Watching Spanish TV shows or movies in Spanish is the best and fastest way to mastering a language. You will begin to pick up the language before you know it, and the best part is you won’t be speaking textbook Spanish. There is nothing wrong with a textbook, but it can not be the only source when learning a language. The best way is to immerse yourself with authentic materials 100% in the target language.
Below I have some steps for learning Spanish through TV shows or movies. You are welcome to skip over some steps if you have already been exposed to the language.
- Watch the Spanish show or movie first with English subtitles. Then you know exactly what will happen and the context of the conversations.
- Watch the same Spanish show or movie with Spanish subtitles (of course keep the audio in Spanish 100% of the time).
- Write down words you don’t know as you watch and want to learn. Look up the words after the episode or movie is over.
- Watch the same episode again or continue to the next. Chances are if you’re watching a tv series, the vocabulary will repeat every episode. You will see those words you looked up and be glad you did for easy comprehension. Every episode look up words. Every episode be proud of yourself as you improve your comprehension.
The Benefits of Immersion via Spanish TV Shows or Movies in Spanish
- Speaking and Listening: You should now be able to have a conversation with someone using the vocabulary you heard hundreds of times. You will have learned conversational phrases, idiomatic expressions, vocabulary, slang, and more. You will have learned so much subconsciously by immersing yourself in the language. If you talk to yourself, practice saying the words, have a conversation with yourself in the car, sing songs in Spanish, or act out the characters of your favorite shows or movies. Your Spanish does not have to be perfect to be able to speak the language. Think about how many English speakers you converse with daily and how many of those make grammatical errors, mispronounce words, etc. What matters is you can converse in the language.
- Grammar: The beautiful thing about learning via Spanish shows and movies is that you learn grammar along the way. This is especially true if you have taken a Spanish class. You have already been exposed to the info, and it will finally click after seeing it in action hundreds of times. This is also the best way to memorize all those pesty irregulars. You have seen them before you have even learned them.
- Vocabulary: You are hearing the same words over and over being used in context. You have looked up words you want to learn and aren’t told to memorize just to forget 10 minutes later and never see again. Being exposed to authentic, comprehensive repetition is the best way to learn vocabulary.
Great TV Shows (this list will be constantly updated)
DRAMAS
- El Internado (Netflix)
- Gran Hotel (Netflix)
- Velvet (Netflix)
- El Tiempo Entre Costuras (Netflix)
- Las Chicas del Cable (Netflix)
- El Barco (Netflix)
- Tiempos de Guerra (Netflix)
- Ministerio del Tiempo (Netflix)
- Muchacha Italiana Viene a Casarse (Hulu)
- East Los High (Hulu)
- El Hotel de los Secretos (Hulu) – NOTE – this is the same show as Gran Hotel. Gran Hotel takes place in Spain however whereas El Hotel de los Secretos takes place in Mexico. Different actors and place, but same script.
- CSI en español (Hulu)
KID SHOWS IN SPANISH
- Zou (Hulu & You Tube)
- Plaza Sésamo (Hulu & YouTube)
- Doctora Juguetes (Hulu & YouTube)
- Bob Esponja (Hulu)
- Maya & Miguel (Hulu)
- Inspector Gadget en español (Hulu)
- Fiesta Animal (Hulu)
- Nutri Ventures (Hulu)
COMEDIES
- La Familia P Luche (Hulu)
- Noches con Platanito (Hulu)
- Extra en español (Youtube & TeDigoTodo)