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Telenovelas to Learn Spanish?


SpringBreeze

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Has anyone here watched Latin American telenovelas to learn Spanish?

Several years back, I got hooked on this telenovela called Pasion de Gavilanes. First my TV offered subtitles. And, then it stopped. I was so disappointed. But I was also so hooked that I continued to watch it. So I was forced to really try to understand Spanish. And it worked. I saw my fluency in Spanish improve big time by the end of the show. What about you?

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I guess you can learn a few words by just watching your favorite ''Telenovelas'', but I'd not expect to get a lot from it.  This is great for people who are not serious learners, specially if you are thinking you can learn spanish by just watching that.  But as a complement it can be really helpful :)  Because if you already know some spanish, you can pick some new words or even full phrases!

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I have watched many Spanish speaking shows and it has helped with understanding as well as pronunciation.  I am going beyond the telenovelas and talking about news and even game shows.  Personally, I think anytime you can see and hear a person pronounce something, it helps embed it in your memory even more than just a printed word on paper.

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It is a pretty good way to casually get into a new language with less effort, I agree, since it does still play out a little bit like normal conversations. I think the best and easiest things to learn while watching these are the short phrases and daily used words, and it helps to see the emotion of the actors' faces alongside the words being used to get a more complete essence.

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Has anyone here watched Latin American telenovelas to learn Spanish?

Several years back, I got hooked on this telenovela called Pasion de Gavilanes. First my TV offered subtitles. And, then it stopped. I was so disappointed. But I was also so hooked that I continued to watch it. So I was forced to really try to understand Spanish. And it worked. I saw my fluency in Spanish improve big time by the end of the show. What about you?

Wow, that is so great!  I've tried watching them but in some shows, they talk SO fast, it's hard to keep up.  If I catch a word or two here and there I feel like I'm doing a good job LOL  :laugh:

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You can learn a few words and get to understand the basics of Spanish, but I'd say it depends on the telenovela. Most telenovelas from Mexico and Peru have strong accents and their Spanish isn't that good.

Colombian telenovelas don't have the strong accent but many have too many idioms and that makes things a bit harder.

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The good thing about telenovelas is that they show you how Spanish is spoken in different countries, different areas within a single country and different social groups within the story.

This contributes to educate your ears so you can identify how a word is pronounced in different contexts, and they can help you learn the language and many of the idioms that are common for the Spanish native speakers.

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