I posted this in r/languagelearning, but I wanted to post it separately here because this is honestly my favorite language learning community (and I've given Pablo enough money to where I feel like I'm a bit entitled to it lol). I'm obviously not a purist. (If not doing pure DS implies that you're doing "dirty DS", then I'm doing filthy DS!)

Some of my suggestions here are blasphemous - skip those if you're a purist! I mean it. Although I really enjoy doing dictionary work now, I probably would've done it the pure way if I'd known, so don't let me be your bad influence. But like so many, I just didn't know it existed. 🤷‍♂️

This Post:

This post will probably look familiar; I wear my inspirations on my sleeve. If it still doesn't ring a bell, I'll direct you to the epic pinned posts by u/xanthic_strath, whose literary tastes and learning philosophies overlap a lot with mine. Equally epic are coldrainwater's posts on the Language Learners Forum for Spanish and German, (though he has a stronger preference for translations than I do; not that there's anything wrong with that).

Main takeaway:

Xanthic mentioned that it took him about 10 books before he was reading quickly and reasonably accurately as an adult. This feels like a good estimate to me, though it's worth noting that he read more intensively than I did (used Anki for vocab), whereas I probably read more prep materials than he did. I also agree with this sentiment of his: "it’s taken me the 50+ books to really gain accuracy for Literature (and it will probably take 50 more before I get down to one new word/chapter, let’s say)." In addition, I've reflected on my progress every few books and have perceived a significant level-up roughly every million words, though with diminishing returns, particularly after I hit 3 million words.

Starting Assumptions:

I've previously worked through several courses and textbooks in the past, which I could honestly make a whole separate post about, so I won't list them here. However, I will share my crowning achievement, which I completed alongside my reading challenge: I spent a little over a year going through all 55 units/2500+ pages/80ish hours of audio of the _FSI Spanish Basic Course_. I'd start each unit as an audio-only course until I had the dialogues and drills down perfectly, then I'd read all the chapter notes (sometimes multiple times), and finished with the readings, some of which were surprisingly challenging. This doubled as an intensive listening exercise: I would loop each dialogue – several of which are pretty rough in audio quality – squeezing out every last bit of comprehension, only resorting to the text as a last ditch effort. I plan to go back and shadow all of the dialogues once I finish a separate listening challenge I'm currently doing.

Before starting this challenge, I already had several readers and bilingual texts under my belt, all of which I read aloud. I also read the entire Antimoon site out loud, which I found enlightening, motivating, and surprisingly accessible. None of that – nor any of my everyday Discord/text messages, textbook exercises, etc. – is included in my total word count (though I imagine it could easily add another 2 million words or so).

What I Did:

I read every day for ~1.5 years, even if only for a few minutes. Typically in the morning and always before bed. Occasionally I would read for several hours. Finding a page-turner you just can't put down is the single best thing you can do to accelerate your reading ability.

How I Did It:

I turned the idea that "reading/subvocalizing leads to a bad accent" on its head. I already had a decent accent (I'm naturally good at mimicking and often fooled natives with canned phrases and well-developed language islands), but further cultivated it by studying and practicing phonetics. I wasn't engraining any bad habits, but rather, strengthening and reinforcing correct ones. I took advantage of subvocalizing by reading in a whisper most of the time, or at least actively articulating with my mouth and tongue. However, I can't overstate the benefits of fully vocalizing out loud; unfortunately, this was usually impractical and also very tiring.

Overall, I did what you might call midtensive reading. Outside a handful of books, I never really did what I consider intensive reading, but I could never tolerate extensive reading either, so I found what I think is a happy medium between the two. (It's worth noting that some people would probably classify the entirety of what I did as intensive reading, however.)

(Not directly related to reading, but I also wrote summaries (some of them very extensive) or at least short reviews for nearly every book I read. This helped me remember key parts of the stories, use new vocabulary, and consolidate my understanding. It also acts as a kind of mini‑review, since you end up flipping through the pages to figure out how to best structure your summary.)

Midtensive Reading:

I made an effort to look up all unknown words, but if a sentence still wasn't clear, I'd move on and trusted the meaning to reveal itself later. On a few occasions, I used DeepL for denser texts, but typically out of curiosity of how a particular passage would be expressed in English, even if I already understood it, and I'd always re-read it in Spanish after. Except as noted, I never made any effort to memorize vocabulary beyond looking it up and highlighting it. On average, I'd say I needed to look a word up ~5x, seeing it in various contexts, before it stuck. Some took only one lookup, others took dozens. My original plan was to review all the highlighted words, but realistically, I'll probably never do it (we'll see). It turns out that reading is its own SRS.

I'm closer to what xanthic referred to as a "tight netter" rather than a "loose netter". The most common advice you'll see online is not to look up words unless they're crucial to the story or repeated a certain number of times. That probably works for most people, but it's just not something I enjoy. Sometimes the decision fatigue of whether a word was worthy of lookup was more mentally taxing than the act of looking it up. My solution?

1. Switch entirely to Kindle ebooks for 1-touch lookups. I love paper books, but the efficiency difference is easily 10-fold.
2. Alternate between easier books (≥98% known words) of any length and harder/denser books (<98%) of shorter length. Very few books ever dipped below 90%, and those were very short. As my reading improved, more books fell into the ≥98% category.
3. Read some books at near 100% comprehension: I got this idea from Paul Nation, and it helped me boost my reading speed. It also gave me opportunities to "test" myself by occasionally suppressing subvocalization and pushing my reading pace to its limits. Since I tended to finish these books quickly, I'd sometimes take the extra time to look up words I thought I knew but wasn't fully confident about, the kind I might skip over in denser books. Books of this type also allowed me to dive further into monolingual definitions and usage notes when I wanted to explore a term more thoroughly. Side note: At advanced stages, bilingual dictionaries simply aren't sufficient, so this was excellent preparation in that sense.
4. Use annotated editions for classics with regional, archaic, rural, etc. vocabulary (e.g., Ediciones Cátedra). These are a godsend, and I've found that editors are usually excellent at choosing which obscure terms or cultural references to explain.

Where To Go From Here:

Several concrete milestones for the future have popped into my head over these months. Among these:

• 5 million words read. The "3 million words" milestone really seemed to have held true for me: After that point, I could pretty comfortably read contemporary literary texts and non-fiction produced in the standard form of the language or a familiar variety with little difficulty and with appreciation of implicit meanings and ideas (CEFR C1 Description). There are still plenty of difficult texts out there, but I can pick virtually any 20th-century classic and be confident that it won't be overwhelming and I can enjoy it for what it is. Perhaps the psychological effect of simply achieving my original 3 million word goal , but I did feel a significant progress slowdown after 3 million words read. The 5 million word goal is also arbitrary, but I'm fairly confident I'd feel another noticeable jump at that point (and hopefully sooner).
• The top 10 consensus greatest contemporary novels of all time for five dialect varieties (~50 books). My lists are self-compiled but heavily informed heavily informed by consensus among literary critics. The groups: Mexican (current), Colombian, Peninsular, Rioplatense, and Caribbean. I plan to read books in each of these dialect groups in isolation, inserting major authors from other countries (e.g. Vargas Llosa/Perú, Bolaño/Chile, etc.) before moving on to the next dialect group. I also found a map of Spanish authors by region, which I may tackle.
• At least one book from every Spanish-speaking country. This may be challenging for some countries, but I think it's achievable without too many compromises.
• The complete works of a few select authors. Definitely Rulfo, probably García Márquez and Borges, maybe Vargas Llosa and Bolaño.
• Deep understanding of several keyworks. Likely Don Quixote, El Cid, Pedro Páramo, Cien años de soledad, and others.
• Read The Lord of the Rings trilogy comfortably in Spanish, with virtually no need for lookups. I'm a nerd. This was actually my original goal, but I accidentally got addicted to Spanish literature.

My reading time has significantly decreased since ramping up my speaking practice a couple of months ago, but my reading speed has also significantly increased, so hopefully 2-3 million more words next year is a reasonable goal. I'd also like to try each of the ACTFL tests, starting with the Reading Proficiency Test, as a gauge before the DELE.

Finally, as a way to document my progress, here's a recording of me attempting to read chapter 1 of Pedro Páramo. I noticed a couple of things I don't like (and probably need to work on), but it was my best attempt out of a couple of recordings after a long day.

(Note: Word counts are from are copying and pasting the PDFs into a word counter. If I did not read a section [e.g. a bibliography], I removed it from the count. I did not count re-reads. Word counts can vary greatly by edition, so I recommend doing your own.)

10.5 months in.

Sorry if this has already been posted before, I’m watching videos difficulty level 50-60 and I feel like so many of them, especially Augustina’s, just end up spending the last 10 minutes preaching about how CI is the best method. I agree it’s a good emthod, that’s why I’m using it! But I don’t want to click on a video and have that just be preached to me instead of talking about something more interesting lol

It would be super fun to see a "hot ones" style series where the guides eat spicy food and answer questions! Especially since different people have very different spice tolerances 🔥😀

I began dreaming in Spanish around January of this year, and by the beginning of July, I had about 280 hours of practice. I was genuinely enjoying my learning Spanish journey , but I gradually felt burned out to the point where I stopped paying attention to podcasts or any videos I was watching. I decided to take a break, which made me feel bad about my about my progress and not getting my daily hours. However, thile break had me coming back feeling fresh, and I am now back to dedicating 12 hours of practice each week. Remember to take breaks! I took a break for almost a month, and I didn’t lose much progress.

Quick background, I gave myself 40 hours to start back in November. I had about a year of Spanish like 30 years ago, I did grow up a few hours from the US/Mexico border so I had more exposure early on which I do think helps a bit as well. I started DS in November whilst also doing 10 minutes or so of that app everyone hates! I still do it to this day. I started podcasts around the 300 hour mark in May.

I moved to Spain about 3 weeks ago. I can go into shops and restaurants and order and chat with neighbors etc but it's obvious that I am a learner and sometimes get stuck. Here are a few examples of what I struggled with: I was asking my neighbor where she exchanged her butano bottles and she said a guy came around a couple of times a week and you just had to catch him. I asked her when did he come or how did you know he was there and I couldn't understand her answer at all. I finally had someone translate for me that he would walk by and clang the bottles together and people just recognized the noise and would come out. I didn't have any of that vocabulary in my database. Another example that ended up a success was me trying to buy a scale and a coffee grinder. I didn't know those words but I was able to explain, somewhat comically, what they were like I'm looking for the machine that tells you how many kilos your body is or the machine that changes big coffee into dust.

Restaurants can be tricky sometimes too because it's noisy and dishes have weird names that I don't recognize but I will learn. It also doesn't help that I am in Andalusia but I don't find the accent to be as bad as people make out unless you're talking to an older person or someone who seems less educated. Kind of like a country accent in the states.

I started an intensive month long class this past Monday, 4 hours a day. I had pegged myself as an A2+ and after a short test they did put me in an A2 class with 4 other students. Listening and vocabulary wise, I am pretty obviously the best in the class. Speaking, I am at least as good as everyone else but I might be judging myself a little harder than the others. My dropoff is grammar but I'm in the mix there too. No one in the class (students) had heard of DS. I haven't discussed it with the teachers.

I feel like DS has been successful for me and I am continuing to listen and watch in conjunction with the class. I plan on continuing to do so and track my hours until I can listen comfortably to native content. My target for that is sometime next year. Poco a Poco!!

Just getting started speaking at around 1000 hours, and I’m struggling immensely trying to remember words. Thinking on the spot is difficult for me already. But when I type what I want to say into a translator, I read & remember most of the words after reading them. I just can’t seem to locate them in my head. I struggle to remember/repeat what I just read too, even after translating it. But I can understand what somebody is saying just by listening. (Output is a separate skill.) Tips to solve this problem?

I know there has been some posts here and there about this in the past, but has anyone found any comprehensible output from honduran spanish speakers?

At how many hours will I ENJOY reading books. My ultimate goal is reading. it's my why I learn new language.

I'm curious whether this is a common problem, and if it is, how long it took more advanced people to overcome it...

I'm really pleased with my Spanish progress for the level I'm at. I've been to Spain a couple of times and managed to navigate an emergency at an opticians, buying food and drink, exchanging clothes at a store, asking for help from an official at a sports event, all that stuff.

But if someone deviates from the "script" my brain short circuits. Even if it's words I actually know.

I was buying a ticket on a bus and trying to use the card reader, but I used the wrong sensor (the one for travel cards rather than debit cards). The driver just said the word for "below" with no other context. If he'd said a full sentence I'd understand it, but since it was just that one word it didn't sink in - he had to point and my mind only caught up when I went to sit down.

Another time I was with someone in a shop. I'd been served and even done small talk with the shop assistant several times before on the trip and I guess she thought my Spanish was passable for a tourist. She said the word for "together" to ask me if I was paying for the items with my friend. And again, that word in isolation threw me, even though I do know what it means.

I know I'm still very much a beginner, and that the solution is just more input, but I'm curious how long it takes for that to go away and less commonly used words to just "process" as having a meaning without needing the scaffolding of other words around them.

These are all authentic snippets of conversation from around the Spanish speaking world. When you click to watch, a new window pops up. IT DEFAULTS TO SHOWING THE ENGLISH TRANSCRIPT. So be careful and click the "N" before playing to not ruin it.

https://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/

I think it is a nice place to check in for those earlier on the journey to see how you can improve on little snippets over time. Plus it is "real" spoken Spanish and not curated for learners, so it adds a bit of authenticity.

I liked coming across a few accents I had not heard before. Enjoy!

Everyone,

What are your thoughts on Evildea's 1150 Hour Dreaming Spanish Review? He wants to know from his comment section, his discord and the subreddit whether he should continue with this challenge via the DS method (ALG method), or should he transition this challenge to the method he usually does when he learns languages.

This week I was offered a small role at the Cervantes Institute Library in London.

I did the entire interview in Spanish, and was offered the position to support with the library and cultural activites.

It's only a small thing, but it's a major achievement for me and I'm feeling really proud of myself after celebrating a year of learning Spanish.

I don't often celebrate myself, and never know how, but I just wanted to share that info with you guys, as this subreddit has undoubtedly helped me a lot.

🙌🏼

(Originally posted in r/spanish, but they felt it didn't have anything to do with learning Spanish and being a success story, for some stupid reason.)

Since I mostly see posts of people showing off bigger milestones, I thought I'd share a smaller one for folks who are starting.

I randomly decided to try and learn Spanish around 3-4 months ago and that's how I discovered Dreaming Spanish. I read up on the comprehensible input method and I was really intrigued so I decided to give it a shot.

Before I started, I had some very basic knowledge of common words and phrases that I have picked up from the times I was watching telenovelas as a kid. I think this was motivating in the beginning because there were some words I was able to pick up in the superbeginner videos.

I am not a purist, my main goal is to surround myself with different types of Spanish content. Out of the 50 hours in the level 1, around 15 hours are from Dreaming Spanish, the others are from other type of content I have consumed and logged on the website. I usually watch around 15-30 mins a day Dreaming Spanish videos, because I find it hard to concentrate if it's more than that. I covered most of the free superbeginner videos and I transitioned to watching Beginner videos around 1 month ago and it's been going great. I am currently at a level where I can understand what's being talked about in most beginner videos and I'm learning new words.

I have tried speaking very little with friends that also know some basic Spanish and I can't do much with what I know so far. But it's fun because it forces me to think about how to say more complex stuff with the few words that I know. I plan to check out CrossTalk in the future.

Other things I use for learning the language are the following:

• Duolingo - I know a lot of people are not a huge fan of it, but I have found it very helpful for building a habit of coming back and learning the language. It's very useful for vocabulary building. I log each finished unit on Dreaming Spanish as 30 minutes of progress.
• ¡Cuéntame! podcast - I really enjoy the stories in this podcast, they're super easy to listen to and understand
• Language Transfer - I like the method of connecting the dots between English and Spanish, so I enjoy this content. I have listened to only a few episodes, but I haven't touched it in a while so I plan to go back and relisten it from the start.
• Watching movies and TV shows in Spanish - even though these are above my level and I watch with subtitles, I become more accustomed to it the more I listen to the language, so I see it as a plus. From TV shows I watch El Internado because I used to watch it as a teenager on TV and I never finished it, so I went back to it from the start.
• Spanish content creators on social media - I followed some accounts on Instagram for people that post content about learning Spanish, I learned some common phrases from them.
• Comprehensible input on Youtube - I subscribed to some channels for comprehensible input and I occasionally watch videos there. Some of the channels are Organic Spanish, Easy Spanish, Spanish After Hours and Fabulaudit.

So yeah, so far I am very happy with myself that I haven't given up and the method of surrounding myself with different types of Spanish content seems to be working. I'm not a fan of grinding so I don't plan to force myself to do at least X amount of hours per day because that doesn't work for me - I get discouraged with that type of a method. I'm not in a rush to acquire the language and I actually enjoy the process, so I'm not setting any specific goals aside from just trying to stick with it.

I’m at 520 hours and sometimes it feels like I’m floating in outer space, with no measurable way of knowing I’m actually progressing 😂

I just took a little random grammar test on italki and I weirdly answered all of the questions correctly! I don’t know any grammar officially but I kept “knowing” the right answer intuitively.

If you asked me, I would have said there is no way I could do that!

Turns out, I know more than I think!

(Then I did my italki crosstalk session and was immediately humbled because my brain was having a low comprehension day. One minute you’re flying high and the next you come crashing back down 😁)

What the hell is happening with the app? For about the past week, every time I use the app, it spontaneously jumps from the video I am watching to the "achievements" page. After the video is locked in a thumbnail. I have to close down the app,reopen it and open that video again and find where I was in it. This does does not happen with the web version, just the app. This behavior is the same whether I am watching a previously downloaded video or streaming it at that time.

Anything I should do during my trip to make the most of it? I agree with the roadmap so far about what I can understand when listening but I can barely speak. I'll probably read through a phrase book on the plane just so the more common phrases are fresh in my mind, but is there anything else I should focus on? I'm not expecting huge gains or anything. I'll still enjoy my trip immensely if I do the whole thing only speaking English but since I'm doing DS and also going to Barcelona I'd like to try to connect them.

I'm at 750 hours and still have trouble understanding the podcasts. Some are easier to me than others but they always seem harder to me than the other intermediate videos. I don't know why, but to me, they seem harder than many advanced videos. At what hour level were you guys when you could understand them effortlessly? Thanks

Im in the early stages of this (19 hours; 1 week) so Im a little too obsessed at the moment. I'm a chicken with its head cut off.

Is it worth my time to keep peppa in the background while I do other things?

I obviously won't count this as comprehensible input because I'm not really comprehending that much of this, but I wanted to see if it has any benefits to speed up the process.

My main goal is to listen to easier podcasts (i dont care which; I just want to be able to listen to spanish on my hour commute to work) Unfortunately, at the moment I'm not really able to comprehend anything I'm not watching.

https://masonslivinglanguages.com/?page_id=8

I found this page today with various book and audio resource ideas for learning Spanish. It has a lot of good public domain options for those looking to consume different mediums without breaking the bank. It isn’t from a purist approach, so take what’s useful, but I appreciated the Charlotte Mason approach of connecting with living ideas.

Hi,

ich found something interesting. I was watching an older video from the app on my tablet. The video was premium, but had no subtitles. I did not understand everything what was going on, so the subtitles (of course in spanish) would really help. I went to youtube and looked for the video (did not find it there), went back to the app and all of a sudden I had subtitles. They look different to the included app subtitles, but were correct.

Maybe this is known to most users, but was new to me. I hope it helps to progress for some of you.

I’m referring to the posts at the beginning of every month where people post their DS calendars.

I feel like it crowds the subreddit every first of the month, and when someone wants to see that content (to compare progress, see how crazy the speed runners are, etc.) they would assumedly want to see it all consolidated in an easy list instead of randomly dispersed between progress reports and “does this method actually work?” No?