I know we bang on about 80% in a lot of the intros/outros, but that really is something we need to change - by the time you’re getting towards the end of Course/Level 2, the exercises are far more difficult than actual conversation in some ways! - so I’d strongly recommend that instead of aiming for 80% in the last few sessions (which are always the most difficult of any SSi course), you focus on putting that time into conversation practice with real people… 
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Well I finally managed to do 24 and 25! So there it is - I’ve finished level 2! Woop woop!
24 and 25 are hard - not suprising really. I think I shall complete the Tourist course and then go back and repeat all the challenges again.
Can’t believe I’ve actually finished - I have started MANY spanish courses and this is the first I’ve finished 
Huge congratulations! The only thing between you and whatever level of Spanish you want now is enough conversations/listening to radio/TV…
There’s no harm in doing this - but in terms of the learning process, you’ll get much more out of just revisiting 24 and 25 once a month or so for a while (much less time commitment, too!)…
If you want to push yourself, you’d get more out of revisiting 24/25 Level 2 once a month AND 24/25 Level 1 once a month…
@aran thanks for the top tip on going back to 24 & 25 on levels 1 and 2. I am sure this would give my brain a good workout!
I have found though that if I take another run- up with something I really am struggling with it helps. Especially if I go back to exactly the lesson that it was introduced and work through from there - I wonder if this is to do with the spaced repetion built into the lessons?
If I just do 24 & 25 then there is less spaced repetition over several days compared with my re-run-up at it system.
Just wondered what you thought, I have to say that just ploughing through and trusting; the SRS works for most of the vocabulary and grammer structures but the niggly few phrases that I just couldn’t get to “stick” really improved after a re-run-up!!
I must add I never went back until I had finished the level and so I have only tried this with level 1 but I did notice it helped a lot and when I just tried to review level 1 challenges 24 & 25 - I still was having problems with the few phrases until I went back and did a re-run-up!
Any thoughts @aran ?
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This is really a matter of the psychology more than the learning process - a lot of people like having ‘another run-up at it’, and it’s certainly a very comforting way to get a bit more conscious control into the process - so if it’s the approach that works for you, and you feel more comfortable like that, then don’t worry for a moment that there’s anything ‘wrong’ about it…
Having said that… if you’re looking for maximum efficiency, the revisiting 24/25 at intervals will give you the spaced repetition you need - it’s just a longer space, and it feels harder to believe that it will work for the items that you’re not recalling easily yet. It does work - but until you’ve experienced that, it’s common to find that hard to believe!..
@aran ok so i shall take your advice on board - I shall not take another run-up at level 2. What would be the “ideal” timing for reviewing 24 & 25 of level 2?
I’ll let you know how it goes 
There isn’t really an ideal - at least, not one that’s been scientifically proven yet - in my experience, spaced repetition in many ways provides a strong memory boost the longer the gap between repetitions, which makes me a little sceptical of existing beliefs (dating back to Pimsleur at least) that the ‘ideal’ time for repetition is just before you forget something…
So I’d be inclined to choose a pattern that fits into your life - and feel free to play around with it. If I was doing it myself, I’d probably do 24/25 from Level 2 and then 24/25 from Level 1 on consecutive days - and I’d start with a fortnight’s gap, then leave a month, then leave two months and then see if I felt like lengthening the gap or sticking to once every couple of months for a while…
Ok @aran I’ll try it and keep notes in my diary. I shall continue on with the Tourist course for now and review just 24 & 25 of both levels 1 & 2 as you’ve suggested…
I have to say that I have just finished challenge 4 of the tourist course today and it seems ridiculously easy and slow compared with the end of level 2 - I see this as undeniable proof that your course has worked wonders…
A big 5 star from me…
Thankyou for all the hard work/advice and general help along the way from all. Can’t wait for level 3!
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Thank you for your kind words, and well done on having got so far - if the tourist course seems easy, you’ve certainly done impressively well…
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What a great thread, thanks Clare. I’m a newbie and thought I’d browse the forum for a couple minutes and ended up reading the whole topic, well done on finishing at such a pace. Hope I can stick with it through the tough bits as you did.
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Well done for taking the time to read this, Nikki - the more you know about other people’s experiences with this approach, the more accurate your own expectations will be, and the more successful you’re likely to be 
Just finished challenge 7 and felt like my brain had taken a beating, seemed to get everything wrong so came back here to read how Clare was feeling at that point. It’s useful to read about other peoples ups and downs, don’t feel so alone now. Towards the end of 7 I wanted to give up and was so relieved when it was over. I’m thinking 8 may feel similar from what Clare said but I’ll stick with it and keep smiling (through gritted teeth,)
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Everyone has ups and downs - they’re usually at different points, though! Like everything else, your brain has good and not-so-good days - but it seems as though you’ve got the determination to push through, and that’s the key…
And pushing on through with new material always gets you further in the end than when people get stuck into repeating the same session 10 or 20 times (yup, it happens!) because they’re too determined to aim for perfection…
Keep going…even through the hard bits. If it gets too much take a break - it works but it is brain busting work
I’d also recommend starting a log (on here ideally) or on a diary app on your phone like I do. It has helped me immensely to see that I am actually progressing because I always feel like I’m struggling and not getting any better. By looking back you can actually see how far you’ve come…
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Hola a todos!
Like a prodigal in the dead of night, I have returned, tail between legs! But hopefully an encouragement to at least one person who might be following this thread, or somebody from the future!*
Some of you may remember me from a former lifetime, apparently I was last here February 28th!! I’m somewhere in the ether of this thread, with dreams of taking over the Spanish speaking world and spouting very, very public advice on how to keep going, with a questionable forest mastery metaphor… 
Then life got in the way massively. Some monster life changes for me and my family I won’t divulge here, all meant Spanish took a solid back seat.
A baby seat.
Strapped in.
Unable to move.
With a dummy in to keep it quiet!! 
But I come with good news, I did manage to finish level one last month. Sheepishly I didn’t want to say owt here because six months seems embarrassingly slow progress. But I did it, and thought I’d check in to encourage any other slow pokes reading, however long it takes, that sense of achievement of getting to the end is undeniably sweet. Just keep plodding, keep hacking through the trees, even if it’s a branch a day. When the forest is clear it’s all worth it.
And so, finalmente, to level 2 we go haha (after a fortnight or so of reviewing the end of level 1 
)
Hasta pronto (o posiblemente diciembre, at my current rate of progress!! 
)
T x
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Congratulations and well done! I’m approaching the last few challenges myself with a mixture of excitement and dread, so looking forward to that feeling of achievement.
Welcome back
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I’ve known people who could say more after Level 1 than someone who’d been in evening classes for two or three years, so don’t undersell yourself - that’s a huge achievement, any which way you slice it!
And by the end of Level 2, you’ll have run out of excuses - it’ll be time to get into as many Spanish conversations as possible (if you’re not already doing that!)…
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No way is it slow, well done indeed!! Thanks so much for posting your fascinating learning log, it is very inspirational reading. Life gets in the way of a lot of things, but you’re back and tackling Level 2 - brilliant! I love the forest and trees metaphor.
¡Salud!
Stu
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