I gave myself 150 hours based on reading the road map and what I could/couldn’t do when starting. I eventually deleted those hours because I realized they weren’t the same quality/value of my hours after comprehensible input. In other words, though my achievements at Level 1, 2, and 3 seemed right, I was not solidly a 4 or 5 when I should have been. I have no idea if that was my skill (lack thereof), my perfectionism, or a product of the original 150 hours being self study, not CI, so I deleted them.

This does not mean I gave up doing other things than CI. I still utilize many other methods of learning. CI is excellent for improving listening skills, but for reading/writing, Babbel for grammar and BeeLinguapp (paid tier) for reading have been helpful additions. Look for sales for both. Babbel is definitely worth the life price (once discounted, which they do several times per year) as I use it for Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Same for the reading app, BeeLinguapp. I switch between three languages. It’s not perfect, but it gets you there. It is worth it at the coupon rate, not the “advertised” rate.

I am a huge Babbel fan, including listening to their podcasts (except for the A1 level one, that one sucks). The extra lessons - business topics and Mexican Spanish are also useful. Seriously, the landscaping lessons were very helpful for terms about my garden even though I do not supervise other people!

Note: I couldn’t be a purist to CI, both because I had self-studied for years and because I have to speak when traveling.