How You Can Learn Spanish Better Through the Arts

Do you want to learn Spanish and enjoy yourself at the same time?  There are many ways to do this.  If you're a person who enjoys the arts, a good way to learn Spanish is to take pleasure in the arts of Spanish speaking countries.  

There is a great deal of very good literature that comes from Spanish cultures.  You can go to the libraries in cities and even larger towns to find Spanish literature in its original language.  Ask the librarian or do a search in the computerized catalog under Spanish language writers.  

If you take time to learn Spanish to a certain extent before you try this, you will have the best results.  This is a practice that is mainly meant to improve already existing language skills.  After you check out a book that seems interesting, begin to try reading it.  You will come to words and phrases you don't understand.  

This is when it is good to have someone who will help you learn Spanish by answering your questions.  If you don't have someone like that, you can sometimes get into a discussion group, whether in person or on-line.  This is also a good way to learn Spanish culture because there are novelists and poets from virtually every Spanish speaking country.  

Another way to learn Spanish through the arts is by watching Spanish language movies.  One way to learn which movies are good is to find out which have been nominated to win foreign language Academy Awards.  There have been some very moving and sometimes funny movies that have been acknowledged.  

When you watch the movies, there are often subtitles.  Don't take these words as an exact translation.  They usually are just an approximation, and sometimes not even that.  As you listen carefully to the words, you will find the subtitles hilarious at times in their inaccuracies.  Watching a movie gives you context for language and makes it easier to learn Spanish.  

Even Spanish language television, although perhaps a lower form of art, can help you to learn Spanish as well.  The nice thing about television is that there is a constant supply of programs.  You can watch and learn Spanish every day.  

There are different types of programs.  There are many Spanish soap operas.  This might not be the type of program you would normally watch.  However, you will find a lot of common usages that will help you learn Spanish.  There are also dramas, game shows, and even sit-coms.  

People who aren't even trying to learn Spanish have been doing it for years through listening to Spanish language songs.  The trick is to find a song that has lyrics clear enough to understand completely.  Then, sit down with a recorder and tape the song.  

Once you have the song recorded, you can go through it a phrase at a time.  Write down each phrase as you hear it.  Then use the Spanish you know along with your Spanish-English dictionary to translate it.  Pretty soon you will learn Spanish from the song enough to sing it as you work.  

If you learn Spanish better through the arts, you will have enhanced your language skills while gaining a deeper understanding of life.  After all, that's what the arts are all about.