Learning Spanish through TV and Movies

Beginners learning Spanish can find a help through two learning channels normally not thought of: the TV and the movies. While you may be able to understand the words when they are written, it is very different to hear them spoken and to speak it yourself. Listening to native speakers on the TV and in the movies would be a very big help since they are using the language naturally.

One way a beginner can learn how to understand Spanish better is to be like a kid again and watch cartoons in Spanish! For true beginners, Dora the Explorer is a great start. Focused on teaching one idea at a time, it groups together words that fit. There are other cartoons that can be watched as well, the native teaching cartoons that Spanish kids are exposed to. Spanish comic books are other great learning aids, since they express the actions and emotions behind the vocabulary in the drawings.

Look for a Spanish movie in a genre that you like that also has English subtitles. Watch the entire movie without stopping, just letting it wash over you. It may sound like gibberish at first and you may laugh at inopportune moments, but just stick to it. The second time, watch the movie chapter by chapter. If you don't understand a certain part, go over it again.

With your Spanish-English dictionary, list down the words or phrases that you don't understand too well.Watch the movie yet again (this is why it has to be in a genre you like!), this time with a friend that speaks Spanish. Let them know that this is not a typical movie date, and you will be questioning them no end regarding the movie. Ask them for explanations as to why something happened that way or why that certain sentence was used at the time. This is the only way that you'll be able to truly get into the movie.