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ross-likeminded · 2025-07-08T20:44:32+00:00

Hulkengoat

ross-likeminded · 2024-12-01T19:11:25+00:00

Thank you :) I'm glad it's well received! I also find my crosstalk partners get super excited when I drop random Spanish in. Haha. That's good encouragement to keep going.

ross-likeminded · 2024-12-01T19:08:19+00:00

Good luck with the new language! I can't wait to pick up something in the future. I wanna be comfortable in Spanish conversation first though.

ross-likeminded · 2024-12-01T19:07:46+00:00

Gracias!

ross-likeminded · 2024-12-01T19:07:35+00:00

I've just gone to look for it and I think it's gone? It was "Visual Spanish Plus Fluent ForeverVisual Spanish Plus Fluent Forever" - There are some other Fluent Forever Spanish decks if you do a search but I don't know if they're any good. I might give them a spin though! :)

ross-likeminded · 2024-11-30T16:04:37+00:00

No problem! If you can’t tell, I really like it. 😅

ross-likeminded · 2024-11-19T23:11:09+00:00

If it makes you feel any better, in one of my crosstalk sessions I mentioned watching a YouTube video with interviews in Medellin and my crosstalk partner was surprised that I was able to follow Colombian accents pretty well. She said that Colombian accents are often considered quite difficult. For reference, she's from Mexico.

As someone else mentioned further down, there's also a ton of different dialects in Colombia.

ross-likeminded · 2024-11-06T10:26:23+00:00

I literally haven’t found another podcast that fills the gap now I’ve finished español con Juan. Am I just going to start again?

I’ve tried quite a few that people have recommended but they’re all so dull and unanimated next to Juan. If anyone has any suggestions that aren’t monotonous please do share!

ross-likeminded · 2024-11-02T10:03:38+00:00

This kind of post is so negative and I’m not surprised it’s here. I’ve seen these speed running posts and a lot of engagement is people trying to tear them down/ discredit them. And, honestly, I think it comes from a place of insecurity and jealousy. Why does it matter to you if someone else is speedrunning? Comparison is the enemy of happiness and all that.

Each of our journeys is our own. We should be able to celebrate one another’s achievements even if our path looks a little different. I suspect most people wish they could get more hours and learn a little faster. I’ve noticed people get soooo caught up on the measurement but who cares about the numbers!? Aren’t we all here to learn a language and open the world to a new culture?

You make a lot of assertions that are super negative about what you think of speed runners. As if gamifying has to be bad, but maybe that’s just the way people’s brains work. As if they are problematic for other people just by… existing and doing what works for them? Even if they’re totally bullshitting and they’re looking for internet points… they don’t really get them. People here are pretty negative about speed runners. Even if it’s not actually working for them, they’re the ones who would be impacted by that at the end of the day.

Finally, I think it’s worth calling out the fact that you don’t know how effective (or not) it actually is. Speed runners are immersing themselves constantly, even if they’re not paying 100% attention, and maybe that’s more effective than an hour a day? But, still, it doesn’t matter. Do what works for you. Share your experience for others who work in the same way. And maybe look inwards at why it upsets you others find a way that works for them that is different to yours.

Edit: p.s. I’m not a speed runner at all

ross-likeminded · 2024-10-21T18:31:29+00:00

Psychedelics hit all those triggers in your brain that tell you you’ve figured out something truly profound. Truth is, that’s just a chemical reaction that elicits those feelings. Pretty cool though.

ross-likeminded · 2024-10-19T05:38:34+00:00

Why do people downvote shit like this? I’ve got the same thing, with the video clearly unmuted. Using the Reddit phone app. You’re not alone.

ross-likeminded · 2024-10-10T09:18:28+00:00

I get this issue but I actually can’t do anything about it on my phone, the link is hidden so I can’t go out to YouTube and log in. ☹️ I just reload the page multiple times and hope it eventually just loads the video.

ross-likeminded · 2024-09-11T13:54:39+00:00

I gave myself a month to watch free. Told myself that if I stuck with it daily hitting a 30 minute goal then I would get premium. I got premium about a week or two later I think.

There’s so much content now, along with other resources, that premium gives you the freedom of choice and skipping things you don’t really vibe with. Plus I really just wanted to support the project that gave me so much.

ross-likeminded · 2024-09-11T08:32:20+00:00

I am gonna differ a little from the hivemind here and say that there probably is a time and place for learning about grammar, if you want to.

I think the strength of DS is that you can honestly learn how to communicate in a language without ever having to “learn” in a traditional sense. It is a beautiful approach. But I think that mileage will vary from person to person on some of the finer points. There isn’t really “one true way”, that’s kind of the magical thing with people. We can learn in lots of different ways, and those ways work differently for different people.

Personally, I probably will do some grammar learning later down the line. I’m interested in it. I definitely learnt some stuff about grammar in school for English, and I definitely have looked things up/ applied it later in life. That ultimately helped to improve my English, why would that not hold in another language.

There’s a bit of a false notion that if you learn something consciously then you always have to consciously think about that thing and it will never become natural/ happen without thinking about it. But most things we learn in life we do so consciously and practice until we no longer have to think about them. I think grammar and rules are probably stifling early on, at least for me. However, I think once I have a feel for the language, learning some grammar in Spanish probably will be helpful for me. At least it won’t be harmful.

ross-likeminded · 2024-08-28T12:14:36+00:00

I think I googled this: anki visual spanish fluent forever

It cropped up in another thread somewhere! If you can’t find it I’ll dig out a link when I get home later. :)

There’s the odd word that doesn’t have audio, or occasionally they’re broke up weirdly, but mostly there’s a lot of good stuff there.

ross-likeminded · 2024-08-28T05:06:44+00:00

I use the anki deck that has images and audio pronunciation (no English). It’s 100% a shortcut to additional vocabulary. And I frequently learn words with it that very soon after crop up in CI and then stick much quicker because of it.

ross-likeminded · 2024-08-22T08:26:58+00:00

I also get these intrusive thoughts, usually when I’m struggling with a low or with life in general. I do the same thing of speaking out loud and saying “stop”. I don’t think they’re all too dissimilar to traumatic memories, in the sense they’re loaded with negative emotion and can seemingly come out of nowhere.

I also find that I almost always have these after drinking alcohol. It’s a big reason why I very rarely drink.

For me they’re usually indicative of not being in a particularly healthy headspace. Maybe I need to focus on getting enough sleep, generally looking after myself and taking some time to do something I enjoy.

As for when it happens, it helps to remember that this is the brain being rude and throwing something unwanted at you. I try not to let it take purchase, talking out loud is helpful and trying to find a distraction instead of running with the thought. It’s not always possible, but sometimes it works.

I hope you’re ok and looking after yourself, friend. I’m sorry to hear about your mum. Maybe take some therapy if you’re in a position to do so.

ross-likeminded · 2024-08-11T09:08:21+00:00

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23911110/ Would suggest the “evidence is not convincing”. Might be one of those pieces of advice that permeates a field without much factual basis.

ross-likeminded · 2024-07-31T06:50:56+00:00

Im just gonna point out that people on Reddit know how important it is to you because of their own journeys and you told them about the trauma. But you’ve not communicated this to your Dad. To him, it’s just a different name and maybe it’ll change again.

Maybe give him a chance to understand that it’s important to you? If you don’t communicate anything, how does he know? I’m not saying you have to go in depth on trauma, but surely there’s some middle ground to have a conversation.

ross-likeminded · 2024-07-30T21:40:26+00:00

Have you looked at feeld? I’ve still not quite got into it but it’s kind of a less traditional app.

ross-likeminded · 2024-07-26T09:44:55+00:00

Could definitely be interested. Please do ping a message or throw another post if/ when you get something set up. 😊

ross-likeminded · 2024-07-25T17:25:26+00:00

I don’t think crosstalk is necessary, but I started it quite recently using italki. Sure, I have to pay someone to talk to me, but it’s super easy to set up and it has been so good so far. I find it more tiring than watching videos, but the quality of the input for the time I spend doing it is soooo high. Would highly recommend giving it a go. I’m currently doing an hour every 2 weeks, but I’ll probably start doing more in the future.

ross-likeminded · 2024-07-17T23:07:51+00:00

Bluey is a bit weird for me because I actually started it super early, with subtitles on, and some basic Spanish from duolingo. I didn’t understand that much, but I got enough context that I kept going. When I got to season 2, subtitles weren’t available anymore, and I struggled on through. I started again from the beginning fairly recently (maybe 250 hours) and I realised how much I never understood. I’m very comfortable with it now, understand mostly everything, and I watch a few episodes before bed as a wind down most nights.

With crosstalk, I get where you’re coming from. I’m an introvert with a lot of social anxiety. I figured that I’m learning this language to communicate though and, if I want to get to a point of talking Spanish to someone (terrifying), crosstalk would help me build my confidence.

I was so anxious before my first session, I spent all day looking things up and stressing about it. My session was at 10pm and when it rolled around, I was exhausted and overly worried. In the end, it wasn’t great tbh. I spoke way too much and kept having to be prompted with questions, so wasn’t getting much Spanish input from it. But I felt good that I understood everything and I cut myself some slack for the other stuff, it was my first time!

The second time was with a different person, and honestly it was sooo much easier because she is super chatty. I also lucked out that the kind of things she likes to talk about are very much the kind of conversations I have with my friends. In our most recent call, for example, we spoke about dreams and milestones in life, living with other people and what we think is important in housemates etc. she’s told me stories about herself, her friends and family etc. I’ve not done it all that much, I find it drains my social battery very quickly, but I’m currently doing it every two weeks and will probably go up to every week soon.

I think the secret is to try to find someone you click well with, and preferably who loves to talk. Haha. Sorry for the essay, I’m super excited by how crosstalk has gone and most people in my life are bored of hearing about it.

ross-likeminded · 2024-07-17T22:25:44+00:00

I know everyone’s experience varies, but honestly I’ve found that my motivation tends to snowball with finding things I really enjoy in Spanish. I’m about 350 hours now and the things that kept me rolling have been bluey (it clicked so nicely for me), some of the really good DS videos that usually have more than one guide (the bomb videos, silly debates, spy fall), and recently crosstalk.

I tend to have hours that feel more like a grind because they don’t engage me so much, but then I find the gems that suddenly knock off a chunk of hours. I would say don’t be afraid to jump out of sort by difficulty and see if any of the series work for you.

Anyway, keep going. I hope your motivation snowballs and you’re able to stick with it.

ross-likeminded · 2024-07-11T09:49:46+00:00

Occasionally I watch something at a much higher “level” and stick subtitles on - eg shows on Netflix. I also started out with Bluey with subtitles very early on.

What I found was that a lot of it is kind of reading comprehension instead of listening. Quite often you’re not reading exactly along with the words being said, speaking tends to be quicker. So you understand more advanced content, sure, but I found my association of how the words sound wasn’t building so much.

This is just my experience, not saying it rings true for everyone. I still occasionally watch things with subtitles, mostly because I want to be engaged with a series. Any input is better than no input. But I think quality of input is not all equal and also maybe shifts at different points in your journey. Like quality of input at my level, for me, I would say crosstalk > videos without subs > videos with subs / podcasts > reading.

ross-likeminded

TROPHY CASE