Intermediate and advanced Spanish learners
This is a question for intermediate and advanced learners.
What kind of written material do you prefer to learn more Spanish?
Current newspapers
Magazines
Short stories
Novels
Essays
Scientific articles
Songs and their lyrics
Poems
Theatre plays or movie scripts
Private letters
Commercial or institutional letters
Documents
Any other writings.
8 Answers
I read novels, practice Memrise and watch Spanish language TV or Netflix. I{m currently watching the series Velvet on Netflix, a show from Spain set the the fashion world of the 1950s. Also enjoyed the series The Grand Hotel, also on Netflix, also from Spain. Avenida Brazil, a Brazilian show dubbed into Spanish was also wonderful. I also speak every chance I get with native speakers.
I learn Spanish on the internet via video with subtitles that I can read & listen to simultaneously.
I listen to the radio; watch news videos; read newspapers, novels, owners’ manuals, dictionaries, encyclopedias; and I talk to people. Mostly, it’s reading. I find that reading the dictionary is the best way to increase vocabulary. As I’m reading one definition I may see a word that I don’t recognize, so I go to that word and I end up jumping all over the place, which is not bad. Yes, I do sometimes forget where I started out, but that’s not the point. If I see a particularly interesting word or something that I have seen used often, I try to write a sentence or two using that word. When I read other things I make a list of the words that I don’t understand. When the list is large enough, I look them up. I mostly use the DRAE and SD. Grammar constructions work basically the same way. I write everything in Spanish: my to-do list, grocery lists, etc. Oh, and I write letters to friends. I use the Spanish option when calling those infernal answering systems. I have my clocks set to 24 hour format and my cell phone and voice mail are in Spanish. I try to think in centigrade, meters, and kilograms, and I’m pretty good. The one thing I don’t like is that my new American flag that I am flying today was made in Honduras.
I only have one novel and one magazine in Spanish. It's virtually impossible to find printed Spanish here in England. I usually read articles on the internet and sometimes news stories
Thanks to all. Real hard work!
I have built Spanish firmly into my daily routine now, so no longer see it as learning - or indeed a chore.
To keep myself informed of the news and current affairs etc, I read BBC Mundo and watch the news channel Canal-24 from Madrid. I probably spend 1 to 2 hours a day doing this.
Depending on the content, I can now understand perhaps 80% of what they are saying - the rest I pick up through context. The newsreaders tend to have neutral and clear accents, which is good for learning. However, when they interview people on the street my understanding decreases. In time though, I hope to improve on this also!
I also like conversational Spanish so I read and listen to various podcasts. I particularly like Spanishpodcast.org - although at times I do find it a little boring so I only do listen when I feel motivated to do so - otherwise it is counterproductive, I feel.
I still read novels in Spanish so I don't forget what I've learned of the language. When I was more actively learning Spanish, I used to love to read lyrics of music that I liked and I listened to music all the time. That way I could hear the pronunciation and sing along with at least parts of the songs which would help me remember.
I follow a lot of Spanish newspapers on twitter, so even if I don't have a lot of time to study I can always have quick look through the headlines and keep the language fresh.
I find it much more difficult to translate from English to Spanish, so lately I've been attempting to translate a novel this way. I have a copy of the Spanish version as well which I look over when I often get stumped.
