Spanish Group

[Brun Ugle]

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Skimming through the FSI course.

Is this an error or is there a grammar rule I am missing ?

As I recall, they do explain it and go through it in the course, but I don’t remember in which chapter. It is used to express surprise and give emphasis. “But it’s hardly been three days...!”

[Jaleel10]

Screenshot_5.png

Skimming through the FSI course.

Is this an error or is there a grammar rule I am missing ?

As I recall, they do explain it and go through it in the course, but I don’t remember in which chapter. It is used to express surprise and give emphasis. “But it’s hardly been three days...!”

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

[smallwhite]

Todavía no. Si hace apenas tres días que decidieron la fecha.

WordReference.com - si

"WordReference" tab and "Collins" tab.

[Jaleel10]

Todavía no. Si hace apenas tres días que decidieron la fecha.

WordReference.com - si

"WordReference" tab and "Collins" tab.

Thanks, smallwhite.

[Jaleel10]

Question for those more experienced.

TL;DR I want to improve my listening skills (and general comprehension) in the near future. How do I go about it ?

I have two cartoons with accurate subtitles in both Spanish and English. Each ~21 minutes in length and both with dedicated wiki pages for synopsis summaries. They are cartoons that I have watched in the past and know the plots well.

How do I go about this. I have been searching through past forum posts and the general consensus (is that redundant ?) is to watch one episode with Spanish subs, then without and pause after a scene and rewatch until you can understand what's being said. Do this until you get through an episode ?

I'd like to make it as "organic" as possible so please no flashcards ! But I'd like to keep a notebook handy. I can do one episode a day and alternate between shows. One is Castellano, the other mexican. So I am covering all bases, kinda.

Iguanamon always says one tends to answer his/her own question with these types of posts but all advices would be welcome !

[Kraut]

With your two subtitles you could use Lingo Player which offers a nice range of practice activities.

[iguanamon]

TL;DR I want to improve my listening skills (and general comprehension) in the near future. How do I go about it ?
I have two cartoons with accurate subtitles in both Spanish and English. Each ~21 minutes in length and both with dedicated wiki pages for synopsis summaries. They are cartoons that I have watched in the past and know the plots well.
How do I go about this. ...I'd like to make it as "organic" as possible so please no flashcards ! But I'd like to keep a notebook handy. I can do one episode a day and alternate between shows. One is Castellano, the other mexican. So I am covering all bases, kinda. ...

OK, there are many ways to improve listening skills by actively working on it... but, you can't always get what you want. I don't know if you have the cartoons on dvd or mp4 video or what. Accurate subtitles are important in L2. Ideally, I would want to have an srt file of both L1 and L2. Assuming the L2 subs are accurate, I would make a simple parallel text with both sets of subtitles. Then the variations are endless- you can read L2 first, then listen, then read again; listen first then read L2 then listen and read L2 again simultaneously; you can read the parallel text as you listen; etc. Of course, this is contingent upon having the subtitles in srt form. You can search for subtitles online, but subtitle sites are starting to get evil with big download buttons and tricky ways to get you to download something you don't want. You have to be careful and avoid big green download buttons and don't download any exe files. Subtitles.org is where I usually go if I want subtitles. Of course, you have to check to see if they match. Srt files will open in ms notepad and then you can copy and paste them into a two column table in a word document, aligning them manually. It will take a little time but after a couple of these it gets easier.

The other way is to use emk's subs2srs. Again, you have to have the computer skills necessary to do this because subs2srs is not "plug and chug"/"out of the box ready" for a layman to do easily.

Of course, you probably don't have the subtitles in srt form (Why do they always want to do things the hard way? ). If you can't find them online There are ways to strip them from dvd's, but I am not computer savvy enough to do that. Perhaps you are. If you just want to use what you have, yes, you've answered your own question. Take notes. Compare your notes to what you hear with the subs off and then on. Write down the time stamps in your notes. I used my own shorthand- q = "que" and c = "como" for example, omit vowels and accent marks unless they're crucial, etc. Use the English version to check your comprehension going to the time stamp where you don't understand. You have to remember that in the interest of matching mouth movements to audio in dubs, sometimes the Spanish may omit certain words or phrase them differently.

It's tedious, but this can help to train your listening. Eventually, after 50 or 60 hours, you may get to where you won't need transcripts or subs anymore, assuming a good foundation of basic Spanish- i.e: knowing all conjugations, how reflexive verbs work, basic vocabulary, the difference between an idiom and words in isolation, etc. Whether you are ready to do this now, only you can answer, if you understand less than 75% of what you hear, it will be harder to do. You have to remember that your ultimate aim is to not use any subtitles. I'd point you to my posts about Using GlobalVoices.org to make simple parallel texts and How to listen to Latin American Spanish, but my image samples from postimage links have disappeared today. Maybe they'll come back at some point, or not.

[Jaleel10]

OK, there are many ways to improve listening skills by actively working on it... but, you can't always get what you want. I don't know if you have the cartoons on dvd or mp4 video or what. Accurate subtitles are important in L2. Ideally, I would want to have an srt file of both L1 and L2. Assuming the L2 subs are accurate, I would make a simple parallel text with both sets of subtitles. Then the variations are endless- you can read L2 first, then listen, then read again; listen first then read L2 then listen and read L2 again simultaneously; you can read the parallel text as you listen; etc. Of course, this is contingent upon having the subtitles in srt form. You can search for subtitles online, but subtitle sites are starting to get evil with big download buttons and tricky ways to get you to download something you don't want. You have to be careful and avoid big green download buttons and don't download any exe files. Subtitles.org is where I usually go if I want subtitles. Of course, you have to check to see if they match. Srt files will open in ms notepad and then you can copy and paste them into a two column table in a word document, aligning them manually. It will take a little time but after a couple of these it gets easier.

The other way is to use emk's subs2srs. Again, you have to have the computer skills necessary to do this because subs2srs is not "plug and chug"/"out of the box ready" for a layman to do easily.

Of course, you probably don't have the subtitles in srt form (Why do they always want to do things the hard way? ). If you can't find them online There are ways to strip them from dvd's, but I am not computer savvy enough to do that. Perhaps you are. If you just want to use what you have, yes, you've answered your own question. Take notes. Compare your notes to what you hear with the subs off and then on. Write down the time stamps in your notes. I used my own shorthand- q = "que" and c = "como" for example, omit vowels and accent marks unless they're crucial, etc. Use the English version to check your comprehension going to the time stamp where you don't understand. You have to remember that in the interest of matching mouth movements to audio in dubs, sometimes the Spanish may omit certain words or phrase them differently.

It's tedious, but this can help to train your listening. Eventually, after 50 or 60 hours, you may get to where you won't need transcripts or subs anymore, assuming a good foundation of basic Spanish- i.e: knowing all conjugations, how reflexive verbs work, basic vocabulary, the difference between an idiom and words in isolation, etc. Whether you are ready to do this now, only you can answer, if you understand less than 75% of what you hear, it will be harder to do. You have to remember that your ultimate aim is to not use any subtitles. I'd point you to my posts about Using GlobalVoices.org to make simple parallel texts and How to listen to Latin American Spanish, but my image samples from postimage links have disappeared today. Maybe they'll come back at some point, or not.

I don't mind the tediousness. Having great listening skills is my main objective in Spanish given my goals. So come hell or high water I will improve !

I already have a solid basis in A2 grammar due to finishing Michel Thomas, Language Transfer and first wave Assimil. I will admit I am lacking in a bunch of skills but I will supplement those.

I don't know why I never elaborate lol. Two cartoons, both mp4 files, subs in srt format. I do have a fairly good computer literacy so I will definitely follow your advice for parallel texts and use those with the episodes.

I did consider subs2srs but no creo que valga la pena. I already do too much during the day for Spanish and that would end me.

As usual, thanks again, sir.

[Jaleel10]

With your two subtitles you could use Lingo Player which offers a nice range of practice activities.

I definitely am considering this. I watch all my episodes of El ministerio del tiempo with Lingo Player. But not for study more for enjoyment. So this is very promising as well.

[Jaleel10]

Playing Pokémon in Spanish.

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