You may not be aware of this but movies are one of the most conventional ways of learning foreign languages including Spanish. This is because in addition to being more fun than books and classes, movies use natural conversational Spanish. Movies also provide a platform which one can use to become culturally fluent. So how can you learn Spanish from movies? Read this blog post to find out.
You don’t have to Watch a Movie you dislike
If a movie doesn’t have anything of interest to you including the plot, characters, producers, or even its atmosphere, there’s no point in watching it. It will only make you more miserable than the Spanish classes you are struggling with.
Stick to one Country
Different countries have different ways of speaking Spanish and like English, there are many local variants of the language. As such, it is important that you use movies from one country until you are comfortable with the country’s local Spanish variant. Afterwards, you can move to another country.
Listen, Pause, repeat and go back a Few Times
It may seem like mockery of the actors but the reality is that this will go a long way in helping you get the pronunciations right. You can try ‘talking to’ the movie. Simply choose a role in a particular dialogue and pause the movie to say each line before it’s spoken in the movie. Repeating this with different dialogues in the movie will help you perfect your Spanish in no time.
Pair up
If you have a class mate or friend who is in the same fix as you are, you can pair up and help each other out. In addition to helping you with the dialogues, your partner can teach you what you missed and vice versa.
Focus on short segments with one or Two Voices
Again, there are many variations in intonations and pronunciations of the Spanish language in different countries. With that in mind, jumping into a conversation where there are too many voices might just fuel the frustration you suffer, especially if you were hoping to understand every single word uttered.
Watch a Movie you have seen in your Language
You might not have to worry about missing something if you are familiar with the movie you are watching. Start by watching the movie with English subtitles as this will help you understand what the Spanish audio means. Once you have grasped enough content, you can switch off the subtitles. It’s probably best to do that in segments because watching the entire movie in Spanish might overwhelm you. DVDs usually allow you to select the language you want to watch the movie in and have options for subtitles, etc.
If you stick to these tips and tricks, you’ll soon be a fluent Spanish speaker. It will however require a lot of movie watching and patience but with determination, you might find the process is actually good fun. Why not get some popcorn and give it a go?
This post was supplied by Mark Stubbles. Mark writes for Gritty Spanish, Raw, Urban Spanish stories performed by Gritty Latinos.
