r/dreamingspanish

Hey, Dreamers! Jostin's Uncle now has a donor for his bone marrow transplant—his brother, Carlos! Carlos was deemed compatible, so the operation will likely take place on April 13th. Their fundraising goal hasn't been met yet, so here is the link if anyone would like to help out.

The original update Jostin shared on the donation page:

>29 March 2026

>¡RENNY YA TIENE DONANTE! 🤩💚 Su hermano Carlos pasó todas las pruebas y se encuentra apto y en disposición de ser el donante para Renny.

>La fecha probable de inicio del transplante es el dia 13/04/2026

>Les pedimos una vez más que nos ayuden donando en estas últimas dos semanas para tener el mayor dinero posible al comenzar el procedimiento.

>Muchas gracias a todos! Dios los bendiga. 🙏🏻❤️

Jostin's Uncle, Renny

I’ve been having so much fun, currently at 263 hours.

My husband is learning with me, but he isn’t as engaged as I am, he does love watching Spanish boost gaming, so we have fun with that, but he said he gets intimidated and stops having fun when I try to get him to watch other channels. He’s loving how excited I am but I worry about overwhelming him when he isn’t as passionate about it.

My sister and brother in law are both learning languages through Duolingo (French and Spanish) and I was excited to talk about how fun it is with them, but they didn’t seem that interested. They both just do a lesson to keep their streak and then move on with their day. I was trying to tell them about dreaming Spanish/french, but they were noticeably not interested.

I can’t imagine putting so little into this process, I feel like I spend all day engaging with Spanish content as much as possible. I do tend to hyper focus when I’m excited about something, but was so thrown by how casual they were.

I don’t know, it just made me feel a little lonely and like a weirdo for being excited about learning a new language. Has anyone else experienced that feeling?

Hello everyone! Long time lurker and occasional poster (never as much as I intended to). I wanted to share my journey, create a bit of an AMA and share my fave resources that have helped me get here. Bit of a long post incoming!

First, I’ll give an overview of my Spanish journey. Then, I'll give an update of where my understanding, speaking, reading, and writing are today. Finally, at the bottom is my resources list. 

History of my Spanish learning

I spent an hour on Duolingo once in early 2023. Then I went to Spain for a few weeks for a job. I loved it and decided I wanted to move back and learn Spanish. The same day I found Dreaming Spanish and decided to sign up for premium to hold me accountable. I started DS in February 2023 and didn’t use any other methods. 

I did a lot of crosstalk at the beginning of 2023 with a language exchange partner I found online, watched lots of DS and listened to a lot of podcasts.

I moved to Spain at the end of 2023 with 300 hours, which was enough to get by (kind of, but not really…), with heavy reliance on Google Translate. Juggling working, studying and other commitments has meant that over the last three years I’ve had mixed levels of commitments, e.g. a month of three hours of input every day followed by weeks where maybe I got none. 

Whilst living in Spain I have worked in a position where I speak English, meaning that my Spanish has maybe progressed slower than one would expect from immersion. I have used Spanish in daily life but in very limited interactions, as many of my friends/roommates spoke good English or wanted to practice it. 

In the middle of 2025 I finally hit 1000 hours. I started watching TV shows made for native speakers, started talking much more and also attended my first Spanish classes on WorldsAccross. I went to WA classes for a month over the summer whilst I had fewer work/study commitments. I almost exclusively attended speaking classes and requested not to do grammar, but occasionally still had a grammar-focused class. I felt my confidence in speaking improve, gaining fluidity and the ability to talk about many topics, but I still probably didn’t improve my grammatical ability. 

I finally hit 1500 hours in December 2025. I have definitely speed run during some periods and also had months where I almost completely stopped. My advice would be consistency is definitely the way, but also at times impossible due to external commitments. So, if you take a break, come back (even if it's a long break). 

Today I have 1755 hours of input to be exact and 490,000 words read. It’s impossible to say how much speaking practice I have, but I would guess close to 400 hours which includes speaking, crosstalk and my month on WorldsAcross. The speaking is all included in the 1752 hours input.

Where I am at with understanding

I can understand at a pretty high level. I have been watching Spanish TV shows for almost a year and have found that I now understand so much more than I could at the beginning. Whilst I’ll still miss many jokes, I rarely miss anything else. In conversations I rarely have problems with understanding, but often do with my speaking. My main problem with understanding is occasionally I struggle with pronouns and don’t get who is being spoken about (he likes me vs I like him, that sort of thing). I have listened to a lot of Spanish from Spain but have never tried to limit my exposure to other accents. In terms of youtubers I listen to Spanish from other countries, but TV is exclusively Spanish. 

Where I am at with speaking

I only started regularly speaking 10 months ago. Previously, I spoke daily but in very limited contexts and in short interactions. There were a few exceptions, such as random talks with people on public transport. 

I started speaking with my partner last year. I was very nervous and for a few months we spoke maybe an hour a week. After a month on WorldsAcross we started speaking more. Now, we speak in Spanish a few days a week. I am trying to speak more in Spanish, but because most of my Spanish friends speak English (and their English is 1000x better than my Spanish), it feels a bit unnatural to switch. 

Overall, how is my speaking?

Honestly, not as good as I would hope! I can express almost anything I would like, but I still have large issues with my grammar, but am told that they are not barriers to me being understood. I frequently get gender and singular/plural wrong, and almost always use the incorrect verb tense, except for the present. 
My idea now is to increase my reading and I will change tactics if after 1 million words I have not improved. 

Where I am at with reading

I have now read 490,000 words. I started off with several books from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Then, I read another few books for younger kids, progressing to Wonder which was a great book, although retrospectively I would’ve read it a bit later as some of the sentences are quite complex. 

I just finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I read the first Harry Potter by myself, and then a friend suggested an audiobook. I read the second and the third whilst listening. I have found that it helps me keep a steadier pace compared to when I read alone, when I tend to go back and reread sentences.

Where I am at with writing

I can write any text messages but I always check them with a translation. I still make a lot of mistakes. I don’t write anything else at this moment. 

Best parts of the journey (the highs!)

• The DS meetup in BCN in June last year – what an amazing and incredibly surreal experience that was! I apologise to anyone I met, as I was definitely kind of awkward but internally freaking out. 
• Doing Brazilian jiu jitsu classes for a month last year. I found that my Spanish was more than adequate for understanding the class but not enough to confidently participate in small talk (win some, lose some).
• Visiting my friend in her village for a few days last summer, playing games in Spanish and losing many consecutive rounds of cards.
• Having WorldsAcross classes with other people from DS including pickypenguin which was very cool! Legend!
• Random chats with people on the metro that leave me buzzing for the rest of the day. Loving that I am now at a level where I can connect with people even though I am nervous. 
• Finally having a month-long streak where I hit my daily goal every day of the month (only happened this year).
• Navigating a broad range of experiences in Spanish including my first ever emergency room visit this week (not exactly a high but good to know I was able to handle it).

 

Struggles I have had or still have (the lows!)

• Confidence: In English I am what the Gen Zs call a yapper. I talk a lot to whoever about whatever, am generally very confident socially and love to joke. I think for me this has been a double edged sword when it comes to Spanish: on the one hand, I speak a bit faster in Spanish than someone of my level normally might; riddled with grammatical errors but at a decent speed. On the other hand, because I (thankfully) tend to feel comfortable socially, the fact I feel uncomfortable speaking Spanish has given me a healthy dose of humility. This means that I feel maybe more awkward than I have ever felt before.  
• For some reason whenever I have a long conversation in Spanish that I didn’t anticipateI sweat like you wouldn’t believe.
• My grammar is an absolute mess. Have loved the CI method but the downfall is you don’t know what you don’t know. No amount of thinking helps me to pick the correct verb tense form. When I make a mistake I rarely fix it.

 

My favourite resources:

I have below my recommendations for Youtube, TV and Podcasts. My top faves are in bold.
Youtube

I will try to group them from easiest to hardest: (these are just my favourites, but I have more if anyone wants!)

CocinandoCorea
LuisitoComunica
Cocina con Conqui

Carolette Martin
Alex Tienda 

Diegodoal
Mami Vegana
Judith Trial
Anthropococo
Ibai
La Hiperactiva
Gerard Alvaré

TV Shows 
First, I watched dubbed content. I started with Avatar the last Airbender (watched all of it). Then a bit of One Day at a Time, The Good Place and all of Friends. Friends I think was a good dubbed show to watch, as there is so much of it that by the end you are more ready to watch native TV. I started Friends at around 700-800 hours. 

Native TV

Aqui No Hay Quien Viva: Maybe my favourite show of all time. I started last May and only just finished last week.

Machos Alfa: Hilarious and written/directed by the same people as Aquí No Hay Quien Viva. Very keen for the new season. 

Jugando con Fuego: Watched both the Spanish and Latino season.

Paquita Salas: Watched all of it but didn’t like it as much as the two above. I think many of the jokes rely on more cultural knowledge/context. I still enjoyed it, but nowhere near as much as the others. They also speak Spanish faster than I've ever heard on another show. 

La Revuelta: Have only watched a few episodes but want to watch much more. 

Podcasts
Beginner

• Cuéntame: (she says the same script twice per episode, first slowly and occasionally translating a word, and the second time at a faster speed). So you can always just listen to the easier or harder version. I would say this is the easiest podcast I know of. I was listening to it about 3 years ago and finished all that she had uploaded at that point.
• Unlimited Spanish podcast with Oscar: Have listened to almost 20 episodes or so of this podcast and I liked it!

Intermediate

• Español con Juan: Have listened to heaps of him (55 hours in 2023 alone, according to my Spotify Wrapped, lol), so he would be one of the podcasts I've listened to the most. I find him pretty good as he repeats himself well and is quite funny. He is also still entertaining at a more advanced level. I still occasionally listen to him now if I am cooking or doing a task where I can listen but wouldn’t be able to focus on a native podcast.
• Intermediate Spanish podcast: Spanish Language Coach. It’s by a guy called César, who has several other podcasts. I have listened to his intermediate and advanced ones a lot. Love them, as they’re on a wide variety of topics and tend to be very interesting.

 

Advanced

• Advanced Spanish Podcast: Spanish Language Coach.

This is César’s advanced podcast, which I love, and the topic is different each time. He often has guests. When he chooses a specific theme for the episode, it's well researched. 

• Más que Historias - Stories to Improve your Spanish: Spanish Language Coach

 César, the same host as the Intermediate, Advanced and Spanish for False Beginners Podcasts! Have listened to a few of these and enjoyed them. He discusses and summarises some famous texts. 

• Hoy Hablamos: Listened to quite a few of these, and they can be pretty difficult at times as they speak quickly, but enjoy them as they do a short podcast every day on a vast array of topics.

Native

• Malditos Veganos: Only started this podcast recently but I love it! Very funny but also covers many topics related to being vegan. 
• Tenia la Duda: Absolute Favourite! Each week Judith Tiral interviews a guest (anyone, from a cardiologist to someone who works with chimpanzees) and asks all the questions you would want to ask if you were sitting there. A huge range of guests and she is a fantastic host. I learn so much from this podcast I forget I'm actually listening to learn Spanish. She posts 20 mins of each podcast free on YouTube. The full podcast (usually about an hour) is available on an app called Podimo (message me for a code which gives you two month subscription for free). This podcast is slightly easier than “No es el fin del Mundo”. 
• El Verdadero Robo del Siglo: Listened to this one about a year ago. Only about 8 episodes from memory but super interesting!
• No es el fin del Mundo: I like this podcast but it's definitely pretty hard. Very interesting and about different geopolitical issues around the world. Has a panel cast which for me is harder to follow or sometimes people are speaking at the same time but I am excited to listen to this podcast more.

Hello all, I want some advice, I feel like I’m improving, but just slightly at 100 hours is this normal? What are you guys experience in the first hundred hours? is the growth always this slow? When will i understand the videos and level up.

For me - for the longest time, I was hearing “plataformas de audio“ as “plataformas de odio”. Which to be fair seemed like a reasonable idea at to refer to social media haha

I am going to put level 5/6+ in the title, but you're going to see my flair and potentially question me. I was told recently in here to stop apologizing if I'm not a "purist" to the method...my ADHD simply will not allow me to stay on one single method for a long time or my interest dies. So I am combining DS with traditional learning via a CI-based online tutor from Colombia. My tutor is very personal and is keeping his number of students to around 15 total so that he has plenty of time for them throughout each week. He is trying to organically grow his academy, so I am making a post here since I THINK reading the rules that this is okay? Please let me know if not!

My Spanish tutor lives in Bogota, Colombia, and part of my learning through DS and Conversational CI with Juan actually lead me to fly down there and visit for a week! We spent 3 days in rural jungle (Sasaima/Villegta) and then spent 4 days in the city. I spoke more than I ever have before, and I learned an insane amount from immersion. Juan wishes to do this full time and quit his other day job since his passion is teaching (also nature education!) So, I wanted to post on here and ask if anyone else is looking for a conversational teacher once they feel they are at that level? It has been a beautiful jouney for me mixing this with DS, and since Juan believes mostly in CI as the best method of learning...it's been very complementary.

I do not, under any circumstances, want to get in trouble for this post if this violates anything...I am genuinely offering for those looking to get into conversation practice to have a high-quality teacher that I can personally vouch for - and they are PRO-CI instead of against it. I feel this is not subject to Rule 8, since I am not promoting myself at all, just promoting a tutor whom I have worked with for over a year now and HIGHLY, highly recommend. You can check my post/comment history...I promise I am real :)

Edit: Also, if you have any questions - ask away! Like I said, just helping a quality teacher and friend (and any DS learners looking for additional assistance!)...zero obligation here.

Hi. I have seen a couple of posts from people who have tackled a second Romance language. Most say that the 1/2 rule is roughly accurate: it takes about half the time to achieve conversational ability in the second language. I’m curious if anyone has progressed to a third Romance language. Does the time actually decrease by half again? I have French queued up after Spanish and I am considering adding Brazilian Portuguese after French.

So I put off reading any Spanish until now, and I am not sure if it is a good idea. I thought the lower-level stuff would be boring, or interesting things would be too hard. However, now that I've put in 1,000+ hours, I decided to start reading about 1,000 words a day, using stories provided by ChatGPT. I have been speaking regularly, as I live in South America, but have a remote US job, so I get speaking input through language exchanges and daily life.
Back to the reading. I told the AI that I was in the high B2 level and to provide me with a 1000-word story. The first story was about 1400 words(not an unusual screw-up for ChatGPT), and I did not understand about 11ish words, which I asked about. I continued this process daily, and there are about 8 to 12 words I don't already know, which helps me increase my vocabulary. I tell the AI what those words are, and I get a vocab list with each word and a sentence using it. Once it becomes too easy, I can request that it increase the story's difficulty and the included vocab. Here is the first story it created:
La casa junto al lago

Sofía siempre había sentido una extraña fascinación por los lugares tranquilos. Mientras otras personas soñaban con vivir en una ciudad grande, rodeadas de ruido, luces y movimiento, ella prefería imaginar una vida más serena, cerca de la naturaleza, donde pudiera escuchar el viento entre los árboles y el canto de los pájaros por la mañana.

Por eso, cuando su tía Elisa le ofreció pasar unas semanas en una vieja casa junto a un lago, Sofía aceptó sin pensarlo dos veces. Había terminado un año difícil en la universidad y necesitaba descansar. Sentía que su mente estaba llena de preocupaciones, tareas pendientes y preguntas sobre el futuro. Tal vez unos días lejos de todo podrían ayudarla a recuperar la calma.

La casa se encontraba a unas tres horas del pueblo más cercano. Era una construcción antigua de madera, con un techo inclinado y ventanas grandes que daban directamente al lago. Al llegar, Sofía se quedó inmóvil durante unos segundos, contemplando el paisaje. El agua brillaba bajo la luz de la tarde, y las montañas al fondo parecían proteger el lugar como si fueran guardianes silenciosos.

Su tía la recibió con una sonrisa cálida. Elisa era una mujer amable, de voz suave y manos siempre ocupadas en algo. Le gustaba cultivar flores, preparar pan casero y contar historias de la familia. Tenía la costumbre de hablar despacio, como si eligiera cada palabra con cuidado.

• Bienvenida, Sofía - dijo abrazándola -. Sé que este lugar te va a hacer bien.

Durante los primeros días, Sofía se dedicó a descansar. Dormía hasta tarde, caminaba por la orilla del lago y leía en el pequeño muelle de madera que se extendía sobre el agua. A veces ayudaba a su tía en la cocina o en el jardín, pero la mayor parte del tiempo simplemente observaba. Miraba las nubes moverse lentamente, escuchaba el crujido de las ramas y sentía que, poco a poco, algo dentro de ella empezaba a ordenarse.

Una tarde, mientras paseaba por un sendero detrás de la casa, descubrió una pequeña cabaña abandonada entre los árboles. Era tan discreta que casi parecía escondida a propósito. La puerta estaba cerrada, y una capa de hojas secas cubría la entrada. Las paredes estaban desgastadas por el tiempo, pero la estructura seguía en pie.

Cuando regresó a la casa, Sofía le preguntó a su tía sobre la cabaña.

• Ah, esa cabaña - respondió Elisa, bajando un poco la mirada -. Era de tu abuelo Mateo.

Sofía se sorprendió. Apenas recordaba a su abuelo, porque había muerto cuando ella era muy pequeña. Sabía que había sido un hombre reservado, amante de la naturaleza y de pocas palabras, pero no mucho más.

• ¿Y por qué está abandonada? - preguntó.

Elisa suspiró antes de responder.

• Después de que él murió, nadie quiso entrar ahí. Decían que era su refugio, su lugar especial. Tu abuela pensaba que debía quedarse tal como él la dejó.

Aquella noche, Sofía no pudo dejar de pensar en la cabaña. Le intrigaba la idea de que su abuelo hubiera tenido un espacio secreto, un rincón propio junto al lago. Sintió una mezcla de curiosidad y nostalgia por alguien a quien nunca tuvo la oportunidad de conocer realmente.

A la mañana siguiente, le pidió a su tía la llave.

Elisa dudó unos instantes, pero finalmente abrió un cajón de la cocina y sacó una llave antigua de hierro.

• Si decides entrar - dijo -, hazlo con respeto.

Sofía asintió y salió de la casa con el corazón acelerado.

La cerradura estaba dura, pero después de varios intentos, la puerta se abrió con un chirrido largo. Dentro, el aire olía a madera vieja, polvo y humedad. La luz entraba por una pequeña ventana, iluminando partículas diminutas que flotaban en el ambiente.

La cabaña era sencilla. Había una mesa, una silla, una lámpara de aceite, una estantería con algunos libros y una manta doblada sobre un banco. En una esquina descansaba una caja de madera. Sofía se acercó lentamente y la abrió.

Dentro encontró cuadernos, fotografías y cartas cuidadosamente atadas con una cinta azul. Tomó uno de los cuadernos y lo abrió con delicadeza. Era un diario.

Las páginas estaban llenas de una letra firme y clara. Su abuelo había escrito durante años sobre el lago, el bosque, las estaciones y sus pensamientos más íntimos. No eran textos complicados, pero sí profundos. Describía el color del agua en invierno, el sonido de la lluvia sobre el techo, el miedo a perder a las personas que amaba y también la esperanza de que la vida, a pesar de todo, siempre ofreciera una nueva oportunidad.

Sofía pasó horas leyendo. A medida que avanzaba, sentía que la figura de su abuelo se volvía más cercana. Ya no era solo un nombre o una fotografía antigua, sino una persona real, sensible y observadora. En sus palabras había una ternura inesperada y una sabiduría tranquila que la conmovía.

En uno de los cuadernos encontró una frase subrayada varias veces:

"A veces el silencio no está vacío. A veces está lleno de respuestas."

Sofía cerró el cuaderno y permaneció sentada unos minutos, inmóvil. Aquella frase parecía escrita para ella. Durante meses había intentado resolver su vida a través del ruido: conversaciones, consejos, planes, listas interminables. Pero en ese lugar, lejos de todo, empezaba a comprender que tal vez no necesitaba forzar las respuestas. Tal vez primero debía aprender a escuchar.

Desde entonces, comenzó a visitar la cabaña todos los días. Leía un poco, escribía en un cuaderno propio y contemplaba el lago desde la ventana. Poco a poco, aquella rutina se convirtió en el momento más importante de su jornada.

Una tarde lluviosa, encontró una carta distinta a las demás. No estaba dirigida a nadie en particular y no parecía haber sido enviada nunca. El papel estaba amarillento, pero aún se podía leer con claridad.

En la carta, su abuelo hablaba del miedo. Decía que muchas personas toman decisiones pensando solo en evitar el dolor, el fracaso o la decepción. Sin embargo, también advertía que quien vive así termina alejándose de la alegría, de la sorpresa y del amor verdadero. Luego añadía:

"No tengas miedo de cambiar de rumbo si tu corazón te lo pide. La vida no siempre exige certeza. A veces solo exige valor."

Sofía sintió un nudo en la garganta. Llevaba meses cuestionándose si debía continuar con la carrera que estaba estudiando. La había elegido por ser práctica y estable, pero en el fondo sabía que no le apasionaba. Siempre había amado la literatura, la escritura y la enseñanza, pero le asustaba escoger un camino incierto.

Guardó la carta con cuidado y regresó a la casa bajo la lluvia. Cuando entró, su tía Elisa notó de inmediato que algo había cambiado en su expresión.

• ¿Encontraste algo importante? - preguntó.

Sofía sonrió, aunque tenía los ojos brillantes.

• Creo que sí. Creo que encontré una conversación que necesitaba tener desde hace mucho tiempo.

Esa noche hablaron durante horas. Sofía le confesó a su tía sus dudas, sus temores y la sensación de estar viviendo una vida diseñada para complacer a otros. Elisa la escuchó sin interrumpirla. Cuando por fin Sofía terminó de hablar, su tía le tomó la mano y dijo:

• Tu abuelo también cambió de rumbo una vez. Y aunque no fue fácil, nunca se arrepintió. Lo más triste no es equivocarse. Lo más triste es no atreverse a vivir de verdad.

Los días siguientes pasaron con una serenidad nueva. El lago seguía siendo el mismo, los árboles seguían moviéndose con el viento, y la casa conservaba su silencio de siempre. Pero Sofía ya no era la misma. Había llegado cansada, confundida y llena de ruido interior. Ahora se sentía más ligera, más consciente de sí misma, más preparada para tomar decisiones.

Cuando llegó el momento de regresar a la ciudad, pasó una última mañana en la cabaña. Dejó sobre la mesa una nota breve dentro de su propio cuaderno.

"Gracias por las palabras que me esperaron tantos años. Prometo no olvidarlas."

Luego cerró la puerta con suavidad y devolvió la llave a su tía.

Mientras el coche se alejaba por el camino de tierra, Sofía miró por la ventana el lago, la casa y el bosque que poco a poco quedaban atrás. Sabía que aún tendría dudas en el futuro y que la vida no se volvería fácil de repente. Pero también sabía algo nuevo: dentro de ella había comenzado una transformación silenciosa, como esas estaciones que cambian sin pedir permiso.

Y aunque el mundo siguiera siendo incierto, Sofía había descubierto que a veces basta con escuchar con atención para encontrar el valor de empezar de nuevo.