Comments on: Using Music Videos To Learn Spanish

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:37:39 +0000

Thanks, Kokage. I’m not surprised to hear others have done this way before I have, language teachers have been using music for centuries now because they know it works.

Cheers,
Andrew

By: kokage

kokage — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:09:48 +0000

Great post – I haven’t touched Spanish for years, but still know the lyrics of “Mi musica es tu voz” from the first Operacion Triunfo by heart. I heard them when I was in Spain for a student exchange and it’s sooo super cheezy… Our teacher in school back then often used spanish songs from Shakira or Loona (Hijo de la Luna)
Would be great if they had ‘mi musica es tu voz’ in a japanese karaoke machine: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHLayRAq_kA&feature=related

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:56:10 +0000

Niiiiiice 😀

By: Ken Seeroi

Ken Seeroi — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:47:17 +0000

Don’t worry about learning to sing. Learn to adjust the 3 knobs on front of the karaoke machine and you’ll have the voice of Elvis.
As for picking up girls, yeah. It is. .

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:08:57 +0000

Oh yeah, I know, I’ve always thought that if I really get serious about learning Japanese I’m going to HAVE to learn to sing so I can do karaoke. I’d love to go to Japan and do that, seems like it’d be a great way to pick up girls, too 😀
Cheers,
Andrew

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:07:39 +0000

Oops, sorry, I got your name mixed up with someone else’s, fv.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:06:39 +0000

That’s VERY cool, Ken, I honestly did not know that, thank you! I’ll be sure to use that when I’m trying to sell people on this method.
Also, I’ve heard that Colombians get hired a lot as radio announcers and news anchors and such because their Spanish is the cleanest and most neutral in Latin America and therefore everyone can easily understand it. Your comment just reminded me of that.
Cheers,
Andrew

By: Ken Seeroi

Ken Seeroi — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:56:18 +0000

Great idea, Andrew. Plus for Japanese, there is a huge additional benefit. Karaoke. People in Japan do karaoke all the time. Like sometimes we go once a week. And if you can sing Japanese songs, people go nuts. They just lose their minds.
It’s really fun and easy to do.

By: Freddy

Freddy — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:43:31 +0000

Re: the Telenovela method. NOTHING could be more precise in the language of Spanish than learning from Mexican telenovelas. Why those ones you ask? Well because it is no secret that Mexican telenovelas are amongst the highest rated and acclaimed in the world, of telenovelas. But also because, and more importantly, Mexico’s telenovelas are made up of many Spanish speaking cultures, not just Mexican. Little do some people know that a majority of actors in Mexican telenovelas are from all walks of Hispanic life. Spanish, Argentine, Venezuelan, etc. The benefit to you is that these peeps all speak a slightly different form of Spanish, giving you an idea of what all types of Spanish sounds like meshed together.
You might be saying “but don’t these actors just speak Mexican spanish in Mexican telenovelas, NO! They don’t. They speak the very and most common words known to all types of Spanish speakers. After you’ve honed some skills you’ll notice some slang thrown in there from all types of Spanish.

~ fv

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:55:40 +0000

Absolutely! You just nailed the very core of it, the foundation, right there! That was a really great explanation, too, the whole hunger thing. It has to be fun and interesting, when it stops then you end up giving up–maybe not right away, but it’ll happen. This is why I keep advocating people use things like music they enjoy, TV shows, movies, etc.
Cheers,
Andrew

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:46:44 +0000

Thanks, and that’s fine, this technique can be applied to any music, really, it doesn’t need to be a music video, or more broadly even a TV show or movie (I talk about this in my post on the Telenovela Method, it’s one of the most popular posts on my site).
Cheers,
Andrew

By: OObey

OObey — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:16:52 +0000

I tottaly agree with this post. I have been I love learning languages and right now I am working on japanese, spanish, portugese, and currently relearning my native tongue haitian creole and french. I am now re learning the latter because for years I had no interest in the language or the culture. Really, I understood the language and the culture fluently but just wasn’t interested in Haitian creole or french until now. My interest in this language is so strong now that I am now speaking it at home with my family(which my parents are SO SHOCKED cuz they thought I would only learn japanese). All of these learns are interesting and fun. The fun factor has to be present because if it isn’t there, you will give up. Its like second nature. If you are hugry, you satisfy your hunger until you are full. But when you are full, you dont keep eating(well, you are not supposed to…lol) untill you get hungry again. Its the same with language. When the fun feeling is there, its easier to pick up the language, but for whatever reason the fun feeling is gone, don’t do what I’d for years, give up and ridicule the language and culture, but rather, embrace it when you are ready for it(the fun factor). I dont mean to preach to the choir, but its all true. If its fun, it JUST WORKS. Thanks Andrew and Khatz.

By: Chagami

Chagami — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:31:12 +0000

Great post! Too bad I’m not really a fan of music videos >.<

..I’m strange, I know…

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:15:44 +0000

No, I haven’t tried that, that might work, but I’m not sure that I could really concentrate on the lyrics while working out like that, it really depends on how good your Spanish is–if it’s very good, you could probably do this.
Cheers,
Andrew

By: Vika

Vika — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:16:32 +0000

That’s a good, idea, Andrew. Have you listened to maybe just Spanish songs while lifting? In my experience (YMMV), TL songs that you like give you that boost in workouts while giving you something to sing to and learn TL from.

Best,
Vik

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:05:04 +0000

Vika,
Yup, I frequently listen to Spanish podcasts (I like Notes in Spanish, definitely check it out if you’re learning Spanish–the podcasts are free, the worksheets aren’t) while I go for my morning walk around the neighborhood. That’s actually one of the side benefits of not going to the gym anymore: no way could I listen to something like that and concentrate on it while I was lifting, but just walking? Sure.
Cheers,
Andrew

By: Vika

Vika — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:51:28 +0000

Hey, nice post. (First commenter by the way? yayz?) Anyhoo, I totally agree. Also, since I am also a workout buff, I double my workout time as language learning time by listening to my TL music. As so it happens to be, my favorite music has become that in my TL(s), making it all that much easier to learn. Keep it up!