary from the lesson
- applying the grammar rules I just learned
- adding Madrid slang and natural expressions
I also sprinkle in extra vocabulary and phrases that I know I’ll actually use in my everyday conversations.
This is important! I memorize the entire dialogue, then:- act it out
- become both characters
- internalize the emotions
- repeat it until it flows naturally
Doing it this way means contextual, meaningful output. It sticks better in my memory than rote memorization.
I actually upload all my scripts in a section of this blog called Spanish Podcast with Transcript, so I can access them anytime. Each one comes with the full transcript and the audio, which makes it super easy for me to read, listen, and review whenever I want.
Why My Method Works
My method works (for me at least) because:
1. It combines input and output: I learn the grammar rules, language patterns, conversational vocabs and expressions, then immediately use them in speech.
2. Memorizing a script is easier than creating sentences on the spot: Textbooks and courses often expect you to invent sentences immediately to “prove” you learned the lesson. For me, that kind of instant production is mentally heavy. But when I write my own script, I have time to think, check my grammar, choose the right vocabulary, and shape the sentence properly. Then, once the script is ready, memorizing it feels so much easier.
3. It trains real conversation, not monologues: Most textbook activities are things like: “Describe your house when you were a child.” So you end up talking about yourself in long monologues that you’ll rarely use as a beginner or intermediate speaker.
But real life doesn’t work like that.Most of my interactions in Madrid are small, everyday exchanges:
- ¿Has comido?
- ¿Crees que va a llover mañana?
- Ay, se me olvidaron las llaves.
- ¿Dónde está el cajero más cercano?
Plus the usual jokes, sarcasm, and little comments people throw around throughout the day. By creating dialogues instead of monologues, I practice conversations I actually have in real life and not the artificial, essay-like answers from a textbook .
4. Most textbook activities are one-way. But real Spanish is back-and-forth: Conjugation drills, fill-in-the-blanks, short written answers in Spanish… these exercises help you understand the lesson, but they don’t prepare you for real conversations. Real life isn’t a test. It’s back-and-forth interaction.
So instead of talking at the page, I practice actual dialogue — a real conversation with myself. It trains me to respond, react, and keep the interaction flowing, just like I would with someone in Madrid.
5. I don´t just review it, I speak it out: Reading my notes only strengthens my input, but speaking the lines from my script is what actually moves phrases into my active vocabulary. Every time I practice the lines out loud, I strengthen retrieval and activate my Broca’s area. In other words, I’m not just reviewing… I’m genuinely practicing output.
6. I can improvise: I don’t have to repeat the script word-for-word. I can swap quiero for me gusta, or de hecho for la verdad, or even rephrase the whole line. What matters is that I can communicate the message.
This flexibility shows that my brain is starting to catch what I want to say, and that I already have active vocabulary I can pull from if I forget a line.
7. I trust the language I’m using: As an intermediate learner (also when I was a beginner) I usually rely on understanding grammar rules and translating vocabulary, then when I’m about to speak to a Spanish speaker, I’ll probably end up translating from English to Spanish in my head. And honestly, that’s a terrible strategy. Spanish often expresses things differently, and direct translation rarely sounds natural. Sometimes it doesn’t even make sense.
But with a prefabricated conversational script — something I’ve written, corrected, and filled with real expressions I hear from locals — I feel much more confident speaking. I’m not guessing or translating anymore. I’m using language I know is natural and actually used in real conversations.
8. I don’t need anyone to practice: I can play both characters from the script. No pressure, no fear of making mistakes, and no need to coordinate schedules with anyone. Practicing on my own is enough — and honestly, it’s what makes this method sustainable for me.
