Who knew watching telenovelas could be so much fun!
I’ve started watching a telenovela. It’s called Pasión de Gavilanes (translated The Elizondo Sisters Go on the Defence) and it is available to watch on Netflix. I’ve only watched 2 episodes and there has already been a lot of drama; from dramatic fights to shocking revelations. It has been so much fun!
I never thought I would be watching a soap opera again.
When I was a teenager, I had so much time on my hands that I delved into so many forms of entertainment. I watched all the US sitcoms you could muster, from Friends to Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Two and a Half Men to Everybody Hates Chris. I watched a lot of sports, particularly football. I even watched cooking shows such as Hell’s Kitchen USA and singing competitions like The X-Factor. It was a fun period. But what took up most of my time was probably watching a soap opera called Eastenders. I’m from the UK and this was the most popular series at the time. It is our version of a telenovela…and it was addictive.
But as I got older, my interests changed and I stopped watching the soap opera. I realised it took a lot of my time and I wanted to do other things…such as learning a new language.
Fast forward to the year 2020 aka The Year of the Pandemic. The world was at a standstill when the virus broke out. Everybody was told to stay indoors. It was during this time that I decided to start learning Spanish. (You can find out more about my decision to learn the language and my method by clicking here). So, I searched online for videos of people who had learned Spanish. I stumbled across a video about how polyglots learn languages. A polyglot can be defined as someone who speaks several languages. One of the things the speaker mentioned, was watching a series as part of her learning experience. That got me excited.
The idea of delving into another world whilst exposing myself to the Spanish language was very appealing indeed. It was key for me to choose a series that is easy to follow and understand. Language learning is not just about the words. Body language and gestures also play a part. Instead of playing and pausing every few seconds, I wanted a smooth experience. So, a telenovela was a good choice for this. It’s also a good choice because the story is not very hard to follow. There is a lot of drama which is great for entertainment and it is also great for understanding through context. I heard someone say that it can be “addictive”, and as someone who doesn’t easily get addicted to watching series (it’s very difficult for me to binge-watch anything), I have to say that I’m enjoying the experience. It’s certainly helping me with my Spanish learning. I’m being exposed to the language regularly which helps me with my listening skills.
Above: A Talk about how polyglots learn languages
At the moment, I’m watching the series with English subtitles. This helps to follow along with the story but it is also helping me learn new vocabulary. If a word or phrase catches my eye, I may rewind to listen to it again, and may even briefly change the subtitles to Spanish to see the spelling. I’ve learned phrases such as “Estoy loco por ti” (I’m crazy for you) and “¿Qué pasó?” (What happened?). Another great thing is repetition. Certain phrases are repeated and so you become familiar with them over time.
I really enjoy learning Spanish. It’s a beautiful language. The more time I spend with Spanish, the more I’m falling in love with it. If Spanish is Juliet, then I’m Romeo. “Spanish, oh Spanish…Estoy loco por ti”.
Michael's Monde 