Best TV series to learn Spanish

Learning a language through series and films is a really good (and fun) way of exposing yourself to the language naturally at the same time as connecting with something that you enjoy doing… So, basically, a double win! 

For me, it was “Friends”. My visit to the States back in 2002 helped me discover this hilarious all time series and develop real commitment to improving my English through understanding what they were saying. It even became addictive because the more I understood, the more motivated I felt to keep learning the slang, the expressions, the jokes...

This was a huge insight for me, to connect my learning with something that I thoroughly enjoyed. I could recall the language so much easier because what I had learned made sense and it was contextualized.

For Pete it has been “Cuéntame cómo pasó” without a doubt. This is the longest running Spanish series which tells the recent history of Spain through a typical family “La familia Alcántara”.

This is an amazing series not only to learn Spanish, but also to understand the depths of Spanish culture. It has helped Pete so much over the years with his understanding of Spanish people, traditions, behaviours … It’s definitely our favourite!

But of course it’s not the only one, “La casa de papel” is a hugely popular choice. Also,  “Velvet”, “Las chicas del cable” and “Vis a Vis” to name a few. 

Where can you find them?

Cuéntame cómo pasó - https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/cuentame-como-paso/

La casa de papel - Netfix

Velvet - Netflix

Las chicas del cable - Netflix

Vis a Vis - Amazon prime

How to watch them depending of your level of Spanish

My advice is that if you are a complete beginner, then watch them in Spanish with English subtitles if they are available. This way you’ll start to be familiar with how the language sounds, the rhythm and  intonation of Spanish. 

But as soon as you know the basics of Spanish, the next step is to switch to Spanish subtitles. This may be a bit hard at first as it is a slow process. You´ll need to stop many times, keep checking vocabulary and write the most relevant down. 

But if you persevere, you will find this process highly gratifying as your efforts will pay off massively over time.

I encourage you to have a go and decide which one works for you! And if you’ve already watched any of them, I’d love to hear your thoughts and how easy/difficult you found them :)

Enjoy,

Cristina