Miss Tick Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I found another possible Spanish learner show on YouTube, Buena Gente by Spanish Playground. Actually, their channel has specific topic videos in addition to some mini series type videos. Might be fun to poke around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 So to those who use Duolingo, what do you add to support the language learning? I started Russian, which is fun, but I feel I need more support in explanations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 19, 2021 Author Share Posted May 19, 2021 Wow, I can't believe it's been three months! I found this Youtube channel and I like some of the exercises. FYI, they do use puppets, if you find that annoying. Anyway, for the videos with "activities," they will have a video--either a simulated newscast or a dialogue between two characters, and you watch it a couple of times, then they ask you basic comprehension questions (true/false) about it, then they have you watch it again, and then they answer the questions, then they ask deeper level of questions, you watch it again, and they go over the answers, then they go over vocabulary/phrasing, etc. The BIG minus is that there are WAY too many commercials. Really, really, too many, and long ones. So this is not something I would recommend for when you don't want to have to keep walking up to the computer (e.g. while working out). Overall though, I like this approach. Spanish Like a pro! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClGuN_roGD3AfEUVehKiVGw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuovonne Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 I finally finished Breaking the Spanish Barrier 1, after three and a half years. Now I am in maintenance mode because I cannot seem to get myself to start volume 2. I started tracking my time and it is only 10-12 minutes per day in maintenance mode. I know that if I start the next level, I’ll need to bump up to 20 minutes per day, plus at least one full hour once a week, and I’m not ready for that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 13 minutes ago, Kuovonne said: I finally finished Breaking the Spanish Barrier 1, after three and a half years. Now I am in maintenance mode because I cannot seem to get myself to start volume 2. I started tracking my time and it is only 10-12 minutes per day in maintenance mode. I know that if I start the next level, I’ll need to bump up to 20 minutes per day, plus at least one full hour once a week, and I’m not ready for that. No advice, but my sympathies. I was doing really well with my motivation to learn and somewhere around fall I started to really struggle. Now I am doing the bare minimum, and I know that isn't good. I did start watching a new Spanish TV series in hopes that would motivate me more to learn (because of the struggle of understanding it) and so far, not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plaidpants Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Trying to up my Duolingo time in Spanish and Russian, especially since I got Plus this year. Failing at keeping up with a spanish text. But I've started, so that counts!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) On 2/2/2021 at 5:34 AM, MamaSprout said: I'm working on French fluency in listening right now and trying to increase my reading level. I'm probably a low intermediate? but that really depends on how out of practice I am. (Currently, very out of practice). I like that there is something of an accountability thread going here. I find this show painfully trite, but since it has good subtitles and my reading level is higher than my listening level, it's the transition I think that I need: Extra French episode 1 with french subtitles - YouTube Teachers have been using it for awhile, so there are quizlet sets and TpT worksheets available. I've discovered I can put French books on my kindle and if I come to a word I don't know, I can look it up by highlighting it. I adore Ernest et Celestine, but it doesn't have subtitles. If I haven't watched French TV for a while, I need to "warm up" my ears, then I can follow it fine. I watch kids shows on TV Monde 5. I seem to get a better selection if I use the VPN in the Opera browser and set the location to France. My other language goal this year is to learn the Russian alphabet. Okay I went a little sideways on this. I dropped French for the time being (although I weirdly seem to use it with people bringing me things to read.) I jumped in with Russian. I'm.... plodding. I'm at a 125 or so day streak on Duolingo and have most of my work calendar in Russian. I had a long pause on the other end of the phone when I was on with IT at work and they remoted into my computer, lol. Dd is taking the Russian Conversation course at CLRC, so I will probably steal her book when she's done. She's also sending me links to the things they watch. Winnie the Pooh (Винни Пух) in Russian is a little alarming. I found an interesting free app for apple devices called Parallel Books. It doesn't have a lot of books yet, but it does side-by-side in several languages. Edited February 27, 2022 by MamaSprout 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 I am starting Danish in March. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 I'm on day 354 of my streak with Duolingo (and yes, I did buy some streak freezes in there!). I am still teaching the boys Spanish and it's going fine except there are a few of their vocabulary words I have not learned. I finished watching El Gran Hotel and started El Internado Laguna Negra. I am not sure where I heard about the latter. There is SO, SO much cussing. So much cussing. Fortunately I didn't know Spanish cuss words. Unfortunately, since they were repeated so often, I looked them up. So now I know four or five. Sigh. It's not quite the same as hearing them in English that often though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 (edited) 31 minutes ago, cintinative said: I'm on day 354 of my streak with Duolingo (and yes, I did buy some streak freezes in there!). I am still teaching the boys Spanish and it's going fine except there are a few of their vocabulary words I have not learned. I finished watching El Gran Hotel and started El Internado Laguna Negra. I am not sure where I heard about the latter. There is SO, SO much cussing. So much cussing. Fortunately I didn't know Spanish cuss words. Unfortunately, since they were repeated so often, I looked them up. So now I know four or five. Sigh. It's not quite the same as hearing them in English that often though. 🤪 That might've been me... I watched that with dd in hopes that the YA aspects would get her re-interested in Spanish. I think she mostly learned Spanish cussing... 😅 ... but, yeah I'm not a big cusser, but it doesn't hit me the same way when it's Spanish. Loses its kick. It got to be a bit amusing to check which English swear they translated them to in the subtitles (usually one with a different meaning and many they skipped) Speaking of which, same dd just suggested we try a different Spanish show, and we picked one that seemed to be an 18th century costume drama... halfway through the first episode, the characters started going at each other like bunnies... good thing dd is 21 now...😳 Edited February 26, 2022 by Matryoshka 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom_to3 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Oh loving this thread! All I am doing now is Latin with my eldest (and just beginning with my second), since we are a trilingual family anyway. He is now advanced enough that it's starting to be fun. Not sure how much new learning I am doing or will ever be doing (I had a lot of Latin as a kid and loved it), but considering that I haven't studied Latin in almost 30 years, I guess the review is good for the brain. Would love some recommendations for good movies or series in Spanish or French. Another possibility that I've often found easier to understand is to watch a movie in translation (say an American movie translated into French). I should make time for this. Maybe hearing how much others are doing on this thread (I am impressed!) will give me an incentive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 Just now, Matryoshka said: 🤪 That might've been me... I watched that with dd in hopes that the YA aspects would get her re-interested in Spanish. I think she mostly learned Spanish cussing... 😅 ... but, yeah I'm not a big cusser, but it doesn't hit me the same way when it's Spanish. Loses its kick. It got to be a bit amusing to check which English swear they translated them to in the subtitles (usually one with a different meaning and many they skipped) I don't have English subtitles for Laguna Negra fortunately. LOL. In fact, this last season didn't have subtitles at all, and I was struggling with some parts! So we found some online and although they don't match up perfectly due to time stamp issues, at least I can verify I understood it. You are right--it doesn't hit you in the same way when it isn't English. 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 2 minutes ago, Mom_to3 said: Would love some recommendations for good movies or series in Spanish or French. I'm also looking for Spanish series after I'm done with El Internado 😃 Depending on your skill level, Destinos (on Annenberg Learner)--Spanish I/II level El Gran Hotel (I had to buy on Ebay--I think it used to be on Netflix)--note does have sexual content, especially season 3 (which tbh felt a bit phoned in) Coco in Spanish (available on Disney plus) Encanto is also available in Spanish, and it's not bad, but the songs don't translate as well, IMO. I still enjoyed it though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 2 minutes ago, Mom_to3 said: Oh loving this thread! All I am doing now is Latin with my eldest (and just beginning with my second), since we are a trilingual family anyway. He is now advanced enough that it's starting to be fun. Not sure how much new learning I am doing or will ever be doing (I had a lot of Latin as a kid and loved it), but considering that I haven't studied Latin in almost 30 years, I guess the review is good for the brain. Would love some recommendations for good movies or series in Spanish or French. Another possibility that I've often found easier to understand is to watch a movie in translation (say an American movie translated into French). I should make time for this. Maybe hearing how much others are doing on this thread (I am impressed!) will give me an incentive. El gran hotel is still my fave in Spanish!! Wonder if one can stream old French movies, like with Gerard Depardieu and/or Pierre Richard? Manon of the Spring and its sequel were great. The Goat, Tall Blond Man with one Black Shoe? Or with Catherine Devenue? I also liked the film Diva. Apparently used to watch a lot of French film... Haven't in ages... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 I'm still plodding along with German in Duolingo, but I've started to reach the edge of the grammar I learned previously, so I need to pull out a text of some kind ... Sigh. My Spanish has consisted of listening to the podcasts El Hilo and Radio Ambulante buuuut I haven't had my regular opportunities due to weather. Maybe I need to track down El Gran Hotel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 On 4/18/2021 at 8:52 AM, Loesje22000 said: So to those who use Duolingo, what do you add to support the language learning? I started Russian, which is fun, but I feel I need more support in explanations. Are you still working on Russian? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 (edited) I found this through the UCLA Beginner's Russian textbook webpage: https://3ears.com/ It's an interactive video transcript service. Mostly slavic languages and Polish. Masha and the Bear! Edited February 27, 2022 by MamaSprout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 1 hour ago, MamaSprout said: I found this through the UCLA Beginner's Russian textbook webpage: https://3ears.com/ It's an interactive video transcript service. Mostly slavic languages and Polish. Masha and the Bear! Thanks for this link! I’m studying Russian and am looking for links like this. Спасибо! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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