# Help with Learning Spanish - TV, videos, etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365 "2016-11-01T15:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/1 "2016-11-01T15:05:08Z")
I’ve recently started a project where I am learning Spanish (also reviewing my French and Irish, but that’s a bit of a tangent for this thread) using duolingo which is free, offers a variety of languages, and has worked for me. By “work” I mean makes it easy and convenient to do a least some study daily and I often find myself wanting to do more than the minimum to keep my “streak” going. I’m also starting to understand more snippets of Spanish on TV and also in overheard dialogue at work (we have a certain number of Spanish-speaking customers). However, I know that learning a language is more than just using one software program. So… I’d like some suggestions as to where to go for _hearing_ more Spanish being spoken. I’m at a very basic level at present so, say, Spanish soap operas are more than I can handle at present. I’m thinking more Sesame Street at this point. In fact, I’ve looked into the Spanish version of that. But I’m open to more suggestions. On-line would be ideal. Also, very basic texts in Spanish. I’m sort of at the [“Dick and Jane” level](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_and_Jane). Americans that learned to read before 1980 will know what I’m talking about, but for the rest of you “See Dick. See Dick run. See Spot. See Spot run. Spot is a dog”. OK, maybe a _little_ more advanced but right now more practice and exposure is what I need, not necessarily thrilling adventure (although that would be a bonus). Especially hearing the language, my ears are still having some trouble deciphering audible Spanish. OK, that’s the main point, read further if you’re interested or stop here if that’s enough. I also have some workbooks and websites for things like learning more basic vocabulary, discussing grammar details further than Duolingo does, and drilling in things like verb conjugations. I just didn’t want anyone to think I was relying on just one website or one form of language input. I don’t have tons of time to spend on Spanish, nor hardly any money, but between what’s freely available and the fact that virtually every day I’m at work I hear some Spanish spoken, even if not directly to me, that I’ll be able to acquire some small skill at this. Maybe even more than that. If someone can suggest such things for Irish, too, that would be wonderful but Irish being such a minority language I don’t expect there to be much on the internet. But I’d be happy to be wrong! (French is not such an issue - I still understand written French very well, read French newspapers, and I’m currently re-reading _Vingt Mille Lieues Sous les Mers: Tour du Monde Sous-marin_ and Saint Exupery’s works in the original. My French is rusty but still there. Spoken French is a bit more difficult but there is a LOT of French video/audio on the Internet and I know where to get it. It’s my ability to speak it and write it on my own that has gone to hell, and that’s a different problem.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/2 "2016-11-01T19:06:45Z")
Mafalda. It’s a comic strip which ran for ten years; the characters have been reused occasionally. It’s Argentinian, which shows occasionally in dialectal expressions (mainly the use of vos as the second person singular), and sometimes the spellings are transliterations (such as when Manolito tells Libertad’s mother “ah, ¡dátis!” “😕” “¡dátis decuestión!”\*). But it’s also a big cultural reference, and being a comic strip it doesn’t tend to walls of text (well, except when Susanita starts talking about her future marriage plans… or when Mafalda starts analyzing politics… but uhm, well, usually not!) [m-w.com](http://m-w.com) includes a Spanish-English dictionary. Once you’re ahead enough to read about Spanish in Spanish, rae.es - For those following at home: Manolito is mangling Chéspir, ehm, I mean, Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/3 "2016-11-02T06:53:11Z")
Some resources for children’s programs: Dora works in both directions 😃 Created in Spain but recognized by people on both shores of the Atlantic: El gran circo de TVE (aka Los payasos de la tele), Un globo, dos globos, tres globos. There are plenty of youtube extracts and mixes of both. And if you have access to rtve.es they have TONS of material, their children’s programs are under Infantil - the accents will generally be different from those near you, though. Instituto Cervantes offers a free [level test](http://pruebadenivel.cervantes.es/exam.php?id=17) and online courses (with and without a tutor) as well as offline ones. The untutored ones are listed [here](http://ave.cervantes.es/AVEGlobal/cursos-espanol-en-linea-ave-global-autonomo.html). There’s quite a few Youtube channels under aprender español, but again most of the material appears to be prepared in Spain so the accents will be different from those around you. [This one](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTyCyyV0eKfEoMWI_V11z6A) overenunciates a lot; [this one](https://www.youtube.com/user/TioSpanish) uses finger puppets 🙂 If you happen to know what nationalities are common in your area, you may be able to find videos by adding the adjective or the country to the search. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/4 "2016-11-02T07:01:03Z")
I liked [this Venezuelan lady’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlK-neOypDM)s explanations - in English. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/5 "2016-11-02T14:32:55Z")
I know you said no soap operas, but how about a soap opera created to help teach Spanish: > **[Destinos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destinos)** > > Carlos Aguilar > Augusto Benedico > Arsenio Campos > Luís Couturier > Edwin Francisco > Edith Kleinmann > Servando Manzetti > Jorge Martínez de Hoyos > Yasmín Pereira > Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish, also known as simply Destinos, is a television program created by Bill VanPatten, who at the time was Professor of Spanish and Second Language Acquisition at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Running for two seasons, the show began in 1992 and was designed to introduce viewers to the basics of t... ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/6 "2016-11-02T15:09:41Z")
There are lots of cartoons in Spanish on youtube like La Pequena Lulu and El Pajaro Loco. In pre-youtube days I read a lot of Spanish comic books while learning the language; if you have some Spanish stores nearby you might look for some. ---
**Author:** ![Polly\_Pointless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/858c86/32.png) [@Polly\_Pointless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polly_Pointless)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/7 "2016-11-02T15:28:07Z")
My county library has free Rosetta Stone online, and I’m sure a bunch of other things in-house. Check your local library for resources. Check into MeetUp and see if there are others in your area wanting to do the same thing. Check into local ESL classes, maybe you can help someone trying to learn English, and maybe find a friend who can help you with your Spanish. Also… I bet Youtube has stuff on this. I haven’t looked, but Youtube is a great resource and I would be surprised if you couldn’t find anything there. ---
**Author:** ![Tootingkhamen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e36b37/32.png) [@Tootingkhamen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tootingkhamen)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/8 "2016-11-02T16:27:42Z")
I’m enjoying the podcasts from [Notes in Spanish](http://www.notesinspanish.com/) which covers beginners, imtermediate and advanced. The podcasts are free and there are worksheets that you can pay for (which I did because I was finding the podcasts so useful that I felt guilty getting all this for free). ---
**Author:** ![BundleOfStix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BundleOfStix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BundleOfStix)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/9 "2016-11-02T17:29:22Z")
These are great resources- I have a similar need- thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/10 "2016-11-02T21:12:00Z")
The BBC maintains pages for both Irish and Scottish Gaelic: > **[BBC - Northern Ireland - Irish Language - Blas](https://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/irish/blas/learners/)** > > BBC Northern Ireland - Blas ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/11 "2016-11-02T22:50:43Z")
Watching [old movies by the Mexican comedian Cantinflas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6-26mNNq6Y) helped me a lot. The advantages are that the dialog is usually very fast moving which makes for good language exercise, all of them are so old they are in the public domain and available in full length on youtube, many have english subtitles available and they are actually pretty entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/12 "2016-11-02T23:10:32Z")
thanks, folks, those are great suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/13 "2016-11-03T01:42:04Z")
A local station used to show 100 Mexicanos Dijeron, which is like Family Feud. It got that I once got the host’s joke! Wife once tried to teach me, but her Castillian accent has left me with a permanent lisp when I speak Spanish, which amuses my Mexican friends. But yeah, game shows. LCD vocabulary, grammar, and jokes. No oddball pronounciations. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/14 "2016-11-03T01:59:36Z")
Long ago, on a messageboard that would still seem uncomfortably familiar considering it’s been 16 years, I mentioned my desire to create Speak Spanish Like a Texan. A flaw I found in ALL teach yourself a language tapes, disks, whatever, is that they throw the language at you using native speakers. And mix up the speakers’ regions, so you will be ready for whatever region your next trip sends you. Totally invalid premise, and it makes learning the damned language harder. You and I understand English spoken in nearly any accent, and make allowances accordingly. Shit, accents can be cute, fercryinoutloud. Everybody else, except in Paris ;), thinks the same way. You understand someone speaking English with a Mexican accent. She will appreciate your gallant attempt to speak Spanish. Anglo Texans don’t seem to care about getting a regional accent right, and talk like Peggy Hill. And are understood. ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/15 "2016-11-03T07:40:57Z")
Music can be a fun way to pick up a few new words. There are many Spanish versions of popular songs. Here are a few examples: Spanish versions of Disney songs: [The Lion King I Just Can't Wait To Be King (Latin Spanish) 1080pHD - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swt62Fwv-5I) Spanish versions of Beatles songs: [The Beatles en español - Quiero Tomar tu mano - Cover - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XivumS1bec) Some miscellaneous examples: [Que Monstruos son - Luis "Vivi" Hernández - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s-r1y7bpwo) [El Ritmo Del Silencio - Los Mustang (HQ) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIKK-dIZVCE) A Spanish group called “Los Mustangs” did Spanish versions of popular songs in the 1960’s and many of them can be found on [youtube.com](http://youtube.com). (Links to a couple of them are in the lists above). Also there are popular songs with Spanish subtitles added: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlcDcHxRibw) ¡Buena suerte! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/16 "2016-11-03T14:43:56Z")
I know you said no soap operas, but watching a Brazilian soap opera dubbed into Spanish and broadcast on American TV _really_ accelerated my Spanish. _Uga Uga_, FWIW. It was a comedy, and it was a funny one at that. I named my dog after one of the characters. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/17 "2016-11-03T22:22:13Z")
Actually, the _Destinos_ one looked good. My main concern with soap operas is that my understanding of spoken Spanish is still pretty feeble. Ask me again in a year I may well feel differently. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/18 "2016-11-03T23:01:37Z")
Destinos was interesting, even if you already knew Spanish. It was a nice little series. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/19 "2016-11-03T23:51:59Z")
Piggy-backing off of this (sorry OP!): Could y’all recommend some good Spanish-language podcasts? Subject hardly matters, I just want to hear a ton of Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365/20 "2016-11-04T01:08:59Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Actually, the _Destinos_ one looked good. _Destinos_ is GREAT! It’s a novella with simplified vocabulary. A PBS channel in Chicago (WCPC, Channel 20) used to broadcast it, and a class to learn Greek. The host, a Brit, worked with a Greek movie star. I have no idea if either of us learned anything, but we stared into her eyes and hung on her every word. Okay, we learned nothing, and loved every minute. But _Destinos_, absolutely. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-learning-spanish-tv-videos-etc/770365.md?page=2)