Spanish Speed Rating Method
I have made an observation from listening to different voice recordings in Spanish: Spanish is spoken in
four distinct speeds. I have searched the Internet all over and have never found a guide to the different
speeds, how to identify them, and resources in the four speeds, however. I only found a few vague
sentences here and there like “Spaniards speak fast”, “Latin American Spanish is slower” or “try listening
to something from Colombia.” Chances are you have already read the article that clocked Spanish in as
the world’s second-fastest-spoken language (after Japanese). If reading that intimidated you, I have
some good news: not all spoken Spanish is that fast and it seems even the people who do speak at that
speed don’t use it 100% of the time; from my observation they switch between the top speed and
another (usually the second-fastest) speed.
I am aware of some sources in each speed and have prepared a guide you can use to find out which
Spanish speed you’re listening to in any additional source you find. I hope many use this guide to speedrate YouTube videos and leave the speed rating in the comments for other learners. First I’ll describe
each speed briefly.
Level One
This is the slowest naturally-spoken Spanish speed and unfortunately for learners, seemingly the rarest
one outside of content meant for learners. I’ve heard this spoken in Cancún, Mexico and maybe also in
Cozumel, Mexico. Also, one of my Spanish college professors would use this speed while teaching
classes. That said, one of the main times I heard this speed in Mexico was during a tour, so chances are
this is specially-slowed-down Spanish to make sure beginning learners can understand the speech. Then
again, I also remember someone casually using this speed around a pool area, so maybe some natives
really do use it in their daily life.
Level Two
This seems to be a common speed in Latin America. I think this is the speed I heard in Puerto Rico and it
seems like most Latin American TV show dubs use it.
Level Three
This seems to be the standard speed used in Spain and audio recorded for use in Spain, but that doesn’t
mean you won’t find it elsewhere. Every Spain-geared TV show dub I’ve watched has been in this speed.
Level Four
This is the fastest spoken Spanish speed. It can be very intimidating for listeners who haven’t mastered
Level Three yet. This speed must be exhausting to use, because its users don’t seem to keep it up for
long periods of time; everything I’ve been exposed to in this speed will switch between it and a slower
speed (the slower speed is usually Level Three). For that reason, I wouldn’t be surprised if I (or anyone
else for that matter) can never find anything to list in pure Level Four speed; only a slower speed and
Level Four in the same recording. I watched one episode of a certain TV show dub that had a few lines in
Level Four speed while the rest of the episode was in Level Two speed, and the Level Four lines were
just shocking to listen to. I worried how worse Spain’s version of that episode was going to be if the Latin
American version had lines that fast. Sometime after I reached Level Three, the difficulty that Spain’s
version of that show was in, I watched Spain’s version of that episode. It was entirely in Level Three
speed, including the places in which the lines were in Level Four speed. There is only one television show
that I’ve ever watched in Spanish that used this speed, but it was mixed in with Level Three speed, so its
rating would be Levels Three and Four.
General Conclusions about the Four Speeds
I would say there is absolutely no reason to stop at any of the lower speeds; you never know where you
will encounter Levels Three and/or Four’s speeds. Don’t assume that just because you only plan to use
Latin American Spanish that you don’t need to bother getting yourself accustomed to Levels Three and
Four’s speeds. Also be aware that in real life and sometimes even in scripted TV shows you may
encounter two people from the same place speaking in different speeds in the same conversation.
How to use the Speed Rating Method
Now that you’ve read about the different speeds, here is this article’s main point: the method that you
can use to identify Spanish speech’s speed.
You will need: At least two devices that can play videos or any other types of audio you want to test.
Step 1: Load the audio output you want to test onto one device. If you wanted to test a live speaker’s
speed, record some audio of the speaker’s speech for playback and save the clip so it will be handy. Load
the following videos on the other device (they can be in different tabs):
Level One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO9X-7beRa8
(The speech used to measure Speed Level One starts at about 0:25.)
Level Two: https://watch.pokemon.com/es-xl/#/player?id=ce07ea94629d4dad965be939d7d18d88
(The speech used to measure Speed Level Two is from about 0:02 to 0:41)
Level Three: https://watch.pokemon.com/eses/#/player?id=8456ccff75a34bbb95f13ed00f22b714&channelId=serie-pokemon-sol-yluna&cameFromHome=false
(The speech used to measure Speed Level Three is from about 0:03 to 0:41)
Level Four: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBL3p2__jeQ
(Some of the speech used to measure Speed Level Four is from about 6:43 to 6:47; with a little more
nonconsecutive Level Four speech until about 7:00)
Step 2: Alternate between playing the video/sound clip you’re speed-measuring and the videos listed
above for measurement: Play one of the listed videos a few seconds into its dialogue (be sure to read
the notes in parentheses below the links since some of the videos’ portions used for speed
measurement are not at the very beginning), then play the audio you’re measuring. You may rewind and
replay the linked video’s speed-measuring portion as many times as you need to compare the two
videos’ audio speed(s). If the audio you’re measuring is in the speed level the linked video is listed as,
the speech speeds will match (and you can label the audio you’re measuring as that speed). If the
speeds are different, adjust accordingly by playing a linked video in another speed until you find the
match.
The process really is as simple as those two steps!
How to Practice Listening to Spanish at the Different Speeds
Start by listening to videos or other audio sources in Level One Speed. Listen to audio in Level One Speed
Spanish every day and note what approximate percentage of the words you can perceive. Once you hear
every word in a listening session for the first time, keep listening to that source for a few more days,
then switch to a different source in the Level One Speed to make sure it’s the speed you’re used to
rather than just the speaker(s) or the vocabulary the source uses. If you still perceive about 90% or more
of the words consistently (similarly to how you perceived the first audio source’s words consistently),
you have mastered this level and can advance to Speed Level Two. Repeat the process with each speed
level, except that once you master Level Four Speed, keep listening to different Level Four audio
regularly to keep your listening skills strong (I personally listen every other day because I don’t know
how infrequently I can practice, but I also figure that since I already mastered the level I don’t have to
listen every day any more).
You might be wondering: Should I watch a TV show’s episode or movie in English and then immediately
watch the Spanish version? My answer is no. That would be one of the mistakes you could make while
trying to use videos for immersion practice. I tried this one time and knew immediately afterwards that
it had been a terrible idea: my brain felt exhausted after watching the same video twice in a row (but
each time in a different language) and watching the English version first did not give me a vocabulary
advantage. Another possible reason this won’t help is that the script (as in the speech’s meaning) may
be different between the English and Spanish versions. I’ve experienced this in multiple shows. There
can be simple script differences (swapping out a single word in a line with one that translates to
something completely different in Spanish or the Spanish version adding more words to a line) or drastic
script differences (swapping out entire sentences, lines, and even conversations to ones that translate to
something completely different in Spanish). Songs are especially likely to have script changes. One
drastic difference example is that in one show’s English version, a character asks another character
about what he’s watching, and the answer he gets is a hilarious (wrong answer) joke. In the Spanish
version I watched, the first character remarks that what he’s watching is terrible and the second
character correctly explains the science behind the visual phenomenon.
If anything, you should watch the Spanish version first, then watch the English version to get “the full
experience” if you couldn’t understand enough words to be satisfied from watching the show in Spanish.
Here are a tip and some dos and don’ts for optimal listening practice:
Tip: Try your best not to think (in words) at all while watching the video. This can be a bit difficult to do,
but if you succeed in doing it, you will perceive more words.
Don’t try to remember what a word means or wonder why a phrase would be structured the way you
heard it while watching the video. Do wait until the video is over to think about these things or look up
words. Any thinking you do while watching videos can cause you to miss the words in the next lines.
There also may not be a need to pause a video to look up what the characters are saying that isn’t
expressed visually in that scene because it might be expressed visually in a later scene.
Do watch something you’ve never seen in English or haven’t seen in English in such a long time that you
no longer remember the English lines (or especially the events) for your Spanish immersion practice.
Don’t watch something you’ve watched in English so many times that you could say the lines with the
characters. It especially helps to watch something new in Spanish because if you watch something
familiar, you might start thinking something like “This is the part when *insert event* happens,” which
could cause you to miss some lines. It’s especially bad to watch something with lines you know by heart
because that could cause you to listen for lines’ exact Spanish translations, which could cause you to
miss large amounts of words when the lines differ drastically.
Don’t try to predict what any speaker will say. Do just listen and/or watch. The reasoning why is similar
to the reasoning used in the three points immediately above.
Maybe do watch the Spanish version with captions in Spanish. Don’t ever watch something in Spanish
with English subtitles or something in English with Spanish subtitles if your goal was to use that content
for an immersion practice. A study proved that watching videos in a foreign language with captions in
the same language improved the learning experience while watching videos with subtitles in a different
language harmed the learning experience. This is why whenever I use Easy Spanish’s YouTube videos for
immersion practice, I listen to the audio but don’t look at the video. Note: I do not necessarily
recommend turning on any kind of onscreen words while using this method. This point is mostly to tell
you that having onscreen words in a language besides the audio’s is counterproductive to language
learning, but having onscreen words in the same language as the audio’s isn’t bad.
Don’t consider your immersion practice attempt a failure because you didn’t understand what every
word meant immediately when you heard the speech. Do measure mastery by whether you heard
words when someone spoke versus indistinguishable noise (in other words, whether or not you heard
the speaker’s voice’s version of the infamous Charlie Brown adult voice). This language help method’s
point is to get you to perceive words when listening to Spanish speaker’s speech, so if you ever perceive
every word while listening to audio in Spanish, you were 100% successful. Knowing what every word
means immediately is a different step in your fluency journey.
Do expect it to take months to go from no experience to Level Four mastery (that includes getting used
to levels One, Two, and Three). Don’t be surprised if it takes less time to master each successive speed
level except for Level Four. This process, similarly to reaching fluency in any language, takes time. Going
from no experience to Level Four mastery will not happen overnight, in a week or few or a month. Also,
consistency is key. Make sure you listen to audio in Spanish every day before you master Level Four; I
doubt the process would work if you only listened to audio as infrequently as once a week.
My Vision for a Speed-Measuring Video
Currently my method runs on others’ videos in the identified speeds (I chose those specific videos at
those specific URLs because I know that since they are on official sources they will not be taken down).
My vision is that there will be a dedicated “Spanish Speed Measuring” video that will contain all four
speeds, each isolated in specific, equal-length time intervals that users can easily switch between using
the 15 second fast-forward button on a phone’s video player or by using the time slider on another
device. I imagine it can be like this: the video starts at Level One Speed, which takes up the video’s first
fourth, then advances to Level Two for the second fourth, Level Three for the third fourth, then Level
Four for the final fourth. (100% of the audio should be in Spanish, by the way. There shouldn’t be any
English in the audio, but the video’s description can have English text.) The video also will not be like a
regular video because it won’t have a moving visual like most videos: the video will have the same
screen throughout: a guide screen that tells the user which speeds are at which time intervals like this:
Nivel Uno: 0-30
Nivel Dos: 31-1:00
Nivel Tres: 1:01-1:30
Nivel Cuatro: 1:31-2:00
If the guide screen has a color code, it should not have both of any of the following pairs of colors:
Red and Green
Green and Brown
Purple and Blue
Blue and Green
Yellow and Pink
Deep or Dark Purple and Black (next to each other)
Additionally, all colors should be checked for contrast (which can be done by converting the image to a
monochrome version) to ensure that monochromatic colorblind people can tell all the colors apart. If
the background has a deep or dark purple, navy blue, etc. (these colors will appear dark gray or black to
some colorblind people), the text against those colors should be white. The example table above is
colorblind-friendly. Its monochrome version is below:
These tables are just a basic concept example; I would hope that whoever makes the visual can make
one that looks better, more polished, and is fitted to typical video resolution proportions. There might
even be enough space for additional text.
The video’s script could be something like this (but translated into Spanish):
[In the Level One Timeslot:] This is Speed Level One. It is the slowest naturally-spoken Spanish speed. A
lot of people speak this speed in *insert geographical areas (such as cities and countries).* If the audio
you are measuring matches the speed being spoken right now, it is at Level One speed, which is ideal for
absolute beginners at listening to spoken Spanish.
[In the Level Two Timeslot:] This is Speed Level Two. It is the second-slowest naturally-spoken Spanish
speed. A lot of people speak this speed in *insert geographical areas (such as cities and countries).* If
the audio you are measuring matches the speed being spoken right now, it is at Level Two speed, which
you should listen to after mastering Speed Level One.
[In the Level Three Timeslot:] This is Speed Level Three. It is the second-fastest naturally-spoken
Spanish speed. A lot of people speak this speed in *insert geographical areas (such as cities and
countries).* If the audio you are measuring matches the speed being spoken right now, it is at Level
Three speed, which you should listen to after mastering Speed Level Two.
[In the Level Four Timeslot:] This is Speed Level Four. It is the fastest naturally-spoken Spanish speed,
which earned Spanish the title of “world’s second-fastest-spoken language” after Japanese. A lot of
people speak this speed in *insert geographical areas (such as cities and countries).* If the audio you are
measuring matches the speed being spoken right now, it is at Level Four speed, which you should listen
to after mastering Speed Level Three and continue to listen to regularly after mastering it so your
Spanish language listening skills stay strong. You are definitely doing well at this listening exercise if you
perceive every word in this Level Four interval. This is the video’s final interval, so thank you for
listening!
These demonstration scripts I wrote may not be enough to fill equal time intervals as written, especially
considering that that most of them are fairly even and that faster speech speeds will allow the speakers
to say similar word amounts in less time, so the speakers can fill in any leftover time with filler words,
phrases and sentences, which can be almost anything such as common words and phrases every listener
should know, a short conversation with both speakers speaking at the speed the interval specifies, the
speakers’ background information if they wish to share it (the speakers’ names, where they are from,
etc.) , facts about the Spanish language and/or listening tips (such as that “averiguar” is one word or
that if one word ends in the same vowel sound that the next word begins with, native Spanish speakers
will usually only make that vowel sound once when pronouncing the two words). I also imagine that
because of how strenuous it must be to speak in Level Four speed, that interval’s audio might have to be
recorded in multiple short sound clips that get compiled end-to-end to form the continuous interval the
measuring video would need. Also, if the geographical area data can’t be collected before the video is
made, that part of the script can be replaced or left out.
I think the Easy Spanish YouTube channel might be most likely to create this video, but anyone else with
the resources necessary to make it can feel free to create it (and I will be very pleased with it as long as
it follows all of this article’s guidelines). I would hope that if the measuring video gets made it would be
publicized heavily so everyone who would need it will find out about it. (Maybe multiple news sources
would cover it, Speechling could have a blog post about it, and maybe even more language-learning
news sources and/or programs could mention it.
Measured Videos/TV Series, etc. by Speeds
The following is a list of videos and television series that I have measured with my method. I have
included URLs when available and put any notes I made about them in parentheses. I only have a
relatively small variety of content measured (and since I’m just one person, I can’t measure hundreds or
thousands of videos in the time a large team could), so I may eventually get others’ input to expand the
list (with credit given, of course). Also keep in mind that the measurements are general, so there is a
chance that you may hear small parts of a different speed in some videos.
Level One:
Spanishpod’s “2 Hours of Daily Spanish Conversations - Spanish Practice for ALL Learners”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO9X-7beRa8
(This video will loop at some point, but it should still make great practice for listening beginners. I would
recommend listening to 20-25 minutes of this video per day to space the practice out. You can find
Spanishpod’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCydVvh3Wg4VPvllLHFoe5_A )
Lilo y Stitch: La Serie Latin American version
(as far as I’m aware, this show isn’t even available on Disney Plus yet, so good luck finding it.)
Bajoterra: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVjgkVwcFEmWfoBLtVwyIQ
(Apparently Disney dubbed this show. This series is available on YouTube with ads. Don’t let any Level
Two Speed speech near an episode’s beginning intimidate you out of watching the show, since most of
the dialogue will be in Level One. Special thanks to a commenter on an article who goes by “Helpful
Flaringo” for mentioning that this show had relatively slow speech. (More specific credit about this is
near the end of this article.))
Level Two:
Spanishpod’s Spanish Listening Comprehension for Advanced Learners Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_bC0YvGkS4QWIgCoQLqyHe7bWdA3Fedi
Pokémon TV EL: https://watch.pokemon.com/es-xl/#/
(This is Pokémon TV’s Latin American version. Ads will not interrupt the videos you watch here and the
only ads on the entire website are Pokémon-related and in the multi-part section at the main page’s top.
The code in some of the URLS is es-xl. The Pokémon Sun and Moon story arc (seasons 20-22) are the
show’s best and fortunately are always available. Seasons 1 and 2 also seem to be available permanently
while the seasons between seem to rotate out. You can click on the word “Serie” to go to a page that
lists the currently available seasons (this option will be hidden behind three dots near the top of the
page that you will have to click first if you’re viewing the mobile version) Also, every now and then one
of the movie becomes available for a limited time.)
Hamtaro Latin America Version
(It may be hard to find this show because (at least the last time I checked,) it isn’t available on any
streaming services.)
Level Three:
Spanish Like A Pro: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClGuN_roGD3AfEUVehKiVGw
(This YouTube channel’s creator is against the use of “slow Spanish” to ear train new listeners. At first I
was wondering if this “slow Spanish” was Level One Speed, but after I listened to a basic level news
podcast clip in “slow Spanish” I found out that it is not only slower than Level One Speed but is also
choppy, which sounds unnatural. I agree that it may not be good for new learners to listen to “slow
Spanish” to get accustomed to hearing Spanish, but I also don’t think it’s a good idea for them to jump
straight into Level Three like the channel creator suggests; they’ll have a much easier time starting at
Level One, graduating to Level Two, then listening to something at Level Three Speed like this.)
Pokémon TV ES: https://watch.pokemon.com/es-es/#/
(This is Spain’s version of Pokémon TV. Most of my commentary about it would be the same as
Pokémon TV EL’s, except that this version has a bit more content: this version has specials in addition to
series available for viewing. The specials’ listing can be accessed similarly to the series’. I recommend
Pokémon Origins if you like the games and highly recommend avoiding Twilight Wings because despite
that the website provided Spanish translations for its name, episodes’ names, and episodes’
descriptions, the videos themselves are in English with Spanish subtitles (and therefore definitely not fit
for watching as a Spanish immersion exercise).
Jewelpet(s) 2009
(This show is an interesting case because despite the fact that it’s been dubbed into multiple languages,
it’s available in Spanish (a Spain-localized dub only; there is no Latin American version) but not English.
The s is in parentheses because although the show’s name is supposedly formatted as “Jewelpets” in
Europe, I still see it formatted as “Jewelpet” most of the time.)
Levels Three and Four: (labeled this way because it seems nothing is 100% in Level Four)
Easy Spanish YouTube Series’ Street Interview Videos recorded in Spain:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAL4AMMMXKxHDu3FqZV6CbQ
(The link goes to Easy Spanish’s YouTube channel. The videos are available to view for free with ads. Not
all of its videos are interviews or were recorded in Spain, but usually the video titles will indicate if the
video was recorded in Spain (and if it doesn’t, the interviewer will announce the video’s location within
the first few seconds anyway).)
Hamtaro Spain Version
(This is the only show I’ve speed-rated so far that contains Level Four speed (which isn’t saying much
considering how few shows I’ve speed-rated). It may be hard to find this show because (at least the last
time I checked,) it isn’t available on any streaming services.)
Unfortunately it seems there is almost no content created for Spanish learners at this speed level and
there might not be very many scripted (especially animated) TV shows at this speed level either. At this
point, a learner will most likely just have to start searching for content made by natives for natives: I
would suggest using your search engine’s video search to search for topics you are interested in, but
with the search text entirely in Spanish. Unfortunately you will have to use trial-and-error after that until
you can find a content source with consist Level Four speed speech.
How you can help or contribute:
If there’s a comment section for a video in Spanish you’ve watched and speed-rated, you can leave a
comment containing the speed rating.
If I post a link on a Duolingo forum that you can use to reach this article (I’m likely to create a
dedicated board about this method), you can reply to the board with a list of shows or other audio
sources that you’ve speed-rated (and before you ask, no, I don’t recommend using the Duolingo service
to study Spanish; it didn’t take long before I only used my Duolingo account to access TinyCards).
Any readers who would like to compile lists of audio sources that they have speed-rated can feel free
to as long as they state that I, Jac0074, TinyCards Lover of StudyLib created the speed-rating method
(spelling out my username and mentioning StudyLib will provide a search string that readers can use to
find this guide; I would not recommend linking to this document specifically because if I update it, it will
get a new URL. Linking to my StudyLib profile is fine because this guide will appear near the top). Here’s
an example of how you can introduce your list:
“Here is a list of TV shows in Spanish that I’ve speed-rated using Jac0074, TinyCards Lover’s method:”
Resource Special Thanks
No one collaborated with me directly to create this method or write this article, but if it weren’t for the
following helpful people and companies, creating this method and article may not have been possible,
so I’ll thank them here anyway:
Pokémon Company International
Thank you for:
1. Not region-locking any of your website’s language versions; fans trying to learn any of many
languages (not just Japanese) can benefit from this gracious decision.
2. Keeping a large permanently-available video library online that anyone can access for free with no ad
videos playing before the show
3. Making a movie (or pair in one case) available through your service every now and then
Spanishpod
Thank you for:
1. Creating videos in Level One Speed; listening beginners need them!
2. Allowing your videos to be viewed for free
3. Offering so much video content
Disney
Thank you for:
1. Creating some Level One Speed dubs like Lilo y Stitch: La Serie’s Latin American version and BajoTerra
2. Not region-locking the ability the change videos’ audio to Spanish on Disney Plus
3. Offering Spanish audio in both Spain’s version and the Latin American version on each Disney Plus
video instead of just one Spanish audio version
Easy Spanish
Thank you for:
1. Providing tip and interview videos
2. Recording some interview videos in Spain
3. Allowing your videos to be viewed for free
Spanish Like A Pro
Thank you for:
1. Creating learning exercises including videos in Level Three Speed; I had a very hard time finding
content for learners in fast Spanish even specifically searching for it
2. Providing some tip videos too
3. Allowing your videos to be viewed for free
Helpful Flaringo
Thank you for:
Leaving the below helpful and unexpected comment on an article about shows missing from Disney
Plus; I needed another video series to add to my Level One measured content list.
Other Notes
1. I am not a scientist by profession and have no data about this speed-rating method. Depending on
how soon you view this article after it was published, scientists may not have even had a chance to read
it yet. I would be very interested if someone wanted to make a scientific study involving my method.
2. Some of the things mentioned in this article are anecdotal evidence, but others are based on scientific
studies and the sentence right above the video vision’s section title is a speculative hypothesis.
3. I cannot speak Spanish (yet); it took me less time to get accustomed to listening to spoken Spanish
than it would take to reach fluency (and no, just following the method’s recommended listening path
cannot make you completely fluent in Spanish. It only gets you accustomed to listening to spoken
Spanish.)
4. This should go without saying, but: please do not claim that you invented this article’s speed-rating
method or that you wrote this article.
Final Statements
I could have delayed this article’s release until I had speed-tested a lot more video series or shows (and
I could have written even more text into this article), but I wanted to get this article released as soon as
possible (within reason given how much information I wanted to include at a minimum before I released
the first version). I may decide to update this article or compile a second document as a dedicated
speed-rated audio content list based on any feedback or help (especially when others start speed-rating
videos). Please feel free to share this with anyone you think may be interested in listening to audio in
Spanish or trying to help others learn Spanish; this article was meant to be a help source.
I got the idea for this method around December 2020 or January 2021, but I didn’t start writing this
article until early August 2021 because I had started writing a different article first and wanted to finish
that one before starting another (if you’ve read it, yes, this is the “surprise helpful thing for Spanishlanguage learners” that I listed near the bottom; I hope you enjoy it!).