Is Dreaming Spanish a Waste of Time?

[@andrealamexicana]

Thank you so much for this video! ❤ we are working even more on the super beginner videos to make them more entertaining, engaging and fun! Congrats on your journey! 🎉❤

[@piapenny]

Hola Andrea!!!

[@matt_brooks-green]

And thank you Andrea for literally hours of entertainment! Thanks for all your hard work!🙏😊

[@andrealamexicana]

@@matt_brooks-green 🥰🤩thaaank uuu

[@andrealamexicana]

@@piapenny holaaaa 🥰

[@Ajas0810]

You don’t need to do a thing. Your beginner videos are really good and entertaining. 👍

[@Comprehensible_German]

Dreaming Spanish is one of the best things that ever happened to the Spanish learning community 🧡 I love seeing how far Pablo has already come with his vision!

[@matt_brooks-green]

It's great. A number of people are using the same idea in other languages but I don't remember seeing it before Pablo 👌

[@jasonjames6870]

Comprehensible German your video's are amazing I just wish there was hundreds of them 😊

[@jamesmccloud7535]

I'm only at 300 hours. I look back at my first few hours of Dreaming Spanish and understanding barely anything at the SuperBeginner level despite having studied basic grammar and vocabulary before. Now, I am quite comfortable watching intermediate and sometimes advanced videos that have easy topics. Still can't understand full native content yet, but the progress I have made without resorting to translation, vocabulary drills, or grammar study is incredible. This is truly the future. Can't wait for 1000 hours and when I finally start speaking. At first, I had a lot of doubts about the process and if language acquisition was legit, but in hindsight I can clearly see the massive difference in comprehension just by me listening to comprehensible content. Hope more people realize this and refrain from traditional study methods.

[@augustjones835]

I would really recommend to start speaking now, maybe try practicing by copying what is said in the videos if you’re not already :]

[@matt_brooks-green]

Great news! Speak when you're ready. I found the process simpler by just having to get input first without worrying about my production of the language. At the end of the day it's your journey and you should do what you want

[@mrsamot4677]

@@augustjones835no

[@ConspiracyCraftersStudio]

how is it now?

[@astropharix]

update bro?

[@cathybroadus4411]

I credit Dreaming Spanish with opening my mind to just how humans learn languages. Pablo has a winning model.

[@matt_brooks-green]

💯🔥🔥🔥

[@samsonbrody6308]

It's true! Krashen found the formula but it seems like Pablo and his team are really proving it's efficacy. I'm only around 100~ hours with DS but have probably double that if I'm including crosstalk and outside sources.

[@bobbygeorge9428]

Great review Matt. I am closing in on 1100 hours but have yet to make any effort to practice speaking but I experienced something last week that proved to me that this method works. My family and I were in Barcelona last week at La Sagrada Familia when we were notified that my daughter had passed out due to hypoglycemia and that we needed to go to the medic station. I was able to understand everything the medic was telling me and was able to speak to her in Spanish without too much difficulty. I know that I made mistakes but I am confident that I will improve once I begin to practice speaking. Keep up the great videos and congratulations on the growth of your channel.

[@matt_brooks-green]

I hope your daughter's okay. Yeah, I know the method works and the ease of picking up the language is great. With consistency you can acquire the language with minimal effort. Good luck on your speaking!

[@agus_boccaloni]

Thank you for making this video! I am so glad our videos have been helpful to you! This is amazing feedback and we will definitely use it to keep improving :) Good luck with your Spanish learning journey!!!

[@scojo63]

Hi Agustina! Love your videos! Thanks for your efforts and keep up the great work! Also, I 😍the sound of Rioplatense Spanish! I really enjoy when you guys make videos together and we get to hear the different accents at the same time.

[@matt_brooks-green]

Augustina! Thanks so much for checking out the video! Really appreciate all the work you put into the videos... I'm also really impressed how well you did in those quizzes with Pablo! 👌

[@HingYok]

Dreaming Spanish is definitely on my recommendation list, along with Spanish Playground, How to Spanish, Easy Spanish, and many others. This is based on Steven Krashen's hypotheses, which are themselves based on children's first language acquisition. I've seen some criticisms about Dreaming Spanish not explicitly teaching grammar, but if you think about how you acquired your mother tongue, did you have to learn grammar as a toddler? Probably not, but when we do start learning grammar of our mother tongue in school, it might be way easier than learning the grammar of a language we're unfamiliar with.

[@kingly71]

I have to credit Pablo and Dreaming Spanish with really sending my language learning journey to a new level. Just a wonderful resource. I'm not a 100% sure learning some grammar, etc. isn't a faster method for adults to learn, but regardless receiving loads of input is undeniably key to the process.

[@matt_brooks-green]

I think anything that makes the language learning process simple and enjoyable can only be a good thing!

[@thexjib]

This the the superior method for learning Spanish. I stared from close to zero and now I am understanding the advanced content. Still not speaking very much but that is OK, it will come. There is a lot of satisfaction that comes from increasing you comprehension, it happens so slowly but eventually you get there.

[@Shibby27ify]

I was about 1.5 years in my Spanish journey in 2021 and still at a struggling A2 level. Then I signed up for DS and after about 9 months I was solidly intermediate. It was like rocket fuel. But there's still a huuuuuge gap between the advanced videos and native content. That's my main gripe. It's worth every penny. I would download the audio of every video and listen to them over and over. If I could go back I probably would've used the Refold Spanish Anki deck and DS together to really accelerate my Spanish. It's not pure comprehensible input but I find some methods of study are like steroids for immersion. The ALG approach can sometimes be a bit self righteous that nothing works but pure comprehensible input.

[@matt_brooks-green]

Great news. Well done. I do think there is some content out there which can easily bridge the gap - Luisito Comunica for example uses simple language and is easier than a lot of other 'native' stuff. I know what you mean about the approach of some ALG-ers. Ultimately we are all adults and I don't see why anyone should get grumpy about language learning

[@winflip]

​@@matt_brooks-greenThanks for the rec of Luisito Comunica, seems great. I often zone out of dreaming spanish vids, but a professional youtuber like him holds my attention better, even though i don't understand everything.

[@hollowedboi5937]

Feel like for language learners, spending money is for convenience of time and planning, while doing things for free is more effort to set things up and have a self-service game plan. As well as ads. So it’s up to the learner what they’re willing to do.

[@lindamorristx]

I’ve been a premium member of Dreaming Spanish since February 2022 and I feel like these guys are my friends. Pablo is so passionate about teaching this CI method and it definitely WORKS!

[@coryjorgensen622]

Comprehensible input is very cool, especially when you get the "lightbulb" moment. There's not as much of it for Icelandic, but I managed to cobble together enough resources that I've gotten to around a B2-C1 by just listening, watching and reading. Thanks for the excellent video!

[@СтивС-к8ф]

Excellent and fair review. Pablo and company set the gold standard for comprehensible input. I am at 220 hours and I know the method really works. I can listen to intermediate podcasts (e.g. Espanol con Juan) easily.

[@matt_brooks-green]

I love it. I tried to give a balanced review but honestly, it’s a great example of how it should be done. Thanks for checking out the video 🙏

[@PQ_497]

I wish this was available in more languages, it sounds fab

[@espanol9498]

well, he said in some video he would be paying people to do that for chinese. but if you google around you can find some "comprehensible input" channel, thought they arent as comprehensible as DS makes it to be. you safe bet is peppa pig and cartoons like it, my gf is watching peppa pig for french lol

[@PQ_497]

@@espanol9498 Thanks! I actually did watch an episode of Peppa Pig in the language I want to learn (bahasa Indonesia) but only found one so far.

[@espanol9498]

@@PQ_497 any other cartoon for toddlers will do for indonesian

[@PQ_497]

@@espanol9498 I have found stuff for slightly older kids but I'll look again, thank you

[@TylerG7777]

Im already conversational in Spanish. Wish the was “Dreaming German”!

[@DanielBrahneborg]

I'm still waiting for a negative review on comprehensible input (in general) by anybody, but there doesn't seem to exist any. I just passed 100 hours at Dreaming Spanish, and I'm FAR from over the chock that it actually works. Not that any other method has worked for me, but still. I looked up the first videos again (sorted by difficulty), just listening to what they said, and not watching the screen at all. There were a few occasional words I still didn't understand, but not many. The strangest thing though, was that I now noticed several phrases which had been there all along (like "pues si"), but which hadn't even registered the first time. It wasn't even sounds in the beginning, it was just noise that my brain filtered out while waiting for something to understand. Really weird feeling.

[@philipdavis7521]

You'd be surprised at how hostile some people are about comprehensible input - one prominent English teacher even did some much viewed YT attacks on it. And occasionally you get a little bit of factionalism even within those who agree with it (I was surprised recently at Stephen Kaufman making very negative comments about those input courses that discourage early speaking). Some of it I think is just resentment by people who have worked very hard at languages toward the idea that you don't need to learn grammar or lists of words, which is understandable if you've spent years doing exactly that. But most criticisms I think come from people who simply don't understand the theory and concept.

[@jamesmccloud7535]

@@philipdavis7521 While that is true, I think some people fail to realize how incredibly niche this whole "Comprehensible Input" or second language acquistion is on the internet, even more in real life. We can have this illusion that it's quite well known in our own bubble on the internet, but outside people have no idea what you're talking about. I know no one personally who is actively trying to learn another language, and even when I encounter one, the chances of them knowing the theory of comprehensible input is close to zero. Most people still follow traditional methods in school or just self study grammar when they want to learn. That's what I did in the beginning till I got frustrated by how hard it actually is. Even when I just so happened to encounter Stephen Krashen and this whole niche, I still had a lot of doubts and skepticism with the claims. Now though I am a prominent believer after investing hundreds of hours in Dreaming Spanish and seeing my comprehension skyrocket.

[@daysandwords]

@@jamesmccloud7535 "We can have this illusion that it's quite well known in our own bubble on the internet, but outside people have no idea what you're talking about." Yes. It's also so counter intuitive that people often think they've understood what I'm saying (when I explain what it is to them), and then when they summarise what I've said I'm thinking "No, you've not understood it at all."

[@matt_brooks-green]

A lot of people get grumpy about different approaches to language learning. My opinion is that someone's strong feelings and loud opinions say more about them than they do about the method they are complaining about. DS is a great resource and the move to more implicit learning I think the the future of language learning

[@DanielBrahneborg]

@@philipdavis7521 Yeah, I guess I have to amend my previous "anybody" as "anybody who has actually tried it for a significant time".

[@Muppetkeeper]

8 months later, I have several updates from my own experience. I now have 820 hours of input, a lot of that from podcasts alongside DS. I'm back in Spain and I can understand most native speakers if they speak directly to me, but I know this will improve as I approach 1000 hours. As for Dreaming Spanish itself, the website has gone from strength to strength, they have new hosts, some are hilarious, and new editors and content quality. Seriously, some of the most recent videos are like professional short films. I'm now listening 2 hours a day, and hope to reach 2000 hours by the end of 2025. I'm just on the edge of being able to watch native media, and am slowly adding reading into my study, which helps a lot when preparing to speak.

[@stevenc123]

I'm up to 216 hours on Dreaming Spanish and it's been great. One thing to note is that the majority of the super beginner and beginner videos are free, so you can get pretty fair before really needing to subscribe. And the price is extremely low. I'd say most people will need the site for no more that 2 years. That's less than $200 for learning a language.

[@matt_brooks-green]

The value is insane. I really like that it is such a simple business model too. Watch video, pick up the language, talk when you want

[@MilesPatrick30]

Great review! Just started Dreaming Spanish. LOVE IT! Videos are engaging and fun. DS is a breath of fresh air. I've never felt so satisfied with a spanish learning resource. Also highly recommend to anyone to watch Pablo's videos explaining comprehensible input

[@mrsamot4677]

I’m at 300 hours and I absolutely love Dreaming Spanish. I used to study with traditional methods and while I made progress, I was still translating like crazy like you mentioned. My comprehension has skyrocketed since using it. Pretty much, it’s only a matter of time until this goes mainstream so I’m glad you’re contributing to spreading the word! Also, self promo: I just released a comprehensive crosstalk tutorial over in my page. So if you’re already an intermediate DS user come and check that out!

[@siphomlambo9534]

Matt, this is a wonderful outline of Dreaming in Spanish. I am much earlier in the journey than you are. I first came across Alma doing her Pablo and Elisa series, which I loved when I was starting out and then through her I came to dreaming in Spanish. I am really surprised that you have advanced so far and done so much time without speaking. Even if that works my personality would not permit me to do that. For better or for worse I do trust in the process but I still feel the urge to "taste stuff as I am cooking". I am very keen to hear what your experience is like when you start talking.

[@ThatIrishRose317]

I was recommended Dreaming Spanish by a Spanish teacher who modeled her entire class curriculum in a similar storytelling fashion. That was probably two or three years ago. Watching Dreaming Spanish flourish has been beautiful

[@daysandwords]

2:30 - LOL, every video on DS! I have thought about something like this too, but then I realised that it's literally impossible, since they add 3 new ones a day. (OK technically it's possible if you watched 6 a day, you could catch up but it would take 3 years haha.) The thing you described about "Coma tus fresas" - yeah... weirdly, I think your brain makes the "switch" earlier for a third language than it does for a second. For example, it was a while before I was able to hear something in Swedish and just think "Well I don't agree because blah blah blah..." (without thinking about it being in Swedish), but it happened after like a month in Spanish. (Yes my Spanish was better after a month than my Swedish was, but my brain also seemed much more ready to just "go with it".) The thing I rate about DS is that they DO talk about every day stuff. My own Swedish could use something like "Dreaming Swedish" because my comprehension of time of death and murder weapon is much better than my comprehension of the things that Swedes actually talk about which is how nice each other's apartments are and when the next kanelbullar break is. Another great video!

[@matt_brooks-green]

Yeah, if anyone does watch every one I would be very impressed! The implicit learning thing is interesting because I understand Spanish (or a lot of it) but I don't actually know anything about the structure or rules of the language. I haven't done flashcards but I wonder how much that has changed the experience for you because you will 'know' stuff that I might understand but haven't yet activated into my conscious memory and therefore can't yet use (if that's even how it works). Yeah, language is very much context specific. Ask me about language learning in Chinese and I can have a decent conversation. Talk to me outside of that and the results are much more mixed!

[@Komatik_]

> Yes my Spanish was better after a month than my Swedish was, but my brain also seemed much more ready to just "go with it". Maybe because English is heavily Latin-based and Swedish vocab's stayed more Germanic? Even if it feels like funhouse English to me, it's more the word order and such. Meanwhile even with my worse French, deciphering other Romance languages feels almost criminally easy. Specifically, _understanding_ Romance languages feels easy, actually composing sentences is another matter entirely. Your study methods with Spanish were also just better from the get go than Swedish, so with good methods and lots of cognates, why not?

[@D2022-n4z]

I use it. Doing well. Trying to cover all the free stuff at my level before subscribing. I watch them over and over. I use subtitles and translator and just go over and over until I know exactly what is going on. That isn't their intention I learned later but I have found the whole process hugely helpful. I have lived in Texas all my life. Looking for content to improve my listening skills is how I found them. Of course Mexican spanish is my focus. I love Andrea. Super funny.

[@christinehydon4436]

Brilliant video, Matt. I am considering learning Spanish at some point in the future, and I have been wondering how good DS is. Thank you so much for making this wonderfully informative video .😊

[@matt_brooks-green]

Thanks Christine!

[@scojo63]

Great review! I'm closing in on 250 hours and your review tracks with my experience so far. I am so thankful that I stumbled upon Dreaming Spanish. I am now in the intermediate level videos and can mostly follow them. I find Pablo's videos on the process of language learning to be quite helpful and very interesting. Like you say in your review, you sort of have to trust the process, but there's a lot of research backing up this particular method of language learning (Stephen Krashen's theory of comprehensible input, etc.). Plus, Pablo used this approach when he successfully learned the Thai language, so he has first-hand experience to back up the research. It was interesting to hear your take on which videos to watch, as well. I'm watching *all* the videos, but when I eventually begin to speak I'll probably have to pick an accent (at least I think so). The most logical choice for me, as an American, is probably the Mexican accent, but honestly, I'm in 😍with the sound of Rioplatense Argentine Spanish. But, the most important thing is I'm enjoying the journey. Thanks for your excellent review.

[@matt_brooks-green]

Thanks so much for checking out the video. If you are intermediate and want a Spanish accent also check out Luisito Communication on KZbin. Very compelling content that is generally easier to understand than a lot of content for native Spanish speakers. Enjoy!

[@tedcrowley6080]

I took 3 years of Spanish in high school (1962-1965). I couldn't speak it and never used it much. Then in 2020 I watched some INT/ADV videos at Dreaming Spanish -- and I understood everything! I have no explanation. It's not expensive -- it's worth the monthly subscription, even if you only watch a couple videos a week -- and stopping a subscription is super-easy.

[@Drogobo]

I just hit 64 hours of Dreaming Spanish. I can see my progress already!

[@matt_brooks-green]

Well done!

[@Sauna_Mikko]

Yo I just started using DS myself and I'm curious about your progression so far with it

[@Pnkfloid49]

Dreaming Spanish is the best thing to happen to language learning. Im almost at 800 hours and i only started last August. And that's after making basically no progress for 3 years using duolingo so I'm so grateful I found DS!

[@MarcRice]

I have 340 hours as of this moment and I have no choice but to speak Spanish every day. I have people who work under me, so far reasons of safety and productivity, I have to make every attempt to communicate. There is no way around it. I make mistakes, but they understand me. Dreaming Spanish is wonderful and one needs to listen in order to be successful at their target language. 800 hours? I’d be doing Ted Talks in Spanish

[@pedrocosta6242]

I just LOVE the Comphrensible Input approach. Do you know if there is any website similar to that but for French? I only follow Comphrensible French and Anice Ayel's youtube channel but I haven't found any websites similar to this one. Thank you for your input!!!

[@Josh1billion]

Dreaming Spanish is great. It might be my favorite Spanish resource overall - it's helped my listening comprehension a ton, and a chunk of my vocab has come from there. But I don't agree with the idea of using it alone, without bothering to study vocab/grammar/etc. separately, which is what they recommend on their website. Some of the other comments here have people saying they've been using Dreaming Spanish alone, for hundreds of hours, and still can't speak at all. I'm about ~300 hours myself into my studies, but with a combination of Dreaming Spanish and traditional studies, and I'm semi-conversational now. Meaning I can and do speak with native speakers about far more than just "hello, how are you" - albeit I currently need them to slow down to about a "Dreaming Spanish intermediate level" speed so that I can understand everything (fixing that part is my goal now :)). I can read/write more-or-less fluently, understand all the main grammar including the subjunctives, etc. Kinda at this point now where I'm just practicing speaking/listening faster, and filling in gaps in my vocabulary and set phrases. Hoping to get to a point next year where I can say "yeah I'm conversationally fluent." So I suppose my point is 1. Dreaming Spanish is amazing, but 2. using it alone without any other resources is going to take twice as long. Unless you have unlimited time, it makes sense to do whatever's going to get you to fluency the fastest.

[@j-t4436]

Totally agree, I was very surprised when I seen there were people using the input only method. I have seen people that have used this method for 1000+ hours and still haven’t started speaking, that’s crazy to me! I practiced everything from day one and reached a B2 level in less than 800 hours. It just seems like a huge waste of time to only practice one side of it.

[@lartrak]

I don't have an opinion on efficiency, but what people will actually stick with (as long as it works at all, mind) is the most important single thing in language learning. Pure or nearly pure input almost certainly has a higher retention rate than something with a lot of study and early speaking practice, and when something takes hundreds to thousands of hours, retention is the biggest factor in success. If you're extremely motivated or enjoy traditional study or speaking practice, absolutely do it though.

[@blesseddivaangel]

I think it depends very much on your end goal and how quickly you want to talk. Input only is supposedly better at teaching you to speak and learm the language the way natives learn as kids. So you kind of acquire the language rather than "learn it by memorising verbs and grammar through drills" So whilst Input only takes longer in the long run it achieves "better results" in certain respects. The other thing is the Traditional method of learning grammar and most apps/learning methods focus heavily on teaching translation which for a lot of people will make it much harder to speak to natives at a fast pace.

[@SimplyChinese]

A great review of DS! ❤

[@gm0t]

Great stuff Matt, I am trying to start CI with Chinese.

[@SimplyChinese]

What’s your level now in Chinese? I created some videos last year for beginners.

[@gm0t]

@@SimplyChinese Thanks will check it out .

[@Mr_Kirk_]

Thank you so much for this overview. I'm a paid user but had been using a separate spreadsheet to track other activities. I will definitely start to use the dashboard for tracking everything else in one place from now on. Great tip!

[@matt_brooks-green]

It's actually kept me on the platform longer just so I can see myself reach Level 6! 🤣

[@tinynhhouse5467]

I also use a spreadsheet to keep track of my CI hours. I prefer my own spreadsheet over the dashboard because I can see how many hours of watching videos, listening to podcasts and reading books in Spanish that I have completed. I am also a paid DS user and am approaching 700 hours of CI - Dave

[@Mr_Kirk_]

I just finished all of the super beginner and beginner videos. That's about 140 hours. So excited for intermediate level videos! I can only imagine what 5-600 hours watched must feel like. This method keeps me motivated by design. I want to progress through the levels to discovery how much better I understand at the different stages. So glad this exists.

[@Muppetkeeper]

I'm at 300 hours, i've gone from fear, drop and roll when a Spanish person talked to me to actually being able to understand them if they speak slowly.

[@matt_brooks-green]

Great work! 😊

[@markjoseph2801]

Great feedback. Having the freedom to listen and trust you are learning is great and you will. That being said, I hope there are assessments available after you pass the watch hour markers. Trust but verify is my mantra. 2) Other tools provide you with the speaking practice and I take advantage as I now speak to as many native Spanish as I can. In the US, Spanish speakers seem to light up by just saying the most basic phrases. I try my best to practice more phrases instead of individual words to avoid overly translating. 3) Dreaming Spanish on KZbin has advantages that the platform alone lacks. Mostly that you can exchange ideas and ask questions on YT. I read comments now and respond in Spanish even if I make a few errors. Another example, is when Agustina de Argentina pronounced la playa as "la plasha" I laughed when I figured out it was her form of Spanish in Argentina to just say, the beach. Thanks again. Am following

[@matt_brooks-green]

Thanks Mark. Personally I wouldn't like tests at each level - the process is a sliding scale in my mind rather than a series of steps. I don't know how many people would enjoy the tests or what they would prove. Being able to communicate with native speakers is one of life's great pleasures! Thanks for checking out the channel! 🙏

[@501sabu501]

I randomly saw the thumbnail for this video and thought to myself there’s no way someone thinks they’re a waste of time… glad to see it was an endorsement of DreamingSpanish. I only came across them a couple of weeks ago, but the videos they have are extremely interesting and a good tool for Spanish learners. My level is an intermediary level but I can only imagine what it’s doing for beginners.

[@ES4406]

Dreaming Spanish is excellent Thankypu for the video

[@stevenc123]

3:57 I developed a website that used the KZbin API and I can't remember if it was a youtube restriction or a browser restriction but you can't trigger autoplay automatically on mobile.

[@karenhunter3113]

I'm starting to dip my toes into it a bit and find it quite fun. Sometimes I even forget it's in Spanish. I've been considering getting the premium, you may have convinced me!

[@adventuresofashleyb]

I recently started and it’s really good!

[@cinven38]

I love Dreaming Spanish! I'm a high school Spanish teacher who spent 15 years in Venezuela, so I'm pretty fluent. However, I still love to watch/listen because I can hear the different accents, vocab, and grammar. Also, I get lots of ideas for my students!

[@España4626]

Another useful feature in the progress section: If you listen to comprehensible input from other sources, you can go back to the DS tracker and manually add those minutes/hours. I find this very useful.

[@weshouldsaveourselves6780]

Dreaming Spanish has been absolutely amazing. In just a few days I’m already understanding and being able to speak a lot. The method they use is the best.

[@redzebra6688]

Highly appreciate your video tysm for sharing

[@billnu]

Great video. I am loving dreaming Spanish

[@katie84]

I started with more of a refold / lingq approach, got burnt out, took a break, and then rediscovered Dreaming Spanish. It’s so easy and enjoyable. 10/10 would recommend!

[@matt_brooks-green]

Yeah, that's the beauty. There are lots of approaches but this one feels like cheating. Zero effort and natural acquisition. Good luck!

[@NickAkins-qr6xm]

Dreaming Spanish is easily one of the best tools to use when learning Spanish! My Spanish learning journey has improved show much since I started using dreaming Spanish.

[@kdpunshon3073]

I use DS - I am a Super Beginner and have been making progress. Thanks for this Matt...its inspiring me to continue on because every other method of learning Spanish has been a failure for me. Wish I knew how many hours a day you put in though?

[@matt_brooks-green]

It varied depending on what I had going on to be honest. I would always listen while driving, doing the chores or walking the dog which would have been at least 2 hours a day if not more. I know that isn't quite the same as sitting and watching the videos with 100% attention but my Spanish improved in spite of that. I would also put on DS or something else if I was just having a coffee or something. My 'day in the life' video is a good representation of what some days would be like. Good luck!

[@LearnEnglishwithNetflix]

Awesome, thanks so much for reviewing this, do you know if there are other sites like this for other languages?

[@richyreese4451]

I'm going to have to watch this through when I get back home. I've been using Dreaming Spanish for a while now and I see so much improvements in my understanding it's crazy!

[@jeffreybarker357]

Me: *minding my own business* Phone: *Notification that Matt made another video* Me: *sigh* Guess I’ll finish this other thing I’m doing later. 😆

[@matt_brooks-green]

Hahahahaha! Thanks Jeff!

[@captmoroni]

1:58 Yes I know what you mean. There are times when I stop a DS vid and rewind because my brain heard English. I know the DS speech is all in Spanish, checking confirms that I watched in Spanish, but I swear I heard English. This is at 170 hours of DS input.

[@matt_brooks-green]

Amazing! Today I kept wanting to use 'clave' when speaking English. Natural acquisition is great! 😊

[@devoidsloth]

How did you do vocabulary and grammar? How did you choose words to focus on?

[@DWRWC]

Tambien he usado Dreaming Spanish como mi recurso principal para aprender el español, y tengo que decir que definitivemente ha sido mi recurso favorito. A mi me gusta mucho Dreaming Spanish y funciona muy bien.

[@MA-yt4xf]

I’ve been waiting for someone to review this as I’m only 30 hours in so far. Thanks for the video!! How is your confidence with grammar? I’ve been thinking of maybe doing some grammar work on the side to maybe speed things up a bit.

[@matt_brooks-green]

I've done a bit of everything but have watched all of the videos in Spain Spanish. I'm not almost exclusively using native content to continue. With regards to grammar it will help you monitor your output. I still have no idea on grammar but can speak well enough to have decent conversations. I may study grammar at some point but I never get round to it as reading and speaking to teachers always seems to be the more fun option!

[@harrydoesspanish7233]

Great review! Agreed on all points. Like you I'm also trying to watch all the European Spanish videos and am about half way through (excluding Advanced). I've been aware of DS for a while but only started using it as my primary source back in March. I combine it with Español con Juan's videos and podcasts and am getting close to 400 hours and the progress I'm noticing is great. We had a call with Jonathan Tetteh a couple days ago and he inspired me to go further, and your videos also help remind me to get my daily input. I'm still debating whether to get some bone conduction headphones like the Shokz OpenMove pair you recommended, or some wireless neckband earphones, gonna have to go find a shop that has a demo because I really can't decide haha.

[@vulcan20mmsp44]

I purchased a pair of Shokz OpenMove - simple to use, decent sound quality, and keeps your ears open.

[@matt_brooks-green]

It is an amazing resource. When you consider the price and effectiveness of alternatives - you can get not a lot of Spanish for a lot more money! Bone conduction are my faves. You can listen all the time. The less friction there is to getting input the more likely you are to get some

[@sheco97]

I don't know if it's just me but I noticed I don't really improve fast when I just count on comperhension input. I love DS videos and I make sure to watch them everyday cause they're really fun and I can pick up some useful phrases but I noticed when I learn thro reading or by memorizing phrases I learn WAY TOO FASTER. I still find it cool that there's some people out there want you to enjoy your journy learning their langugae!

[@whit6444]

Does listening to a video while your at work count, or do you have to be focused on it and not just having it blaring into your ear with earbuds while you’re doing other things?

[@elderlight]

I don't use dreaming spanish but theres podcasts like cuentame and chill spanish listening practice thats for comprehensible input and while at work its all i listen to

[@gnostie]

This sounds great. Pity I already speak Spanish OK. But does something like this exist for French? Please tell me what it's called if it does, as I've got a person who'd LOVE it. Thank you for this video!

[@dg7438]

Awesome. What do you think it will take for you to start speaking? Just more experience or try to pratice?

[@matt_brooks-green]

900 hours...

[@WeiseGuy91]

Do they have resources and videos for Costa Rican or just Tico Spanish?

[@markgutman3217]

The idea makes sense, and I like your pointing out that getting in a few extra minutes a day. I got started on the timer today. I don't think you realize, though, that you have a head start on most of us because you have at least one relative that you spend time around who speaks Spanish. I suspect you'd heard her tell your niece other things, giving you bonus listening you hadn't even thought of. I'm not as interested in the Spain version of Spanish (vosotros) because the vast majority of Spanish speakers don't use it. Mexico alone has more than 2 1/2 times as many speakers as Spain. Living in the U.S., I'm more likely to run into the other kind of Spanish.

[@matt_brooks-green]

I wish I did to be honest. They live in Spain sadly so I only see them a couple of times a year. It’s easier to get input with DS

[@TrangNguyen-kf6zy]

Love Dreaming Spanish ❤

[@greta4244]

I've tried to learn Spanish by studying long lists of vocabulary, doing grammar practices, and other boring stuff. I made 0 progress. Then I decided that the best way to learn it is in the same way that I learnt English (it's my second language) - by immersing myself in the language. I'm only 15 hours in (tbh Duolingo & listening to Spanish music helped me a lot), and I can understand almost everything that is said in intermediate videos :)

[@MatthewJBD]

This video has convinced me to sign up

[@royinnes1]

Quick question. Does it offer an option to converse in Spanish? Understanding a language is so different to speaking it. Thanks so much.

[@headinthemountains1666]

What are thoughts on watching spanish content (eg. spanish netflix ) with spanish sub titles??? I know in a recent video from Pablo he was against this (turn it off). But I like making the connection with the spoken word with the written word in my brain (make sense??).... especially when they are speaking faster than I can comprehend?? Also have you started using Chat gpt in anyway yet on your spanish learning journey??? Perhaps future video on your thoughts here?? Thanks for your content!

[@tinynhhouse5467]

When I started Dreaming Spanish, I turned off the subtitles so my brain could learn the sounds of the Spanish words. My guess is that once the sounds are securely in your head (maybe 500 - 800 hours?), I don't see a problem with subtitles, especially for difficult movies. I have watched a couple of videos about using ChatGPT for language learning. The best idea I have seen so far is to have ChatGPT create short stories in Spanish for reading practice. - Dave

[@matt_brooks-green]

Thanks for checking out the video. Ultimately the golden rule is "you're an adult, do what you enjoy". But I think ideally you would have the subs off as you don't listen the same way when they are on. That said, I will totally own up to watching La Casa De Papel with subs to help my comprehension, but I sometimes end up 'reading' the episode rather than watching it which is probably not a good use of my time

[@XgamersXdimensions]

Dreaming Spanish is great! I used the Refold 1K deck, Dreaming Spanish, and some graded readers and my understanding of Spanish has proved drastically while not really having to “put in much effort” (explicit studying) because of how the series are structured. I am now breaking into native content (Netflix dramas) and having a lot of fun! Agustina is the best!

[@yarathofficial404]

Great video! What is your experience in hitting almost 300 hours or having 300 hours or more in Dreaming Spanish? A lot of the intermediate videos, I still have a difficult time understanding. Recently, I went back to the super beginner and beginner level because it is easier. According to dreaming Spanish, I am intermediate level, but discouraged because I cannot fully grasp the intermediate videos. Also, what is your opinion in listening to videos that we do not understand most of the time? If we watch videos that is not our level and we understand some stuff, would that still help our input and understanding?

[@matt_brooks-green]

If you're not understanding much you won't be able to pick up much from it. You'd be better going through as much as you can of the beginner stuff until you feel you can understand the intermediate videos. There will be a difference between different speakers as well though. When I was using DS I found Sandra and Pablo really easy to understand at the intermediate level but some other speakers harder. Also it depends on the accent and how accustomed to it you are. I just stuck with Spanish from Spain partly for that reason too

[@loloi]

Matt, have you found any other resource in other languages that are as close to Dreaming Spanish as possible? Meaning ones that have something like their Super Beginner and Beginner content? All the comprehensible input i’ve seen are usually just in intermediate levels and up.

[@espanolconmaria]

¿Y cómo es posible que no nos conozcamos todavía?

[@matt_brooks-green]

Jajajajaja! No se! 🤣🤷‍♂️

[@TheRealMartin]

I really like Espanol con Juan as well!

[@matt_brooks-green]

His books are great!

[@TheRealMartin]

@@matt_brooks-green are they? I bought año nuevo, vida nueva but haven't attempted to read it yet!

[@GoodEnoughSpanish]

I'm already at an advanced level with Spanish and I'm just exploring DS as something else to do, just another project for improvement if you will. But what I'm wondering is... if the DS concept of just listening for a ton of hours works so well, then how do you explain people who move to a foreign country, stay there for years, and still can't speak or barely understand the language worth diddly squat? And there's plenty of people like this all over the world. I'm not saying this doesn't work...at least for some people...but is this the most effective way (or at least one of the most effective ways) for most people to learn Spanish? Definitely things that make you go hmmm.

[@lartrak]

That's not the concept of DS and related systems. The concept is watching and listening to tons of hours of material you can actually understand. The easiest DS videos, you can understand them with the audio turned off they use so many visual cues. This lets people build up semantic connections to the spoken words, first with concrete nouns and verbs. As you get more and more of those known, it becomes possible to understand pieces of grammar from the slowly increasing complexity of the spoken words. It just moves up from there. People who move to nations and learn nothing never do this. They try to take in adult native level content, can't understand anything spoken, give up, and put themselves in a bubble of their native language. If they do watch content in the language of the new nation, they use native language subtitles, and are essentially never trying to learn the words of the new language.

[@timothyreal]

It’s very possible to live in another country and not meaningfully engage with the local language, especially if you’re an English speaker. The point isn’t simply to be surrounded by the language, but to understand what’s being expressed. That’s why DS starts with very simple videos and works upward from there.

[@SeñorDreddles]

In the interest of full transparency its $8 per month. I think that's an important thing to mention that just saying its $8. Still good value.

[@KTan-gt4ck]

Hi! Great video! You posted this 10 months, have you started speaking yet? I’m curious to know how this approach leads on the speaking 😊

[@matt_brooks-green]

Yep! I've been speaking for ages. I'll do an update video at some point but, yeah, the method works

[@didiDanaila]

What about an update? Can you speak the language now? After a year? What's your level now? Thanks

[@coolbrotherf127]

I misread the title as Dreaming of Spinach which I believe is a bad thing btw

[@SvengelskaBlondie]

Sounds a bit like the title of Popeye the sailors autobiography 🤣

[@thomasf4605]

Obviously listening will be important but I wonder what if you start studying grammar with half your listening time, wouldn't that be better?

[@dylanalliata4809]

Agreed its a good deal. You can go search youtube videos at your level but you get what you need in one place are you really going to find hundreds of hours of video for comprehensive input at your level? . The review is a good one.

[@jimi02468]

"All of the language" is quite a bold claim. There are literally words in my native language that I don't know the meaning of.

[@matthewandrew]

Ok u convinced me

[@lindaloranger2998]

I'm happy to subscribe for $8 a month just to support Pablo in this fantastic effort!

[@carolmoseley4847]

I would be interested to see results of people's conversational level that have clocked lots of hours of listening. No doubt you will improve your comprehension listening a lot, but I feel like there are gaps in the equation. If you are not also practicing consistently speaking, you are not using your mouth, tongue, cheeks to produce the sounds you need for spanish. They are muscles that need to be exercised in order to have good pronunciation. Just listening eliminates the very human side of speaking a language. We get nervous when we speak, we can't pronounce the words that are pronounced perfectly "inside our head", we freeze up and can't find the words. It's unlikely that most of the vocabulary that you understand perfectly while listening, will just hang out in your brain, until you are ready to use it, and then magically be remembered when you need it. To speak well, you have to practice that skill. O sea, si quieres comunicarte bien, es sumamente importante practicar esa habilidad

[@timothyreal]

I’m not sure I buy into the assumption that speaking is a discrete skill that can be practiced, as if it were the backstroke or factoring a polynomial. I moved to a Spanish speaking country after a couple years of only input and no speaking. It took a couple weeks to accustom myself to speaking, but I’ve had very few problems since then. It makes perfect sense that output follows from input; you can’t pull something out of your head if it was never put in there in the first place.

[@carolmoseley4847]

@@timothyreal That’s so great that you’re having the experience of living in a Spanish speaking country. I totally agree you have to listen a lot to have some basic patterns ready to use. If you have the opportunity to consistently speak more spanish and less english, you can improve rapidly. The majority of people learn Spanish in their own country, which makes the habit of consistent speaking practice harder. I go to my Spanish Meet Up group, and the members that practice speaking every day have definitely improved the most

[@timothyreal]

@@carolmoseley4847 The point I'm driving at is that the notion that speaking is some kind of "skill" is dubious at best. I arrived in this country already speaking pretty well, despite not speaking at all during my learning process, and I only needed to round out a few things and get comfortable. If speaking were truly a skill, I would've arrived completely unable to communicate at all, but obviously that wasn't the case. The skill-building model of language learning is based on the unsubstantiated assumption that all human knowledge is structurally identical and that you can improve speaking as a discrete skill as if it were a type of math problem or a Rubiks Cube. There's no research supporting that notion and it runs contrary to my experience.

[@carolmoseley4847]

@@timothyreal That's awesome that you are speaking so well now, enjoy your time in Spain. I hope to live in a Spanish speaking country in the future-Saludos

[@captainpugwash2317]

I wish they had something similar like this in Italian to learn.😢😢😢

[@accent77]

Do they have transcripts of the audio that you can read?

[@matt_brooks-green]

No, Spanish Languge Coach does for his podcast if you prefer that sort of thing

[@OxysLokiMoros]

can you Download only the audios? And can you pay by creditcard?

[@stevenc123]

There's an option for downloading audio only, and payment is done via stripe so all credit cards should work.

[@itanof9460]

I’m convinced

[@matt_brooks-green]

I'm convincing

[@headache1992]

Dreaming Spanish is an incredible source of learning Spanish language. I'm so grateful to Pablo and his team for my progress!❤❤❤

[@kennalong]

Wish there was something like this for other languages. Praying for an alternative for French 🙏🏻 🇫🇷

[@matt_brooks-green]

The channel French Comprehensible Input uses similar methods

[@griff424]

ds is good I understand pretty much everything but i am lacking on speaking and writing yet doing nothing about it

[@matt_brooks-green]

Just keep going. The speech will emerge when you're ready. I'm really glad I waited 😊

[@griff424]

@@matt_brooks-green how long exactly you waited btw

[@matt_brooks-green]

@@griff424 900 hours 😅

[@worldobserver3515]

Are you fluent now? How long have you been at it?

[@matt_brooks-green]

Nope. Still working on it!

[@gavinstuart3446]

come one man do another update on this!

[@jaredlash5002]

Well, my target language is French, but when I switch gears to Spanish in 2027 then I'll be sure to hop on this. Too bad there's no Dreaming French.

[@espanol9498]

watch peppa pig or other cartoons

[@matt_brooks-green]

Boom: www.youtube.com/@FrenchComprehensibleInput How'd you like them apples? One day I will learn French and 100% will be using Lucas's videos

[@brianwells6918]

@@matt_brooks-green There is also Alice Ayel: www.youtube.com/@aliceayel I haven't looked into her channel very much, but I have seen it recommended. I believe she uses the Comprehensible Input method.

[@espanol9498]

@@matt_brooks-green yo my gf said it's not very comprehensive

[@annaleekruyer]

How and when does one jump from watching these videos to speaking???

[@matt_brooks-green]

Wait until you feel you’re ready , then find a fun tutor to chat to

[@MA-yt4xf]

Did you mean that you finished all the super beginner videos in Spain Spanish, then Latin spanish, and continued for each level? Or did Spain spanish all the way to the end, and then did some advanced Latin spanish?

[@matlynch83]

Wish i was learning spanish!

[@matt_brooks-green]

No time like the present!

[@jonathancasillas9040]

How did you find cross talk partners?

[@matt_brooks-green]

Honestly, I just pay an italki tutor. It is more convenient and efficient to do that than try and align schedules with someone. That said, you can always find a forum in your target language for learners of your native language and try and find someone there.