silver Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 I'm looking for videos for Spanish learners that aren't teaching videos, but rather mini-episodes/stories that are understandable to someone who is still learning Spanish. So far we've watched Salsa Spanish, Señor Jordan's Spanish Stories, and four seasons of Buena Gente. My kids span elementary through high school, but for this purpose, nobody is going to mind watching a "kids show." We've tried watching Sesame Street in Spanish, but have found that if we can't turn on (Spanish) subtitles, it's too hard to follow. (And not all Spanish Sesame Street clips we've found have a subtitle option.) Apparently our Spanish reading comprehension is better than our listening comprehension, and we need to be able to see subtitles in Spanish to give clarification when we can't quite understand what's being said--or at least it is when Sesame Street monster voices are being used. Another bonus of the videos I linked above is that, being made for Spanish learners, they tend to speak slower than videos made for a Spanish speaking audience. Does anyone have any video recommendations for us? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Have you checked out knowitall.org? They have Scholastic story videos as well as little science bites. https://www.knowitall.org/search?keys=spanish It's free to make an account there and watch. I will say that we enjoy children's shows on Disney+ in French. Things like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse are focused and repetitive, allowing for more comprehension than something like Sesame Street, which relies on varied conversation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 What about Extr@? There are 13 episodes in Spanish. They don't teach, particularly, but they are intended for language learners. We also did that Annenberg Learner series, Destinos? But that was sooo 80s! I had to do mini lessons on Shoulder pads, hard wired telephones, phone booths, huge handheld video cameras, etc. etc. It did have some learning activities, but it was a bit of a slog. BBC had a good series, but I think it was Flash dependent or something though, because last time I looked I couldn't find it. It seems like the kind of thing the BBC would replace, though, so maybe check out their site? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 (edited) Destinos was far better than Extra in my opinion. I also found this (very cheesy, but oh well): El Cuarto Misterioso https://sites.google.com/site/profesoralibbey/espanol-2/class-documents-and-handouts Edited October 23, 2022 by cintinative 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Miss Tick said: BBC had a good series, but I think it was Flash dependent or something though, because last time I looked I couldn't find it. It seems like the kind of thing the BBC would replace, though, so maybe check out their site? Was it this? https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 13 minutes ago, cintinative said: Was it this? https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/ Ah, yes. So the videos are still there, but not the activities. The story arc starts out high interest, but end up in a murky land deal. 😄 Ah, the lengths we go to in order to exercise new grammar skills. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Just now, Miss Tick said: Ah, yes. So the videos are still there, but not the activities. The story arc starts out high interest, but end up in a murky land deal. 😄 Ah, the lengths we go to in order to exercise new grammar skills. So very true. I was pretty desperate to get some immersion and listen to something, so I was not terribly picky. 😃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 18 minutes ago, cintinative said: I also found this (very cheesy, but oh well): El Cuarto Misterioso https://sites.google.com/site/profesoralibbey/espanol-2/class-documents-and-handouts Interesting! I had a book by the same name at one point. I wonder if the stories were the same or just the titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 1 minute ago, cintinative said: So very true. I was pretty desperate to get some immersion and listen to something, so I was not terribly picky. 😃 Nor can you be when you are looking for something in this, apparently niche market! I feel like the last third of any series required me to turn on my full persuasive charm. OP another thing you might be able to find on YouTube is people reading picture books. I ran into this when we were studying German and we could search for different books in one of those long, unending kids' picture books series. Maybe Las Tres Mellizas or La Bruja Aburrida would work for in Spanish. Although, my quick perusal just shows that like all kids' book series they turned them into an animated series and that is what I'm finding. Finally, here is an example for Las Tres Mellizas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted October 23, 2022 Author Share Posted October 23, 2022 47 minutes ago, cintinative said: Was it this? https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/ 32 minutes ago, Miss Tick said: Ah, yes. So the videos are still there, but not the activities. The story arc starts out high interest, but end up in a murky land deal. 😄 Ah, the lengths we go to in order to exercise new grammar skills. It looks like flash is needed to watch the videos. It seems that at least some episodes of varying quality are available on youtube, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 (edited) 11 hours ago, silver said: It looks like flash is needed to watch the videos. It seems that at least some episodes of varying quality are available on youtube, at least. you can watch the whole thing on youtube here Edited October 24, 2022 by cintinative linked the one that is all in Spanish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 If you want comprehension go for dubbed toddler’s shows: Dora the Explorer, Blues Clues, etc. Look on Netflix or Disney+. But my real advice is just to have them watch dubbed shows they enjoy without caring about comprehension. The brain picks up so much with immersion. My kids are currently watching Ever After High and Total Drama dubbed in French. They started with zero French knowledge, and after a year of watching French TV for about an hour a day they understand a ton. The hard part is finding things they are willing to watch without understanding much. (My kids will watch anything on a screen, but YMMV.) Shows they’ve already seen and enjoyed in English are a great place to start. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 OP, I linked the wrong mi vida loca. The one I watched was all in Spanish with Spanish subtitles, so I corrected it above. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Someone already mentioned Destinos; here's the link: https://www.learner.org/series/destinos-an-introduction-to-spanish/ For subtitles, add Language Reactor extension to your Chrome browser. It works in Netflix and YouTube. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Destinos was/is cheesy, but I have a special place in my heart for it since it is what I learned with in college in the 90's 🙂 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 46 minutes ago, Momto6inIN said: Destinos was/is cheesy, but I have a special place in my heart for it since it is what I learned with in college in the 90's 🙂 Same! 😅 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philomama Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 My son's enjoyed the fable cottage: https://www.thefablecottage.com/ They're stories that you can either read, listen to, or watch in video form. And they have all the same things in English, so you can watch that first if necessary. He also enjoyed watching Alma's Way in Spanish, which is on youtube (if you're in the US). I only understand basic Spanish, and still found it easy to understand. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenecho Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 So, I have been loving Nailed It Mexico for learning Spanish. On Netflix they have subtitles in both English and Spanish. Because of the format of the show I can easily watch little bits of it (5 minutes or so) without it getting annoying (I could not do that with a drama...it would bother me). I will either watch a scene in Spanish first and then go back and watch it with subtitles, or vice versus. I've learned so much cooking vocabulary...and it's so fun to watch (love the funny messed up baked goods...and that's funny even if you don't understand everything said about them). Most times it is kid friendly, though they have done baked goods with alcohol (and there's lots of jokes about the pastry figurines looking drunk), and I think the first episode featured a wrestler with a very scary mask. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 I should clarify about Language Reactor extension. It can be a great study tool. It will show subtitles in both languages at the same time. You can also hover over the target language word and it give you a translation and examples how to use the word in sentences and phrases. I use it for Chinese. It will show me the pinyin, character, and English. Being able to hover over the words gives me an idea of sentence structure. I can pause at a phrase or a sentence and it will repeat just that portion and stop (good for practicing). I've learned a lot this way. I've picked up more vocabulary, and can pick up common phrases and expressions when used in other shows. I've learned to put together more sentences. It is really a great study tool, as an adult. I've been able to use what I've learned to help my daughter. I can see if I can get some screenshots when I'm on the computer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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