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

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NoManches
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7942
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby NoManches » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:12 am

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.
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Jaleel10
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby Jaleel10 » Sat Jul 28, 2018 5:18 am

NoManches wrote: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
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Cavesa
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby Cavesa » Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:04 am

Jaleel10 wrote:
NoManches wrote: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).
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Cavesa
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby Cavesa » Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:06 am

NoManches wrote: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 :-)
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NoManches
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7942
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby NoManches » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:01 pm

Jaleel10 wrote:
NoManches wrote: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.
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NoManches
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7942
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby NoManches » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:04 pm

Cavesa wrote:
NoManches wrote: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!
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M23
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby M23 » Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:31 pm

NoManches wrote: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."
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NoManches
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby NoManches » Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:46 pm

M23 wrote:
NoManches wrote: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.
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NoManches
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby NoManches » Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:47 pm

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...
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NoManches
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Posts: 654
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:21 pm
Location: Estados Unidos (near the Mexican border)
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Spanish - B2 +
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7942
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Re: ¡No Manches! - DELE C1 (2019)

Postby NoManches » Sat Aug 04, 2018 1:11 am

In terms of improving my Spanish, the last week has been a crappy one.....so let's document it for future reference: 8-) :lol:

It has been a busy work week which unfortunately equates to coming home and being mentally and/or physically exhausted. At the end of a long day I can usually watch some Spanish television to unwind, as it isn't too taxing. This week has been somewhat of an exception though. I've found that I have been too distracted with other things and can't really concentrate during some of my TV shows. I'm on episode 18 of La Reina del Sur but can't tell you too much about what happened during the last 3 episodes....it is a blur to me. I've been trying to watch some shows from Spain, but get frustrated when my comprehension isn't as high as it is for Mexican shows. This has resulted in me switching back and forth between a few shows that I really want to watch. Unfortunately, when I do this it's hard to keep track of what is going on in each show, and I get frustrated. The same thing happened years ago when I started off with watching television in Spanish, so I suppose I need to be patient with myself.


As far as reading, last week I decided to jump my reading up to an hour/ day. This was surprisingly easy to do because I have been leaving my cell phone outside of my bedroom but keep my Kindle next to my bed. When I wake up, I start to read and keep going until I have to go to work, which usually gives me 30 minutes of solid reading in the morning. During the last 4 days, I have barely read at all, since I've had to go to work really early and have had long work days.

As far as grammar books and DELE test prep books, I haven't done anything.

I signed up for another MOOC but haven't worked on either of the two that I signed up for.

As far as listening, I have squeezed some podcasts in but not as many as I normally do. The good thing though, is that I came across a really cool blog post and discovered a bunch of new podcasts that I really like. Here is a link to the blog

https://www.secondhalftravels.com/best- ... -podcasts/

The ones I really liked from the list are:

El Gran Apagón
Neteando con Kate y Jessica

I have yet to listen to the other but will give them a listen later. The first one, El Gran Apagon, is super cool and I highly recommend it. The second one might be a good one for James29 because it is a podcast hosted by Kate del Castillo.

Other than finding and listening to some new podcasts, the only good thing that happened for my Spanish this week was a 1 hour skype conversation with my tutor. I feel like that went well although I need to work on a few things.

I'm hoping that this upcoming week will be a lot more productive for me!
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