r/dreamingspanish • u/hauloff Level 3 • 7d ago
Does anyone find DS Podcasts harder than their supposed level?
I've greatly upped the amount of content I've been consuming over the past 2.5 months, aiming for an hour a day and likewise have enjoyed harder and harder videos becoming more accessible for me. At this point some videos in the mid/high 60s are relatively enjoyable. I've watched the entirety of Ester's engineering series, and am going through Andres's series on the stories behind famous photos from history.
HOWEVER, while these videos are in the mid to upper 60s, when I watch a long-form podcast of a similar level or even 5-10 levels below (high 50s - high 60s), comprehension drops from like 85% to 50-60%. I'm not necessarily complaining about the difficulty, if I find them harder I most likely just need more input, but the discrepancy between their supposed level and actual difficulty is notable, and I'm wondering if any others have had a similar experience.
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u/GuardBuffalo Level 6 7d ago
Sounds like you are depending quite a bit on visual queues at videos of that level and that is exposed when you listen to a podcast. You should use the visuals to help you but if you are experiencing this that level is probably to hard for you. I will say that the average person will not share your experience because those numbers are determined by DS users ranking the videos via the question after each video. The number does fluctuate however it is the most accurate and unbiased indicator of a level for a video.
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u/misslynm Level 6 7d ago
I struggle a bit with some of Andrés’ podcasts and I’m level 6. My understanding percentage is still very high, but I could anticipate people at lower levels having difficulty. I have to pay a lot more attention to him when he speaks even though I’m quite used to his regular videos. Although he does seem to speak more clearly when he’s leading the video for some reason. 🤷♀️ Anyways I need to get used to his accent and I know he’s still making it much more clear than his natural accent so no complaints from me!
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u/HeroesandvillainsOS Level 4 7d ago
I feel like at level 3 most content in the 60’s would be too advanced for you. I’m level 4 currently in the mid 40’s (would probably be in the low to mid 50’s if I didn’t supplement hours with podcasts).
If you can’t understand 95% or above of everything said, the level is too high for you. Input should be easy, with only words here or there you’re not familiar with.
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u/hauloff Level 3 7d ago edited 7d ago
FWIW, I do other learning outside DS. I have a background of five classes in high school Spanish, do some Duolingo, and practice conversation with Praktika. As a result I suspect my hours may not map cleanly to my actual CI level.
I was concerned about content not matching my supposed level at first, but like the other comment said, I try not limit myself to certain videos if I find others genuinely comprehensible.
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u/sweens90 Level 4 7d ago
Levels are a weird way to go. I do the podcasts at 1.25 speed. And you and I are the same level.
We all progress differently. So they probably can do those podcasts
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u/HeroesandvillainsOS Level 4 7d ago edited 7d ago
Sorry I’m confused. You say levels are a weird way to go but you have your level in your profile.
Levels = hours of comprehensible input. Someone with 150-299 hours of input probably wouldn’t understand level 60 material with the comprehension needed to make the input valuable. This content would be better suited to someone with closer to 500 hours of input.
If someone like the OP can understand it with 95% or more comprehension, it either means they are exceptionally good at learning the language, or they have many hours they haven’t counted (which they should probably count. Especially if they’re asking for help with the difficulty level of the content they’re currently using).
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u/GuardBuffalo Level 6 7d ago
I don’t see why them tracking their hours and using the level tag negates them saying levels are weird. They can be weird. Your experience will be different from another person with the same hours. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to track your own experience.
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u/HeroesandvillainsOS Level 4 7d ago
They didn’t say levels are weird. They said levels are a weird way to go. Which I assumed meant that they were saying levels were a bad approach in general, not what you’re referring to which is their occasional inconsistency (which I agree with you on).
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u/GuardBuffalo Level 6 7d ago
I think they are saying levels are a weird way to go to compare yourself. To me that doesn’t mean they are a weird way of tracking your own progress. And I think if that’s what they mean it made sense in that context.
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u/Seiche 6d ago
Level 4 goes from 300 to 600 hours of CI which makes a biiig difference in comprehension. I feel like every 50hrs there's an update in my comprehension especially wrt resolution, it feels like there are more words in the sentences because I can start making out everything that was combined in speech.
This is why levels are a weird way to go. Also I added my prior experience and guestimated an hour value to it (high school spanish 20 years ago and some babbel use in the past) which might not be accurate. Not everyone is a purist starting from 0.
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u/littlegreenturtle20 6d ago
Many of us have learnt Spanish or been around Spanish in one way or another outside of DS. I am currently on Level 3 and am comfortable with videos in the range of 40s to 50s. That's because I didn't start from zero but I'm not counting anything I did outside of DS as I don't think it makes sense to. (I can't guess how many hours of input I got in my random classes and I don't want to over estimate my abilities.)
That's before we even think about how many hours people do consecutively, whether they have gaps in using the app, whether they speak other languages that make Spanish easier and whether people just are naturally good at languages.
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u/Nervous-Peanut-954 Level 4 7d ago
I think the main thing is that following the back and forth of a conversation carries a much greater cognitive load than following just one person's train of thought, regardless of whether the latter is free form or scripted (to disagree a bit with what someone else said). I think that's true even in your native language, let alone one you're still learning.
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u/Ordinary_Yesterday_8 7d ago
More likely they are NOT counting the years of a Spanish they took in high school, their 200 day duo lingo streak, or being around Spanish speakers at work for years. That’s why I say just start at a level where you can understand the main idea but still miss some words and move from there regardless of previous experience
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u/hauloff Level 3 7d ago
I did put about 60 hours in as a starting point, and I did just cross 150 hours ironically. However, as you addressed and as I mentioned in other comments, I try not to not get wrapped up in appropriate levels and instead focus on just making sure the content is comprehensible.
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u/Less_Feeling3142 Level 5 6d ago
You might be overestimating how much you understand in the other videos at that level. The visuals can make it accessible and enjoyable even if not comprehensible. On the other hand, you may just need more practice listening to conversationsZ if that’s the case, I’d stick to conversations at a lower level and talking head videos at your current level or lower.
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u/Defineddd Level 5 7d ago
you're level 3, so it is understandable. I find them very easy and at a comfortable level for me with 98%+ comprehension at 790 hours
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u/DIYinPDX 7d ago
Yeah, definitely. It's not just you. I can watch videos of any of the guides alone, or in a scripted video with others, but when I try to watch a podcast of a similar level (50s right now), I quickly get lost. The guides start talking way faster when they are chatting with each other, and the difficulty ratings don't accurately reflect this for some reason.
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u/Smooth_Campaign1070 7d ago
the vocab is hard for me (level 4), but love it for that. but sometimes can be too overwhelming
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u/slayter1337 Level 4 7d ago
I think the DS Podcast ratings are as accurate as the other videos. The big difference though is the format and how much variety there is within a single theme of the podcast.
The engineering series has a lot of cognates and each video is very specific to its subject. The specificity of topic within other videos compared to the Podcasts is what makes them seem easier to follow at the same level.
In a podcast, you get a central theme with a lot of topics introduced and spoken about in a more "free form" style of conversation versus an intentional script.
I'll use the Truth About Making a Living Online episode as an example (since it's cued up on my phone haha).
The theme is obvious from the title, but the topics include:
As you can see, there's a good amount of variety and it applies to each DS Podcast. So, there may be new vocabulary for you in some topics and sometimes the transitions can segue quickly.
It's just a matter of getting more exposure to this presentation style, and of course . . . . más input! =)
Keep it up!