Learn Spanish by watching soap operas
Watching telenovelas or soap operas in Spanish is a great way to learn Spanish. Through telenovelas, or just soap operas for short, you get access to real Spanish every day, which is much more fun than studying grammar books.
Where to access soap operas
If you live in the United States, there are two major networks here that provide programming in Spanish: Univision and Telemundo. Both show telenovelas, usually in their evening programming. Most of these programs have Spanish subtitles that you can turn on if your television is capable of displaying subtitles for the hearing impaired. If you have multiple subtitles, the Spanish niceties will usually be seen in CC1. Some Telemundo novelas even have English subtitles on CC3. This requires a newer television with multiple closed caption channels.
If you can’t watch the soap opera at your regular time, you can also go to each network’s website to watch the video. These videos, however, do not have subtitles, which can make it more difficult if you are still learning.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you are not in the United States, you may not be able to watch the novel online. It is becoming more and more common for internet video providers to block viewing from outside the country of origin. For example, since I live in the United States, I can’t normally watch online soap operas from, say, Mexico or Colombia, through the network’s website.
However, there are online video providers that have both free and paid content. Novebox.com is one such provider that has both free and premium (paid) content.
How to learn Spanish by watching novels
The best way to start is to find a novel that is subtitled, either in English or Spanish. If you are just starting to learn Spanish, the speed at which native speakers speak will be challenging and sometimes frustrating. Having the subtitles will help.
Start by watching a short segment (for example, a scene) without subtitles, to see if you can get the gist or general idea of what’s happening. Then play with subtitles. If the subtitles are in Spanish, you may need to pause and use a dictionary to look up unknown words. When you pause the video, take advantage of this time to also repeat the phrases to work on your pronunciation. You may not fully understand what you are saying, but you will get your tongue used to making new sounds.
At first, this process will be very slow. But over time, your comprehension and pronunciation will improve, and you’ll spend more time watching and enjoying the novel instead of pausing it to look up words.