What do you think about this spanish movie site?

[Voytek]

You can find here a lot of different materials to learn Spanish:

http://www.conectate.gob.ar//sitios/conectate/inicio/index

[aleCcowaN]

It's not a movie site but the Argentine version of PBS but without the funding -except for a generous public budget unlinked from quality or viewers-. I don't know anyone who watches it.

Unless you are interested in an Argentine vocabulary and accent, I'd suggest you to seek elsewhere, including youtube, for material more varied or related to a topic you like.

Why not getting movies which plots you find interesting, in Spanish with subtitles in Spanish? That helps a lot. What about getting movies you already know dubbed in neutral Spanish? For instance, Forrest Gump in Latin American Spanish is very nice.

[Voytek]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

It's not a movie site but the Argentine version of PBS but without the funding -except for a generous public budget unlinked from quality or viewers-. I don't know anyone who watches it.

Unless you are interested in an Argentine vocabulary and accent, I'd suggest you to seek elsewhere, including youtube, for material more varied or related to a topic you like.

Why not getting movies which plots you find interesting, in Spanish with subtitles in Spanish? That helps a lot. What about getting movies you already know dubbed in neutral Spanish? For instance, Forrest Gump in Latin American Spanish is very nice.

Thank you for your reply, mate.

But tell me, if this method is proper for someone who knows Spanish only at A2 level. Or may be it`s a better idea to watch Spanish cartoons (or in Spanish) like `Dora la Exploradora` or `Los Simpsones` (without any subtitles)?

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by Voytek

Thank you for your reply, mate.

But tell me, if this method is proper for someone who knows Spanish only at A2 level. Or may be it`s a better idea to watch Spanish cartoons (or in Spanish) like `Dora la Exploradora` or `Los Simpsones` (without any subtitles)?

[Los Simpson (family names have no plural in Spanish as, unlike English, the article conveys number information)]

It depends on what you're trying to achieve. Without subtitles when you're trying to refine your hearing comprehension, and it does fine when you have a good ear so you can identify the correct sounds though you only associate them to their meaning part of the time. With subtitles when you're trying to expand your vocabulary, or you're looking for multiple instances of common phrase constructions, or you are a bit impaired for hearing comprehension and you need to develop it -special for those who understand more written than spoken language-.

[Voytek]

Thanks.

I`ve read that it`s better to start with movies which you can understand on 50-70% and then, if you can understand them better than that, move to more difficult ones. So for me, cartoons are perfect for now. I guess. But I`ve also read in another source that watching cartoons is a waste of time.

What do you think?

[poli]

Anything that interests you works. If you find the subject matter boring, it is less likely to help.

[Voytek]

Originally Posted by poli

Anything that interests you works. If you find the subject matter boring, it is less likely to help.

But what if you understand only 20-30% of what they say?

[Rusty]

Watch what interests you. The goal is to hone your listening skills. The more a subject interests you, the more you'll strive to hear what is being said about it.

Listening well is a great skill to achieve. You may not understand what you're hearing at first, but with good listening skills, you'll be able to write down what you heard and look it up (or ask questions about it here).
You need good listening skills to be able to better follow a conversation. You'll be able to ask what something means, repeating the word(s) you heard, but didn't understand, while the context is fresh on your mind. Learning how words are used in context is priceless. Context is key to understanding.

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by Voytek

Thanks.

I`ve read that it`s better to start with movies which you can understand on 50-70% and then, if you can understand them better than that, move to more difficult ones. So for me, cartoons are perfect for now. I guess. But I`ve also read in another source that watching cartoons is a waste of time.

What do you think?

If you still have a lower level of knowledge of the language, you should choose short videos and not movies and be sure you have the transcript to avoid inventing words and meanings. Vines would be great for beginners if captions were provided.

Cartoons have the advantage of being short and the disadvantage of being cartoonish. As everybody said, an interesting topic is the key. If you like the subject you'll be willing to go the extra mile and all your work will be enjoyable and not felt like an obligation.

[poli]

I had a teacher who lived through the Cuban Revolution, and told very expressive and emotional stories about exclusively in Spanish. I was just a learner who managed to memorize the irregular verbs and some vocabulary. What she had to say hooked me, and made me concentrate, and really helped me learn. My knowledge of Spanish was only so-so, but the interesting subject matter overcame that.

[aleCcowaN]

Well, I was once travelling by train from Mulhouse to Zurich and, when we crossed the border and arrived to Basel, an employee checked my passport in my coach and call the gendarmes who interrogated me extensively in Spanish (a young Argentine travelling alone, with a duffel bag, using an unlikely tourist route) while they talked in Alemannic among themselves.

The Swiss train departed from Basel seven minutes behind schedule with a relieved me on board. I can swear that during several minutes I understood Alemannic as if I were native to it