Do most of the users know some Spanish when they start?
When most students sign in, are they just attempting to freshen up on their Spanish or are they starting from the beginning? If they are new students, how much time - on the average - do most spend per day? Is normal to go through less than one lesson per day?
15 Answers
I think a lot of people come here with a very basic or beginner level of Spanish and then stay on as they become more advanced. I love that there are lots of different levels in the forum. There is always someone who can answer your questions and definitely lots of people at your own level who are probably wondering the same thing.
As the teacher of the lessons, I honestly recommend only doing 1 lesson per week spending about an hour a day on it. Spend 1 day watching the video and going through the flashcards and practice activities. Spend the next day doing the flashcards and activities again to see if you still remember as well as finding similar flashcard sets to practice. Spend day 3 reading the reference article that accompanies a lot of the lessons and completing the practice at the bottom. Spend day 4 talking to SD members in the chat or here in the forum using what you learned, actually practicing with real people. On day 5, I suggest making your own study guide with the materials covered in a way that makes the most sense for you. Kind of like a cheat sheet. Putting the material in your own words is a great way to test to see if you really know the material.
I feel like spending a week on each lesson really solidifies the material in your mind through practice and repetition. Doing a lesson a day may be a little too fast if you want to retain all the information.
Good luck!
I came here a complete beginner. All I knew was a bit about pronunciation and a few basic phrases like "hola" or "cómo te llamas" - and that's it. Now I can conjugate many verbs in presente and pretérito, I'm still learning imperfect and subjuntivo... and I already know a lot of vocabulary, although a great deal of Spanish words are still waiting for me to discover and use them 
All I miss is someone to talk to in Spanish - I was going to ask one of my colleagues at work, but she hasn't replied my email.
I feel like spending a week on each lesson really solidifies the material in your mind through practice and repetition. Doing a lesson a day may be a little too fast if you want to retain all the information.
I agree with this outlook on studying. I am usually of the mindset that it is usually better to know a whole lot about a little bit than a little bit about a whole lot. It's important to build a strong foundation before branching out especially if you are after knowledge that will last. Remember the adage: Slow and steady wins the race...
As far as my own prior experience with Spanish: As a young man, I learned some Spanish in high school, through self-education and by talking to neighbors and coworkers in Spanish. At one time in my life I felt quite confident and comfortable with my speaking and reading abilities; however, I came to this site following a 10-12 year layoff from using Spanish, only to find that much of my proficiency in Spanish had dwindled down to next to nothing.
Currently I am trying to get back to a level where I feel comfortable expressing myself in Spanish again.
I came here with a somewhat intermediate knowledge of spanish & I joined wanting to learn more. I've been studying since about 2001 but I haven't always been consistant mainly because of getting married in 2006 (but he's worth it) and now we are more settled in and then I found this site!
I had taken a couple of years of Spanish in high school and forgotten most of what I learned. So I came to reacquire my previous knowledge and add to it.
As to the time question, I probably spend at least an hour a day here, and this site is not my only involvement with Spanish in a day. I feel that the more I hear and speak it, the faster I will learn it.
I tried for years taking classes, but could not put a sentence together or understand anything said to me. The furthest I got was conjugating verbs in the present tense, but I dumped that knowledge on a test and then forgot it.
Then I went to school 4 weeks in Oaxaca and actually retained a bit. I could say some simple things and began to conjugate in preterit, and could use "voy a (infinitive verb) "I am going to ______". My vocabulary was very limited, about 75 verbs, maybe around 300 words including numbers and all the little connecting words. So I could only occasionally (and with agonizing slowness) say something I wanted to, and I could understand what was said to me less often even if it was very simple.
I've only been here a month, so I am not much past that, but I am progressing a little in conjugation and now am starting to use the "ando/iendo" (ing) form "Estoy hablando mejor" and I can tell my vocabulary has grown a little bit.
I could never do a lesson a day, unless it was the same lesson. I was trying to go faster at first, but now I have figured out how to use the repeat button when doing the flashcards and other sections and I try to do them over and over. I need to work harder, not faster and review more often to lock it in. But I feel the site is really working and I have real hope that I can continue to learn this way.
It's hard to say how much time I put in, because I think about it much of the time when I am driving, taking a bath, falling asleep, etc. I also squeeze in 5-10 minutes all through my work day. But I probably am actually working with flashcards, trying to read or write, using a book or lessons here from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours a day, with an very occasional day when I do not study at all. More would be better, but with a full time job, plus home business and active parenting, time is a very limited resource.
I had only very basic Spanish when I discovered this site. I started here because my job was being outsourced to Mexico. I ended up going to Mexico first to transfer tooling for an injection molding company and do training. I now work full time in Matamoros at the same company. Most engineers and managers have good English. The technicians and operators have little or no english so I am learning spanish so that I may communicate with them. They are very good at trying to teach me but it is very benificial to have this site as a general guide. I try to do a lesson a week but some weeks I am too busy and don't get to it. I also go back and review lessons quite often. I am finally beginning to communicate in sentences but it is still difficult. Also there are a lot of colloquial words and expressions that they use that you will not find on this web site. It is a very unique experience.
Hola a todos!
When I found this webpage I was really happy. Actually I am Polish and for me is great to learn spanish using English. I am really a beginner in this language and I try everyday make one lesson but it depends how much time I have. At first I repeat what I learned the day before and then starting new lecture. Every day I write down all new words on a paper because it's better for me to remember it. Hope this method give me the results soon!!!!
I take my lessons slowly because I truely want to learn Spanish. I only knew about 5 words (baby words) when I started. I have moved up to toddler level. :o) I spend about 2 hours a day here, but not always on lessons. I learn things here in the answer section and I look through the flash cards. This is a great learning site.
I started here after five years of study about a year ago trying to freshen up, but many members come here not even being able to say hello. It's all relative and just depends upon each person. 
What motivates your questions? Are you conducting a market survey or do you want affirmation that you're "doing it right"?
I've been studying Spanish for about a year. I thought I should get involved in some forum to not only to learn more but to also help other people out, it's great fun and I'm hoping to teach Spanish some day so it's good practice too. It's one language I definitely want to speak with my kids one day 
I think students do both. When I startedi knew little but this is a great tool to freshin up or even start from the begining.and to answer your second question it depends on what u want to learn. U dont need to spend a large amount of time a day on this site
This site is great because it has starter lessons for the very beginner, a talking dictionary, and flashcards...not to mention the community. It seems as if all kinds of people are here...from beginner to advanced to native. Why not try out the chat feature?
I knew very little Spanish before I started. I still know very little but I have made at least a hundred per cent improvement.
I think the rate of lesson learning is very individual.
