Why is English so difficult to understand?

Question

At present I'm learning English, I can read the language quite well but when I hear people speaking it I can't understand anything.

I try to listen to the radio in English, watch pictures in English... but it seems impossible to follow the words (I only speak Spanish)

Why is English so difficult to understand?

What do you recommend?

Answer 1

I am Welsh and i still find it difficult to listen and understand to at times, I can write it and read it perfectly, But try getting me to speak it is very hard, And i Live in a country where English is an official language, Although where I live it is no where near the dominant Language.  

Answer 2

Cause we don't have a regimented spelling/pronunciation system!

I think it might be easier to learn English auditorily, to start, THEN apply the spelling!  (as a child learns).

Some people never get it!  I know some native Americans who just can NOT spell at all!  

I recommend LOTS of speaking/listening practice...television and movies are good, especially if you can put subtitles up!  (Dvds are great for that!)

Answer 3

one thing you can try is watching tv with closed captions, or watching dvds in english with english subtitles; that way you can learn to associate the words with the sounds

Answer 4

I know your problem, what I do is to watch as many movies in original version as I can. Believe me, that helps a lot!

Answer 5

For one, English verbs and conjugations are irregular, which makes the language very difficult to learn. It also have contractions, which many other languages do not. Many of the smallest things can make English the biggest hassle. :(  

I would recommend trying to find native speakers of English and getting them to practice with you. That's one of the best ways to learn any language, really! Try to practice speaking English as much as you can outside of the source that you're learning from. It may seem hard at first, but once you start to really speak a language with other people it will come easily the more you do it! Just don't give up! :)