I bought the kindle version of this book this some time ago, but just recently started reading it. I really like Andrew's (the author) approach to learning Spanish. He clearly states that he did not invent the method, people have been learning Spanish using these principles for centuries (but not by watching movies, of course!). The basic principle is this: You select a movie, book or song about a topic that interests you, and then look up anything that you don't understand, enter it into an Spaced Repetition System (SRS) such as Anki (free) for continued review. I will use a movie as an example. So, first you dissect the first few minutes of the movie, in Spanish and with Spanish subtitles, and use free resources such as SpanishDict, Google Translate, etc. to look up vocabulary, grammar rules and conjugations etc., for anything that you don't understand. You enter the newly acquired knowledge into Anki, and review it on a daily basis. That's the first basic step of the Telenovela method. The second step is to watch the movie again, while not watching the subtitles. Now you understand what's being said, and you try to mimic the person speaking in the movie, trying to use the exact same speed and manner of speaking. If this sounds easy, trust me, it isn't at first....but it works! I should say, at least it seems to work for me. The downside of this learning method is that it sounds deceptively simple, but it's not, especially in the beginning. There's also a bit more to the method than what meets the eye; you've got to familiarize yourself with the various free resources, and the Anki software. However, Andrew explains all that in detail. The beauty of this method is that it combines something that interests you (motivation) with a Spaced Repetition System such as Anki. Yes, looking up the vocabulary and rules of grammar might take some work, but once you've entered into Anki, the continued review ensures that you learn the material. I've read about this before, but it wasn't until I started using Anki about a week ago that I realized the "magic" of Anki transferring information into my brain for permanent recall. It's really nothing short of amazing. I selected an episode of a series called El Ministerio del Tiempo on Netflix to try out the Telenovela method. I had watched a couple of episodes of this series and found it interesting, so I figured it would keep me engaged. The downside is that I don't own the movie....so I hope Netflix doesn't cancel the series before I've worked my way through the episode! Oh well, if that happens, I will probably just buy the DVD. I am sharing this example because it helps illustrate how the method works. What I discovered was that I was only able to watch a few minutes of the movie at a time, it took me two 1.5 hour study sessions over two days to create about 80 or so Anki flashcards for those first 5 minutes. That sounds time consuming, and yes, it can be. Especially, just starting out; there’s a lot of Spanish that I have to look up. However, even after a few days, it’s becoming progressively easier, and I find that I’m now sometimes able to watch slightly longer segments without having to look anything up. It’s also kind of fun to decipher the meaning of what is being said, so it doesn’t feel like hard work. And because I’m engaged in the plot of the movie, I keep coming back to watching it! I admit it’s a bit tempting to watch the whole movie with English subtitles to see what happens next, but so far I’ve been able to resist that temptation. Please note that my above outline of the basic method is very, very simplified. The actual book contains a multitude of detailed explanations and practical steps. Not to mention links to all the (mostly free) online resources. For this reason, I decided to get the kindle version, so I could click on the links in my Kindle Cloud Reader. At only $7.99, I also felt that there was very little risk in investing in the book!
I found a web site of another Spanish teacher who uses Anki, and I picked up an important tip that seems to be working really well for me. I’ve not finished reading The Telenovela Method, so I haven’t studied the section where Andrew gives specific tips for creating the flash cards. The tip is to use monolingual flash cards. What do I mean by this? Let me share an example. Let’s say the subtitles show the following sentence: “Que Amelia y su gente vayan a verlo, inmediatamente.” If I enter that into SpanishDict, it translates as “Let Amelia and her people go see him immediately” When I first created this card. I would write the English phrase on the “front” or question field, to trigger the correct phrase in Spanish. That is the way I learned English as a second language, and it took me many years until I started “thinking in English.” So this time around, with Spanish, I try to bypass the “translation stage” and immerse myself fully in the Spanish language. So instead of writing the English phrase onto the front of the card, I write something like: “Que Amelia y su gente _____ a verlo, inmediatamente.” The missing word goes into the answer section of the card, and will say “Vayan (inf. ir)” and I include a screenshot from the movie showing the entire sentence in the subtitles. SpanishDict tells me that “vayan” is the third person plural subjunctive form of the verb “ir” (to go). I don’t even know what the subjunctive form is yet (that will come soon!), but I’ve already learned what the sentence means and how to say “let them go and see him,” and I’m also getting a couple of “freebie” words when I review this sentence. What I mean by this is this. I know that “inmediatemente” means “immediately,” but I would never have guessed that’s how you spell it in Spanish. When I review this card, even if I’m trying to recall and learn the word “vayan,” the spelling of the word “inmediatemente” is reinforced.
Maybe I’m going into too much detail in this review, but I’m hoping that perhaps someone else who follows the Telenovela Method will understand what I’m talking about and find it interesting. If you are starting completely from scratch, I would probably recommend some other methods or programs. There is a series of Audible audiobooks by Paul Noble here on Amazon that really helped me grasp the basics. Another great Audible resource is found in the “Learning Spanish Like Crazy” learning bundles by Patrick Jackson, - three levels, basic, intermediate and advanced. I’m currently studying the basic version of the latter for a review of my basic Spanish, and this course provides a very structured approach and has helped me a lot with being able to actually speak Spanish. I still think the Telenovela Method can work if you're an absolute beginner, but it might be best suited for someone who has a basic vocabulary in Spanish and perhaps know how to conjugate regular verbs, but are struggling with putting sentences together. That pretty much describes my level, and maybe using the Telenovela Method works so well because I'm ready for the next level. In fact, the way I use the Telenovela Method is more as an auxiliary learning method in addition to what I'm already doing, and this seems to have put my learning experience on steroids! I hope you have found this review helpful, and if you have any questions or would like to compare notes on learning Spanish, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2017
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2021
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2018
