u/Big_Sherbert5260

This week I got to level 5 and want to write an update for those of you interested and for my own tracking.

Roadmap comparison: Overall, I've aligned with the roadmap pretty closely. Looking at the "what you should be able to do at the end of level 4," I now am able to:

• Watch intermediate videos without any issue
• Understand patient native speakers (like shopkeepers or waitstaff when I went to Spain)
• Listen to audio only
• Know what I don't know (which is a lot!)

My input:

• Many DS videos- I went through a phase of trying to knock out as many Beginner videos as I could but they got boring, even sped up to 1.25X, I think I have watched every intermediate series and had to go to the wayback to find content I wanted to watch.
• This level I was able to start listening to videos with Michelle and Ester, which really fun because I love their content. I was unable to understand them before so I consider this a win!
• In the last 50 hours or so I just started watching Advanced videos. I read somewhere (probably on Reddit) that the general buckets are pretty loose and if higher level content is interesting, go for it. There are some Advanced DS videos I can't watch yet, but this will be a good marker for me. Natalia's advanced content was my first dive in.
• Podcasts:
  • I was SO excited when I finally started to be able to listen to Espanol con Juan! As much as the content is really silly, I think it helped a TON when I was in Spain, just because of the pace in which he speaks. Another display of growth, because I tried to listen to his podcast when I was in lower levels and just could not understand it.
  • Espanol al Vuelo- I have worked through every episode, it's my absolute favorite. I can listen to it sped up now and it's very accessible.
  • DS podcast- I have also listened to all of them and love them so much.
  • Al Chile- I understand 80% of what he says, this is on the edge for me, but I love his accent and content about Mexican culture.
  • How to Spanish Podcast- again, love the mix of stuff about culture, learning, parenting, etc. This is at a good level for me, and I understand about 80% of it.

How I've I've been learning:

• I work full time and have a family but am dedicated to getting 2 hours of input in most days. I try to get 30 minutes in first thing in the morning and listen throughout the day when I can, when I'm walking, cooking, etc., and anything left I finish before bed. It's not too hard for me to do this, especially if I don't try to expect perfection (some days it's just not going to happen).
• I also went to Spain during this level, and I could not believe how much improved I was since I lived in Colombia (where I did not learn much Spanish, believe it or not- the pandemic, stress, poor quality classes, etc.). This was another huge win for me at this level! I was able to comprehend many, many things, or get it in context.

What's next:

• In level 5, I plan to keep knocking out Advanced videos, and diving into easy native content when I feel ready.
• I want to start reading later in this level, but not yet.
• I want to start doing CrossTalk ASAP.
• I plan to reward myself after finishing level 5 (which will be in 200 days-ish) by visiting the language school in Guatemala that everyone talks about.

Well, thanks for reading my very long post until the end. I know I personally love reading everyone's updates, so I hope that we can compare notes on our learning journeys! And thank you to the DS team for all of the amazing content you produce!