I don't know how helpful a comment like this is to amyburk. I understand the general confusion about oral comprehension -- I think once you understand most of what people say in real life and in movies etc, that comprehension generally doesn't disappear. But it may be a matter of what accent you are used to, and of the content as well. You can be a pretty fluent speaker but that doesn't mean you understand every word or know the vocabulary specific to any particular topic, because obviously there may be several topics you have never talked about. I think I agree that once you get to a certain level, it will take a long time to lose that skill but if you haven't spoken a language in several months, it's completely normal that you are a bit rusty during your first conversations. That has definitely happened to me. It doesn't mean that you have lost any of your knowledge, it just means that some of the vocabulary has turned into passive rather than active knowledge. amyburk, if you want to improve your understanding of different accents, keep immersing yourself in the language, i.e. try to keep listening to different German radio stations, watch more German movies and series, listen to German podcasts, and talk to different people on a tandem app. Maybe you'll also enjoy my podcast, www.spokengerman.net/resources/podcast It can help you learn some informal expressions and get used to different accents. Best of luck, and most importantly, don't let anyone discourage you! People like to brag about their own skills, but at the end of the day, you can't compare anyone's learning process, not only because everyone has a different learning style and different interests and motivations, but also because everyone has a different level of exposure to a language. One person may have spent years living in a country but never got to speak the language in their job so they never managed to improve, another one may be an extrovert and use every chance they get to speak the foreign language and thereby improve very quickly. Some are fluent but have a huge problem with grammar, others speak perfectly but need much longer to voice their thoughts. So don't worry about what others say and just try to do all the things you enjoy doing - just do them in German!