I felt that it’d be a good idea to start this thread up…I didn’t see one made yet oddly enough. It’s already November!
That being said, what have you found to be helpful with getting used to listening to Spanish (fast) you hear on the news? I know practicing by watching the news would help, but I keep getting zoned out because it’s sometimes boring and it’s so fast that I miss stuff. I tried to start watching Spanish dramas- I only watched an ep of El Tiempo Entre Costuras… I got annoyed with the main girl really fast. So, what are some recommendations for movies and shows in Spanish?
Also, for those of you struggling with learning vocab, here’s what I’ve been doing…I think it’s working out for me. I know it’s a lot of work, but the point is to get practice in with the words. First, I define all the words in english and then go back and write definitions in spanish (to the best of your ability). If you get really stumped trying to define it in spanish, look up some spanish definitions of the word. Next, I write a sentence for each word. Lastly, I try to make some story or write something that will use 95% of the words.
And if you use any online memorization aiding tools like Anki or quizlet, it’ll help. Make your own sets so you can customize it how you like. I recently found out about Anki and I think it’s pretty cool.
I am a junior and I am taking AP Spanish. I really want to become fluent in Spanish at some point so I am really enjoying this class. I live in a state where there are lots of Spanish speakers so I get to speak with natives on Thursdays at lunch and it is a good way to practice my speaking and listening. I plan on completing the Memrise Spanish courses sometime in the future to review and I completed the Duolingo Spanish course a while ago. When I get free time to watch TV shows like Family Guy, I try to do it in Spanish.
My class has started going over the components of the AP test. We have written several emails, which I have done well on. We have done many reading comprehension and reading comprehension with audio practices, and I am getting better at them (8/10 on one today). I really want to get a 5 on the AP test and that would show my progress with the language since I am not a native speaker.
I took AP Spanish Lang last year and got a 5, though I have been speaking it since kindergarten so the language speaking, listening, and writing comes pretty easily to me. For movie/TV recommendations, every weekend my teacher would have us watch a TV program in Spanish and write a summary of it (in Spanish). I found watching soap operas like La rosa de Guadalupe or Como dice el dicho are really helpful–they get you thinking about the language, but they’re also somewhat cheesy and funny, so you have fun watching and it doesn’t feel like a chore.
Hope this helps, and if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me!
I think the main difference between the language and literature exam is that lit focuses heavily upon analysis and reading of literature–think like an AP English Lang/Lit course but in spanish…? You can check out course descriptions and material covered on collegeboard. For books-- well for general prepping, a lot of people swear by the AP Spanish barrons book?
I tried to start watching Spanish dramas- I only watched an ep of El Tiempo Entre Costuras… I got annoyed with the main girl really fast. So, what are some recommendations for movies and shows in Spanish?