This is a question we all asked ourselves before we began the Spanish course here and one I continued to ask myself all the way up until the Expert Level.  The answer is YES. ¡Sí!  I can (and so will you) communicate in Spanish for hours on end with a native speaker after completing the Expert Level.

I started the basic level of Spanish Power several years ago and I used to read the message boards Ricardo had back then to get any nuggets of wisdom from the students who were in the Expert Level or who had finished it.  I was so disappointed that no one had ever posted any kind of guidance (other than a specific answer about grammar usage to someone who asked for help) for those of us in the earlier levels. Sure, we can listen to Ricardo give his advice but I wanted to hear it from a fellow gringo who was once a good ol' monolingual American just like me.

So, here is my advice if you want to get there...

1. Learn the vocab well.  I mean really know those words.  Don't just know them when you go through the cards.  Make up sentences with each word.  You don't have to write them down, just use them in a sentence.  Ricardo can only put so many examples into each lesson.  If you're not sure you're using a word correctly, post it on this website or ask your tutor.

2. Take the tutoring sessions.  I have no doubt that I would not be able to communicate in Spanish today had I not forced my tutor to listen to me trip over my words lesson after lesson.  You can study a language until hell freezes and you will not be able to communicate in that language until you have had a lot of practice with a native speaker.  We all know people who studied Spanish for years and can barely order a taco at Taco Bell.

3.  Do the Paced Reading.  This step MUST be done if you want to speak well.  I was terrible at it and to be honest, I never did get any good at it.  This was my least favorite part of every lesson and I did it so poorly that it was almost a waste of time to even try.

BUT, I knew it had to be done so here is what I did to make up for it:

Listen to it a few times and then close the door and speak out loud as if you are talking to someone.  Don't just read it, pretend you are an actor reading for a part in a play.  As Ricardo says, "open your mouth, speak loudly, and speak with passion".  My family thought I had lost my mind.  But this is how I got around my inability to do paced reading without tripping over my words.  It works. So if you have trouble like I did, try it that way.  Your pronunciation and speech flow will improve exponentially. 

4. Listen to the Paced Reading.  Listen to your paced reading over and over again.  Know what is being said the first time the sentence is read.  I just listened to the paced reading at least 5 or 6 times per lesson.  This will really make a difference with your pronunciation and will help you recognize questions when you hear them.  I remember what it was like to sail along in the paced reading until I heard a question and I had to rewind over and over again to figure it out.

5. DO NOT assume every native speaker out there can answer your questions.  I made this mistake many times until I learned my lesson.  We've all heard our fellow native English speakers hack up the English language.  You just might be asking a grammar question of the Spanish speaking equivalent of "can't never done nuthin".  Ask your tutor those questions or post your questions here on the student forum.

6. Take the Certification Exams. At least in my case, unless there is a test someday, I'm not going to study that hard.  If I had never taken a test, I wouldn't be near where I am now.   Tests make you study harder and they hold you accountable.  Don't sweat the tests.  If you've done your lessons and know the material, you'll pass the tests.

That is all I can think of at the moment.  Good luck.  Stick with the program and you'll get there.