Extr@ Spanish -- entertaining supplement

[flyingiguana]

I just ran into these videos for teaching Spanish.  They're pretty good.  I find it interesting that someone finally found a good use for the Three's Company sitcom format:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pggZV0ETjI&list=PL-wlhjBlJMB9Hlva6V5Fd_1NWUeJ3IkCX

 

They seem to also have them in French and German (and English).

 

Sorry if I'm repeating what someone else already posted.  (I can't keep up with all the suggestions)

Edited December 21, 2015 by flyingiguana

[Matryoshka]

I watched the first episode in Spanish and German.  Not too bad if you can mange getting through all that Three's Company format!  I still might like BBC's Mi Vida Loca better, though. :)

 

I'm finding it very amusing that both languages have the exact same script, and even the same apartment and costumes (but on different actors).  But they do have the same British actor playing the "American" Sam for both videos.  Yeah, Sam.  Your pen pal and her flatmate were very impressed with you.  All Americans talk like that (he also has a British accent he's trying and failing to hide... :lol: )

[flyingiguana]

Mi Vida Loca seems to be for beginners.  I suspect this one would be better for an intermediate level.  For one thing, it doesn't stop to explain everything.

 

The first episode seemed at  a lower level than the subsequent ones.

 

My daughter has now watched several episodes and is enjoying it.  She's not quite ready for real TV in Spanish  so this is a nice stepping stone.

 

She's also watching Jessica Jones on netflix in Spanish, but she has to have subtitles and a dictionary handy.  And she's slowed it down to about 80% speed.  Even then, she doesn't get everything.  (Jessica Jones is nice because there are long stretches of no talking, so there's time to breathe between figuring out what's being said)

[Matryoshka]

Mi Vida Loca seems to be for beginners.  I suspect this one would be better for an intermediate level.  For one thing, it doesn't stop to explain everything.

 

The first episode seemed at  a lower level than the subsequent ones.

 

My daughter has now watched several episodes and is enjoying it.  She's not quite ready for real TV in Spanish  so this is a nice stepping stone.

 

She's also watching Jessica Jones on netflix in Spanish, but she has to have subtitles and a dictionary handy.  And she's slowed it down to about 80% speed.  Even then, she doesn't get everything.  (Jessica Jones is nice because there are long stretches of no talking, so there's time to breathe between figuring out what's being said)

 

There's also Destinos, which is dated, but I watched the whole thing for fun on PBS when I was already fluent (of course, it didn't seem so dated, as that was back fairly close to when it came out...)  I actually was having a harder time not squirming through the 3's company style sitcom-y stuff... maybe I'm old and jaded, lol...

 

But if she's ready for something as gritty as Jessica Jones, Jane the Virgin has a ton of Spanish sprinkled in (love that the grandmother always talks in Spanish no matter what...), and Netflix has a fun show from Spain that I've actually enjoyed called El Internado Laguna Negra.  It reminds me a bit of a WB show - beautiful teenagers and some supernatural stuff thrown in.   7 seasons!  And a lot of swearing in Spanish, but again, if she's watching Jessica Jones, this would seem tame...  I was watching it just in Spanish, but you can also turn on Spanish subtitles if things are going a bit fast, or English subtitles if absolutely needed (dd15 was watching it with me even though she has no interest in Spanish, and I turned on the English subtitles for her.  She still picked up some colorful Spanish phrases, lol...)  The first few episodes are a bit confusing story-line wise, btw, hang in there and it starts to make more sense...  but like the WB supernatural type shows, some suspension of belief will be necessary....