Practice Your Listening Skills Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 19, 2008 in Uncategorized
A great and pleasant way of improving your listening skills in a foreign language is watching TV. So if you´re studying Spanish and have access to Telemundo or Univision, you´re in for great learning! Besides providing you with real, unedited listening practice, watching these channels will take you on a magic and wonderful journey of Latin culture. Soaps, news, game shows and gossip shows are only some of the programs.
If you don’t have access to either of these channels, don’t despair! You can go to YouTube or other online video resources and find videos by searching for words in Spanish. Here’s an example!
Nowadays there´s a wide array of resources for improving your listening skills and another one of them is radio. There are thousands of Spanish-speaking radios online and a famous Latin bombshell has a program of her own: Thalía (www.thaliaradio.com). Her shows are full of energy, fun and her Spanish is really easy for not very experienced ears. In addition to bringing music news, Conexión Thalía also brings support for the Latin community in the States in topics like law, immigration, finances, personal problems and they even have joke and karaoke competitions. So, log on to Conexión Thalía, find out more information about show times and enjoy! If you have a favorite Latin radio station and want to share with us, feel free! Take care and see you next time!
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Comments:
A. J Gardner:
I have been searching for something like this for a lone time. Thank you fro starting this blog.
Michael Siebert:
I’ve found that when watching Spanish TV, it helps to turn on the spanish subtitles, especially when the speach pattern is rapid. I don’t always do this because it takes your eyes off of what is going on, but when I do use the subtitles it has helped me distinguish words and phrases I would not have easily recognized just by listening. Works with DVD movies as well.
M.H. Graham:
On my website, onthe services page, htere are links to other good practice sites. Website: http://www.ahorahablo.com, click on the “services” tab and you’ll see the links.
Adir Ferreira:
A.J., thanks for the kind words. We´re enjoying bringing you guys these learning tips as much as you and suggestions for more posts are always welcome!
Michael, using the subtitles is very useful. Let me share with you a secret I share with my students. If you have a VCR and a particular Spanish program is closed captioned, watch it once without the subtitles and many other times with the subtitles on, you´ll see how fast your listening skills will improve.
M.H., thanks for the tip, I´ll make sure to check it out!
Bob Kostrubanic:
We visit Cancun and/or Puerto Villarta 2-3 times each year. It’s a joy to speak with the locals, both in the businesses, and in the villages. I usually get most of it. But I suffer from being almost totally visual-oriented vs. auditory. And I learned most of my Spanish from writing to South American pen pals many decades ago, which only bolstered this. When I listen to speech in Spanish, it must be reasonably slow, because I have to analyze almost every word or phrase. When I hear someone rapidly speaking, like on a Univision program, they quickly lose me. Any tricks to overcoming this, or a particular approach in listening to these programs ?
David Carmona:
Bob, what you see as a weakness can actually be interpreted as a strength. I wouldn’t say you “suffer” from being a visual learner, but rather that your strengths as a learner lie within that spectrum. Keep developing your language skills in the way that works best for you.
The way you’re having problems with aural input suggests that there is a big differential between your current level and the input you are receiving; nothing wrong with that. Exposure will take care of it. In the meantime, try to adjust your learning curve by accessing more comprehensible material. Standard spoken Castilian Spanish is generally slower than Latin American, and phonetically more differentiated. News reports would be even easier. Try listening to http://www.cadenaser.com, or check http://www.elpais.es for short videos from CNN in Spanish. RTVE’s website is also full of audio and video content. Don’t hesitate to use the subtitles on your TV for as long as you need them.