Spanish Group

[kunsttyv]

Don't forget that you can find older series worth watching on RTVE. I can recommend two of the ones I've seen, both produced in the early 80s. I think they are better and more enjoyable than the newer offerings.

Verano azul: It's about a group of kids/teens on summer vacation in the coastal small town Nerja on La Costa del Sol. The show is lighthearted and humorous at times, other times dark and devastating. There is nothing infantile about it. In the course of the summer, the kids go through many experiences and realizations of life (of adult life), guided by one of the most infamous characters in Spanish television history (any Spaniard will at least have heard the name), Chanquete, an old sailor. Even though the kids experience a lot of hardship, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and it's easy to see how the experiences are carving out the person they are going to be in the future. Their parents, however, are sitting in the shadow of their bitterness and lost illusions while the kids are out there illuminated. I found the last couple of episodes deeply moving.

Anillos de oro: A series about two divorce lawyers in Madrid in the early eighties. It's the masterpiece of the great Ana Diosdado. Worth watching for its naturalist subject matters and dialogues, its humor, and its transgressive tendencies.

[Ogrim]

Don't forget that you can find older series worth watching on RTVE. I can recommend two of the ones I've seen, both produced in the early 80s. I think they are better and more enjoyable than the newer offerings.

Indeed, TVE a la carta has a lot of stuff worth watching, not only series, but documentaries, quiz shows, educational programmes, cooking shows, news programmes etc. The great thing about RTVE is that they keep most shows on "forever". You can watch all programmes of the 14 seasons of the series Cuéntame cómo pasó for example.

[garyb]

The comedy series Aquí no hay quien viva is another option. It's light and it has a lot of natural everyday speech yet is very easy to understand. Even as a relative beginner a couple of years ago I could follow it quite well without subtitles, which even now I struggle to do with other series like La casa de papel and El ministerio del tiempo. The episodes are easy to find on Youtube. In general, for all the languages I've studied, I find that very modern series (last decade or so) are much more difficult than slightly older ones.

I'll definitely check out these 80s series and the non-fiction stuff on RTVE. Thanks to all who've posted recommendations!

[Whodathunkitz]

For those of you who have read it or are interested in reading it, which edition of Don Quijote did you choose, how did you choose it, how did you like it, and what impact did it have on your language learning experience? I am certainly interested in hearing from some of you who chose to read it in its original version (I know you are out there!) and how you approached that task. I know there is at least one etymology dictionary available to make the original text more accessible. What I didn't realize initially is that there are a dizzying number of versions accessible for virtually all ages and reading abilities, earning it a unique spot in the language learning world.

Here is one scholarly link that may be of interest to some of you:
http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/cervante/dqsb1.htm

I haven't read it. I have it on my readlang list. Presumably from Project Guttenberg or another free resource.

I have no idea if I'll ever read it. I don't know if the readlang pop up dictionaries cope with the language used.

I do like readlang though...

[Whodathunkitz]

I'm trying to make my way through "cuéntame cómo pasó" which is rtve on YouTube.

[Systematiker]

For those of you who have read it or are interested in reading it, which edition of Don Quijote did you choose, how did you choose it, how did you like it, and what impact did it have on your language learning experience? I am certainly interested in hearing from some of you who chose to read it in its original version (I know you are out there!) and how you approached that task. I know there is at least one etymology dictionary available to make the original text more accessible. What I didn't realize initially is that there are a dizzying number of versions accessible for virtually all ages and reading abilities, earning it a unique spot in the language learning world.

Here is one scholarly link that may be of interest to some of you:
http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/cervante/dqsb1.htm

I'm (slowly) reading it presently, and I have the public-domain version that was available on Kindle. I don't know how far removed from the original that is. I'm just reading the thing - I only ever look up a few words, but I know that sometimes when I encounter new-to-me words I get them occasionally through something that makes sense in Vulgar Latin (because my strongest Latin is 16th-17th century Latin, not Classical).

[Spoonary]

I would like to read Don Quijote at some point. To be honest, I don't know how I got through the four years of my Spanish degree without reading Cervantes I would be interested in finding out which version is the best to read, as I would have just gone for the free kindle version otherwise...

[Brun Ugle]

I guess I'll join in here. I'm new to the forum, and am in my early 50's and trying to learn my first foreign language. I'm only working on the one language. I don't want to try and learn another until I feel like I'm somewhat advanced. I've been at it for three or four months, and am currently reading La Ciudad de las Bestias with the help of Readlang, and am also watching Destinos. I try to get a few minutes of Spanish speaking TV or Radio each day as well.

Welcome! If you’re learning your first foreign language, sticking to just one language is a very good idea. The first one is always a bit of a struggle, but you learn a lot about how languages work and how to learn them, and that makes any future languages a bit easier than they would have been otherwise.

I watched Destinos too when I was a beginner. It was kind of fun, but it must be the slowest soap opera ever.

[iguanamon]

Pride and Prejudice/Orgullo y prejuicio I've been reading this book by Jane Austen in both Spanish and Portuguese translation, alternating chapters. I know, it's crazy but in this way I can read it in both languages without having to read it twice. I'd never read the book before in English and am very impressed with Ms. Austen's writing skill and craft. In the thread by klvik How do you make your self-study more active? I posted a reply that talks about using study guides for students in TL and/or L1.

Here are some links for Orgullo y prejuicio in Spanish to help make reading the book more active: Resumen de Orgullo y prejuicio ; Actividades para la lectura de Orgullo y prejuicio, de Jane Austen. The English original of the book is out of copyright and readily available for free and legal download online. Other classics of English literature are available in Spanish Translation and can be used with study materials in both English and Spanish.

For beginners in Spanish who want to get started in reading, you'll most likely want to start off with something easier than a novel. The Centro Vitual Cervantes has a section called Lecturas paso a paso with short readings in Spanish (with mouse over, appropriate, definitions in Spanish) ranging from Inicial to Avanzado.

[Whodathunkitz]

Pride and Prejudice/Orgullo y prejuicio I've been reading this book by Jane Austen in both Spanish and Portuguese translation, alternating chapters. I know, it's crazy but in this way I can read it in both languages without having to read it twice. I'd never read the book before in English and am very impressed with Ms. Austen's writing skill and craft. In the thread by klvik How do you make your self-study more active? I posted a reply that talks about using study guides for students in TL and/or L1.

Here are some links for Orgullo y prejuicio in Spanish to help make reading the book more active: Resumen de Orgullo y prejuicio ; Actividades para la lectura de Orgullo y prejuicio, de Jane Austen. The English original of the book is out of copyright and readily available for free and legal download online. Other classics of English literature are available in Spanish Translation and can be used with study materials in both English and Spanish.

For beginners in Spanish who want to get started in reading, you'll most likely want to start off with something easier than a novel. The Centro Vitual Cervantes has a section called Lecturas paso a paso with short readings in Spanish (with mouse over, appropriate, definitions in Spanish) ranging from Inicial to Avanzado.

Plus it's on readlang (Spanish) but missing some spaces. Makes it quite interesting to spot word boundaries. Strangely I found this exercise useful.

I wondered about doing some kind of exercise to split words. First strip out spaces and then add them in manually. I can't say why I liked it / found it useful, perhaps because rather than skimming the text I was analysing it. Or perhaps because I was bored...