The TV Method: Update 2

The last week has been great regarding hours watching. I didn’t watch any ‘normal’ television and was therefore able to use the series I have. Here are some raw statistics:

So far I’ve been concentrating on Lost (Perdidos in Spanish). Because it’s a show I really enjoy and because it’s works addictive (after you watched one episode you want to know what happens next right away) I was able to watch three full seasons in the last three weeks. I’ve also been watching some episodes of Los Serrano but I’ll leave the rest alone until I also watched the fourth season of Lost. In total this means that I’ve watched over 80 hours so far. Yes, my plan was 50 hours per week, but at this moment that’s pretty much impossible as I’m doing some volunteering and have friends here I want to spend some time with now and then. My goal stays but I’m extending the period I want to reach it in to August, which should be possible.

Now I’m doing this method I see it’s something essential – even for the advanced learner. I’m reading more than ever in Spanish, but watching television really helps me the most. And although I live in Spain (which is supposed to be an immersion environment), I couldn’t live without input. This also shows the problem with living in the country of your target language: you can produce as much as you want (speaking, writing), but if you don’t get constant input (even at an advanced stage) you will suck and eventually your skills will begin to suffer. In my case I’m working with Spaniards all day long (not paid at the moment, but that doesn’t matter) so I have to speak Spanish. But if I’d only rely on this contact I wouldn’t do very well; I have enough waking hours each and every day I’m alone in my apartment in which I can get input. I’m using those hours to the fullest and I can see the results as I’m making progress faster than ever. Still, I wouldn’t recommend this situation if you’re a beginner or intermediate student. Don’t move to the country of you target language until you’re an advanced learner/speaker of the language. Where I live nobody speaks English, they wouldn’t even understand me if I’d say something in English. So yes, I have to do everything in Spanish but couldn’t have done this without massive input. I think in Spanish, but only about what I want to say and not about rules. That’s all thanks to the input I’ve received in the past and continue receiving.

So, that is my experience for this week. Next week I’ll try to finish all four seasons of Lost and will start with Los Serrano after that. The problem is that those episodes are rather long and boring at times. Because I don’t want to be bored (remember; if it’s not fun, it’s not good for you) I’ll also watch some Two and a Half Man, Dawson’s Greek and Grey’s Anatomy from time to time. Yes, I know, none of those are originally in Spanish, but I found out that that doesn’t matter too much: you can perfectly learn Spanish from dubbed shows.