Wow Meredith! Great video documenting your language learning journey. You're doing excellent! ¡Sigue así! Y gracias por compartir nuestro podcast en tu video. Nos alegra mucho que te guste.
I'm glad that it's useful for you. I originally recorded the videos just for myself, but then I decided it might be nice for people like you to be able to have a realistic benchmark. Thanks for commenting!
hi, I from colombia, I would like to have a person like you who wants to learn Spanish and who teaches me the English language, I think we can achieve it
Omg your Spanish got so good, your accent is great as well, amazing job. You impressed me, if you keep going you’ll be almost native soon. Saludos desde Ecuador, me alegra mucho que te hayas esforzado tanto para aprender nuestro idioma y cultura. I hope that you keep going :)
Que bonito comentario!! Espero que lo que dices sea cierto, que algún día podría hablar como una nativa 🥺 De hecho, muy pronto voy a publicar el segundo vídeo mostrando mi progreso durante el segundo año. Espero que sea esta semana, si tengo tiempo jaja. Y de la cultura - no tienes idea qué tanto aprender este idioma ha cambiado mi vida al acercarme a una cultura tan hermosa como la cultura de América Latina. Gracias a ti y a todos por estar dispuestos a compartirla conmigo.
I'm a native Spanish speaker myself (from Colombia) and I've been living in this for 23 years and never left the country and coming across this video has filled me with joy and a lot of respect. Your progress that you've made in Spanish in a single year is beyond amazing, I would go as far as saying that you're quite close (if not already) to an advanced level of Spanish. Just as a curious fact. It took me nearly 4 years to go from B1 to B2 level in English. Of course I wasn't studying or immersing myself in the language every single day but I still used some English. But it took me less than a year to go from B2 level to C1 by forcing myself to listen to native speakers (podcasts, tv shows) and reading some books (literature) and it was tough but now I'm around the C1-C2 in English , it all pays off in the end. I'm certain that you will become advanced in less than a year if you keep doing what you've been doing. Probably you'll be able to reach the C2 level in a few years. By the way , you're already fluent in Spanish in my opinion and you're well spoken. Greetings!
What an incredibly nice comment!! And since you mentioned your English journey, I just want to say that it's obvious by your comment that your English is definitely around C1-C2, like you said :) I haven't lost any of my motivation to keep going, so I'm sure I'll get there eventually. Thanks so much for the encouragement, I really appreciate it!
If you can pass a B2 level exam in reading, writing, speaking and hearing, you are fluent. If you get to C2, you are speaking almost like a native and more properly than most. For common languages like Spanish there are already well defined metrics.
My goal in learning Spanish is really just to get to the conversational stage right now. And just enjoy improving as much as I can after that. I don’t really know or care what fluency means.
Great goal! Because once you get to the point where you can have conversations, you can just begin to enjoy the process and progress will happen naturally
Glad I could inspire you in some way! If you're feeling stuck, I actually just published a new video with tips to help you keep progressing in any language if you want to check it out! ua-cam.com/video/XDB7NSQAk2k/v-deo.html
Your video is great, and very motivational. Unlike many videos, I really appreciate you actually showing your speaking ability, both where you were and where you are after one year. And thank you for sharing the tools and resources you used. Do you mind if I ask how much you studied and how often?
Thanks for your comment! I appreciate it. Definitely the idea was to give a real to life view of the process, which is why i also included clips of me taking lessons and having conversation exchange. Honestly I can't say how much time I spent studying because it's been nearly a year since I made this video (I started day 1 in January 2020, and the one-year mark was January 2021). I think I did minimum of 2 hours of conversation practice and 1 hour italki class every week, and then my self guided study was sporadic/as needed. I surely spent several hours each week listening to podcasts and watching UA-cam though!
About how much I studied, after receiving this question a lot, I decided to make a video addressing exactly how many hours I spent. Check it out! ua-cam.com/video/09ew3mJ88ts/v-deo.html
I'm surprised and really glad that you've picked up spanish as a new learning language, I am from México and I've living and working in USA for 2 years and I've seen that American people usually prefer learning other languages like french or german rather than spanish, that's why I am surprised seeing other people talking my mother tongue, I've followed your same strategy for english and after two years I am able to work in the tech industry 😀, watching movies mainly at first w/subtitles Then without subtitles, now I can enjoy Hallmark movies and A&E without subtitles 🎬 Keep going you are doing such an excelent job with spanish
I was shocked to see that this was the only video available on your channel! I love how realistic it is. You went from basically understandable and able to have simple conversations to comfy conversations with errors every now and then. Not 0 to giving a description of the renaissance. Thank you so much for posting this. I really believe what you documented here is a really great way to acquire a language that is also (relatively) accessible! It's got all of the elements. - 1. Frequency lists to help understand material immediately 2. Material that is comprehensible 3. Hand-picked flashcards to boost what you want to know 3. SPEAKING and/or writing AS YOU GO (once you have a solid understanding and have learned the phonetics n whatnot) Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking are all independent skills that need their own practice. They happen to be linked by vocabulary, so working on one area will reduce the amount of time you will need to put into any of the others, but you can't remove the need to speak entirely. - I was trying to use the Refold method worked on by Matt vs Japan, but I was consistently disappointed at how little I could say or comfortably say despite how much content I could fully comprehend. When I look back, the most comfortable things I could say were the things that I had lots of speaking practice with in my 4 years of German in school (not a fast approach, but it was essentially my only speaking and writing practice.) I had to explicitly search this video out to find a realistic video of someone progressing their speaking skills, separated from the whole culture of immersion that is growing quickly. I love immersion, but it's not what's going to give you conversational skills. Theoretical knowledge and practical skill are two different things just like how understanding input and and being able to output are two different things. Spending your time on reading/listening and speaking/writing respectively, may not be the most blazing fast path to understanding, but it's the most rewarding in my opinion because you are actually applying what you know to grow your ability to communicate *and* understanding of the language and culture.
Hahaha I love the way you describe it! "Not 0 to giving a description of the renaissance" - spot on. I'm glad that the realism of my video resonated with you, that was certainly the goal. To portray how learning a language ACTUALLY looks, not some promise of fluency in a short amount of time. I'm not familiar with the method you mentioned but I'll look into it to see what it's about. In general though I find it crazy how people make unrealistic claims so frequently. Regarding immersion, I believe that what I was able to do by listening to so many podcasts and watching so much UA-cam in Spanish was to create a sort of "virtual immersion" without having to live in a Spanish-speaking country. I'm glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for your comment!! Good luck on your language learning journey. (P.S. Part 2 of this video will be coming to the channel at the end of this month or beginning of February!!)
@@MeredithSpielman the refold method basically has a lot of immersion (basically most of your time with the language should be through comprehensible input, progress to native stuff etc., like what you did basically) as it's base and not speaking early. Of course, it's not a dogma so you can speak early if you want but the method advices not to at the beginner stages. I think that's what the original commentor meant. Because it's kinda drilled that "don't speak early", so when it's eventually time to speak it becomes difficult to do so because you're scared of making mistakes etc. Refold.com
Wow! I felt inspired and proud [of you] watching this. I've studied Spanish for several years formally and don't feel this kind of confidence speaking [yet]. I also haven't used my Spanish since the pandemic began, so I have lost quite a bit of my vocabulary and fluency. This motivated me to get back on track with my pursuit of improving my speaking/listening ability in Spanish. Thanks!
Thanks so much 😊 One of my best friends and language partners is Venezuelan! You should watch my second video of the second year learning Spanish, I think my pronunciation has improved since the first year
Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that! Learning a language is a huge achievement, it almost diminishes how impressive a feat it is when people claim it can be done in weeks or months
The hardest is hearing it and slang most hispanics dont speak 100 proper spanish and they use slang and also spanish has its idioms and similes like english too and natives use idioms alot in their spanish so learning that is just as important to learning proper spanish
This is so helpful and inspiring! I just posted a video on my channel sharing my progress after two months of Spanish lessons. I'm so excited to see where I am in a year!
Thank you so much!! Deciding to take videos was definitely a great idea to keep me motivated. Even now looking at how I sounded at one year, I know I sound even better now! The most important thing is to not be in a hurry, but to never stop! Sin prisa pero sin pausa 💖
What a great video! It's always nice to see a realistic timespan for learning a new language instead of setting people up for failure, by telling them fluency could be achieved in 3 Months. I also really enjoyed the way you structured the video and showed your progress!
Thanks so much! I totally agree, that's sort of the goal of my videos. I'm just a normal person (well, I'm definitely a language nerd), who learned a language, but I was dedicated. I'm not trying to impress anyone, only to show how it actually went for me. Thanks so much for your comment!
What matter the most is language learning is motivation. It might take you years to learn a new language, but the journey is really exciting if you fall in love with it. I myself spend a consider amount of time at the begging looking for things that are interesting in the culture that are apealing for me, so I criate an emotional kink with the language.
Good point! I think if someone expects instant payoff, they will give up quickly. So if you set yourself up from the beginning to understand this is a years long process, you can make the process itself enjoyable instead of just anxiously awaiting the end result.
Como una persona que ha estudiado el español por muchos años y todavía no habla en tu nivel, me parece que hablas el español muy bien, en solo un año, felicidades a ti, puedes estar orgullosa.
Muchas gracias 😊 lo aprecio. Y imaginate, ya ha pasado casi un año más desde que hice este video 🤯 y me mudé a México hace dos meses. Entonces creo que ahora lo hablo aún mejor
todos tenemos acento soy nacido en usa de padres españoles y te dire algo aqui en usa hay unos 10 acentos americanos tipicos de aqui ,a los amaricanos les facinan los acentos por ejemplo cuando yo voy a florida de visita y aellos les encantan mi acento new yorkino solo lo digo porque leo muchos comentarios de latinos preocupados mas por el acento que tienen al hablar ingles que por aprender a ser mas fluido, a esta muchcha no le interesa su acento se preocupa mas por su fluidez y eso es muy bueno asi es como se aprende ...ser fluido y que te entiendan lo demas no importa
Hi Meredith, huge thanks for such a great video! I've _just_ started language learning after having traveled to Costa Rica and fallen in love with the people and culture. The time lapse video is such an encouragement - it's nice to see your progress as you move from month to month. Huge kudos on making such great milestones. It's really helpful to see what tools you used and when along the course of learning you found them most helpful. Most of the resources you mentioned I've discovered and/or am using. A few I'm not aware of and will check out. ¡Bendiciones! J
Aw thanks for your comment! Glad that you've decided to start your language learning journey. It is so, so rewarding - one of the most rewarding things I've done in my life.
ahhh... My Spanish level was A2 10 years ago, Life happened and I stopped learning, and I forgot most of the A2 grammar, I guess I am A1-A2 now .....I don't know if I ever will be able to get to B1. Thanks for the video, I now feel inspired.
Quiero decirte que eres una inspiración para mi, porque yo he decidido que este año voy aprender inglés si o si, porque toda mi vida me ha gustado como suena el inglés en las canciones y porque me frustra muchas veces escuchar y no poder entender lo que dicen, pero ya no más ahora si voy a aprender.
Nice and encouraging progression video! Some small tips/corrections: "Pero gran parte del tiempo" (too formal, sounds a little weird) "Pero la mayor parte del tiempo" (better) El alma es masculino en singular pero femenino en plural: "las almas" es correcto.
"Alma" no es masculino en singular. Se dice "un alma caritativa" y no "un alma caritativo". Se debe poner "el" y "un" porque la primera "a" es tónica. Pasa lo mismo con todas las palabras que tienen una "a" tónica al principio como "agua", por ejemplo.
Qué bonito comentario! Fue mucho trabajo pero 100% valió la pena. Las conexiones que puedo hacer con las personas de otros países son muy enriquecedoras.
Definitely an inspiration, I will use the 2,000 quizlet to study vocab for sure, I've been studying for 6 months (although the first 5 was mostly just duolingo) the last month I've been using baselang, pimsluer, and duolingo with watching some things in Spanish and mostly only Spanish music and it's crazy to see how much in a month of classes I've progressed. This gives me hope for what more is to come! Thanks for sharing these resources and your story!
Your month of progress is definitely a sign of just how much quicker you progress when you use a blend of different resources to learn instead of just one. Definitely try Anki or Quizlet out!
@@MeredithSpielman Absolutely will do! And yes it gave me that "a-hah" moment where it just clicked that i need to implement and immerse myself as much as I can. Thanks so much again!
Your accent "gringo" (we say in that way here to make fun of the Americans😂) is already gone! you basically have a perfect accent, neutral, and quite good to hear. Thank you for your motivation, even though I'm not learning Spanish (bc I'm a native speaker) you really taught me that I can't give up on the idioms I'm learning!! :))
Hahaha thanks so much for the encouragement! Siento que todavía tengo un acento extranjero, pero no necesariamente “gringo”. O sea, sí se nota que no soy hablante nativa, pero muchas personas no pensarían que soy gringa, muchas veces creen que soy de europa o algo jaja. Thanks for commenting, and I wish you luck in the languages that you’re learning!!
Thanks so much! That is totally the point of my videos, I want to be my normal self and totally transparent about what language-learning looks like for me: an average person who doesn't have infinite time to study constantly and who still makes mistakes, etc. You should check out my other videos! I have a Year 2 video and a new video with tips about language learning :) Year 2: ua-cam.com/video/GPWTtDX8WH0/v-deo.html Learning Tips: ua-cam.com/video/XDB7NSQAk2k/v-deo.html Thanks for your comment!
Awww what a nice comment, thank you so much! I think the key is not to expect to become fluent overnight. Realizing that made it possible for me to stay motivated and pull through on my goals :)
are you fluent???? YES YOU ARE!!!!! i understood everthing you said , when i was in 1 and 2nd grade i still remember how my teachers would hit me when i could not speak english correctly, FELICIDADES y no se porque UA-cam me recomendo tu video, GRACIAS POR SUBIRLO A EL TUBO!!!!
Que excelente video! Tienes una habilidad natural para aprender idiomas. También llevo 1 año aprendiéndolo, he estado practicando casi 6 horas cada día lol
Super cool! I just started learning French and this video has strengthened my resolved and I can’t wait to see how far I advance in a year’s time. Merci beaucoup!
Empecé a aprender español el año pasado y he progresado igual que tú. Puedo entender todo lo que dijiste. Solo utilicé recursos gratuitos duolingo y youtube.
I’m learning spanish for hardly a week because I’m really determinded to live in Spain within a year and I’m so proud of myself because I learned 60 words in 2 days and the present tense verbs!! I can’t wait to be fluent. You did a good job!
My brother studied languages at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in California. The pace of study was intense. Students had to master the language course in 36-64 weeks. Psychologically it was very difficult, but fortunately he was helped by Yuriy Ivantsiv's book "Polyglot Notes. Practical tips for learning foreign languages”. The book " Polyglot Notes" became a desk book for my brother, because it has answers to all the problems that any student of a foreign language has to face. Thanks to the author of the channel for this interesting video! Good luck to everyone who studies a foreign language and wants to realize their full potential!
Fue un vídeo fantástico. Tienes razón lleva muchos años a aprender un idioma como español. llevó estudiando por cinco años y todavía cometo muchos errores pero como tú quería hablar con los nativos cuando viaje a los países que hablan el idioma.
Muchas gracias por tu comentario! Y muy bien trabajo qué hayas seguido aprendiendo español por tanto tiempo. Me imagino que hablas muy bien; incluso los nativos cometan errores en sus idiomas natales.
@@MeredithSpielman I make many errors still in English, I think since the Corona virus started many people have learned to speak different languages 👍👍🙂
Yeah, that's the mostt important part: finding holes in your grammar. It can be done by speaking with native-speakers or checking yourself by doing different language excercises and checking the results.
Me sorprende el buen nivel que tienes para tan solo 1 año aprendiendo español. Si quieres desarrollar un poco más tu habilidad para escuchar (que en mi opinión, diría que es una de las más complicadas), te recomendaría que estudies más a fondo elementos de connected speech (no conozco un equivalente en español para ese término xd), pero es muy importante investigarlo ya que tenemos demasiados dialectos y estoy seguro que te ayudará mucho a lo largo. Ah, y continúa viendo muchas películas y series en español. Muy buen video!
Congratulations on your progress! That is totally why I published the video, to help other people see what my Spanish was like in the beginning and throughout the process, so that it can help you see what the journey might look like for you :) I have another video out too showing the second year if you want to check it out! Good luck with your Spanish
Thank you so much for your comment! I agree, I think a lot of people stay in the beginner comfort zone and it’s hard to push through that. But it’s so worth it when you do!
Thanks Fruku! The thing is, I think growing up in the US in a city with a particularly high population of Spanish-speaking latinos caused me to be in contact with the language a lot in a passive way. And because I’ve always been obsessed with languages, I think a lot of the stuff I heard around me kind of *stuck* in my mind, so I was able to refresh my memory rather quickly and start forming basic sentences. But I think anyone can get to that level of basic speaking after a week or a few weeks of efficient practice!
Increíble el progreso que muestras en el vídeo. Ojalá yo pueda experimentar una mejora tan significativa como la tuya con mi inglés. Un saludo desde España
Muchos saludos! Un dicho que me encanta y que siempre me inspira en cuanto al aprendizaje de un idioma es: “Sin prisa, pero sin pausa”. Si sigues con constancia, es inevitable que mejores. Gracias por comentar!
Well done Meredith - I am very impressed with your progress! I've been at it 2½ years or so _but I am much older than you (and like most older people, I am suffering from a waning memory)._ Keep it up - and do others too; Knowing how to say hello to other people from around the world is a fantastic achievement. Thank you for sharing your journey
Thanks so much for your comment, Paul! I wish you much luck on your language learning journey as well. I’m glad you got something from seeing my journey! And you’re right, the connections I am able to make because of being able to speak Spanish are so valuable, it’s the best part by far about this journey
Thanks for your encouraging comment! I'm definitely still going with Spanish 😊 If you want to see my more current progress, check out my Year 2 video! ua-cam.com/video/GPWTtDX8WH0/v-deo.html Good luck with Italian. What a pretty language!
This is such a great time lapse to see. I love that you added the translation in both languages and noted your mistakes. Thanks for sharing your tools too - I found Dreaming Spanish because of you and I like it.
Thanks so much, Tiffany! Yeah, my goal was for this video to make sense even to someone who speaks no Spanish. That's why I wanted to highlight my mistakes, so you could see them progressively improving even if you don't understand Spanish. I'm glad you're getting use out of the resources I mentioned :) I never in a million years thought this little video would be so impactful, but languages are my #1 passion in life, it's so incredible that I've somehow gotten the reach to share it with so many people 💕💕 Thanks for commenting. I have an updated year-2 video if you want to check it out!
Very motivating. I grew up around Dominicans, Portuguese, Puerto Ricans, etc and have always admired their culture and language. Definitely gonna get started on learning Spanish so I can be included in that culture!
Yeah, now that I live in Mexico, I appreciate latin american culture even more! It’s just so welcoming, and I love being able to take part in the culture because I speak the language. Good luck in learning Spanish!
I relate to what you said at first (around 30 seconds in) but with english. My mother tongue is spanish and i know some english. I used to think it as something special, but nowadays everyone speaks english, so there is absolutely nothing special now in knowing both spanish and english, part of the 4 most common languages in the world and the two most widely spread (since hindi and mandarin are both in a single overpopulated country). I do find the english language a bit fascinating, but i can't say i love it. Anyway, just wanted to vent :)
Wow! You speak Spanish great as far as I am concerned. I hope I can speak as well after one year. I am using Language Transfer, Dreaming Spanish and Anki. Thanks for making this video. - Dave
Thanks so much for your comment, Dave! I actually published an update after my second year of learning Spanish, you should check it out! All of those are really good resources and will help you a lot :)
I am super super amazed at how amazing your Spanish is . Ahora a escuchar unas cumbiotas bien buenotas haha . I’m learning French right now and my goal is to become conversational by the end of the year 😄
Hola que tal?, Los mejores y más cordiales Saludos desde puente piedra, lima, Perú, ojalá que puedan venir en algún momento a mi país y que disfruten mucho de todo por aquí, con la familia y los amigos, felicidades por sus vídeos....
Your video is so inpiring! Thank you! I just started my journey a month ago and uploaded my first gibberish in Spanish and your timelapse is really giving me a lot of hope haha, ¡Gracias!
I'm glad my video is inspiring for you, Jenna! I saw your video and you're already doing very well. I think your level now sounds a lot like mine towards the beginning of my journey, so I think you could probably use my progress as a bit of a benchmark for what you can expect :) I published a second video as well, you should check it out!
Thanks Sheriah! It's such a great idea in order to have a measurable record of your progress. Check out my channel, I have some other videos with advice about learning Spanish!
Thanks Meredith, You have made a very encouraging video for anyone learning Spanish. I started learning Spanish about 8 years ago and gave up in frustration, as I expected results too quickly. However, I have started again but this time I have not made my expectations too high, that I get disillusioned. Your video makes a lot of good sense. Thanks for putting it out there - It has certainly given me some encouragement. John
Hi John! Your comment exemplifies why I’m happy I decided to publish my progress. I’m not a super-genius, nor a polyglot, I didn’t learn Spanish in a month, and most people don’t. BUT just because it doesn’t happen quickly doesn’t mean that it’s not worth doing! It’s 100% worth it. I wish you luck in your journey, thanks for commenting!
Hello, I'm from México and I learned your language as second, and I have to say CONGRATULATIONS your Spanish its so good, keep improving girl, you got this, and your accent is almost perfect
Aww thanks so much Paulette! Congrats on your English as well, it’s not an easy language to learn! I think my accent improved even more in the second year, and especially for the last 6 months since I live in Mexico now. Thanks so much for your comment!
That's so great that you live here, where do you live? Of course if a can know, I'm from the state of mexico, its near of cdmx, welcome to my country, and it always be yours too! I know it's not the best country in the world, but I hope you like it, and it treats you so good.
@@pauletteespindola3192 I've been here for 7 months and I love it. I live in cdmx, and I have some friends who live in Estado de México too! And thank you 😊
Vaya, qué buena idea fue grabar tu proceso, debe ser tan satisfactorio ver tu progreso! Eso me anima a seguir aprendiendo. Sería genial si pudieras compartir la manera en la que te organizabas para aprender los tantos temas extensos que conlleva aprender un idioma
Gracias por tu comentario! Originalmente grabé los videos solo para mi, para poder ver mi progreso, pero decidí publicarlos porque ya los tenía. Pues, no tengo un método en particular para organizarme. Solo hacía algo todos los días para practicar y seguir mejorando.
In the beginner stage, with only Language transfer podcast and some more apps as my resources. Good to learn other key resources from this video. Especially italki Thanks great video!
Te felicito ! Tu español es excelente, con muy buena gramática .La verdad no tienes un acento adjudicable a un país en particular,se entiende perfectamente .Abrazos desde Chile 🇨🇱😘❤️
Me encanta cuando recibo este cumplido 😂 Siento que se nota en mi voz que soy extranjera, pero solo apenas, y no es tan obvio de dónde. Pero este video ya es un poco viejo, tengo unos videos más recientes en que hablo español! ua-cam.com/video/19QjaJ_8dRI/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/7xoQ6JThuZc/v-deo.html Gracias por comentar, saludos 💕
Yes! I haven’t tried any other resources for taking lessons like Italki because Italki just has what I need! I’ve also become a teacher on Italki, and it’s very rewarding. It has its flaws but I think it’s a great platform.
@@satoriawilliams4381 Listen to podcasts, like, constantly!! During my first year or two years of learning Spanish I had my headphones in listening to Spanish almost ALL the time that I wasn't sleeping, working, or busy. I sort of believe that with improving your listening, you sort of naturally improve your speaking as well because you pick up natural-sounding phrases and words by hearing them repeated. And then practice speaking with regular Italki lessons. I also just got a discount code for my subscribers with Baselang, which allows you to take unlimited Spanish classes with native speakers for one monthly payment: baselang.com/?ref=meredith10
Felicitaciones!! Nuestro idioma no es fácil para extranjeros; pero como en todos, el esfuerzo, voluntad y práctica hacen mejorar mucho..Chevere!! Sigue así. ..
Que gusto ver tu evolución en el tiempo como aprendiste español, mis respetos! yo tarde años para aprender ingles y tu en ese poco tiempo tienes un control del lenguaje muy bueno, I reaally love yout pronunciation and the courage to be different in this manner, congrats!
¡Muchísimas gracias! Aprecio tu comentario. Sé que aprender un idioma es un esfuerzo enorme, así que también tienes mis respetos por el esfuerzo para aprender inglés. I always wanted to have the best pronunciation I could, so I have worked with different teachers to try and speak as well as I can. Thanks for commenting, and check out my other videos! I have a video in Spanish if you're curious how my Spanish is now. This video was from almost two years ago, so I've improved more :)
I like watching these videos. I also learned English but for several years until I became fluent after 5 years. Although you did it faster cause you took it seriously, you went for calls right away to practice, that's very helpful.
Congrats on learning English! Glad you enjoyed my videos. Yeah, I think the fact I started speaking with native speakers from the beginning was something that helped me progress faster overall.
You were doing great by week 40! A lot of the "mistakes" that you made were hesitations and insecurities BUT i can tell you now.. depending which background.. you will have folks that use the same words that you are writing (crossing out) in red... Also Spanish series on Netflix speak really fast😂 and i am fluent.. sometimes it takes me 2 episodes to pick up what they are saying without relying on subs
I know what you mean! Many people have told me the same about the "mistakes" since I uploaded these videos, which is nice hehe. Thanks! Yes! I tell my students all the time that not understanding English on Netflix without subtitles is totally normal. I watch everything with subtitles, even in my native language.
You did pretty good learning it in one year,what a progress....You can now talk to me whenever you want..I'm Ecuadorian and I want to see the differences.Please don't hesitate to write.Thanks...your video was excellent.....
Thanks for your comment! I feel like I made pretty good progress too :) Many people post progress that is a lot faster than this, but then there are tons of people who aren't on youtube who try for years and never make progress. I wanted to show a realistic langauge journey. You should check out my Year 2 video, I think I have made a LOT of progress in the second year. Thanks for commenting!
Wow Meredith ,,,I'm a native Spanish speaker...... I can say that your Spanish sounds really good....Keep the good work up --- Sigue adelante, tu espanol suena muy bien, solo debes pulirte un poco mas, pero en general suena muy bien y tu acento es muy claro .....
Guau, muchas gracias por tu comentario Luis 😁 De hecho recién publiqué un vídeo nuevo mostrando mi progreso despúes del segundo año. Si te interesa, podrías verlo para que veas como hablo ahora. Creo que es algo mejor jaja. Gracias otra vez!
@@MeredithSpielman Thank you. I will check it out. I speak English quite well. I need to improve my British accent though. So I will have my first "chat" on Italki next Sunday with a teacher from London. I find this platform "italki" very helpful. It's impressive your Spanish level, it's not easy to learn a new language in a short time. It's amazing, you're picking it up so quickly.
You’ll be surprised how I learned English, went straight into the school when I was 8 years old here in the US only knowing 1-10 lol, took me 1 1/2 to be able to do things without help and talking to native speakers obviously helped.
Yeah, talking to native speakers helps a lot! Plus I think in your situation it was like “sink or swim”, right? So maybe that forces you to learn faster!
Awwww thanks so much! I don’t know if you saw but I also have a Year 2 video, and honestly I feel much more confident about my level now :) Thanks for your comment!
Ive been learning english for a year as well, i would learn Japanese and other languages cuz its rlly fun when you know other cultures... Well thats vid inspired me to learn spanish
@@MeredithSpielman Have you tried any of the language learning phone apps? I'm course what your opinion is on things like Duolingo, Busuu, Pimsuler etc.
@@saltysnot I actually didn't use any kind of language learning apps other than Anki, in which I made all my own study cards. I did of course *try* the apps, but didn't think they're an efficient use of time for learning compared with other activities like podcasts in target language, conversation practice, etc.
Wow Meredith! Great video documenting your language learning journey. You're doing excellent! ¡Sigue así! Y gracias por compartir nuestro podcast en tu video. Nos alegra mucho que te guste.
Thank you so much! Eso es el plan, seguir así :) Aprecio mucho su comentario!
@@MeredithSpielman exactly! Great content by the way. Keep up the hard work!
I’m about 4 months into learning Spanish and it’s great to see a realistic timeline for language learning.
I'm glad that it's useful for you. I originally recorded the videos just for myself, but then I decided it might be nice for people like you to be able to have a realistic benchmark. Thanks for commenting!
hi, I from colombia, I would like to have a person like you who wants to learn Spanish and who teaches me the English language, I think we can achieve it
@@andresfelipeordonez1333did you ever learn English
Omg your Spanish got so good, your accent is great as well, amazing job. You impressed me, if you keep going you’ll be almost native soon. Saludos desde Ecuador, me alegra mucho que te hayas esforzado tanto para aprender nuestro idioma y cultura. I hope that you keep going :)
Que bonito comentario!! Espero que lo que dices sea cierto, que algún día podría hablar como una nativa 🥺 De hecho, muy pronto voy a publicar el segundo vídeo mostrando mi progreso durante el segundo año. Espero que sea esta semana, si tengo tiempo jaja.
Y de la cultura - no tienes idea qué tanto aprender este idioma ha cambiado mi vida al acercarme a una cultura tan hermosa como la cultura de América Latina. Gracias a ti y a todos por estar dispuestos a compartirla conmigo.
@@MeredithSpielman 🇵🇪❤.
I'm a native Spanish speaker myself (from Colombia) and I've been living in this for 23 years and never left the country and coming across this video has filled me with joy and a lot of respect. Your progress that you've made in Spanish in a single year is beyond amazing, I would go as far as saying that you're quite close (if not already) to an advanced level of Spanish.
Just as a curious fact. It took me nearly 4 years to go from B1 to B2 level in English. Of course I wasn't studying or immersing myself in the language every single day but I still used some English. But it took me less than a year to go from B2 level to C1 by forcing myself to listen to native speakers (podcasts, tv shows) and reading some books (literature) and it was tough but now I'm around the C1-C2 in English , it all pays off in the end.
I'm certain that you will become advanced in less than a year if you keep doing what you've been doing. Probably you'll be able to reach the C2 level in a few years. By the way , you're already fluent in Spanish in my opinion and you're well spoken. Greetings!
What an incredibly nice comment!! And since you mentioned your English journey, I just want to say that it's obvious by your comment that your English is definitely around C1-C2, like you said :) I haven't lost any of my motivation to keep going, so I'm sure I'll get there eventually. Thanks so much for the encouragement, I really appreciate it!
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@@brandoncardona534 jajajaja
@@brandoncardona534 Ü
If you can pass a B2 level exam in reading, writing, speaking and hearing, you are fluent. If you get to C2, you are speaking almost like a native and more properly than most. For common languages like Spanish there are already well defined metrics.
Great definition of what "fluent" is. It is true, your voice is very smooth!
Thank you 😊
My goal in learning Spanish is really just to get to the conversational stage right now. And just enjoy improving as much as I can after that. I don’t really know or care what fluency means.
Great goal! Because once you get to the point where you can have conversations, you can just begin to enjoy the process and progress will happen naturally
Been on the verge of giving up on learning German for a while, this is the motivation I need to carry on, well done!
Glad I could inspire you in some way! If you're feeling stuck, I actually just published a new video with tips to help you keep progressing in any language if you want to check it out!
ua-cam.com/video/XDB7NSQAk2k/v-deo.html
Your video is great, and very motivational. Unlike many videos, I really appreciate you actually showing your speaking ability, both where you were and where you are after one year. And thank you for sharing the tools and resources you used. Do you mind if I ask how much you studied and how often?
Thanks for your comment! I appreciate it. Definitely the idea was to give a real to life view of the process, which is why i also included clips of me taking lessons and having conversation exchange.
Honestly I can't say how much time I spent studying because it's been nearly a year since I made this video (I started day 1 in January 2020, and the one-year mark was January 2021). I think I did minimum of 2 hours of conversation practice and 1 hour italki class every week, and then my self guided study was sporadic/as needed. I surely spent several hours each week listening to podcasts and watching UA-cam though!
About how much I studied, after receiving this question a lot, I decided to make a video addressing exactly how many hours I spent. Check it out! ua-cam.com/video/09ew3mJ88ts/v-deo.html
I'm surprised and really glad that you've picked up spanish as a new learning language, I am from México and I've living and working in USA for 2 years and I've seen that American people usually prefer learning other languages like french or german rather than spanish, that's why I am surprised seeing other people talking my mother tongue, I've followed your same strategy for english and after two years I am able to work in the tech industry 😀, watching movies mainly at first w/subtitles Then without subtitles, now I can enjoy Hallmark movies and A&E without subtitles 🎬
Keep going you are doing such an excelent job with spanish
I was shocked to see that this was the only video available on your channel! I love how realistic it is. You went from basically understandable and able to have simple conversations to comfy conversations with errors every now and then. Not 0 to giving a description of the renaissance. Thank you so much for posting this. I really believe what you documented here is a really great way to acquire a language that is also (relatively) accessible! It's got all of the elements.
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1. Frequency lists to help understand material immediately
2. Material that is comprehensible
3. Hand-picked flashcards to boost what you want to know
3. SPEAKING and/or writing AS YOU GO (once you have a solid understanding and have learned the phonetics n whatnot)
Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking are all independent skills that need their own practice. They happen to be linked by vocabulary, so working on one area will reduce the amount of time you will need to put into any of the others, but you can't remove the need to speak entirely.
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I was trying to use the Refold method worked on by Matt vs Japan, but I was consistently disappointed at how little I could say or comfortably say despite how much content I could fully comprehend. When I look back, the most comfortable things I could say were the things that I had lots of speaking practice with in my 4 years of German in school (not a fast approach, but it was essentially my only speaking and writing practice.) I had to explicitly search this video out to find a realistic video of someone progressing their speaking skills, separated from the whole culture of immersion that is growing quickly. I love immersion, but it's not what's going to give you conversational skills. Theoretical knowledge and practical skill are two different things just like how understanding input and and being able to output are two different things.
Spending your time on reading/listening and speaking/writing respectively, may not be the most blazing fast path to understanding, but it's the most rewarding in my opinion because you are actually applying what you know to grow your ability to communicate *and* understanding of the language and culture.
Hahaha I love the way you describe it! "Not 0 to giving a description of the renaissance" - spot on. I'm glad that the realism of my video resonated with you, that was certainly the goal. To portray how learning a language ACTUALLY looks, not some promise of fluency in a short amount of time.
I'm not familiar with the method you mentioned but I'll look into it to see what it's about. In general though I find it crazy how people make unrealistic claims so frequently. Regarding immersion, I believe that what I was able to do by listening to so many podcasts and watching so much UA-cam in Spanish was to create a sort of "virtual immersion" without having to live in a Spanish-speaking country.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for your comment!! Good luck on your language learning journey.
(P.S. Part 2 of this video will be coming to the channel at the end of this month or beginning of February!!)
@@MeredithSpielman the refold method basically has a lot of immersion (basically most of your time with the language should be through comprehensible input, progress to native stuff etc., like what you did basically) as it's base and not speaking early.
Of course, it's not a dogma so you can speak early if you want but the method advices not to at the beginner stages.
I think that's what the original commentor meant. Because it's kinda drilled that "don't speak early", so when it's eventually time to speak it becomes difficult to do so because you're scared of making mistakes etc.
Refold.com
Wow! I felt inspired and proud [of you] watching this. I've studied Spanish for several years formally and don't feel this kind of confidence speaking [yet]. I also haven't used my Spanish since the pandemic began, so I have lost quite a bit of my vocabulary and fluency. This motivated me to get back on track with my pursuit of improving my speaking/listening ability in Spanish. Thanks!
Aww thank you so much! I'm glad I could inspire you to get back into it 😊 It's so rewarding
Hola como estas soy de Egipto 🇪🇬
I'm from Venezuela, Spanish is my native language and I'm amazed at your pronunciation! Increíble, sigue así 👏
Thanks so much 😊 One of my best friends and language partners is Venezuelan!
You should watch my second video of the second year learning Spanish, I think my pronunciation has improved since the first year
This is so helpful. Thanks for posting. Restarting my language journey now and this is great motivation!
I'm so glad you found it helpful!!
I feel the same..been studying 2 years, and I think you're dead on with that being the amount of time you need to reach fluency.
Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that! Learning a language is a huge achievement, it almost diminishes how impressive a feat it is when people claim it can be done in weeks or months
The hardest is hearing it and slang most hispanics dont speak 100 proper spanish and they use slang and also spanish has its idioms and similes like english too and natives use idioms alot in their spanish so learning that is just as important to learning proper spanish
This is so helpful and inspiring! I just posted a video on my channel sharing my progress after two months of Spanish lessons. I'm so excited to see where I am in a year!
Thank you so much!! Deciding to take videos was definitely a great idea to keep me motivated. Even now looking at how I sounded at one year, I know I sound even better now! The most important thing is to not be in a hurry, but to never stop! Sin prisa pero sin pausa 💖
Tu español es genial, definitivamente tenés una clara facilidad para los idiomas. Saludos desde Argentina ;)
Muchas gracias y saludos!
What a great video! It's always nice to see a realistic timespan for learning a new language instead of setting people up for failure, by telling them fluency could be achieved in 3 Months. I also really enjoyed the way you structured the video and showed your progress!
Thanks so much! I totally agree, that's sort of the goal of my videos. I'm just a normal person (well, I'm definitely a language nerd), who learned a language, but I was dedicated. I'm not trying to impress anyone, only to show how it actually went for me. Thanks so much for your comment!
What matter the most is language learning is motivation. It might take you years to learn a new language, but the journey is really exciting if you fall in love with it. I myself spend a consider amount of time at the begging looking for things that are interesting in the culture that are apealing for me, so I criate an emotional kink with the language.
Good point! I think if someone expects instant payoff, they will give up quickly. So if you set yourself up from the beginning to understand this is a years long process, you can make the process itself enjoyable instead of just anxiously awaiting the end result.
Como una persona que ha estudiado el español por muchos años y todavía no habla en tu nivel, me parece que hablas el español muy bien, en solo un año, felicidades a ti, puedes estar orgullosa.
Gracias por tu comentario, que amable 😊
Soy de México… el idioma lo hablas muy bien, se te entiende a la perfección todo, el acento es lo de menos....
Mucha suerte 😜
Muchas gracias 😊 lo aprecio. Y imaginate, ya ha pasado casi un año más desde que hice este video 🤯 y me mudé a México hace dos meses. Entonces creo que ahora lo hablo aún mejor
todos tenemos acento soy nacido en usa de padres españoles y te dire algo aqui en usa hay unos 10 acentos americanos tipicos de aqui ,a los amaricanos les facinan los acentos por ejemplo cuando yo voy a florida de visita y aellos les encantan mi acento new yorkino solo lo digo porque leo muchos comentarios de latinos preocupados mas por el acento que tienen al hablar ingles que por aprender a ser mas fluido, a esta muchcha no le interesa su acento se preocupa mas por su fluidez y eso es muy bueno asi es como se aprende ...ser fluido y que te entiendan lo demas no importa
Hi Meredith, huge thanks for such a great video! I've _just_ started language learning after having traveled to Costa Rica and fallen in love with the people and culture. The time lapse video is such an encouragement - it's nice to see your progress as you move from month to month. Huge kudos on making such great milestones.
It's really helpful to see what tools you used and when along the course of learning you found them most helpful. Most of the resources you mentioned I've discovered and/or am using. A few I'm not aware of and will check out.
¡Bendiciones!
J
Aw thanks for your comment! Glad that you've decided to start your language learning journey. It is so, so rewarding - one of the most rewarding things I've done in my life.
ahhh... My Spanish level was A2 10 years ago, Life happened and I stopped learning, and I forgot most of the A2 grammar, I guess I am A1-A2 now .....I don't know if I ever will be able to get to B1. Thanks for the video, I now feel inspired.
Quiero decirte que eres una inspiración para mi, porque yo he decidido que este año voy aprender inglés si o si, porque toda mi vida me ha gustado como suena el inglés en las canciones y porque me frustra muchas veces escuchar y no poder entender lo que dicen, pero ya no más ahora si voy a aprender.
Que bonito que te haya inspirado!! Muchas gracias por compartir 😊 muchísima suerte con el inglés!
@@MeredithSpielman Gracias! Que bueno debe ser ahora poder entendernos más fácil.
Exactly...one resource is not enough
Nice and encouraging progression video!
Some small tips/corrections:
"Pero gran parte del tiempo" (too formal, sounds a little weird)
"Pero la mayor parte del tiempo" (better)
El alma es masculino en singular pero femenino en plural: "las almas" es correcto.
"Alma" no es masculino en singular. Se dice "un alma caritativa" y no "un alma caritativo".
Se debe poner "el" y "un" porque la primera "a" es tónica. Pasa lo mismo con todas las palabras que tienen una "a" tónica al principio como "agua", por ejemplo.
@@watersnake1462 tienes razón, fallo mío.
Sinceramente, te súper felicito! Muchísima dedicación y perseverancia!
Qué bonito comentario! Fue mucho trabajo pero 100% valió la pena. Las conexiones que puedo hacer con las personas de otros países son muy enriquecedoras.
Definitely an inspiration, I will use the 2,000 quizlet to study vocab for sure, I've been studying for 6 months (although the first 5 was mostly just duolingo) the last month I've been using baselang, pimsluer, and duolingo with watching some things in Spanish and mostly only Spanish music and it's crazy to see how much in a month of classes I've progressed. This gives me hope for what more is to come! Thanks for sharing these resources and your story!
Your month of progress is definitely a sign of just how much quicker you progress when you use a blend of different resources to learn instead of just one. Definitely try Anki or Quizlet out!
@@MeredithSpielman Absolutely will do! And yes it gave me that "a-hah" moment where it just clicked that i need to implement and immerse myself as much as I can. Thanks so much again!
I've been learning Spanish for years and still not even close to fluency. Wow your amazing great job!!!!
Felicitaciones por el progreso deberia haber más gente aprendiendo un segundo idioma mínimo
Sí, totalmente. Para mi es una pasión, me fascinan los idiomas.
Your accent "gringo" (we say in that way here to make fun of the Americans😂) is already gone! you basically have a perfect accent, neutral, and quite good to hear. Thank you for your motivation, even though I'm not learning Spanish (bc I'm a native speaker) you really taught me that I can't give up on the idioms I'm learning!! :))
Hahaha thanks so much for the encouragement! Siento que todavía tengo un acento extranjero, pero no necesariamente “gringo”. O sea, sí se nota que no soy hablante nativa, pero muchas personas no pensarían que soy gringa, muchas veces creen que soy de europa o algo jaja.
Thanks for commenting, and I wish you luck in the languages that you’re learning!!
Wow! This is so transparent. I love how honest you are with your improvements and learning journey! Gracias por este video 💕
Thanks so much! That is totally the point of my videos, I want to be my normal self and totally transparent about what language-learning looks like for me: an average person who doesn't have infinite time to study constantly and who still makes mistakes, etc.
You should check out my other videos! I have a Year 2 video and a new video with tips about language learning :)
Year 2: ua-cam.com/video/GPWTtDX8WH0/v-deo.html
Learning Tips: ua-cam.com/video/XDB7NSQAk2k/v-deo.html
Thanks for your comment!
Nice job! I love seeing people determined to accomplish something and learn a new skill and and actually pull through. Keep it up!
Awww what a nice comment, thank you so much! I think the key is not to expect to become fluent overnight. Realizing that made it possible for me to stay motivated and pull through on my goals :)
are you fluent???? YES YOU ARE!!!!! i understood everthing you said , when i was in 1 and 2nd grade i still remember how my teachers would hit me when i could not speak english correctly, FELICIDADES y no se porque UA-cam me recomendo tu video, GRACIAS POR SUBIRLO A EL TUBO!!!!
Ay muchas gracias por tu bonito comentario!!!
Que excelente video! Tienes una habilidad natural para aprender idiomas. También llevo 1 año aprendiéndolo, he estado practicando casi 6 horas cada día lol
Super cool! I just started learning French and this video has strengthened my resolved and I can’t wait to see how far I advance in a year’s time. Merci beaucoup!
So glad that my video could give you a little boost of motivation! :)
Empecé a aprender español el año pasado y he progresado igual que tú. Puedo entender todo lo que dijiste. Solo utilicé recursos gratuitos duolingo y youtube.
Hi! I'm your native spanish speaker counterpart :)
We learned the same way, how interesting is that? 😅
@@Adamcito. Nice :👍Vivo en California pero soy de la India. Hablo tres idiomas y estoy muy feliz de agregar el español como cuarto. 😄
@@falgunpatil2372 And which are the other 2? I'm learning Russian at the moment 😅
@@Adamcito. My state and national languages, Marathi and Hindi. Once I feel fully comfortable with Spanish, I will add Italian. 😄
@@falgunpatil2372 Nice one! Good luck on your language learning journey pal 💪
I’m learning spanish for hardly a week because I’m really determinded to live in Spain within a year and I’m so proud of myself because I learned 60 words in 2 days and the present tense verbs!! I can’t wait to be fluent. You did a good job!
That’s great! I wish you much luck in your journey, it’s so rewarding :)
I would like to have a person like you who wants to learn Spanish and who teaches me the English language, I think we can achieve it
My brother studied languages at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in California. The pace of study was intense. Students had to master the language course in 36-64 weeks. Psychologically it was very difficult, but fortunately he was helped by Yuriy Ivantsiv's book "Polyglot Notes. Practical tips for learning foreign languages”. The book " Polyglot Notes" became a desk book for my brother, because it has answers to all the problems that any student of a foreign language has to face. Thanks to the author of the channel for this interesting video! Good luck to everyone who studies a foreign language and wants to realize their full potential!
Thanks for your comment! I will have to check out Polyglot Notes sometime
Wow, tu español se vuelve más fluido con el pasó del tiempo!!
Aww gracias por tu comentario! Ahora que han sido dos años creo que es aún más fluido. Disfruté mucho el proceso!
Fue un vídeo fantástico. Tienes razón lleva muchos años a aprender un idioma como español. llevó estudiando por cinco años y todavía cometo muchos errores pero como tú quería hablar con los nativos cuando viaje a los países que hablan el idioma.
Muchas gracias por tu comentario! Y muy bien trabajo qué hayas seguido aprendiendo español por tanto tiempo. Me imagino que hablas muy bien; incluso los nativos cometan errores en sus idiomas natales.
@@MeredithSpielman I make many errors still in English, I think since the Corona virus started many people have learned to speak different languages 👍👍🙂
You give me hope. Thank you. 🙏🏾 I’m only a month in.
Keep it up! Dale duro! :)
Yeah, that's the mostt important part: finding holes in your grammar. It can be done by speaking with native-speakers or checking yourself by doing different language excercises and checking the results.
Thank you very much for turning us on to so many valuable resources.
You're welcome! They deserve all the attention, they were invaluable to me in my learning!
Me sorprende el buen nivel que tienes para tan solo 1 año aprendiendo español. Si quieres desarrollar un poco más tu habilidad para escuchar (que en mi opinión, diría que es una de las más complicadas), te recomendaría que estudies más a fondo elementos de connected speech (no conozco un equivalente en español para ese término xd), pero es muy importante investigarlo ya que tenemos demasiados dialectos y estoy seguro que te ayudará mucho a lo largo. Ah, y continúa viendo muchas películas y series en español. Muy buen video!
i love how literally her spanish was just like mine when I was getting into learning it. I def am not the most fluent but im getting there.
Congratulations on your progress! That is totally why I published the video, to help other people see what my Spanish was like in the beginning and throughout the process, so that it can help you see what the journey might look like for you :)
I have another video out too showing the second year if you want to check it out!
Good luck with your Spanish
I'm proud of you, not anybody takes on the journey of language learning seriously.
Thank you so much for your comment! I agree, I think a lot of people stay in the beginner comfort zone and it’s hard to push through that. But it’s so worth it when you do!
Wow one year?, your progress is amazing.
Thanks so much Ricardo! I've been learning for two years now and I published a part 2 update as well :D
The fact that your speaking that well on week one just astonishes me..
Thanks Fruku! The thing is, I think growing up in the US in a city with a particularly high population of Spanish-speaking latinos caused me to be in contact with the language a lot in a passive way. And because I’ve always been obsessed with languages, I think a lot of the stuff I heard around me kind of *stuck* in my mind, so I was able to refresh my memory rather quickly and start forming basic sentences. But I think anyone can get to that level of basic speaking after a week or a few weeks of efficient practice!
@@MeredithSpielman Yea that makes sense thanks for that 😅
What a great video. Well done. Keep going. I love language learning too. You made so much progress in such a short time.
Thanks so much for your comment ☺ I wish you luck in your language learning endeavors as well!
Increíble el progreso que muestras en el vídeo. Ojalá yo pueda experimentar una mejora tan significativa como la tuya con mi inglés. Un saludo desde España
Muchos saludos! Un dicho que me encanta y que siempre me inspira en cuanto al aprendizaje de un idioma es: “Sin prisa, pero sin pausa”. Si sigues con constancia, es inevitable que mejores. Gracias por comentar!
The progress you have made is incredible. I believe that I learn similarly to how you do and I appreciate this video.
Glad you appreciate the video, thanks for your comment! :)
Well done Meredith - I am very impressed with your progress! I've been at it 2½ years or so _but I am much older than you (and like most older people, I am suffering from a waning memory)._ Keep it up - and do others too; Knowing how to say hello to other people from around the world is a fantastic achievement. Thank you for sharing your journey
Thanks so much for your comment, Paul! I wish you much luck on your language learning journey as well. I’m glad you got something from seeing my journey! And you’re right, the connections I am able to make because of being able to speak Spanish are so valuable, it’s the best part by far about this journey
Your Spanish is very good. Keep on. I'm a native Spanish speaker and I'm learning Italian since 2020.
Thanks for your encouraging comment! I'm definitely still going with Spanish 😊 If you want to see my more current progress, check out my Year 2 video!
ua-cam.com/video/GPWTtDX8WH0/v-deo.html
Good luck with Italian. What a pretty language!
This is such a great time lapse to see. I love that you added the translation in both languages and noted your mistakes. Thanks for sharing your tools too - I found Dreaming Spanish because of you and I like it.
Thanks so much, Tiffany!
Yeah, my goal was for this video to make sense even to someone who speaks no Spanish. That's why I wanted to highlight my mistakes, so you could see them progressively improving even if you don't understand Spanish.
I'm glad you're getting use out of the resources I mentioned :) I never in a million years thought this little video would be so impactful, but languages are my #1 passion in life, it's so incredible that I've somehow gotten the reach to share it with so many people 💕💕
Thanks for commenting. I have an updated year-2 video if you want to check it out!
ESTOY FELIZ POR TI! 🎉🙌🏿💯
You should be very impressed with your Spanish language skill it is very fluente in the accent I am very proud of your accomplishment.
Thanks so much for your comment!
this is so motivational as i go into my second college level spanish class, i was so nervous before watching this and now i am not :) gracias a ti
Very motivating. I grew up around Dominicans, Portuguese, Puerto Ricans, etc and have always admired their culture and language. Definitely gonna get started on learning Spanish so I can be included in that culture!
@WILLIAM GREY Their cultural similarities
Yeah, now that I live in Mexico, I appreciate latin american culture even more! It’s just so welcoming, and I love being able to take part in the culture because I speak the language. Good luck in learning Spanish!
I relate to what you said at first (around 30 seconds in) but with english. My mother tongue is spanish and i know some english. I used to think it as something special, but nowadays everyone speaks english, so there is absolutely nothing special now in knowing both spanish and english, part of the 4 most common languages in the world and the two most widely spread (since hindi and mandarin are both in a single overpopulated country). I do find the english language a bit fascinating, but i can't say i love it. Anyway, just wanted to vent :)
Wow! You speak Spanish great as far as I am concerned. I hope I can speak as well after one year. I am using Language Transfer, Dreaming Spanish and Anki. Thanks for making this video. - Dave
Thanks so much for your comment, Dave! I actually published an update after my second year of learning Spanish, you should check it out! All of those are really good resources and will help you a lot :)
how is it?
I am super super amazed at how amazing your Spanish is . Ahora a escuchar unas cumbiotas bien buenotas haha . I’m learning French right now and my goal is to become conversational by the end of the year 😄
Muchas gracias, y de la cumbia jaja a huevo que siiii 😊😊😊
Mucha suerte con el francés!
From India. I am learning Spanish as well!! It's a beautiful language 💜 Te amo Español 💕 [Correct me if I wrote it wrong ♡]
Thanks for commenting! Good luck in learning Spanish!
I just started A1 recently. Soo encouraging to see your journey
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed!
you sound between argentinian and mexican, you got great at it
Haha interesting. I like the Argentine accent too so that’s pretty cool!
Wow. Well done! I've been learning Spanish for almost 3 months now, and I would love to be as good as you are !! Damn, well done !
Thank you so much! Watch some of the other vids on my channel for more tips. As long as you're passionate and consistent, it will happen!
@@MeredithSpielman I will for sure, thanks! Impressive, and motivating ☺️
Hola que tal?, Los mejores y más cordiales Saludos desde puente piedra, lima, Perú, ojalá que puedan venir en algún momento a mi país y que disfruten mucho de todo por aquí, con la familia y los amigos, felicidades por sus vídeos....
Great job in keeping motivated and continuing to improve. I love seeing content like this as it's an inspiration to me. Saludos de Wisconsin!
Thank you so much! Keep at it!
Now italian and portuguese will be piece of cake!
I hope so! I will start learning a 3rd language... eventually 😉
Your video is so inpiring! Thank you! I just started my journey a month ago and uploaded my first gibberish in Spanish and your timelapse is really giving me a lot of hope haha, ¡Gracias!
I'm glad my video is inspiring for you, Jenna! I saw your video and you're already doing very well. I think your level now sounds a lot like mine towards the beginning of my journey, so I think you could probably use my progress as a bit of a benchmark for what you can expect :) I published a second video as well, you should check it out!
The best guidance video I've ever seen
Oh my gosh, what a nice comment, thank you!
Love this video! I’m just starting my Spanish learning journey and I think I’ll vlog it now to look back at progress!
Thanks Sheriah! It's such a great idea in order to have a measurable record of your progress. Check out my channel, I have some other videos with advice about learning Spanish!
Thanks Meredith, You have made a very encouraging video for anyone learning Spanish.
I started learning Spanish about 8 years ago and gave up in frustration, as I expected results too quickly. However, I have started again but this time I have not made my expectations too high, that I get disillusioned.
Your video makes a lot of good sense.
Thanks for putting it out there - It has certainly given me some encouragement. John
Hi John! Your comment exemplifies why I’m happy I decided to publish my progress. I’m not a super-genius, nor a polyglot, I didn’t learn Spanish in a month, and most people don’t. BUT just because it doesn’t happen quickly doesn’t mean that it’s not worth doing! It’s 100% worth it. I wish you luck in your journey, thanks for commenting!
Hello, I'm from México and I learned your language as second, and I have to say CONGRATULATIONS your Spanish its so good, keep improving girl, you got this, and your accent is almost perfect
Aww thanks so much Paulette! Congrats on your English as well, it’s not an easy language to learn! I think my accent improved even more in the second year, and especially for the last 6 months since I live in Mexico now. Thanks so much for your comment!
That's so great that you live here, where do you live? Of course if a can know, I'm from the state of mexico, its near of cdmx, welcome to my country, and it always be yours too! I know it's not the best country in the world, but I hope you like it, and it treats you so good.
@@pauletteespindola3192 I've been here for 7 months and I love it. I live in cdmx, and I have some friends who live in Estado de México too! And thank you 😊
Idk why this came up if I’m native Spanish speaker 🇲🇽 but hablas súper bien! Síguele !
Aw, gracias por tu comentario!
Just started learning Spanish this month and this popped up on my recommended 🙏🏻
Nice! Good luck on your journey!
Vaya, qué buena idea fue grabar tu proceso, debe ser tan satisfactorio ver tu progreso! Eso me anima a seguir aprendiendo. Sería genial si pudieras compartir la manera en la que te organizabas para aprender los tantos temas extensos que conlleva aprender un idioma
Gracias por tu comentario! Originalmente grabé los videos solo para mi, para poder ver mi progreso, pero decidí publicarlos porque ya los tenía.
Pues, no tengo un método en particular para organizarme. Solo hacía algo todos los días para practicar y seguir mejorando.
@@MeredithSpielman oh genial, gracias por responder. Viendo tu progreso me doy cuenta que como dicen "paso a paso" se llega lejos :)
In the beginner stage, with only Language transfer podcast and some more apps as my resources. Good to learn other key resources from this video. Especially italki Thanks great video!
I'm glad you're using those resources, from my experience I know they're amazing, especially Language Transfer. I wish you luck!
its amazing her ability
Thank you!
Tu español es muy bueno congrats 👏🏻
Thank you so much!
Te felicito ! Tu español es excelente, con muy buena gramática .La verdad no tienes un acento adjudicable a un país en particular,se entiende perfectamente .Abrazos desde Chile 🇨🇱😘❤️
Me encanta cuando recibo este cumplido 😂 Siento que se nota en mi voz que soy extranjera, pero solo apenas, y no es tan obvio de dónde. Pero este video ya es un poco viejo, tengo unos videos más recientes en que hablo español!
ua-cam.com/video/19QjaJ_8dRI/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/7xoQ6JThuZc/v-deo.html
Gracias por comentar, saludos 💕
Wow that was awesome to watch your progress, I feel more encouraged to get started.
That's great! I'm glad you feel encouraged 😊
I agree with Italki being very useful. I'm also learning spanish as my 4th language so good luck to both of us.
Yes! I haven’t tried any other resources for taking lessons like Italki because Italki just has what I need! I’ve also become a teacher on Italki, and it’s very rewarding. It has its flaws but I think it’s a great platform.
I just started my first italki today (Spanish!) I'm traveling to Ecuador this summer so I am trying to improve my Spanish as much as possible!
Wooo good luck to you! I know you’ll have a great time in Ecuador and to get to use your Spanish in real life!
Literally love your channel. I remember when u post this video. I reWatch it to regain my motivation for learning spanish❤
Wow, what a nice comment 😭 Thank you so much! Stay motivated, it's so rewarding and fun to learn another language ❤
@@MeredithSpielman Do you have any tips for listening comprehension and speaking. I read spanish better than i hear it, and speak it.😭
@@satoriawilliams4381 Listen to podcasts, like, constantly!! During my first year or two years of learning Spanish I had my headphones in listening to Spanish almost ALL the time that I wasn't sleeping, working, or busy. I sort of believe that with improving your listening, you sort of naturally improve your speaking as well because you pick up natural-sounding phrases and words by hearing them repeated. And then practice speaking with regular Italki lessons.
I also just got a discount code for my subscribers with Baselang, which allows you to take unlimited Spanish classes with native speakers for one monthly payment: baselang.com/?ref=meredith10
@@MeredithSpielman thank you 🥰
Felicitaciones!! Nuestro idioma no es fácil para extranjeros; pero como en todos, el esfuerzo, voluntad y práctica hacen mejorar mucho..Chevere!! Sigue así. ..
Muchas gracias por tus bonitas palabras!
Que gusto ver tu evolución en el tiempo como aprendiste español, mis respetos! yo tarde años para aprender ingles y tu en ese poco tiempo tienes un control del lenguaje muy bueno, I reaally love yout pronunciation and the courage to be different in this manner, congrats!
¡Muchísimas gracias! Aprecio tu comentario. Sé que aprender un idioma es un esfuerzo enorme, así que también tienes mis respetos por el esfuerzo para aprender inglés. I always wanted to have the best pronunciation I could, so I have worked with different teachers to try and speak as well as I can. Thanks for commenting, and check out my other videos! I have a video in Spanish if you're curious how my Spanish is now. This video was from almost two years ago, so I've improved more :)
I like watching these videos. I also learned English but for several years until I became fluent after 5 years. Although you did it faster cause you took it seriously, you went for calls right away to practice, that's very helpful.
Congrats on learning English! Glad you enjoyed my videos. Yeah, I think the fact I started speaking with native speakers from the beginning was something that helped me progress faster overall.
Hey hola te felicito por tu progreso en tu español atravez fe estos años, sigue así y lograras hablar casi como un nativo. Saludos desde CR 🇨🇷
Ayy muchas gracias! Ojalá que sí🤞
You were doing great by week 40! A lot of the "mistakes" that you made were hesitations and insecurities BUT i can tell you now.. depending which background.. you will have folks that use the same words that you are writing (crossing out) in red...
Also Spanish series on Netflix speak really fast😂 and i am fluent.. sometimes it takes me 2 episodes to pick up what they are saying without relying on subs
I know what you mean! Many people have told me the same about the "mistakes" since I uploaded these videos, which is nice hehe. Thanks!
Yes! I tell my students all the time that not understanding English on Netflix without subtitles is totally normal. I watch everything with subtitles, even in my native language.
Congrats! Hiciste un trabajo genial ademas de un avance impresionante! Ahora un año después deberías hacer un video demostrando tu progreso.
ua-cam.com/video/GPWTtDX8WH0/v-deo.html
Muchas gracias por tu comentario!!! Y como puedes ver, alguien más amablemente ya dejó el enlace del segundo vídeo después del segundo año :)
@@pascala3823 Jeje gracias, que amable de tu parte dejar el enlace :)
De nada@@MeredithSpielman !
Es mi placer 😊
You did pretty good learning it in one year,what a progress....You can now talk to me whenever you want..I'm Ecuadorian and I want to see the differences.Please don't hesitate to write.Thanks...your video was excellent.....
Thanks for your comment! I feel like I made pretty good progress too :) Many people post progress that is a lot faster than this, but then there are tons of people who aren't on youtube who try for years and never make progress. I wanted to show a realistic langauge journey. You should check out my Year 2 video, I think I have made a LOT of progress in the second year.
Thanks for commenting!
Wow! que genial es ver tu progreso desde el día uno hasta ahora, felicidades hablas super bien!!!
Muchas gracias! Ya tengo un video sobre el segundo año también si te interesa
ua-cam.com/video/GPWTtDX8WH0/v-deo.html
Wow Meredith ,,,I'm a native Spanish speaker...... I can say that your Spanish sounds really good....Keep the good work up --- Sigue adelante, tu espanol suena muy bien, solo debes pulirte un poco mas, pero en general suena muy bien y tu acento es muy claro .....
Guau, muchas gracias por tu comentario Luis 😁 De hecho recién publiqué un vídeo nuevo mostrando mi progreso despúes del segundo año. Si te interesa, podrías verlo para que veas como hablo ahora. Creo que es algo mejor jaja. Gracias otra vez!
@@MeredithSpielman Thank you. I will check it out. I speak English quite well. I need to improve my British accent though. So I will have my first "chat" on Italki next Sunday with a teacher from London. I find this platform "italki" very helpful. It's impressive your Spanish level, it's not easy to learn a new language in a short time. It's amazing, you're picking it up so quickly.
You’ll be surprised how I learned English, went straight into the school when I was 8 years old here in the US only knowing 1-10 lol, took me 1 1/2 to be able to do things without help and talking to native speakers obviously helped.
Yeah, talking to native speakers helps a lot! Plus I think in your situation it was like “sink or swim”, right? So maybe that forces you to learn faster!
Wow your spanish is great. Are you kidding😂 1 year and the progress is soo good. Congrats
Awwww thanks so much! I don’t know if you saw but I also have a Year 2 video, and honestly I feel much more confident about my level now :) Thanks for your comment!
The more you learn Spanish, the more beautiful you become
I’m gonna start this year in september. Intensive 20 course in granada💃
Ive been learning english for a year as well, i would learn Japanese and other languages cuz its rlly fun when you know other cultures... Well thats vid inspired me to learn spanish
Thank you for sharing Meredith. I just started learning last week and this is super inspiring!
Thanks for commenting! Glad you enjoyed the video 😊
@@MeredithSpielman Have you tried any of the language learning phone apps? I'm course what your opinion is on things like Duolingo, Busuu, Pimsuler etc.
@@saltysnot I actually didn't use any kind of language learning apps other than Anki, in which I made all my own study cards.
I did of course *try* the apps, but didn't think they're an efficient use of time for learning compared with other activities like podcasts in target language, conversation practice, etc.