| If you are just starting out on your journey to | | | | will not be able to look up words in a dictionary |
| learn Spanish then you are in luck. There is a | | | | that you want to learn more about. All in all, |
| growing number of resources that are out there | | | | without a basic understanding, novelas alone may |
| to help you. Some of these may be more | | | | not be enough to teach you everything that you |
| expensive than what you are looking for or do | | | | want to learn. |
| not teach you what you want to know. There | | | | 2.This method can be very time consuming. You |
| are more and more methods that exist that are | | | | must sit and watch shows which may run an hour |
| very inexpensive. | | | | long or more. |
| Today I want to discuss the growing popularity of | | | | 3.Your new vocabulary may be limited in the |
| learning Spanish by watching Spanish soap operas | | | | breadth of knowledge that you gain. These shows |
| or "novelas". These are on television and can be | | | | often focus on romantic affairs and may not |
| viewed by anyone who has access to Spanish | | | | reach a broad enough topic for you to learn many |
| channels. | | | | of the words that pop up in everyday |
| As with every method there are both pros and | | | | conversations. |
| cons that need to be discussed. | | | | If you do decide that this is a method that you |
| Pros: | | | | would like to pursue here are some tips and tricks |
| 1.Learning Spanish can be almost impossible to do | | | | to help you along the way. |
| if you do not learn the proper pronunciation of | | | | 1.Choose a soap opera that has some appeal to |
| each word. By watching novelas you will get daily | | | | you personally. This will make sure that you do |
| access to conversational Spanish and how words | | | | not get bored quickly and give up. |
| are pronounced on a daily basis. You will then | | | | 2.Use a DVR if you have one. This will let you |
| become more aware of the subtle nuances of | | | | watch shows when you have time instead of |
| the Spanish language and even learn some popular | | | | forcing you to tune in whenever the program is |
| slang. | | | | regularly scheduled. You also have the added |
| 2.You will be able to listen to multiple people speak | | | | benefit of fast forwarding through commercials if |
| Spanish. As with English, many people may | | | | you are in a time crunch. |
| pronounce the same word differently. The sooner | | | | 3.Keep a pen and paper near you. This way when |
| you are exposed to this the easier it will be for | | | | you here a word that you want to learn more |
| you to understand conversational Spanish. You | | | | about later, you can write it down and use a |
| also get to learn Spanish at a standard | | | | dictionary after you have watched the show. |
| conversational rate, not the slower rate that | | | | I hope that you have found this helpful, as these |
| most CD's have. | | | | tips helped me out when I started learning |
| Cons: | | | | Spanish. Personally, this method did help me out |
| 1.If you are not beginning with a rudimentary | | | | when I started, but you may need to look |
| understanding of Spanish, this method can be | | | | elsewhere as your fluency increases. Happy |
| very difficult to get started. Also, without a basic | | | | learning! |
| understanding of how words are pronounced, you | | | | |