I would recommend listening to podcasts. You might not fully understand it now, but the more you listen, the easier it will become to recognize words as you learn them. A good place is http://www.npr.org/podcasts/ because there are several podcasts with different topics so it could help expand your vocabulary as well.

Thanks

I have a similar problem with Japanese. I have been learning for three months and daily conversation for the most part is too difficult because my vocabulary is too small (or I forget words). One thing I am trying is learning a sentence structure then using many word groups in it. For example: I went to _____ where there were _____ _____. "I went to the Police Station where there were sergeants and constables." "I went to school where there were teacher students." "I went to Vagas where there were hungry gamblers."

memrise.com Check this website for learning long term words.