It has taken me several years of hard work and wasted efforts and wrong turns to work out through my own experience all that you sum up here in 12 minutes! Absolutely spot on and wish I had heard you saying all this years ago, it would have saved me a lot of time!
I’m glad you found it interesting and useful, there’s always stuff we wish we had done better but figuring it out is all part of the fun at the end of the day!
Good video and advice, I use personally Hola Spanish, Spanish with Paul and language transfer too. I have started using dreaming Spanish after seeing your recommendation so thank you 🙏
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Spanish with Paul is a good resource for understanding some basic grammar stuff, maybe I should of included that one too haha
Some great advice here. Having lived here in Spain for 17 years I now understand most things but have trouble speaking well….also local accents are very different. It’s a long process 👍
I love your calm and focused approach!! I've seen too many people doing the exact opposite and getting nowhere. Intuitively I managed to hit many of the things you pointed out when I started learning Spanish 3yrs ago. Do you have any tips for someone like me who is now in a more advanced level but feels stuck? I have thought about reading books but just can't seem to find the time. It's mostly the vocabulary that I am lacking and not living in a Spanish speaking country I find it hard to learn random day to day words that would be essential when trying to speak with a native Spanish speaker. P.s. I just found out about iTalki and plan on doing classes 3 times a week to have someone to speak with. Do you still do iTalki in the languages you have mastered?
I do still use italki and funnily enough I just made a video about it, but not so much to do with advanced learning specifically. Honestly reading has been the biggest thing for me in terms on keeping me advancing but in general I guess the idea is to find a way to expose yourself to different types of the language. Also I think that writing can be very useful if you can find the time
@@ShaneGodliman thank you for the reply! I actually stumbled upon your channel from your iTakli video :) I think reading is really something I need to focus on to escape my vocab. Will definitely try out iTalki too. Thanks again!
The links to the other CZcams channels weren't working for me, but I was already subscribed to two, and just searched for the other. Use Your Spanish has really good content, but IMO is maddeningly slow. But I set the speed to 1.5x, problem solved!
Oh really? I’ll check then again, thanks for letting me know! Yeah it’s a bit slow but a good option for getting started, I wanted to try and share a range of styles
very much like your approach and many of the points you make. I am also a fan of Espanol con Juan who I just love. Juan speaks fast and largely says in spanish , my question is how would you define comprehensible? He repeats frases and eventually I begin to realize he is using expressions which I will eventually understand. There are times though when I wonder if I am wasting my time. Any suggestion and when to stay and when to go?
I mean I guess if you can understand it then it’s comprehensible, but the content Juan makes is definitely comprehensible input in the sense that it’s made specifically for Spanish learners to be able to understand without translating too much. The process will involve you not understanding some stuff so don’t worry about that, as long as generally you can follow the main point that’s being made then you’re fine, if you have literally no idea what’s happening maybe try something of a lower level or go back and look up any words and phrases you didn’t recognise
I can’t believe I just found your channel. Better late than never, I guess lol. I have a question though; a lot of people say what you said about accepting that you won’t understand everything. However, do you think that a genuine beginner would benefit more from listening to native content or instead focusing on the channels you mentioned in the beginning (like dreaming Spanish)?
I hope you like the videos! I would say if you’re an absolute beginner you’re definitely better off spending most of your time with comprehensible input channels like dreaming Spanish, but you can always just expose yourself to a bit of native content every now and then to see how you get on I suppose
Nice video! I'd be interested to know much time you put into learn Spanish in your first year? I started learning Spanish this year and I'm curious about the hours you invested to reach your level (although I know it's different for everyone).
Thanks you! So the first 7/8 months I was doing 30-60 minutes a day, then and the end of last year I set myself a challenge to try and do a lot more and so I was doing more like 2 hours a day over the last 6 months of 2020, but that was like watching Netflix or CZcams or trying to read and stuff like that, not sitting down to study so to speak. But I think generally speaking, 30-60 minutes a day is a good amount to aim for
@@ShaneGodliman hi mate was you bothered with what % you could comprehend or would you just consume as much content as possible even if it was difficult?
@@Mikebigmike94 I would say I wasn't so bothered about %, mostly because I have no idea how to accurately gauge it, I just focused on finding stuff I was interested in and consume as much as possible, of course I was looking up words i couldn't understand a lot more at first too
@@ShaneGodliman Interesting, and how much of that time would you say was input vs. output? I'm managing roughly an hour a day, but I haven't done much speaking or writing yet.
sir did you watch all the beginner videos of Dreaming spanish at first before moving to comprehensible input from other channels or were you watching from many channels other than dreaming spanish right from the beginning?
Hi Shane. Would you say you're at this level mainly through the use of Comprehensible Input or basically a more balanced approach, which touches a bit of everything in the 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing?
The input is definitely a huge part, but I do feel like at the end of the day if you want to speak better with more confidence you need to practice speaking too. I think writing is good tool but I haven’t done it all that much so far, just if I randomly get the urge to try and write something. So ultimately yeah focus on the input but get a blend, all exposure is good!
I love your videos! Super helpful. Do you think it's feasible for a 35 yo to learn spanish to become an interpreter (and possibly medical interpreter as I am a nurse)? I'm willing and eager to put in lots of time but i'm just not sure how long it would take to become fluent enough to translate.
I don’t have any experience personally with interpretation so I can’t speak directly on that, but there’s no reason that at 35 you can reach a high enough level in Spanish to be able to do that kind of thing! Plus an added benefit with languages derived from Latin is that a lot of technical vocabulary like anatomy and physiology is very very similar if not the same 💪🏽
@@ShaneGodliman thanks so much. I have been learning Spanish for about 6 months now but I'm having a hard time with understanding audio/ or listening. I can read and write great. speak ok. but hearing what's said is horrible. any advice?
What helped me most was reading and listening at the same time, find things that you can read along to with a transcript or official subtitles (ie not the auto generated), it all gets better with time 👌🏽
@@ShaneGodliman ok I’m going to try to explain this as best as possible. Because my reading is so strong and I’m a visual learner. It’s almost like when I read it the Spanish sound (reading, movie, etc) is turned down and the reading is what I focus on instead of hearing what’s said. Maybe I’m still absorbing it at the same time and should still continue: the other thing that’s hard is learning on CZcams from all the English sites and hearing how they pronounce the words and then when a native says the same words it sounds foreign to you. Or you know what all the conjugations sound like when you say them because you’ve conjugated so many words but hearing a native say them sounds foreign. The last thing I get stuck on is trying to translate every word that is being said. Reading is my strength so I was just wondering if I was doing myself a disservice reading so much. In real life and convo I won’t be reading everything?
@@deehiggins1725 I get what you mean, I think like you say you are still absorbing it when you're reading even if it doesn't feel like it, sometimes you have to try and relax a little bit more although obviously easier said than done. I wouldn't personally recommend spending too much time listening to non native speakers as like you say the pronunciation isn't usually accurate. In regards to understanding the conjugations in context it really is something that improves time, the more you consume natural content in context the more you will get used to it and it will become natural. Maybe try the audiobook of Olly Richards Short Stories in Spanish if you haven't already as a good place to start :)
@@ShaneGodliman I have a frustrating experience. Not knowing where to begin or hitting a plateau can feel demoralizing and make it hard to hit the books and study like you know you should…Having friends from other cultures makes me more creative. In fresh ways about space and how people create their own world and environment. It is best way to connect between creative thinking and cross-cultural relationships.
El canal Spanish with Paul tiene algunas explicaciones que me ayudaron un poco pero la mayoría de mi entendimiento viene de la immersion, cuanto más veas los verbos en varios contextos mejor empezarás a entender cómo funcionan y cómo cambia el significado de la frase el uso de cada uno
@@ShaneGodliman muchísimas gracias , sabes que 3 meses antes he visto un vídeo de tus videos estaba siguiendo solamente el subtítulo de inglés pero ahora después de 3 meses ahora puedo entender todo lo que dice en tus videos pero necesito aprender más y mejorar , a mi nunca he probado aprender con libros y eso mi parece es genial y quiero empezarlo por eso necesito tus consejos
Eso es genial! Yo diría que solo tienes que empezar y con tiempo te vas acostumbrando, obviamente puedes buscar algunas palabras aquí y allá pero lo más importante es seguir el hilo principal de la historia y de ahí leer mucho y sigue leyendo 😊
It won’t hurt, but it might not be the most efficient use of your time having it as your only resource. I would try and use a bit of a free program like Language Transfer alongside it
Drops and busuu are great for initial word acquisition and grammar bites if you wait one week after downloading both apps they will offer it to you at 50% off only fifty bucks for a lifetime membership
Great video Shane, really good tips and resources. I have been taking italki lessons once a week for about 10 months and learned a lot, still have a long way to go. How often did you take italki lessons? How many italki lessons per week would you recommend. Resources I am using are Language Tutor (Dr Danny Evans) Prospanish, Notes in Spanish, Español con Juan, Hola Spanish, Spanishland School and recently Dream in Spanish per your reccomedation. Keep up the good work amigo, muchicimas gracias!
Thank you Darshan! When I started I was just doing once a week but pretty quickly I got really into it and so there was a point where I was doing 3/4 lessons per week
@@ShaneGodliman great, did you have lessons with the same teacher or use different ones. If different teachers what was the reason and what were the advantages? Thanks
A bit of both to be honest, I liked meeting new people and being exposed to different accents, different topics etc, but also it was good to work with someone who was more aware of my level and my interests and so could tailor conversations a little more
Do you plan on learning Spanish this year?
Yep 😁
🙌🏽🙌🏽
Yup, 1 month in and love your value of resources you are providing!
Yeah, it's going on. But i don't have any of friends to practice consistently
Three weeks in. Thanks for the tips, Shane!
It has taken me several years of hard work and wasted efforts and wrong turns to work out through my own experience all that you sum up here in 12 minutes! Absolutely spot on and wish I had heard you saying all this years ago, it would have saved me a lot of time!
I’m glad you found it interesting and useful, there’s always stuff we wish we had done better but figuring it out is all part of the fun at the end of the day!
Good video and advice, I use personally Hola Spanish, Spanish with Paul and language transfer too. I have started using dreaming Spanish after seeing your recommendation so thank you 🙏
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Spanish with Paul is a good resource for understanding some basic grammar stuff, maybe I should of included that one too haha
Such a good list Shane! I am about 1 year behind you in the Spanish learning process, so this is great!
Glad it’s of some use to you 😊
Some great advice here. Having lived here in Spain for 17 years I now understand most things but have trouble speaking well….also local accents are very different. It’s a long process 👍
Thank you so much for this!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found it useful 😊🙌🏽
Excelentes tips y vídeo. ¡Lo compartiré con mis estudiantes!
Gracias amigo 😊🙏🏽
Thank you so much for this advice!
Todo tus consejos los llevaré para aprender francés y mejorar mi inglés, gracias!! 😊
Suerte! Y gracias por tu comentario 😊
A good learning is to start in what you wrote...todos tus consejos los tomaré para aprender.
todo no...todos
los llevaré no...los tomaré
@@kcorpora1 Gracias por la corrección. (:
@@milagroslizarraga4606 de nada! no hay problema
Lingo pie is like the Netflix of language learning
I love your calm and focused approach!! I've seen too many people doing the exact opposite and getting nowhere.
Intuitively I managed to hit many of the things you pointed out when I started learning Spanish 3yrs ago.
Do you have any tips for someone like me who is now in a more advanced level but feels stuck? I have thought about reading books but just can't seem to find the time. It's mostly the vocabulary that I am lacking and not living in a Spanish speaking country I find it hard to learn random day to day words that would be essential when trying to speak with a native Spanish speaker.
P.s. I just found out about iTalki and plan on doing classes 3 times a week to have someone to speak with. Do you still do iTalki in the languages you have mastered?
I do still use italki and funnily enough I just made a video about it, but not so much to do with advanced learning specifically. Honestly reading has been the biggest thing for me in terms on keeping me advancing but in general I guess the idea is to find a way to expose yourself to different types of the language. Also I think that writing can be very useful if you can find the time
@@ShaneGodliman thank you for the reply! I actually stumbled upon your channel from your iTakli video :) I think reading is really something I need to focus on to escape my vocab. Will definitely try out iTalki too. Thanks again!
Qué buen video amigo!
Muchas gracias hermano 😊
Excellent tips.
Thank you for doing this!
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment 😊🙏🏽
The links to the other CZcams channels weren't working for me, but I was already subscribed to two, and just searched for the other.
Use Your Spanish has really good content, but IMO is maddeningly slow. But I set the speed to 1.5x, problem solved!
Oh really? I’ll check then again, thanks for letting me know! Yeah it’s a bit slow but a good option for getting started, I wanted to try and share a range of styles
I'm a native spanish speaker. If someone wants to practice, let me know. Greetings from Colombia!
very much like your approach and many of the points you make. I am also a fan of Espanol con Juan who I just love. Juan speaks fast and largely says in spanish , my question is how would you define comprehensible? He repeats frases and eventually I begin to realize he is using expressions which I will eventually understand. There are times though when I wonder if I am wasting my time. Any suggestion and when to stay and when to go?
I mean I guess if you can understand it then it’s comprehensible, but the content Juan makes is definitely comprehensible input in the sense that it’s made specifically for Spanish learners to be able to understand without translating too much. The process will involve you not understanding some stuff so don’t worry about that, as long as generally you can follow the main point that’s being made then you’re fine, if you have literally no idea what’s happening maybe try something of a lower level or go back and look up any words and phrases you didn’t recognise
I can’t believe I just found your channel. Better late than never, I guess lol. I have a question though; a lot of people say what you said about accepting that you won’t understand everything. However, do you think that a genuine beginner would benefit more from listening to native content or instead focusing on the channels you mentioned in the beginning (like dreaming Spanish)?
I hope you like the videos! I would say if you’re an absolute beginner you’re definitely better off spending most of your time with comprehensible input channels like dreaming Spanish, but you can always just expose yourself to a bit of native content every now and then to see how you get on I suppose
Nice video! I'd be interested to know much time you put into learn Spanish in your first year? I started learning Spanish this year and I'm curious about the hours you invested to reach your level (although I know it's different for everyone).
Thanks you! So the first 7/8 months I was doing 30-60 minutes a day, then and the end of last year I set myself a challenge to try and do a lot more and so I was doing more like 2 hours a day over the last 6 months of 2020, but that was like watching Netflix or CZcams or trying to read and stuff like that, not sitting down to study so to speak. But I think generally speaking, 30-60 minutes a day is a good amount to aim for
@@ShaneGodliman hi mate was you bothered with what % you could comprehend or would you just consume as much content as possible even if it was difficult?
@@Mikebigmike94 I would say I wasn't so bothered about %, mostly because I have no idea how to accurately gauge it, I just focused on finding stuff I was interested in and consume as much as possible, of course I was looking up words i couldn't understand a lot more at first too
@@ShaneGodliman Interesting, and how much of that time would you say was input vs. output? I'm managing roughly an hour a day, but I haven't done much speaking or writing yet.
Mostly input, I’d say on average around 2 hours per week
sir did you watch all the beginner videos of Dreaming spanish at first before moving to comprehensible input from other channels or were you watching from many channels other than dreaming spanish right from the beginning?
Hi Shane. Would you say you're at this level mainly through the use of Comprehensible Input or basically a more balanced approach, which touches a bit of everything in the 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing?
The input is definitely a huge part, but I do feel like at the end of the day if you want to speak better with more confidence you need to practice speaking too. I think writing is good tool but I haven’t done it all that much so far, just if I randomly get the urge to try and write something. So ultimately yeah focus on the input but get a blend, all exposure is good!
I love your videos! Super helpful. Do you think it's feasible for a 35 yo to learn spanish to become an interpreter (and possibly medical interpreter as I am a nurse)? I'm willing and eager to put in lots of time but i'm just not sure how long it would take to become fluent enough to translate.
I don’t have any experience personally with interpretation so I can’t speak directly on that, but there’s no reason that at 35 you can reach a high enough level in Spanish to be able to do that kind of thing! Plus an added benefit with languages derived from Latin is that a lot of technical vocabulary like anatomy and physiology is very very similar if not the same 💪🏽
Great video thanks but I can’t find the comprehensible Spanish channel
Thank you! Try this link - czcams.com/channels/YAlrzj-AACBgEfjEk9AtVw.html
@@ShaneGodliman thanks so much. I have been learning Spanish for about 6 months now but I'm having a hard time with understanding audio/ or listening. I can read and write great. speak ok. but hearing what's said is horrible. any advice?
What helped me most was reading and listening at the same time, find things that you can read along to with a transcript or official subtitles (ie not the auto generated), it all gets better with time 👌🏽
@@ShaneGodliman ok I’m going to try to explain this as best as possible. Because my reading is so strong and I’m a visual learner. It’s almost like when I read it the Spanish sound (reading, movie, etc) is turned down and the reading is what I focus on instead of hearing what’s said. Maybe I’m still absorbing it at the same time and should still continue: the other thing that’s hard is learning on CZcams from all the English sites and hearing how they pronounce the words and then when a native says the same words it sounds foreign to you. Or you know what all the conjugations sound like when you say them because you’ve conjugated so many words but hearing a native say them sounds foreign. The last thing I get stuck on is trying to translate every word that is being said. Reading is my strength so I was just wondering if I was doing myself a disservice reading so much. In real life and convo I won’t be reading everything?
@@deehiggins1725 I get what you mean, I think like you say you are still absorbing it when you're reading even if it doesn't feel like it, sometimes you have to try and relax a little bit more although obviously easier said than done. I wouldn't personally recommend spending too much time listening to non native speakers as like you say the pronunciation isn't usually accurate. In regards to understanding the conjugations in context it really is something that improves time, the more you consume natural content in context the more you will get used to it and it will become natural. Maybe try the audiobook of Olly Richards Short Stories in Spanish if you haven't already as a good place to start :)
☺
👋😊
@@ShaneGodliman I have a frustrating experience. Not knowing where to begin or hitting a plateau can feel demoralizing and make it hard to hit the books and study like you know you should…Having friends from other cultures makes me more creative. In fresh ways about space and how people create their own world and environment. It is best way to connect between creative thinking and cross-cultural relationships.
Dime cómo has estudiado los tiempos verbales 🙃
El canal Spanish with Paul tiene algunas explicaciones que me ayudaron un poco pero la mayoría de mi entendimiento viene de la immersion, cuanto más veas los verbos en varios contextos mejor empezarás a entender cómo funcionan y cómo cambia el significado de la frase el uso de cada uno
También puedes echar un vistazo a la página profedeele.es que tiene actividades y explicaciones sobre la gramática y cosas así
@@ShaneGodliman muchísimas gracias , sabes que 3 meses antes he visto un vídeo de tus videos estaba siguiendo solamente el subtítulo de inglés pero ahora después de 3 meses ahora puedo entender todo lo que dice en tus videos pero necesito aprender más y mejorar , a mi nunca he probado aprender con libros y eso mi parece es genial y quiero empezarlo por eso necesito tus consejos
Eso es genial! Yo diría que solo tienes que empezar y con tiempo te vas acostumbrando, obviamente puedes buscar algunas palabras aquí y allá pero lo más importante es seguir el hilo principal de la historia y de ahí leer mucho y sigue leyendo 😊
@@ShaneGodliman mejor hacer un vídeo sobre este tema , los libros que has leído también como setas leyendo y puede dejarnos algunos libros
hey so i was wondering for the base could i do maybe a month of duo lingo would that build a good enough base to start comprehensible input
It won’t hurt, but it might not be the most efficient use of your time having it as your only resource. I would try and use a bit of a free program like Language Transfer alongside it
@@ShaneGodliman okay ty for your advice your videos on learning Spanish are really good ive watched all of them super motivational :)
Drops and busuu are great for initial word acquisition and grammar bites if you wait one week after downloading both apps they will offer it to you at 50% off only fifty bucks for a lifetime membership
Como llegué aqui
Great video Shane, really good tips and resources. I have been taking italki lessons once a week for about 10 months and learned a lot, still have a long way to go. How often did you take italki lessons? How many italki lessons per week would you recommend. Resources I am using are Language Tutor (Dr Danny Evans) Prospanish, Notes in Spanish, Español con Juan, Hola Spanish, Spanishland School and recently Dream in Spanish per your reccomedation. Keep up the good work amigo, muchicimas gracias!
Thank you Darshan! When I started I was just doing once a week but pretty quickly I got really into it and so there was a point where I was doing 3/4 lessons per week
@@ShaneGodliman great, did you have lessons with the same teacher or use different ones. If different teachers what was the reason and what were the advantages? Thanks
A bit of both to be honest, I liked meeting new people and being exposed to different accents, different topics etc, but also it was good to work with someone who was more aware of my level and my interests and so could tailor conversations a little more
@@ShaneGodliman thank you