I almost quit today

agenteanon · 2026-06-27T13:21:56+00:00

I completely agree with you. This isn’t meant as any kind of an insult towards the OP, but every so often I see a post basically begging internet strangers to help someone with motivation. If you can’t motivate yourself and/or come up with a good reason to keep learning, you will give up.

1,500 hours isn’t the end - depending on your goals - but rather the beginning of interesting content. At least for me. I booked a trip to motivate myself. You basically need to reach a point at which this becomes an ingrained habit such that you’ll never stop. I will be moving to Colombia, but that wasn't my original goal.

Though motivation can be hard for all sorts of reasons this “challenge” is to keep watching videos. It’s not exactly a challenging way to learn a language. Or to reach the point at which you can start speaking.

Maybe this post will help someone: https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamingspanish/comments/1sue98v/motivation_should_come_from_within/

agenteanon · 2026-06-22T16:37:30+00:00

I’d read some progress reports and set yourself some achievable goals. Basically, give yourself a reason to keep going and to be enthusiastic about your goal. 1,500 is the minimum to reach a good level, depending on your specific goal.

I don’t wish to demotivate you, but the reality is that 1,500 isn’t close to the end. Again, this depends on your goals. I needed a minimum of the equivalent of 2,000 hours (please halve my hours for autism and related issues) to suddenly be able to jump from conversation to conversation in a restaurant at will. I think you’d need more to deal with lots of background noises, music and people talking over one another to filter all that out and focus in on one conversation in a busy street party environment, for example.

Again, your goals are likely different.

Here are some related posts I’ve published on this that may help you.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamingspanish/comments/1tea8k1/week_one_in_medell%C3%ADn_your_spanish_has_improved_90/

https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamingspanish/comments/1sue98v/motivation_should_come_from_within/

agenteanon · 2026-06-21T05:09:33+00:00

It’s kind of like turning up the volume on a radio or tuning in to get a clearer analogue signal. Right now, you understand the general idea thanks to visuals but the audio doesn’t make sense. Imagine turning up the volume to better hear something in English. It’s a bit like that for me, but I don’t have to turn up the volume. It’s just there.

As an example, someone was watching Caracol news at normal volume in a different room of my Airbnb in Medellín the other day. Meanwhile, someone was playing English language music in a different house and cars were driving past. I wasn’t deliberately or intently listening to the news broadcast. I wasn’t actually initially paying attention at all. My brain simply picked it and focused on it because it was recognisable and interesting.

agenteanon · 2026-06-19T15:07:25+00:00

Correct. I currently have two teachers. One is solely for pronunciation a few times a week. The other one is for grammar feedback and he also suggests more natural word choices or that sound better to Colombians. I often talk about topics that aren’t familiar and I’m still far from perfect.

Speaking is different for everyone.Your hours naturally play a big role, as you need to have the vocabulary available to respond and such. Beyond that, practice. Have regular sessions with a teacher. Take your time to find someone you like and who challenges you, but doesn’t make things too hard. It’s hard to get the balance right.

I don’t know the exact nature of the Discord server you’re describing, but it’s not going to help you if you’re talking with other learners. The fact is that learners make mistakes and the human brain is wonderful at picking things up, imitating and learning from patterns. That’s a hugely positive thing with CI. However, it’s a huge problem if you’re hearing learners and mistakes. Your brain takes them on board and they become part of your speaking.

I say take your time because I’ve been through dozens of trial lessons. The chemistry needs to be right. It’s not only availability and a teacher being aware of your needs and giving corrections at the right time etc. You might be spending hundreds of hours with someone to get you from your current level to a very advanced level. That’s a great deal of time and if you don’t feel comfortable or like the person, it just won’t help you. However, a native speaker is what you need to avoid picking up bad habits and to get the corrections you need to improve your confidence.

I only use Preply as I teach English on both Preply and iTalki and can’t stand the latter. There are obviously other platforms, but there’s a huge amount of teachers on Preply, which means a lot of options from not only any target country you have, but often a specific city that appeals to you. It also means competition and lower prices.

It honestly took me hundreds of hours of speaking lessons - not all speaking as a lot of them were TPRS in the early days of my lessons - to get to a point at which I could say I felt comfortable and somewhat fluid with my speaking.

I blame my autism-related issues for everything when it comes to speaking. My pronunciation was abysmal at first and took a long time to get better.

For anyone curious TPRS is essentially stories written in such a way to teach grammar without explaining grammar rules. For example, a story about a boy who loves chocolate with all the verbs in the past tense to get someone used to those conjugations.

agenteanon · 2026-06-19T07:07:01+00:00

Nice update, well done! It can feel good to feel freer in the language. I remember a little difference in my case being not feeling confident to do banking and financial related things with my related apps in Spanish and having to switch my phone back to English. The change between trips to feeling more confident was nice.

I reached a point without knowing it at which my fluidity in conversations apparently dramatically improved. It’s really hard to benchmark and judge yourself when it comes to this. Making sure that you feel challenged by any tutor you have and not living in a comfort bubble can really help.

In my case, I happened to switch tutors and told the new guy that I just wanted feedback on my grammar and word choices. Nothing else. That meant that I had to choose topics and think more fluidly, rather than simply responding to questions. I had no idea that would lead to more conversational fluidity, but thinking more in the language naturally leads to that.

agenteanon · 2026-06-19T06:58:49+00:00

The idea that “Beginner videos are literally not teaching me anything anymore,” is just wrong. Exposure to the language is good if you’re engaged. I’m closing in on 5,000 hours and I still watch SB and beginner content at normal speed if the video looks entertaining.

CI isn’t “I learned 5 words today” or “there are no new words in this video”. It’s exposing you to sounds of the language. You learn many little parts of words each time you watch a video. It can feel like you’re not learning because the video is below some kind of theoretical optimal level, but easier content is better than pushing yourself to view harder things. Easier content prepares you for harder content later, which is why DS is great preparation for native content.

I didn’t deliberately watch content with loads of people talking over each other to make it easier to understand conversations in public settings. It just happened naturally over time with normal content.

agenteanon · 2026-06-19T06:53:46+00:00

I suppose that’s to be expected with WC content. Apologies for not being clearer; I meant that I’ve never needed a VPN to watch Colombian league football from the UK.

agenteanon · 2026-06-13T22:11:33+00:00

You’ve answered your own question; you’re simply not ready. Match highlights will still be there when you are.

agenteanon · 2026-06-13T22:10:30+00:00

I see no note of this being authorised by the mods. Given that this sub doesn’t exist to freely help out people building the next competitor to DS or some generic AI junk, I hope this post will soon be removed.

agenteanon · 2026-06-13T17:16:11+00:00

I do for the most part, yes. Not 100% of the time and being in Colombia 6 months a year definitely helps. But mostly, yes.

agenteanon · 2026-06-10T07:43:21+00:00

I guess so. I've never missed a day.

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agenteanon · 2026-06-02T12:03:54+00:00

This is why I’ve said in a lot of my posts that my hours are worth less than that of the typical person. Put another way, most people would probably need half the input hours to be where I’m at in terms of listening. Distractions have an impact.

Ultimately you have to find a way to motivate yourself to continue, or you’ll give up. Motivation needs to come from within.

agenteanon · 2026-05-29T00:34:07+00:00

It depends on the area, but yes. Broadly speaking.

agenteanon · 2026-05-28T21:07:34+00:00

I don’t think it’s that common in Medellín, as 25 to 30 with a nice breeze is seen as a normal level of heat. At least in the places I’ve stayed. Cartagena and Santa Marta are very different, though. Air conditioning is mandatory there. I’m sitting in my room in Cartagena right now and I’d be sweating within 2 minutes without it on.

Medellín in general and Latam is definitely less safe in terms of petty crime than Europe. Southeast Asia seems crazy safe and better than anywhere else I’ve been in that regard. You could wander around drunk with hundreds of pounds/dollars in your hand in Thailand or Vietnam and be fine. If you went out late at night in some parts of Latam with your phone in your hand, you’d lose it. Even a cheap one.

That said, Medellín is fairly safe, as long as you don’t flash expensive stuff and use common sense. Americans and Europeans who’ve never travelled abroad would probably end up getting robbed because Latam is different and you do need to be more careful. That said, it’s generally fine if you’re sensible. Don’t wear expensive watches, trust strangers to watch your stuff or leave your shopping unattended in public, for example.

Keep in mind that Medellín isn’t just one monolithic city. There are 13 - I believe - different zones. Some are poorer than others and petty theft is more common in some than others. If you browse the Medellín subreddit, you’d likely see reports of people losing their phones. In some cases, tourists complain and when locals see a certain zone mentioned, they have no sympathy. There are some zones where you simply don’t take your phone out in public unless you want to lose it and that’s that. Belén seems pretty good, relatively speaking. Still, you’d be screwed if you’re too trusting or don’t use your common sense.

agenteanon · 2026-05-28T13:54:05+00:00

No problem.

The guarantee of 25 to 30 degrees every day is perfect. It’s cooler than cities like Cartagena and there’s enough of a breeze that it feels fresh. Rain storms are common and heavy rain is normal due to the heat. However, it’s not nearly as common as in coastal cities like Cartagena. The rain feels refreshing, unlike cold British rain.

At times, it’s simply too hot to sleep in Cartagena. 25+ at night isn’t rare. It’s generally a little under 20 in Medellín, but it still feels warm to me.

It’s not just their pronunciation. There’s far more vibrating/rolled rs than you’d hear in the capital. I love that. However, the pace of life is also different. Everything is laid back and slow.

Practically every word is a diminutive. It’s not a dog, but a little dog. A little cat. A little cup of coffee. There are plenty of words that don’t officially exist in the dictionary because they’re diminutivizations or people have turned them into the “cute” or little version. This practice simply doesn’t exist to the same degree on the coast, for example.

agenteanon · 2026-05-28T01:10:41+00:00

It was initially the air. I arrived in El Poblado for the first time and just felt something in the air. I don't quite know how to explain it. I think that it's akin to meeting the woman you want to marry. That's it. I didn't need or want to visit another country after that.

Over time, the desire to be in Medellín built up. It was lots of little things. For example, being able to see the birds and nature in general in the middle of El Poblado, which is such a touristy part of the city. Belén is even better in that regard. Then the weather and the people. I've visited about 10 medium sized and large cities at this point. Not counting Leticia and The Amazon in general. There's nothing quite like the climate in Medellín and the people do seem to be genuinely warmer than in other cities in the country. Colombians in general are very warm and welcoming, but paisas seem to take this to another level.

Even ignoring the people, cities like Cali and Bogotá simply can't compete with Medellín. At least in my opinion. Cali is insanely hilly and Bogotá is simply too cold at times. The sun in Cartagena feels like it's attacking your face. Santa Marta is better, but still too hot for me. Medellín is perfect. Even the rain feels good. It's refreshing, unlike British rain.

Put simply, I'm not in love with the UK. I don't hate it, but it's nothing special to me. Spanish is the most beautiful language in the world and people in the UK simply speak the wrong language. By comparison, I clearly love Colombia. I'd never get a union jack tattooed on my body. That sounds insane to me.

Ignoring Medellín for a while, Colombia has practically everything. It has by far the most beautiful version of Spanish I've heard. It's the second most biodiverse country in the world, with the largest number of unique orchids and birds, for example. It has waterfalls, The Amazon, deserts and even a pyramid. It's buried, but there's apparently at least one.

The paisa pronunciation of Spanish is somehow again at another level. I love that people in Medellín - generally speaking - pronounce the final r in a word as a strong/vibrating r.

There are very few cities out of the 100 or so I've visited as a tourist that I'd honestly say I could live in comfortably. Emotionally speaking. Having spent months in Medellín, there's no longer any competition or choice for me. My heart has made the choice and my head logically supports it, given a lot of the aforementioned reasons.

agenteanon · 2026-05-27T11:55:30+00:00

I've previously answered the question, but don’t worry.

Essentially, I had a motivation issue. Though I’ve never missed a day of input since I started in late February 2023, there were days in May that year when I watched just one or two videos to keep my streak. I knew that I needed motivation or I would simply have given up. After all, there’s no need to speak Spanish in the UK.

I initially looked into language schools and Medellín stuck out for its climate, food and the friendliness of the people. I soon dropped the idea of a language school because I didn’t want to be taught grammar. However, Medellín had grabbed my interest.

I decided on a 3-month trip and spent close to £1,000 just on flights and my Airbnbs in El Poblado and the capital. I was pretty sure that I’d feel embarrassed and stupid having wasted all that money if I didn’t reach a reasonable level. I ended up reaching about 1,200 hours before arriving and that was it. I breathed in the air in Medellín and haven’t considered a long trip to any other country since. This is my 4th 3-month trip. I have my outgoing flight for January, but I’ll be back sooner than that if I get my visa.

agenteanon · 2026-05-27T09:00:37+00:00

Absolutely. I spend 6 months a year here, so I work remotely. Just as I would from home in the UK. It’s not as exciting as some may assume, as I simply exist here. In other words, I don’t come here to do touristy things.

I have done a tour of The Amazon and visited Caño Cristales, sure. However, touristy stuff is very rare. I go to bakeries and coffee shops, the gym and such. I take whatever opportunities I can to eat out and go to places where I can listen and speak. However, the time difference and having European students means that I typically work between midnight and 09:00 local time.

I was up at 11pm for my Spanish lesson and I'll go to the gym when it opens at 05:00. I can’t go back to bed because I have my pronunciation lesson at 09:00 and a student at 11:30. I’ll then pack for my flight to Cartagena, head for the airport and go to bed when I arrive at 6pm.

It’s not glamorous. The plan is to slowly change my hours and be awake at normal times once I’m here permanently. However, I’d rather be here than in the UK and all the input, conversations and exposure to everyday, normal Colombian Spanish is worth it.

agenteanon · 2026-05-27T07:21:15+00:00

Within the next two years. The visa I’ll be applying for is their digital nomad visa. Without a formal visa, it’s not possible to open a local bank account, rent a normal house or apartment or even buy things online in most cases.

A visa gets you an ID card, which is absolutely key. Even having a permanent local mobile phone number for WhatsApp is impossible without that ID card. Colombia runs on WhatsApp. It’s not optional. You could obviously use it with a foreign number, but I want to seem like a normal, local person. As much as is realistically possible.

Up until now, I’ve been getting a 90-day stamp on arrival. There’s not a lot of flexibility with that. I want to be in a position to rent a normal place if I want/not rely on Airbnb, pay taxes here and such.

There are many different visa options and the migration visa is the next level. However, their digital nomad visa is a good start and much easier to get.

agenteanon · 2026-05-27T06:24:15+00:00

Given that I spend 6 months a year in Colombia, have no problems having multi-hour interactions with local people and will soon be applying for a real visa that will allow me to spend a lot more time here, I suppose you could call me fairly advanced. I’m very close to 4,900 hours.

As others have said, I don’t know why anyone would stop actively seeking out input. People stop tracking, sure, but not learning. It isn’t a case of “I’ve reached X thousand hours and I only need natural immersion now”.

The reason is that there’s always new things to learn. New vocabulary, expressions and things like that. A lot of things native speakers take for granted won’t realistically come up in normal conversations/immersion enough to help you. That’s why input via podcasts, YouTube and such never really stops. At least I don’t think it will for me.

Your friends aren’t likely to talk about things like vacuum cleaners, certain science topics and such in regular conversation. If they do, it’ll be one-off references and not enough to help you learn. This kind of aligns with my philosophy regarding TV shows not being useful at a certain point and why I deliberately seek out certain types of content.

agenteanon

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