Hi Pablo, I just wanted to say thanks so much for what you and your team do. I am from the USA and my girlfriend’s family is from Mexico. Your videos have helped so much with me being able to communicate with them! My GF has a nephew that is 4 years old and can only speak mostly Spanish as of right now and being able to communicate with him has made me so happy.
How long have you been acquiring input before you were able to communicate with them? And can you communicate relatively well? I'm in the same boat where my GF and her family are in/from Mexico, so I'm curious about your experiences communicating with them
@@XandeR1800 it probably took me a year from going from superbeginner to the advanced level videos. But I did take three years of Spanish in high school and two years in university. Those classes, along with Duolingo, made me read Spanish pretty well but listening and talking skills were basically nonexistent for me. I think Pablo recommends an hour of input a day so you could probably catch up to speed talking if you did that for awhile, I only watched a video or two a day but hearing my GF and her family talk on the phone and in-person helped as well. I would encourage you to ask your gf if you can start talking in Spanish more with just you two at first so it helps you with pronunciation and formulating sentences in your head, and obviously the input too. Once you’re comfortable enough you can talk to her family as well. My pronunciation is still not the best but understandable and as Pablo says “poco a poco.”
It is so easy to understand you and your way how you think, your way of thinking, I have only 320 hours but I can digest like 95% or even more (from this video).. Maybe I get only 80%, but it is so easy to get the point. Either Spanish is super easy, or you are super good teacher.
‘El baño siempre está al fondo a la izquierda!!!’😂😂😂 Muy buena consejo. No traducir de tu lengua materna es muy difícil al principio. Mucho input comprensible realmente es la solución.
Even though the message in all these language learning videos is the same: "listen to more comprehensible input", I still appreciate you explaining the rationale in each case why CI is sufficient, as it dispels my doubts. Thank you Pablo!
This was a concept I definitely didn’t understand before I started learning Spanish. We had a high school exchange student from Spain live next door last year and I hear my teenager and another English speaking girl ask the exchange student if she liked “warm hugs.” While her English was excellent she looked at them like they were crazy. My teens were making a reference to Olaf from Frozen. His famous line that got repeated everywhere was “I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs” but she had no context for that evidently. I have found I am enjoying learning about the process of language learning as much as actually learning the language. Thanks for the videos!
as a spanish student, i super agree with this! words don't always have direct translations and they're not supposed to. as Pablo says, each language have different origins and therefore some things in one language don't exist in some languages.
I think it's ok to ask something like "How do people typically express in Spanish?", and I think that's what some people (even if they're a minority) really mean when they ask for a "translation" of some idiom. Obviously you still want to hear it in context multiple times in order to properly acquire it however.
This reminds me how Anglo-centric our thoughts are about language learning, speaking as an American.We have to remember our language is one of a myriad of different ways of communicating. It reallys mind-opening. :)
Great video! I had the problem of doing this all the time. I always focused on how to say English expressions in Spanish. I started to know quite a bit of English expressions in Spanish, but the problem was that I didn't understand native Spanish speakers when they spoke, so I never knew when to use all the expressions I learned. I then thought about many of the second generation Spanish speaking immigrants that I know. Many of them are able to understand Spanish, but cannot speak it well. They NEVER have the opposite problem (which is what I had). This turned on the light bulb for me and made me realize I need to devote more time to listening comprehension and stop focusing on 1:1 translation.
Oh, you're in for a treat. The videos at the intermediate and advanced levels are fantastic, from Pablo's old ones all the way through to the newer ones from other teachers. The premium subscription is easily the best investment you can make in learning Spanish just because it takes away the problem of what to listen to! A massive library of perfect material right at your fingertips.
Realamente es Increíble mi mejora en español los ultimos meses, y en gran parte, es gracias a rate ‘channel.’ Gracias por todo Pablo y equipo. (Perdo por errores!)
I actually enjoy using English sayings knowing full well they probably don’t exist in Spanish, but that’s partly because they are learning English also and it makes for fun conversation after asking if it exists in Spanish then explaining what it means in English. They usually “get a kick” out of it.
While waiting for my Skype lesson from my maestro de CDMX I got this message: "Hola Don, te veo 7:05 y porfa?". I assumed it ment he would be late and would it be ok. I hadn't seen the word 'porfa' before but I guess it's a contraction of 'por favor'. I'm trying not look up words but it's an ingrained habit. Good luck on changing the world!
I probably missed something from the video, but I have a question..I agree about words not having a 1-1 translation often, but what should you do if you want to practice your output and don't know what to say? Do you hold off on it and hope to come across what you need to know by random chance?
Menudo consejos y ideas! Estoy contigo! Peroooooo, Deberías explicarme como pudiera asegurarme que mis estudiantes del instituto prestaría atención a mi input?! Jajaja. Es que a veces algunos no están escuchado bien cuando les hablo en español. (Son estadounidenses) así que necesito la magia de ser tan interesante y entretenido que quieren poner la atención siempre. Qué pena que los profes no sean tan entretenidos como el RUclips ni videojuegos ni móviles! Pero manos a la obra…. Poco a poco! Jajaja!
Aunque la solución es siempre la misma, me encanta tus vídeos sobre el aprendizaje de los idiomas. Me gustaría saber cómo diferencian tus experiencias entre los idiomas que conoces. Aunque 'IC' es la clave siempre, puedo pensar que, por ejemplo, el comienzo del inglés es un poco diferente que con el japonés.
Hello! Is a podcast considered comprehensible input? I recently found the How to Spanish Podcast, which is an Intermediate podcast, and I understand easily 90%. Should i count it in my log of hours of comprehensible input?
At first I was concerned that you were going to tell us "never" to ask how to say something in Spanish but soon understood you were talking about avoiding literal translations or inappropriate translations. Once, we as learners, have started speaking and have got past the stage of asking "why is it 'I HAVE 30 years' instead of 'I AM 30 years old'", we can get on with acquiring the language more rapidly and with less confusion and stress. When I'm practicing speaking, I'll often find myself wanting to use an expression or word - it may be idiomatic or not - but I don't know how to say it in Spanish. So I make a note of it and then use the various resources that I have access to, to find the equivalent expression - if it exists - in Spanish. For example, I know not to ask if someone is "pulling my leg" in Spanish because I figured that that was idiomatic and unlike to have a direct translation - and it doesn't! The other thing I have to be aware of is that I want to use an expression the way that is used in Spain - and so I have to avoid mixing it up with how the same thing is said in Mexico or Argentina. But by finding out how to say what I can't say, I've grown my vocabulary and fluency considerably because those are the phrases and words that I regularly want to use and that I end up regularly being able to reinforce in my practice group. This to me is far more effective than focusing on words and expressions that some program tries to teach me. Gracias Pablo por este increíble recurso!
de acuerdo con todo lo que dijiste. yo lo digo todo el tiempo. el problema que tienen los estudiantes es que siempre se preguntan "por que es asi en español?" es asi porque lo es. simplemente tienen que aceptarlo y seguir adelante.
Sometimes things that seem like fake translations are actually real. For example, the phrase "las cosas" is used very similarly to the word "things" in English. Literalmente, frecuentemente sound like they´d be very different but aren´t. "Rico" being a word describing flavor also matches the word "rich" in English, but someone could easily avoid using either word in that context just for the other language. "Dar cuenta" is another thing that seems bogus but is fairly similar to what it means in English, give credit. "En camino" is like "on the way" and it surprised me that such a phrase exists. It sounds like a fake idiom "in the walking" but is totally legitimate. Learn when translated things actually match!
Gracias Pablo, un vídeo muy interesante. Si quieres mejorar tu inglés diga “Freeze my arse off” con una ‘r’ en la palabra para culo. Arse is más suave y guay. Saludos
I just try to describe it until they can tell me what I want. Such as, "Tiene la comida con un palo pequeño por los pedazos de carne y vegetales de la parrilla?" "Oh, anticuchos!" "Sí, por favor!"
Bueno, anoche alguien me preguntó "¿Por qué se dice ...ojo con la niña... para advertirle a alguien? ¿Por qué "con"--no sería mejor usar "ojo a la niña o ojo de la niña? Pues, le respondí, "así se dice...no hay ningún motivo cuando usamos "con"...es cómo se dice esa idea, nada más". ¡Y se sintió muy frustrado! Le dijo que simplemente tienes que aceptar el orden de palabras que oyes.
¡Ostras! 吃了吗？What’s up? Direct translation of these into any other language probably won’t make any sense. Learn the language in the context. No translation!
¿Entonces la respuesta correcta es "yo soy congelando mi culo apagado", no? O:-) (...creo que ahora estoy en la lista de cosas que a Pablo no le gustan).
I find it weird if someone Is truly asking for word to word translation for freezing my ass off. Either the listener mistook the speaker's intention or this world has gotten weird
Hi Pablo, I just wanted to say thanks so much for what you and your team do. I am from the USA and my girlfriend’s family is from Mexico. Your videos have helped so much with me being able to communicate with them! My GF has a nephew that is 4 years old and can only speak mostly Spanish as of right now and being able to communicate with him has made me so happy.
How long have you been acquiring input before you were able to communicate with them? And can you communicate relatively well? I'm in the same boat where my GF and her family are in/from Mexico, so I'm curious about your experiences communicating with them
@@XandeR1800 it probably took me a year from going from superbeginner to the advanced level videos. But I did take three years of Spanish in high school and two years in university. Those classes, along with Duolingo, made me read Spanish pretty well but listening and talking skills were basically nonexistent for me. I think Pablo recommends an hour of input a day so you could probably catch up to speed talking if you did that for awhile, I only watched a video or two a day but hearing my GF and her family talk on the phone and in-person helped as well. I would encourage you to ask your gf if you can start talking in Spanish more with just you two at first so it helps you with pronunciation and formulating sentences in your head, and obviously the input too. Once you’re comfortable enough you can talk to her family as well. My pronunciation is still not the best but understandable and as Pablo says “poco a poco.”
💕
It is so easy to understand you and your way how you think, your way of thinking, I have only 320 hours but I can digest like 95% or even more (from this video).. Maybe I get only 80%, but it is so easy to get the point. Either Spanish is super easy, or you are super good teacher.
‘El baño siempre está al fondo a la izquierda!!!’😂😂😂
Muy buena consejo. No traducir de tu lengua materna es muy difícil al principio. Mucho input comprensible realmente es la solución.
This made me laugh too!
2:13 Lol! Yep. That part is so funny.
Even though the message in all these language learning videos is the same: "listen to more comprehensible input", I still appreciate you explaining the rationale in each case why CI is sufficient, as it dispels my doubts. Thank you Pablo!
This was a concept I definitely didn’t understand before I started learning Spanish. We had a high school exchange student from Spain live next door last year and I hear my teenager and another English speaking girl ask the exchange student if she liked “warm hugs.” While her English was excellent she looked at them like they were crazy. My teens were making a reference to Olaf from Frozen. His famous line that got repeated everywhere was “I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs” but she had no context for that evidently. I have found I am enjoying learning about the process of language learning as much as actually learning the language. Thanks for the videos!
It would be interesting to find out how that line is translated in the Spanish version of Frozen!
@@julieo3860 "¡Soy Olaf y adoro los abrazos!" ☃ ruclips.net/video/p4NOnmGN5Ws/видео.html
as a spanish student, i super agree with this! words don't always have direct translations and they're not supposed to. as Pablo says, each language have different origins and therefore some things in one language don't exist in some languages.
lol i watch ur videos for my gcses😂
This is definitely something I'm learning first hand by living in South America at the moment. Great vid Pablo.
I think it's ok to ask something like "How do people typically express in Spanish?", and I think that's what some people (even if they're a minority) really mean when they ask for a "translation" of some idiom. Obviously you still want to hear it in context multiple times in order to properly acquire it however.
This reminds me how Anglo-centric our thoughts are about language learning, speaking as an American.We have to remember our language is one of a myriad of different ways of communicating. It reallys mind-opening. :)
Gracias, esta explicación es la razón por la que veo los vídeos de Dreaming Spanish.
Great video! I had the problem of doing this all the time. I always focused on how to say English expressions in Spanish. I started to know quite a bit of English expressions in Spanish, but the problem was that I didn't understand native Spanish speakers when they spoke, so I never knew when to use all the expressions I learned. I then thought about many of the second generation Spanish speaking immigrants that I know. Many of them are able to understand Spanish, but cannot speak it well. They NEVER have the opposite problem (which is what I had). This turned on the light bulb for me and made me realize I need to devote more time to listening comprehension and stop focusing on 1:1 translation.
So many good topics I'll have to wait until I'm intermediate to listen to.
Oh, you're in for a treat. The videos at the intermediate and advanced levels are fantastic, from Pablo's old ones all the way through to the newer ones from other teachers.
The premium subscription is easily the best investment you can make in learning Spanish just because it takes away the problem of what to listen to! A massive library of perfect material right at your fingertips.
@@stephen9306 yep I got the premium last week. I'm doing my second lap through super beginner then I will try beginner.
Holy crap. I made my way to this video through intermediate and had forgotten I commented on it before. It was very easy to understand.
@@fleetzegreat progress :)
Este vídeo es muy interesante, gracias Pablo.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!
Realamente es Increíble mi mejora en español los ultimos meses, y en gran parte, es gracias a rate ‘channel.’
Gracias por todo Pablo y equipo. (Perdo por errores!)
INPUT!
I never would have guessed, lol. Thanks Pablo!😁
I actually enjoy using English sayings knowing full well they probably don’t exist in Spanish, but that’s partly because they are learning English also and it makes for fun conversation after asking if it exists in Spanish then explaining what it means in English. They usually “get a kick” out of it.
While waiting for my Skype lesson from my maestro de CDMX I got this message: "Hola Don, te veo 7:05 y porfa?". I assumed it ment he would be late and would it be ok. I hadn't seen the word 'porfa' before but I guess it's a contraction of 'por favor'. I'm trying not look up words but it's an ingrained habit. Good luck on changing the world!
Would be cool to get your recommendation for practicing output.
I probably missed something from the video, but I have a question..I agree about words not having a 1-1 translation often, but what should you do if you want to practice your output and don't know what to say? Do you hold off on it and hope to come across what you need to know by random chance?
Menudo consejos y ideas! Estoy contigo! Peroooooo, Deberías explicarme como pudiera asegurarme que mis estudiantes del instituto prestaría atención a mi input?! Jajaja. Es que a veces algunos no están escuchado bien cuando les hablo en español. (Son estadounidenses) así que necesito la magia de ser tan interesante y entretenido que quieren poner la atención siempre. Qué pena que los profes no sean tan entretenidos como el RUclips ni videojuegos ni móviles! Pero manos a la obra…. Poco a poco! Jajaja!
Ese “Do you even lift bro” acento fue muy divertido 😂
Aunque la solución es siempre la misma, me encanta tus vídeos sobre el aprendizaje de los idiomas. Me gustaría saber cómo diferencian tus experiencias entre los idiomas que conoces. Aunque 'IC' es la clave siempre, puedo pensar que, por ejemplo, el comienzo del inglés es un poco diferente que con el japonés.
how dare you say something so controversial and so brave XD its good shit, thanks pablo
Hello! Is a podcast considered comprehensible input? I recently found the How to Spanish Podcast, which is an Intermediate podcast, and I understand easily 90%. Should i count it in my log of hours of comprehensible input?
I listen to that podcast and yes! It’s definitely CI. You should count it.
@@KristinaQuiere okay, thx :D
I love How to Spanish, its one of of my faves, outside of Dreaming Spanish.
At first I was concerned that you were going to tell us "never" to ask how to say something in Spanish but soon understood you were talking about avoiding literal translations or inappropriate translations. Once, we as learners, have started speaking and have got past the stage of asking "why is it 'I HAVE 30 years' instead of 'I AM 30 years old'", we can get on with acquiring the language more rapidly and with less confusion and stress. When I'm practicing speaking, I'll often find myself wanting to use an expression or word - it may be idiomatic or not - but I don't know how to say it in Spanish. So I make a note of it and then use the various resources that I have access to, to find the equivalent expression - if it exists - in Spanish. For example, I know not to ask if someone is "pulling my leg" in Spanish because I figured that that was idiomatic and unlike to have a direct translation - and it doesn't! The other thing I have to be aware of is that I want to use an expression the way that is used in Spain - and so I have to avoid mixing it up with how the same thing is said in Mexico or Argentina. But by finding out how to say what I can't say, I've grown my vocabulary and fluency considerably because those are the phrases and words that I regularly want to use and that I end up regularly being able to reinforce in my practice group. This to me is far more effective than focusing on words and expressions that some program tries to teach me. Gracias Pablo por este increíble recurso!
de acuerdo con todo lo que dijiste. yo lo digo todo el tiempo. el problema que tienen los estudiantes es que siempre se preguntan "por que es asi en español?" es asi porque lo es. simplemente tienen que aceptarlo y seguir adelante.
Sometimes things that seem like fake translations are actually real. For example, the phrase "las cosas" is used very similarly to the word "things" in English. Literalmente, frecuentemente sound like they´d be very different but aren´t. "Rico" being a word describing flavor also matches the word "rich" in English, but someone could easily avoid using either word in that context just for the other language. "Dar cuenta" is another thing that seems bogus but is fairly similar to what it means in English, give credit. "En camino" is like "on the way" and it surprised me that such a phrase exists. It sounds like a fake idiom "in the walking" but is totally legitimate. Learn when translated things actually match!
como se dice "yeet" en espanol?
you got me dying here pablo
This is the best way to learn another language.
No más que un Gracias por decirnos dónde siempre encontrar el baño. ; )
Gracias Pablo, un vídeo muy interesante. Si quieres mejorar tu inglés diga “Freeze my arse off” con una ‘r’ en la palabra para culo. Arse is más suave y guay. Saludos
See these questions on reddit all the time haha
Por lo general no traduzco frecuentemente pero me encuentro a veces traduciendo lo que quiero decir.
Do you even lift, bro?
Creo que la respuesta es simple. ¡Tú no levantas, hermano!
I just try to describe it until they can tell me what I want. Such as, "Tiene la comida con un palo pequeño por los pedazos de carne y vegetales de la parrilla?" "Oh, anticuchos!" "Sí, por favor!"
Bueno, anoche alguien me preguntó "¿Por qué se dice ...ojo con la niña... para advertirle a alguien? ¿Por qué "con"--no sería mejor usar "ojo a la niña o ojo de la niña? Pues, le respondí, "así se dice...no hay ningún motivo cuando usamos "con"...es cómo se dice esa idea, nada más". ¡Y se sintió muy frustrado! Le dijo que simplemente tienes que aceptar el orden de palabras que oyes.
como se dice "don't care, still going to ask people how to say stuff in Spanish" en espanol? (-;
Somewhere in the world a certain Mr Kauffman is probably rolling his eyes haha - but I agree 💯 with Pablo here.
I feel like I know from which context you're referring to LMAO
¡Ostras! 吃了吗？What’s up? Direct translation of these into any other language probably won’t make any sense. Learn the language in the context. No translation!
Como se dice en espanol "good video?" 😉🤣
Ja ja. Perfecto! 🤣
@@charlemos-chat-in-español 😀
¿Entonces la respuesta correcta es "yo soy congelando mi culo apagado", no? O:-) (...creo que ahora estoy en la lista de cosas que a Pablo no le gustan).
I find it weird if someone Is truly asking for word to word translation for freezing my ass off. Either the listener mistook the speaker's intention or this world has gotten weird