What Spanish TV/movies to watch?

[brimby]

I have been learning Spanish with Rosetta Stone, and it's working out well, but I feel like its weakest aspect is in learning to hear Spanish. I think this is probably the hardest part of language learning in general. Anyway, I realize that actually speaking Spanish with people is the quickest way to learn, but short of that, maybe watching TV would be second place?

So here is my question: what TV shows or movies should I watch in Spanish to help me hear and understand Spanish better? I don't want to watch something that is meant to be educational; I want something that is more true-to-life. Also, it should probably be something not so edgy, with a low amount of slang. I'm picturing a lame 90's family sitcom or something. Anything that deals with everyday situations (ie mundane) but that is also entertaining.

Any suggestions will help! Thanks.

[poli]

I don't think that watching TV is the second best way to learn, of course, everyone learns differently. Other than communicating directly with others, reading is the second best way to learn for me. Reading affords you the time to examine new vocabulary in a way that just watching TV won't.

If you prefer watching TV, my suggestion would be to find a show that really interests you. You will be motivated to understand it if you find the subject matter compelling. If you can get closed captioned
for hearing impaired subtitles in Spanish for your favorite Spanish-language
show, it can be very helpful. Hearing what people say and seeing it written in Spanish can be very educational.

If you are not currently motivated by watching telenovelas, and Sabado
Gigante, I would suggest the magazine-like pseudo news shows like
Primer Impacto. The Spanish used is often easy, and you wont get tangled up in lots of words.

[CrOtALiTo]

This kind to threads have been answered with precedence, and well everyone have studied with this kind to method before, I believe this is the five post that speak about the same methods, I believe the Rosetta Stone is a good method but anyway any book or audio CD always it will leaves you a doubt with some thread, because it's doesn't the same to speak on live with someone than no ones you speak.

When I practice myself with me or other person related in the same language, I can practice and learn more efficient in anytime, therefore I don't believe that the Rosetta Stone being the best method for your learning it, but you can try with one chat room or with visit some place where being spoken the language that you are learning it.

Sincerely yours.

[brimby]

@poli: I like reading too. There is a newspaper that is printed in my area that has side by side English and Spanish articles, so that people of either language can learn the other. But like I said, I want to learn to hear Spanish and understand it. Reading doesn't help with that. I liked your Primer Impacto idea. Thanks. I'm not much interested in sappy soap operas. A light news show sounds good.

[Luna Azul]

At least where I live, most channels in Spanish show soap operas almost 24 hrs a day. It's really irritating. There are a few good programs, though.

Univisión has a program on Sunday morning hosted by Jorge Ramos which is pretty good. I don't know how understandable it would be for a person with a low level of Spanish, but it's a start.

Also, listening to the news will help you a lot because when they show videos you're actually visualising what they are talking about. Try to concentrate hard on what you're listening to.. you'll soon notice you'll start understanding more and more.

[Cloudgazer]

I've had good luck with older TV series, but I usually find that Spanish is only available in the earliest seasons. Classic cartoons, e.g., the Flintstones, are also something to check out, if you enjoy them. Check your local library's DVD collection. You can also find cartoon series online at places like RTVE.es.

[pia]

for a beginner - start with music.

it is slower (depending on the music you listen to like Grupo Rio ..Tu Eres Mi Princesa.. -Letra- ( Charito y Luchito & Raul )) and not as fast as movies or tv shows.

listen to a lot of songs (try an online free radio), or a station with a lot of commercials as certain words are enunciated.

speak out your own lessons. so that you know the present conjugation of 'tener' yo form is tengo not teno. its almost like you can never go wrong because teno just does not feel right but tengo does.

the key is immersion. listen to spanish as often as you can. for a few hours a day. let it run in the background so that you get used to the kind of sounds.

or listen to al mundo - the spanish news from BBC adn see how many words you recognise.

Good luck

[conejodescarado]

Voy a ver Abel este sábado con un grupo español de meetup.com



Lindo.

[Awaken]

Unless you have completed Rosetta Stones level 1-5, you probably aren't ready for most Spanish TV. Even after level 5, you probably still aren't. Listening to natives at full speed is tough. I agree with Poli on this one. Reading is a better next step. Also, you can get a Spanish speaking penpal to engage in both reading and writing as a great addition. Eventually as you get better, you can start talking verbally with them via Skype.

[Jessica]

I watched The Orphanage in Spanish class a few months ago. It's a Spanish...uh horror movie. It's not very very scary, but it is kinda. and sad too.

[Cloudgazer]

Originally Posted by conejodescarado

Voy a ver Abel este sábado con un grupo español de meetup.com

¡Qué suerte que tienes!

Edit:

Originally Posted by Awaken

Unless you have completed Rosetta Stones level 1-5, you probably aren't ready for most Spanish TV. Even after level 5, you probably still aren't. Listening to natives at full speed is tough. I agree with Poli on this one. Reading is a better next step.

I definitely agree with Awaken and Poli on this, too.

If you still want to try watching programs, here are some things that might be helpful to keep in mind. Subtitles can be different, sometimes wildly so, from the audio text. And you also have to contend with colloquial speech - it needs to sound natural for the new target audience, yeah? The nice thing about DVD is that you can easily watch and listen to snippets repeatedly. For myself, I've found that sometimes I'll process the audio without thought , sometimes not at all , most of the time somewhere in between . It usually depends, as you'd suspect, on the speed and length of the sentences. I also find it funny and frustrating that something can be intelligible one time and on the next pass not at all, even without much intervening time! Patience and practice.

[Caballero]

I'm not familiar with the Rosetta levels.

Here are the shows that I can understand the most:
-chidren's cartoons
-Dr. shows--plenty of cognates so easy to understand
-anything about science/tech

If you can't understand, put on the Spanish subtitles.

[Torres]

Even if you consider your spanish to be fairly good, I would recommend watching little kid's movies.... The lions king, the little mermaid...that sort of movies. It's super easy Spanish, half the time you'll be able to read the subtitles fast enough and you will be learning a fair bit of slang too, ie. if you watch the movies and the spanish is "latin spanish" you'd learn a bit of the slang, accent and words used there.

Saludos!

[emilwest]

Jaja... De vez en cuando, veo "Amar en tiempos revueltos" en TVE internacional. Lo bueno es que se pueda ver con subtítulos. Así puedo escuchar y leer al mismo tiempo.

Además, no es tan difícil comprenderlos. Hay muchas palabras que no conozco, pero por lo menos puedo entender la mayoría.

[kdammers]

Destinos. This is a Spanish-language soap made especially for adults/college students learning Spanish. It can be viewed online at various places.

[SaltSlasher]

The Orphange is like the best Spanish Movie i have ever seen!