Keep up the great work with your Spanish!🙂 In my opinion and experience, practice and consistency with your practice are key to learning over time. Ability to speak, read, write & comprehend a language is a skill and the only way to increase skill is through practice. There's no way around it. Also, it's a process, not a product. And don't forget to enjoy the process as you explore the Spanish speaking world. There's so much to explore. A saying (dicho) that I heard a lot growing up but don't seem to hear much these days is . This is probably closest to "Where there's a will, there's a way". You can do it!
Congrats on the number of hours. I saw somebody comment that you should be speaking more Spanish, they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m sure you’re taking a little by little and that’s good. Go at your own pace. I like how patient you’re being with yourself, how you keep going, and how you’re celebrating your milestones. That’s how you keep going, with that kind of positive reinforcement and acknowledging what you have accomplished, no matter how little. It all adds up to a lot.
Thank you for your kind words. Since I acquired my mother tongue this way, I know I will eventually acquire Spanish this way. I am in this for the long haul.
Thank you for sharing your spanish learning journey. By far you seem to have the most honest spanish learning experience with dreaming spanish and or comprehensible input than anyone ive seen. Im almost at 300 hours. I understand a lot more than i did before but of course speaking is not there just yet. Also i listen to chill spanish podcast its nice and easy to listen to. Ok thanks and good luck. Im in it for the long haul too. So im reminding myselfvto be patient. Also when i look back im able to see the progress ive made that also keeps me motivated and just knowing thatvi will become fluent one day.❤❤
As Maria of Maria and Cody of Colombia has said: "Sin pausa, pero sin prisa" is the best approach. Keep it up, and it will pay off. I am at about 800 hours of listening, and about 70 percent done with Duolingo, and I started reading my first books at 750 hours of verbal input, a few weeks ago. I have started reading the Hardy Boys series, the few that are available in Spanish, and the old cartoon series Tintin, in Spanish. Good work, Tiny NH House! Keep updating us.
Hi Dave, honestly, with your listening hours you should start practicing speaking. I'll tell you though, it is difficult. You will fumble around trying to think what to say and you'll make a lot of mistakes, but I promise you, you will make progress quite fast. I started speaking when I got to 1,000 hours and it was difficult. I have around 26 hours of speaking at the moment and it's shocked me how much progress I have made. It's true what Pablo says, there needs to be a lot of listening hours to build the comprehension and acquire the language but the speaking hours to reach a good / high level are a hell of a lot less. I use chatgpt for conversations and it's pretty good. It's not the same as a real person but it's quite near. I use the Spanish Spain voice. It's clear and speaks at a good speed. Give it a try Dave.
I like hearing about your experience and progress. Due to you and others who have posted their experience using DS I decided to start using their site about 2 months ago and upgraded to premium last week. I’d been learning Spanish for about 18 months and knew that my biggest weakness was understanding what the Spanish people were saying( I’ve lived in Spain for 2 years) so this method is ideal as it gives me lots of exposure/ immersion in the language. If anyone thinks that just because you live in a Spanish speaking country you must get lots of immersion this is not always the case, even though I have Spanish friends they have busy lives, they speak patiently to me when they can but it simply isn’t enough.. Today I’ve completed 300 hours and I can tell the difference since I’ve used DS, my comprehension with natives has improved as long as they adjust their speed for me, the majority do when I ask them politely in Spanish. Thanks Dave for recommending DS and being brave enough to post your progress, well done and keep going.
Thank you for the kind words. I think the greatest thing about Dreaming Spanish is the comprehension when people are speaking. A person can "learn" Spanish much quicker with traditional book learning methods but they won't be able to understand a Spanish native. I like the idea of acquiring a language like a child does.
I totally agree and the Spanish people whose children are learning English describe their method of learning as “ natural” i.e. the majority are taught using a form of comprehensible input.
@@seabreeze4339 Keep going and it will get easier and easier. Before you know it, you'll listen to your friends speaking to you in Spanish and think WOW!! I understand them. This will 100% happen. Just keep getting your hours in and you'll progress for sure.
I am reading now “Fantasmas del Pasado”, I also have “Historias del Año”. I considered “Año nuevo, vida nueva” for purchasing, but I saw a video about it. I think this book is boring, but I may be mistaken. I am also reading “101 conversations in intermediate Spanish “ by Olly Richards. It’s a good one, I like it.
I am curious if you are still doing cross talk? My recommendation at this stage would be to bring some variation into the learning process. Instead of just watching videos, you could switch to listening more podcasts while walking or exercising for instance. Also learning specific things in Spanish like playing an instrument or cooking can help to make more connections with the language. In both cases you could do this probably with a tutor telling them that for the time being you'd prefer to speak in English while receiving the lessons in Spanish.
Yes, I am still doing CrossTalk. It is a great tool. I listen to Spanish podcasts whenever I am driving my car, walking and exercising on my rowing machine! Great idea on playing an instrument. I am learning to play the ukulele. I need to look for some ukulele lessons in Spanish. Thanks!
I may have missed it, but have you gotten in any conversation in Spanish yet? It feels like by 1300 hours you shouldn't have to worry about breaking anything by at least putting in 30-60 minutes chatting with a conversation tutor on Italki (not affiliated, just where I go for conversation practice). And since you're a well-educated guy, you could pick up a lot of familiar words & expressions from a TH-cam channel like Curiosamente. I forget if that one's come up before, but I've found it a great source of native-speed Spanish with enough familiar words and context clues to get a lot of value.
Thank you so much for telling me about Curiosamente. I did not know about that channel. I just watched several of their videos; they are great! I am doing CrossTalk with a guy in Madrid. Sometimes we will talk in our target languages.
How much and how well can you speak? I have a big problem with just comprehensible input alone. Understanding Spanish is good with this method, no problem- but, when do you speak? This method alone will not help you speak. You must practice speaking early in Spanish journey and you must practice with a Spanish tutor twice a week minimum for 1 hr per session, 30 mins session for 1st 2 or 3 months is ok if real beginner and can't say a thing. I advise two hrs speaking and listening actively, nothing better to get you speaking the language fast. After one year that is 104 hrs of speaking practice. And, most people will have passed into low intermediate at this point or high beginner which is great, combined with comprehensible input the rest of the week for 2-3 hrs per day minimum. If have less time, then OK, just will take a little longer, but progress will be fast. Into the second year and after the second year with this method the student will be flying well with Spanish. Overcome the Barrier or Italki is good- no affiliation. Prices are reasonable. And, another gripe- yes, you must attack the basic grammar and tenses early, very basic: like plurals, and past, present and future tense, as this is the basics of how to tell a story. Teachers saying to not do grammar is BS. Again, just the basics of the structure and function of the language.Yes, do not only do grammar, I agree with this-but you need to know which tense you are trying to speak in, and yes many mistakes will occur for that 1st year, but with practice after that 1st year you will have your speaking down very nice and be able to tell a story about your day and things that happened. Now, that is learning and speaking a language. If anyone is interested, I can tell you what I think the best way to tackle this and my tips are from teachers and polyglots that I put together. If you want to learn fast how to speak and understand, if not, then just enjoy what your are doing. I had to learn fast for my job, so that is why I have this perspective. If just want to chill and learn for yourself then do that. I chill and learn Italian as a hobby, nothing serious. I get the Italian word of the day into my email with a few practice sentences that I can listen to a native speaker then I practice saying the sentence and try to copy the exact way they say it. It is a lot of fun One day, I hope to get more serious and will follow the plan above I laid out above, and if I don't, well that is OK too. But, I understand some basic italian now and that is fun and cool. Oh, one last thing, sign up for SpanishDict the paid version, its cheap. Great Spanish online dictionary for computer and phone, Can listen to native speaker pronounce words, and can listen to sentences with written in Spanish and English below.
I have not started speaking yet. I am following the OG Immersion method at Dreaming Spanish. I suggest you read this overview of the method for a better understanding. www.dreamingspanish.com/method For more information on why is better to wait before speaking in order to form a native like mental image, you can read this blog post. www.dreamingspanish.com/blog/how-to-play-a-foreign-language
The more Spanish I learned, I realized that I was forming sentences based on English thinking, not Spanish. So I stopped speaking Spanish in my videos, until I am able to form more natural sounding sentences.
Yes, I'm familiar with comprehensible input. I've done 500 hours so far and passed the DELE B2 and I started to speak from day one. I don't know why you are waiting @@tinynhhouse5467
The waiting is recommended for acquiring a good Spanish pronunciation with a good accent. You don't have to wait that long it depends. He spoke English in the video to update the other English people that are doing DS. You don't know what you're saying. Why don't you do a video after your 500 hours speaking in Spanish? You passed the DELE just buy listening? Ok then.
Keep up the great work with your Spanish!🙂 In my opinion and experience, practice and consistency with your practice are key to learning over time. Ability to speak, read, write & comprehend a language is a skill and the only way to increase skill is through practice. There's no way around it. Also, it's a process, not a product. And don't forget to enjoy the process as you explore the Spanish speaking world. There's so much to explore. A saying (dicho) that I heard a lot growing up but don't seem to hear much these days is . This is probably closest to "Where there's a will, there's a way". You can do it!
Keep it up, regardless of making 1500 hours. As someone who knows foreigners learning English, they are still learning way after 1500 hours.
Congrats on the number of hours. I saw somebody comment that you should be speaking more Spanish, they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m sure you’re taking a little by little and that’s good. Go at your own pace. I like how patient you’re being with yourself, how you keep going, and how you’re celebrating your milestones. That’s how you keep going, with that kind of positive reinforcement and acknowledging what you have accomplished, no matter how little. It all adds up to a lot.
Thank you for your kind words. Since I acquired my mother tongue this way, I know I will eventually acquire Spanish this way. I am in this for the long haul.
I love to see your consistency, its really great
Amazing work Dave! I'm really enjoying following your process!
Thank you for sharing your spanish learning journey. By far you seem to have the most honest spanish learning experience with dreaming spanish and or comprehensible input than anyone ive seen. Im almost at 300 hours. I understand a lot more than i did before but of course speaking is not there just yet. Also i listen to chill spanish podcast its nice and easy to listen to. Ok thanks and good luck. Im in it for the long haul too. So im reminding myselfvto be patient. Also when i look back im able to see the progress ive made that also keeps me motivated and just knowing thatvi will become fluent one day.❤❤
As Maria of Maria and Cody of Colombia has said: "Sin pausa, pero sin prisa" is the best approach. Keep it up, and it will pay off. I am at about 800 hours of listening, and about 70 percent done with Duolingo, and I started reading my first books at 750 hours of verbal input, a few weeks ago. I have started reading the Hardy Boys series, the few that are available in Spanish, and the old cartoon series Tintin, in Spanish. Good work, Tiny NH House! Keep updating us.
Hi Dave, honestly, with your listening hours you should start practicing speaking. I'll tell you though, it is difficult. You will fumble around trying to think what to say and you'll make a lot of mistakes, but I promise you, you will make progress quite fast.
I started speaking when I got to 1,000 hours and it was difficult. I have around 26 hours of speaking at the moment and it's shocked me how much progress I have made. It's true what Pablo says, there needs to be a lot of listening hours to build the comprehension and acquire the language but the speaking hours to reach a good / high level are a hell of a lot less.
I use chatgpt for conversations and it's pretty good. It's not the same as a real person but it's quite near. I use the Spanish Spain voice. It's clear and speaks at a good speed. Give it a try Dave.
I like Spanish Hacks videos. Im at 645 hours myself and theyre beyond me a bit but the content is very interesting. Congrats on the 1300.
Keep on keeping on! I like those channels too! There are so many. I have subscribed too so many it’s crazy. Well, see you at 1400 hours!!❤
I like hearing about your experience and progress. Due to you and others who have posted their experience using DS I decided to start using their site about 2 months ago and upgraded to premium last week. I’d been learning Spanish for about 18 months and knew that my biggest weakness was understanding what the Spanish people were saying( I’ve lived in Spain for 2 years) so this method is ideal as it gives me lots of exposure/ immersion in the language. If anyone thinks that just because you live in a Spanish speaking country you must get lots of immersion this is not always the case, even though I have Spanish friends they have busy lives, they speak patiently to me when they can but it simply isn’t enough.. Today I’ve completed 300 hours and I can tell the difference since I’ve used DS, my comprehension with natives has improved as long as they adjust their speed for me, the majority do when I ask them politely in Spanish. Thanks Dave for recommending DS and being brave enough to post your progress, well done and keep going.
Thank you for the kind words. I think the greatest thing about Dreaming Spanish is the comprehension when people are speaking. A person can "learn" Spanish much quicker with traditional book learning methods but they won't be able to understand a Spanish native. I like the idea of acquiring a language like a child does.
I totally agree and the Spanish people whose children are learning English describe their method of learning as “ natural” i.e. the majority are taught using a form of comprehensible input.
@@seabreeze4339 Keep going and it will get easier and easier. Before you know it, you'll listen to your friends speaking to you in Spanish and think WOW!! I understand them. This will 100% happen. Just keep getting your hours in and you'll progress for sure.
I am reading now “Fantasmas del Pasado”, I also have “Historias del Año”. I considered “Año nuevo, vida nueva” for purchasing, but I saw a video about it. I think this book is boring, but I may be mistaken.
I am also reading “101 conversations in intermediate Spanish “ by Olly Richards. It’s a good one, I like it.
Una hora y veinte al día está bien, gracias por la actualización, suerte.
I'm 1200 hours in. I think it's going to take me about 2000 hours to become conversational. I can feel it coming, but it's just slow for me.
Thanks, I feel the same. It is slow for me too but I keep seeing progress. We got this!
Well done!! 👍👍👍
Very valuable info. Thank you for sharing
Great Video...new subscriber
keep it up
I am curious if you are still doing cross talk?
My recommendation at this stage would be to bring some variation into the learning process. Instead of just watching videos, you could switch to listening more podcasts while walking or exercising for instance. Also learning specific things in Spanish like playing an instrument or cooking can help to make more connections with the language. In both cases you could do this probably with a tutor telling them that for the time being you'd prefer to speak in English while receiving the lessons in Spanish.
Yes, I am still doing CrossTalk. It is a great tool. I listen to Spanish podcasts whenever I am driving my car, walking and exercising on my rowing machine! Great idea on playing an instrument. I am learning to play the ukulele. I need to look for some ukulele lessons in Spanish. Thanks!
10,000 hours is the magic number
If you do 3 hours a day it would take 9 years to reach 10,000 hours. Fk that
@@badboybootz8 100000 hours is a well known figure to become expert at anything . Ge it a language , a musical instrument , gymnastics etc
Thats 10x longer than it should take. Done correctly, most people could reach a B2 level in Spanish in around 1000 hours.
@@jane-fw4nh irs an abritary number that some one made up.
I may have missed it, but have you gotten in any conversation in Spanish yet? It feels like by 1300 hours you shouldn't have to worry about breaking anything by at least putting in 30-60 minutes chatting with a conversation tutor on Italki (not affiliated, just where I go for conversation practice).
And since you're a well-educated guy, you could pick up a lot of familiar words & expressions from a TH-cam channel like Curiosamente. I forget if that one's come up before, but I've found it a great source of native-speed Spanish with enough familiar words and context clues to get a lot of value.
Thank you so much for telling me about Curiosamente. I did not know about that channel. I just watched several of their videos; they are great!
I am doing CrossTalk with a guy in Madrid. Sometimes we will talk in our target languages.
Hey Dave do you have a rumble channel?
I made an account on Rumble recently but I have not posted any videos yet.
How much and how well can you speak? I have a big problem with just comprehensible input alone. Understanding Spanish is good with this method, no problem- but, when do you speak? This method alone will not help you speak. You must practice speaking early in Spanish journey and you must practice with a Spanish tutor twice a week minimum for 1 hr per session, 30 mins session for 1st 2 or 3 months is ok if real beginner and can't say a thing. I advise two hrs speaking and listening actively, nothing better to get you speaking the language fast. After one year that is 104 hrs of speaking practice. And, most people will have passed into low intermediate at this point or high beginner which is great, combined with comprehensible input the rest of the week for 2-3 hrs per day minimum. If have less time, then OK, just will take a little longer, but progress will be fast. Into the second year and after the second year with this method the student will be flying well with Spanish. Overcome the Barrier or Italki is good- no affiliation. Prices are reasonable. And, another gripe- yes, you must attack the basic grammar and tenses early, very basic: like plurals, and past, present and future tense, as this is the basics of how to tell a story. Teachers saying to not do grammar is BS. Again, just the basics of the structure and function of the language.Yes, do not only do grammar, I agree with this-but you need to know which tense you are trying to speak in, and yes many mistakes will occur for that 1st year, but with practice after that 1st year you will have your speaking down very nice and be able to tell a story about your day and things that happened. Now, that is learning and speaking a language. If anyone is interested, I can tell you what I think the best way to tackle this and my tips are from teachers and polyglots that I put together. If you want to learn fast how to speak and understand, if not, then just enjoy what your are doing. I had to learn fast for my job, so that is why I have this perspective. If just want to chill and learn for yourself then do that. I chill and learn Italian as a hobby, nothing serious. I get the Italian word of the day into my email with a few practice sentences that I can listen to a native speaker then I practice saying the sentence and try to copy the exact way they say it. It is a lot of fun One day, I hope to get more serious and will follow the plan above I laid out above, and if I don't, well that is OK too. But, I understand some basic italian now and that is fun and cool. Oh, one last thing, sign up for SpanishDict the paid version, its cheap. Great Spanish online dictionary for computer and phone, Can listen to native speaker pronounce words, and can listen to sentences with written in Spanish and English below.
I have not started speaking yet.
I am following the OG Immersion method at Dreaming Spanish. I suggest you read this overview of the method for a better understanding.
www.dreamingspanish.com/method
For more information on why is better to wait before speaking in order to form a native like mental image, you can read this blog post.
www.dreamingspanish.com/blog/how-to-play-a-foreign-language
In the first videos you speak much more Spanish than now, why?
The more Spanish I learned, I realized that I was forming sentences based on English thinking, not Spanish. So I stopped speaking Spanish in my videos, until I am able to form more natural sounding sentences.
At 1300 hours entire video should be in Spanish. I know what I'm saying.
Are you familiar with comprehensible input? If you were, you would not be commenting like that. I doubt that you know what you are saying.
All I wanted to say is that just start speaking don't wait until 1500 or 2000 hours it's pointless. Just speak@@tinynhhouse5467
And why should we give af about ur thoughts? Just stfu bro.
Yes, I'm familiar with comprehensible input. I've done 500 hours so far and passed the DELE B2 and I started to speak from day one. I don't know why you are waiting @@tinynhhouse5467
The waiting is recommended for acquiring a good Spanish pronunciation with a good accent. You don't have to wait that long it depends.
He spoke English in the video to update the other English people that are doing DS.
You don't know what you're saying. Why don't you do a video after your 500 hours speaking in Spanish? You passed the DELE just buy listening? Ok then.