I’ve seen several learners of Spanish ask how they can improve their understanding of spoken Spanish. I’m sure there are a lot of ways of doing that but I’d like to share an easy method with you here, using street interview videos in Spanish that have subtitles in both Spanish and English.
Before you get started you should subscribe to the “Easy Spanish” channel on YouTube. I’ve put one of their videos below here:
Now to the actual method of using the Easy Spanish videos for maximum benefit:
- Watch the video while reading the English subtitles.
- Watch the video a second time while reading the Spanish subtitles.
- Watch the video a third time without reading any subtitles.
In the beginning you might have to repeat the whole process a few times, depending on your current level. You can also slow down the speed of the video if needed, although it shouldn’t really be necessary in most of the videos.
There might be other channels that have videos with bilingual subtitles, but Easy Spanish has a lot of videos and they tend to be quite short (usually around 10 minutes or less), making it easier to watch the videos multiple times.
Let me know in the comments what you think of this method and/or if you know of other easy ways of improving one’s comprehension of spoken Spanish.
Is it possible to turn off the subtitles? I like to first listen without subtitles, then with spanish subtitles.
Hi Lisa. Sorry for not replying until now! I don’t think you can turn off the subtitles on that particular channel.