Dreaming Spanish Update: 150 Hours In – It’s Starting to Click
📍 Month 2 Progress Report
🧠 Level: 3
⏱ Total CI Time: 150 hours
🗣️ Speaking Practice: ~40 hours (from 7 years ago)
Progress & Wins This Month
This month I officially hit Level 3 in Dreaming Spanish and passed 150 hours of comprehensible input. It’s honestly wild how much more I can understand now, especially when I think about where I started just two months ago.
I’m still nowhere near fluent (not even close), but my brain is starting to expect Spanish now. I find myself catching phrases, anticipating words, and even thinking in Spanish here and there. Something’s shifting, and it feels good.
My biggest win? I randomly clicked on an advanced Shel video and to my surprise… I understood a good chunk of it. That moment hit hard—it felt like real, tangible progress.
What I’m Watching
I started watching Dreaming Spanish content chronologically this month, mostly because I didn’t want to miss any foundational stuff.
But let’s be real: those early beginner videos aren’t the easiest to watch when your brain’s still warming up, especially at 5am before coffee, after a night of broken sleep and a full to-do list waiting. So now I mix in newer, more engaging videos to keep the energy up.
This combo of “old for structure + new for energy” has been the key to staying consistent without burning out.
What I’d Love to See More Of
If the Dreaming Spanish team is taking requests, here’s what I’d love to see more of in the future:
Mindfulness and meditation
Personal growth + reading habits
How to learn better as an adult
Spirituality (non-religious, reflective topics)
The educational stuff is amazing, but now that I’ve logged 150 hours, I’m definitely starting to hit my limit on the clothes try-ons, weddings, jewellery-making, and Andrea’s singing sessions. Would love to see more depth to balance out the light.
What’s Actually Working
Outside of Dreaming Spanish, I’ve also been getting into the Spanish Booster Podcast.
I started with the Minecraft series (relaxing, oddly meditative), but recently discovered he’s got episodes on personal growth and mindset. That’s totally my thing, so those are getting added to the rotation this month.
Outside Resources I’m Loving
Here’s what my routine has looked like this month:
Morning CI + coffee (low-pressure, high-repetition content)
Chores and solo drives with Dreaming Spanish audio
Spanish Booster podcast during walks or post-workout cooldowns
CI as background audio during low-intensity workouts
A huge mindset shift this month: I got stuck in traffic recently for an hour, and my first thought was, “Nice, extra CI time.” That told me everything I needed to know about how far I’ve come.
“CI” means Comprehensible Input
Goal Update
My app goal is still set to 60 minutes a day, mainly for the dopamine hit of seeing the celebration animation but I’m realistically averaging 2 to 3 hours most days. Between Dreaming Spanish and passive listening, it’s just part of my day now. I’m not forcing it—it’s just there.
Why I’m Learning Spanish
In 4 months, we’re leaving the UK to travel long-term through South and Central America with our two kids.
Between work, raising kids, planning the trip, and running a travel blog, it’s full-on but learning Spanish is non-negotiable for me. I want to be able to show up in each place respectfully. I want to have real conversations, not just point at menus and hope.
Before all this, I had around 40–50 hours of speaking practice back in my twenties. It’s been years, but that base is still floating around somewhere. I’ll be jumping back into speaking lessons a month or two before we leave to get those muscles working again.
Learning as a Family
One big shift this month is that we’ve started learning together as a family using TalkBox.Mom. It’s more focused on speaking practice and has been a game-changer.
Instead of flashcards or textbooks, we’re replacing everyday phrases we normally use at home with the Spanish versions. It’s messy, funny, and surprisingly effective. The kids are actually correcting me now. Love that.
What’s Next
Just staying consistent, exploring more intermediate content, and easing into active speaking again as we get closer to departure.
Still early in the journey but this month felt like a turning point for learning Spanish.
¡Vamos!
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