1.5Yrs./Approx. 2,000Hrs. Of Spanish Learning Utilizing Comprehensible Input (With Speaking Sample)

Click Here For Speaking Sample

https://youtu.be/Hfv2m-fyoNQ?si=7XvUbhGjKv4FbNZn

My Experience (And Speaking Sample)

Disclaimer: I want to preface this by noting that although I extensively used the Dreaming Spanish platform as my primary tool to get off the ground and advance from zero, I am not a 100% Dreaming Spanish purist. That said, I cannot thank the Dreaming Spanish team enough for all that they have done to create this experience, which allows such organic language acquisition. I will also likely miss many details of my experience since I am keeping this as brief as I can while still trying to provide a comprehensive overview. Attached above, is a speaking sample that I included. Please understand that I do not claim to be completely fluent, and I will make some mistakes. The reason I decided to publish this post and video is because of the inspiring posts that I saw at the beginning of my experience which convinced me of the method’s validity.

I took two years of Spanish in middle school. During this period, I was unmotivated and simply took the course as a requirement. I only count this as minimal experience due to the fact that it was over eight years ago. Despite this, I found that prior exposure helpful in understanding conjugations and verb tenses during the beginner levels, as well as providing some basic vocabulary as a foundation. I also took two required classes during my Dreaming Spanish experience (which I will discuss more). This will be written in a semi-structured format, essentially as a stream-of-consciousness. I already write enough for school, so if I make grammatical errors or it seems messy, please forgive me. I don’t have the energy to perfect every little detail, lol.

0-100 Hours:

During this phase, I focused on getting in 15-30 minutes of super beginner practice per day. I found this level pretty easy due to the visual cues and the limited experience I carried from middle school. Although I often experienced significant difficulty in this formative stage, I continued to listen and watch every day (some more than others). Beginner's fatigue is very real at this stage. Subjecting your mind to a new language is a serious workout, which is why I found myself getting burnt out pretty quickly. Another reason burnouts are common during this stage is due to a lack of interesting content (though Dreaming Spanish does an excellent job of combating this). Guides like Andrea, Augustina, and Pablo kept me engaged.

Upon reaching around 30 or 40 hours, I began watching easy videos, which was a pretty seamless transition, especially since many difficulty ratings overlap between levels. I also began taking a required Spanish class at my university around the 75-hour mark. This class was geared towards complete beginners, and I can report that my Dreaming Spanish experience gave me an immense edge, even with a low hour count. This is one reason I don’t consider myself a complete purist.

100-200 Hours:

Around 100 hours, I was able to understand low-rated intermediate videos. These became very interesting due to their greater topic intricacy. At this point, I also began listening to a "Chill Spanish Listening Podcast." I highly recommend transitioning to non-visual input early on. This was a game-changer, as it allowed me to incorporate Spanish listening into my commutes. Another helpful non-visual aspect was listening to music. I enjoyed hearing familiar words and gradually piecing together lyrics. I also searched for English translations to fill in gaps in my understanding. This isn’t exactly DS-method friendly, but I’m a curious person and didn't want to leave too many gaps in my knowledge. I frequently looked up words that were bugging me. If you plan on using a translator app, I highly recommend DeepL. Google Translate is a piece of M****a.

During my climb towards the "advanced" level, my Spanish class helped solidify what I’d picked up. Honestly, I don't think taking this class hindered my progress or ingrained any bad habits. Around 200 hours, I moved up into a new Spanish class (the next semester), which continued to bolster my understanding with more advanced content. This semester, I had an amazing teacher who encouraged extensive speaking. This approach doesn’t align perfectly with the DS roadmap but helped me nonetheless. I also learned various complete songs and practiced singing them in my car, which helped with pronunciation and colloquial language. Around this time, I focused more on my regional dialect of choice—Mexican Spanish. I chose this dialect because my favorite guides were from Mexico, I found the culture fascinating, and my teacher this semester was also from Mexico.

200-400 Hours:

Around the 250-hour mark, I began transitioning into advanced and outside content. I found many advanced videos interesting but also rewarded myself with YouTube and Netflix. My favorite YouTube channels included Luisito Comunica, Araya Vlogs, and Planeta Juan. My favorite shows were Club de Cuervos and Narcos Mexico. Due to the fast pace and native content, I used subtitles for these (unlike on Dreaming Spanish). I also changed my social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube) to Spanish. This helped me see Spanish words daily and gain easy input. I officially stopped logging hours at the 400 mark due to the inconvenience of adding outside input.

Overview:

Everyone has their own distinct experience and learning styles, which is why I encourage you to figure out what works best for you within the Dreaming Spanish framework. I have great respect for the guides and founders of this platform and believe it’s the best way to begin (and continue) learning a language. I advanced quickly due to my limited prior Spanish experience and supplementary university learning. I also believe I have a knack for language acquisition and grammar, which I discovered through this process. My teachers greatly contributed to my progress, and I believe my learning would have been slower without that experience.

Currently, I estimate my total hours to be somewhere between 1,750-2,200. I apologize for not having an exact number, but this is my best guess. This entire experience has spanned about 1 year and 7 months, with about 9 months of using Dreaming Spanish. The later exponential increase in hours is because I incorporated Spanish into my daily life—movies, shows, social media, podcasts, video games, etc. Recently, I’ve spent 3-5 hours per day consuming Spanish content and feel confident in my comprehension. Some slang-heavy content outside of Mexico can be tricky, but overall, I’m comfortable with the language. I also actively participate in LATAM voice chat servers in video games and use Spanish semi-frequently at work with customers. Although I wish I had more speaking experience, I take every opportunity to practice—even having conversations with myself for extra practice.

Goals:

I plan to continue using Spanish every day, as it's become a seamless and pleasurable part of my life. I enjoy reading the news, learning about different cultures, expanding my global understanding, and engaging with alternative viewpoints. Many US Americans lack this kind of critical thinking, and learning another language unlocks new cognitive and empathic abilities. My goal is to continue growing through language learning and applying it during trips, interactions, professional life, and more. I look forward to further honing my abilities, which is something virtually assured at this point (and for anyone that has put in their time with Dreaming Spanish) Feel free to leave inquiries or comments below. 

Thanks,

Dylan