¡No Manches! - Uses "learning Spanish" as a cover so he can watch telenovelas all day and not feel guilty

[Cavesa]

A few notes ( and by notes, I mean me rambling on about a few language learning thoughts that I have on my mind):

Right now I'm on my allotted time to use English on the forum. Logging out of Facebook was a great move on my part. I find myself reaching for my phone throughout the day and since I'm logged out of FB, I can't see any content when I go to the website. That's all it takes to remind myself that I need more Spanish....not English. I keep my Pocket app loaded with interesting articles so I try to read those during any downtime I have.

I need to do this too!

One of the 2 DELE C1 exam preparation books that I ordered came in the mail. I'm already looking forward to the intensive reading with comprehension questions that I will be working on. It blows my mind how often I read something (English or Spanish) and can barely tell you about what the article was about. However, if I read with a purpose, telling myself that I need to pull out as much useful info as I can from the reading, then I do fine. This isn't a language learning problem, it's just a comprehension problem in general (that a lot of people have trouble with). Do a quick search on the internet and I'm sure you will find tons of articles on how to "remember what you read" or "improve reading comprehension".

1.I'm looking forward to hearing more about the books, as I don't know which one(s) to choose, when I finally have time for dragging my Spanish to the exam
2.It's interesting to read about the reading difficulty. You know, this has always been my strength (except for medical textbooks, I have the attention span and memory of a goldfish, when it comes to those), it is hard to imagine it is the opposite for some people, even though it makes sense. But I'm sure you'll get through this, you seem to be approaching this really smartly. After all, you have gotten so far in Spanish, you will get over this obstacle too!

-Gran Hotel
-Mar de Plástico
-Tiempos de Guerra
-El Ministerio del Tiempo

As you can see, I'm seeking out some content from Spain to work on my comprehension of anything NOT from Mexico. I gotta say, I understand a huge portion of the shows but the Spanish accent in these shows is really hard to understand at times. I've talked to dozens of Spaniards and other than when I started off learning Spanish, I have literally never had a problem understanding them when I speak 1 on 1. However, watching these shows is pretty tricky. I am really hooked on La Case de Papel but that show is just too damn good to watch with comprehension less than 90%. I was working intensively with it but I want to enjoy this show, not make it feel like a chore.

I'm thinking off watching the above mentioned shows in order of how much I can comprehend, working my way up to the harder material. I will just keep binge watching La Reina del Sur ( on episode 12 now) since there are so many episodes and I can afford to miss some stuff that probably ins't important.

I think that's all I have for now.

Have you considered Cuéntame cómo pasó? A Spanish family from Madrid, lots and lots of episodes, talking about lots of normal things, it is fun, the language is not too standard but also not one of the hard southern dialects. I think it might fit your criteria.

[NoManches]

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to add an update about how I like the books. Cavesa , I thought you already took one of the DELE exams, or am I confusing you with somebody else.


Cuéntame cómo pasó sounds like it will be a good show. Unfortunately it isn't available on Netflix. Is it available anywhere else? As a back up option I could buy it on Amazon.

Thanks for stopping by Cavesa, I spend quite a bit of time reading through your log as well along with some of your insightful posts.

[Jaleel10]

Cuéntame cómo pasó sounds like it will be a good show. Unfortunately it isn't available on Netflix. Is it available anywhere else?

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/cuentame-como-paso/

It is available for free on Spain's national tv station I myself will be looking to work (in my case intensively) through it after I slog through my 60 hour challenge. If you (or anybody reading this) have any long running Latin American tv shows I can rotate with, I'd gladly appreciate it

Just go to
- Buscar por:
- Tipo: Completo
- Buscar
- Go to the last page (18)
- Enjoy

[Cavesa]

Cuéntame cómo pasó sounds like it will be a good show. Unfortunately it isn't available on Netflix. Is it available anywhere else?

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/cuentame-como-paso/

It is available for free on Spain's national tv station I myself will be looking to work (in my case intensively) through it after I slog through my 60 hour challenge. If you (or anybody reading this) have any long running Latin American tv shows I can rotate with, I'd gladly appreciate it

Just go to
- Buscar por:
- Tipo: Completo
- Buscar
- Go to the last page (18)
- Enjoy

They got rid of the geoblocking again? Wonderful! I hope it is is removed for most things. First they blocked Ministerio, then everything, and I'e heard they removed most of it but I didn't dare to check (and have my hopes crushed).

[Cavesa]

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to add an update about how I like the books. Cavesa , I thought you already took one of the DELE exams, or am I confusing you with somebody else.

Cuéntame cómo pasó sounds like it will be a good show. Unfortunately it isn't available on Netflix. Is it available anywhere else? As a back up option I could buy it on Amazon.

Thanks for stopping by Cavesa, I spend quite a bit of time reading through your log as well along with some of your insightful posts.

You're too kind but you must have mistaken me for someone. I have been planning to take a DELE since 2016 but haven't found the time yet.
Thanks, I am so flattered! And I love your log, I am curious what will your DELE look like, perhaps it will finally kick me to finding the time too

[NoManches]

Cuéntame cómo pasó sounds like it will be a good show. Unfortunately it isn't available on Netflix. Is it available anywhere else?

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/cuentame-como-paso/

It is available for free on Spain's national tv station I myself will be looking to work (in my case intensively) through it after I slog through my 60 hour challenge. If you (or anybody reading this) have any long running Latin American tv shows I can rotate with, I'd gladly appreciate it

Just go to
- Buscar por:
- Tipo: Completo
- Buscar
- Go to the last page (18)
- Enjoy

Thanks! I'm gonna start watching it soon. For Latin American TV shows you have a lot of options. Definitely check out the post Jame29 made, it has a lot of good recommendations.

https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... ela#p95966

I really enjoyed Metástasis , the Colombian version of Breaking Bad. I think it was the first full show I watched in Spanish. I just finished Por Amar sin Ley on Univisions pay website. It's a typical novela from Mexico...but more modern. In my opinion it has way less over exaggerated drama and is fun to watch. It is really easy Mexican Spanish so great for comprehension. I've also watched a bunch of "narco novelas" which are a lot tougher to watch due to language and tons of violence and drama. I watched a lot of El Señor de los Cielos and El Chema. Also El Cartel is another good one but had lots of Colombian Spanish.

La Niña was highly recommend by James29 and I'm going to sit down and watch it soon.

I'll do a better search later or look for another show I've watched that you might like.

[NoManches]

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to add an update about how I like the books. Cavesa , I thought you already took one of the DELE exams, or am I confusing you with somebody else.

Cuéntame cómo pasó sounds like it will be a good show. Unfortunately it isn't available on Netflix. Is it available anywhere else? As a back up option I could buy it on Amazon.

Thanks for stopping by Cavesa, I spend quite a bit of time reading through your log as well along with some of your insightful posts.

You're too kind but you must have mistaken me for someone. I have been planning to take a DELE since 2016 but haven't found the time yet.
Thanks, I am so flattered! And I love your log, I am curious what will your DELE look like, perhaps it will finally kick me to finding the time too

Ahhh I think you're right! I must have confused you or at least read somewhere that you were planning to take it.

My goal is to take it in 2019 so I'll have plenty of time to figure things out before then. I ordered those 2 books that I mentioned and just started taking iTalki classes again with some Spaniards who are very familiar with the exam. I'll keep you posted. I hope you can find the time to take the exam!

[M23]

I really enjoyed Metástasis , the Colombian version of Breaking Bad. I think it was the first full show I watched in Spanish. I just finished Por Amar sin Ley on Univisions pay website. It's a typical novela from Mexico...but more modern. In my opinion it has way less over exaggerated drama and is fun to watch. It is really easy Mexican Spanish so great for comprehension. I've also watched a bunch of "narco novelas" which are a lot tougher to watch due to language and tons of violence and drama. I watched a lot of El Señor de los Cielos and El Chema. Also El Cartel is another good one but had lots of Colombian Spanish.

Since you have Netflix, I would suggest "Club of Crows." Lots of good Mexican slang. If you are interested in science and culture then I would also suggest "Hijos de las Estrellas."

[NoManches]

I really enjoyed Metástasis , the Colombian version of Breaking Bad. I think it was the first full show I watched in Spanish. I just finished Por Amar sin Ley on Univisions pay website. It's a typical novela from Mexico...but more modern. In my opinion it has way less over exaggerated drama and is fun to watch. It is really easy Mexican Spanish so great for comprehension. I've also watched a bunch of "narco novelas" which are a lot tougher to watch due to language and tons of violence and drama. I watched a lot of El Señor de los Cielos and El Chema. Also El Cartel is another good one but had lots of Colombian Spanish.

Since you have Netflix, I would suggest "Club of Crows." Lots of good Mexican slang. If you are interested in science and culture then I would also suggest "Hijos de las Estrellas."

Funny you would say that, I watched one episode of Hijos de las Estrellas and really liked it...I need to finish it sometime soon. Ive watched a few seasons of Club de Cuervos and it is loaded and the tons of Mexican slang and is pretty funny. I'm going to spend some time working on my comprehension and when I'm a little better I will try Club de Cuervos again from the start.

[NoManches]

Random thoughts and updates:

I finally convinced myself to start reviewing grammar the other day. It's been a long time since I actually studied any grammar but I think it's time for a refresher. I was going to go through my book(s) in order, but I might just go over things that I really need to work on and leave the rest. I completed a lesson on the future tense and was shocked when I thought the future for ustedes was "én". When I say shocked I mean it. That was a big wake up call for me...maybe my grammar is worse than I thought? I've surely heard or read the future for uds. dozens of times and had no problem understanding it, but it isn't a tense I use a whole lot. I remember the future tense being one of the easier things that I "mastered" in my Spanish college classes. I also noticed that there are a lot of small things that I've forgotten or I'm rusty on. It would take a CRAP TON of input to master these things, so I think it's good that I'm doing a quick refresher.

I've bumped my reading up to 1 hour each day. In the morning I immediately start reading when I wake up even though I'm usually still pretty tired (I pick easier stuff in the morning). Later in the day I try to squeeze another 30 minutes in. I originally started reading 30 minutes each day, bumped that up to 45 minutes, and now I'm at an hour. Not bad!!

I've been switching between La Reina del Sur and El Gran Hotel. I checked out Cuéntame cómo pasó (thanks Cavesa!) and will definitely be watching it daily. I didn't have access on the RTVE website but the first season was available on YouTube.

The random stuff:

I usually beat myself up over how bad I am at concentrating on longer podcasts. After listening to some English podcasts on a road trip (with people in the car who only speak English), I realized that I really need something interesting to hold my attention....both in English and Spanish. I noticed that if I drive with anything in English on (such as the news) I'm constantly zoning in and out to the things that interest me. It only makes sense that I'd do this in Spanish. The difference is that my comprehension in my native language is amazing. My comprehension in Spanish still needs work...so I can't afford to zone in and out all the time. Well, I think that is okay to do since some Spanish is better than no Spanish, but it makes me realize that I can't just rely on passive listening anymore. . I think this is a habit that I got myself into (which is fine), but I sort of became accustomed to lots of passive listening and no active listening. Maybe a 10 minute intensive listening session each morning will get me back on track.

Ive also been conscious of how conversations in English go for me. I realize that there are many times when I ask somebody to repeat something especially if they come up to me and asked a question when I'm not ready. If this is common in English, it should be expected in Spanish. I need to be easier on myself in that aspect...