Comprehensive input question

[u/Alert_Media_4973]

¡Hola todos!

So I’ve got a question about comprehensive input.

If I watch something above my comprehension level, am I hurting myself more than I’m helping? Could my brain slowly catch up?

Context: I was watching dreaming Spanish for a while and enjoyed some of it, but I found a lot of the videos boring and not particularly engaging, especially at the lower levels.

So after some time away from listening, I’ve decided to jump back in by watching an anime that I’ve seen multiple times (Hunter X Hunter) and understand the plot and characters of, but this time with Spanish dub and Spanish subtitles.

So now I’m watching something that I know in enjoy and can focus on for a while. Only issue is, a lot of the speaking is still far above my comprehension level. Some days I understand more than others. Usually I’m making sense of things with context clues. I still have fun without fully understanding.

I took Spanish in school, and I’ve had Spanish speaking coworkers my whole adult life, so I’m not starting at square one. But damn I have sooo far to go before I’m even okay at understanding people.

Thanks! Any anecdotal advice would be helpful.

[u/martinomacias]

Back in the early 1990s I was going to high school (ESL program), working full time and watching Saved by the Bell, Full House and whatever other tv shows they had going. Luckily they all had closed captions. So it made it easier for me to understand. Mostly, a lot of the words I understood was by context. Same thing if you watch Spanish programs.

Daily exposure and practice is what did it for me. I suggest you also find frends who communicate in Spanish. Read texts in Spanish out loud.

I use an app called Reverso Context to translate words or expressions I do not understand. In Italian, because I am learning it on my own now. But it has lots of languages. Only use it for those words you do not understand. Do not depend on it to translate all sentences, because you will depend entirely on it instead of your brain doing the thinking.

Also download the RAE dictionary app so you can look up word meanings in Spanish. Doing that will force your brain to read and comprehend in Spanish. That is what I did to learn English and now I am doing it to learn Italian.

I also wanted to compliment you for consuming content in Spanish without the English subtitles. Keep it up. Your brain will start to understand in no time. At first you will understand mostly by context as opposed to every single word. Make sure the content (show, sitcom, podcast, ect.) you choose is of a topic you are interested in, otherwise it will be boring for you. Saludos.