That age is the central reason for having difficulty with the language is almost an immature excuse because if the learner is interested to learn whatever his age is he could downplay all the difficulties. The issue now here is how intense that interest is and how willing the learner is to be fluent in Spanish. You make mistakes in Spanish because you are participating in activities like conversation or writing. When conversing with a local or native Spanish speaker, they would often appreciate a person who tries to speak Spanish even with a lot of mistakes. Stay Motivated and Consistent Some people would give up after a few weeks or months into the language-learning program. Some people on the other hand think it helps them learn the language better because seeing a gender-specific attribute to a word automatically tells them the right qualifiers. Like most Latin-based languages (English included), Spanish makes the maleness or femaleness of man and animals (and some things) an inherent characteristic. In the past, learning another language is mostly motivated by aesthetics ( I love how Spanish songs are sung! ) or academics ( You can go anywhere if you know Spanish. ) or by some other considerations. Today, to learn Spanish would mean any or several of these reasons travel, economics, business, employment, aesthetics, etc. Consulting a dictionary every so often, however, is somewhat daunting and takes the pleasure out of the reading activity, but doing so can undoubtedly enrich your vocabulary fast. Just a note: for vocabulary-building purposes, stay clear of textbooks. Newspapers, magazines, and books provide wider windows to everyday Spanish vocabulary and usage. Although they know the articles by theory, they can t seem to properly use them in actual conversation. And many think this is forgivable. Yes, it is, and you can in fact still be understood when held up in this situation. But keep in mind that article usage is a basic Spanish lesson, and your lapses may not reflect your interest in Spanish favorably.