I agree. Start with the basics and then once you’re ready for TV and movies, there are tons of Mexican shows and movies available streaming. I found listening to music and learning lyrics to be a huge help in learning vocabulary. Are you familiar with Julieta Venegas? I learned so much just from her album Limón y Sal. Good luck!
>Although I definitely agree that “Spanish is Spanish”, regional differences can be quite stark!
>
>If you were listening to two scientists from different Spanish-speaking countries discussing a recent discovery, the difference between their respective dialects (in terms of the vocabulary/expressions used) would be negligible as they’d be using more technical/formal vocabulary … **HOWEVER**, the closer you get to “everyday barrio” Spanish, the more noticeable the differences will be.
>
>So, yeah, my point is that if OP is only going to be interacting with Mexicans in everyday situations, I would strongly advise her to focus on Mexican Spanish once she's at about a pre-intermediate level (for the sake of efficiency!). Phrases used for basic tasks like asking the price of something can often change quite drastically depending on the country you’re in!
>
>I personally am a high C1 and I understand nearly 98-99% of spoken Mexican Spanish in all situations and am really good with slang, **BUT** when faced with more colloquial Argentinian, Dominican, or Cuban Spanish from the “barrio” (i.e., the Spanish that people from these countries actually speak!), I often have to really strain my ear to understand what they’re saying and, to be honest, a lot of the colloquial expressions just go over my head.
>
>So, in my opinion it **IS** a good idea to focus on a particular “type” of Spanish if that’s the one you’re going to be in contact with, especially once you have the basics nailed down!
>
>Having said that, I think if OP had told us that she were moving to Miami, I probably would also have advised her to just listen to anything as it’s such a cultural melting pot 😉
This! Mexican spanish is probably the most recognizable and common in Texas, but once you learn it, you can catch on to puerto rican/portugal/brazil/etc. Im still not confident speaking much, but I can hear the difference.
Plus, most will actually be delighted and tell you they are happy you try to learn their language!
You do realize that in Portugal and Brazil they speak Portuguese, right? I mean I’m sure there are many people who speak Spanish in those countries, but that would be like saying you want to be able to speak Canadian Spanish.
Here's a playlist I made with music in Spanish if you want to check it out. It has lots of different artists and genres.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2bmH15ftym6YCH2x9xXtzV?si=Tt1IcRZXRJuDvNQbVXd5pw
With music, find a song or artist you like, and learn the words to a song or two. Translate them and learn them like the back of your hand until the song makes sense. I’d recommend Selena. But you can find a lot of Mexican or Tejano artists that use Mexican Spanish. Tip: Lyrics in Spanish is called: Letra
I agree with a person who recommended telenovelas. I find them easier to understand than shows from Spain. The good thing about them is that even if you don't get what's going on in episode 1, you will definitely know who is who by episode 20. There's also a podcast aprende mexico,which has a lot of info on Mexican culture and slang A bit off-topic, but now I'm wondering what podcasts/shows people advise to watch those who want to move to the UK..
Where can I watch telenovelas? I've had a quick search but couldn't find anything. I'll have a proper look tomorrow.
But thank you, I really appreciate it!
On android I have an app novelas de las estrellas. There are quite a few telenovelas there, though some of them are of poor quality in terms of sound for some reason. I don't know what happened to those recordings. People usually use an app called Vix, but I think that one is for U.S only. I also look up what telenovelas are airing in Mexico currently andlook for the episodes on the Internet. When the show is new, you can usually find the episodes by just searching for them online. Later they remove them due to copyright.Las estrellas is the telenovela channel in Mexico btw. How did my response get so long considering it's a simple question? I don't know. There's also a blog called carray carray which provides English translations of some of the episodes if you decide to watch them and need help.
After about three years of daily Duolingo, I can speak broken Spanish and can follow 50-70% of a conversation if the Spanish speakers speak slowly. Next step is to get dropped into the middle of a Spanish speaking family, I would definitely become fluent over time but I will probably always have some broken/toddler Spanish in me.
Watch novelas, they’re 99% Mexican Spanish.
Mexican Spanish is so abundant that you’re bound to pick it up, even by accident. I didn’t even realize how mixed my Spanish had gotten from watching TV until I dated a Puerto Rican lol.
Also anime subtitles from Latin America are Mexican on crunchyroll.
Try looking for stories called Graded Readers to read at your level. You can also use apps for reading that translate words, phrases and saves them for you (Readlang, LingQ)
As they said already, spanish is spanish you can learn it in many ways. If you want to learn mexican slang as complement ,well , I would say a good option is to watch mexican comediants in youtube. Old videos from Adal Ramones , Jorge Falcon, Teo Gonzalez, Franco Escamilla and for your Masters degree in profanity the master Polo Polo. Good luck
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9yudInUYzMh9H4gJs4DrHg](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9yudInUYzMh9H4gJs4DrHg)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeJguGZvG8yKQW6ZAgG060Q
many excellent videos by Mexicans.
The podcasts No hay tos and How to Spanish are good for intermediate level Mexican Spanish.
Seconded! Noy Hay Tos is incredible for Mexicanisms
spanish is spanish. dont worry much about getting regional until your in the upper intermediate / advanced territory. listen to all types of spanish
I agree. Start with the basics and then once you’re ready for TV and movies, there are tons of Mexican shows and movies available streaming. I found listening to music and learning lyrics to be a huge help in learning vocabulary. Are you familiar with Julieta Venegas? I learned so much just from her album Limón y Sal. Good luck!
>Although I definitely agree that “Spanish is Spanish”, regional differences can be quite stark! > >If you were listening to two scientists from different Spanish-speaking countries discussing a recent discovery, the difference between their respective dialects (in terms of the vocabulary/expressions used) would be negligible as they’d be using more technical/formal vocabulary … **HOWEVER**, the closer you get to “everyday barrio” Spanish, the more noticeable the differences will be. > >So, yeah, my point is that if OP is only going to be interacting with Mexicans in everyday situations, I would strongly advise her to focus on Mexican Spanish once she's at about a pre-intermediate level (for the sake of efficiency!). Phrases used for basic tasks like asking the price of something can often change quite drastically depending on the country you’re in! > >I personally am a high C1 and I understand nearly 98-99% of spoken Mexican Spanish in all situations and am really good with slang, **BUT** when faced with more colloquial Argentinian, Dominican, or Cuban Spanish from the “barrio” (i.e., the Spanish that people from these countries actually speak!), I often have to really strain my ear to understand what they’re saying and, to be honest, a lot of the colloquial expressions just go over my head. > >So, in my opinion it **IS** a good idea to focus on a particular “type” of Spanish if that’s the one you’re going to be in contact with, especially once you have the basics nailed down! > >Having said that, I think if OP had told us that she were moving to Miami, I probably would also have advised her to just listen to anything as it’s such a cultural melting pot 😉
This! Mexican spanish is probably the most recognizable and common in Texas, but once you learn it, you can catch on to puerto rican/portugal/brazil/etc. Im still not confident speaking much, but I can hear the difference. Plus, most will actually be delighted and tell you they are happy you try to learn their language!
You do realize that in Portugal and Brazil they speak Portuguese, right? I mean I’m sure there are many people who speak Spanish in those countries, but that would be like saying you want to be able to speak Canadian Spanish.
Im talking about dialect. I am very much aware of the portuguese language.
Y tu mamá también is a great film. Café Tacuba is one of my favourite bands, El Tri is a classic band too.
Y tu mamá también is one of my favorite films of all time. Not really sure i’d recommend for a beginner though.
I will check them out. Thank you so much! 😁
Here's a playlist I made with music in Spanish if you want to check it out. It has lots of different artists and genres. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2bmH15ftym6YCH2x9xXtzV?si=Tt1IcRZXRJuDvNQbVXd5pw
Ah you're a life saver mate, cheers! I'll definitely have a listen 😁
Language Transfer: Complete Spanish is a great start. Use your knowledge of English to kick start your Spanish. It's free on Audible
I'll give it a listen, thank you! 😊
Someone else recommended how to Spanish. The latter is in Spanish so is for intermediate speakers. How can I bridge the gap between the two?
With music, find a song or artist you like, and learn the words to a song or two. Translate them and learn them like the back of your hand until the song makes sense. I’d recommend Selena. But you can find a lot of Mexican or Tejano artists that use Mexican Spanish. Tip: Lyrics in Spanish is called: Letra
I agree with a person who recommended telenovelas. I find them easier to understand than shows from Spain. The good thing about them is that even if you don't get what's going on in episode 1, you will definitely know who is who by episode 20. There's also a podcast aprende mexico,which has a lot of info on Mexican culture and slang A bit off-topic, but now I'm wondering what podcasts/shows people advise to watch those who want to move to the UK..
Where can I watch telenovelas? I've had a quick search but couldn't find anything. I'll have a proper look tomorrow. But thank you, I really appreciate it!
On android I have an app novelas de las estrellas. There are quite a few telenovelas there, though some of them are of poor quality in terms of sound for some reason. I don't know what happened to those recordings. People usually use an app called Vix, but I think that one is for U.S only. I also look up what telenovelas are airing in Mexico currently andlook for the episodes on the Internet. When the show is new, you can usually find the episodes by just searching for them online. Later they remove them due to copyright.Las estrellas is the telenovela channel in Mexico btw. How did my response get so long considering it's a simple question? I don't know. There's also a blog called carray carray which provides English translations of some of the episodes if you decide to watch them and need help.
After about three years of daily Duolingo, I can speak broken Spanish and can follow 50-70% of a conversation if the Spanish speakers speak slowly. Next step is to get dropped into the middle of a Spanish speaking family, I would definitely become fluent over time but I will probably always have some broken/toddler Spanish in me.
There's plenty of language learning apps like Babbel and Duolingo as well. I've been using Duolingo for about 60 days and I feel like it's helping.
Definitely need to use Language transfer. You’ll dissect the language and understand how it works. And learn some vocab while doing so
Watch novelas, they’re 99% Mexican Spanish. Mexican Spanish is so abundant that you’re bound to pick it up, even by accident. I didn’t even realize how mixed my Spanish had gotten from watching TV until I dated a Puerto Rican lol. Also anime subtitles from Latin America are Mexican on crunchyroll.
Try looking for stories called Graded Readers to read at your level. You can also use apps for reading that translate words, phrases and saves them for you (Readlang, LingQ)
As they said already, spanish is spanish you can learn it in many ways. If you want to learn mexican slang as complement ,well , I would say a good option is to watch mexican comediants in youtube. Old videos from Adal Ramones , Jorge Falcon, Teo Gonzalez, Franco Escamilla and for your Masters degree in profanity the master Polo Polo. Good luck
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9yudInUYzMh9H4gJs4DrHg](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9yudInUYzMh9H4gJs4DrHg) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeJguGZvG8yKQW6ZAgG060Q many excellent videos by Mexicans.