The best way to improve your understanding of the spoken word is to listen to programmes which are aimed at native speakers of the target language. Even if you do not understand every word, it is a great way to hear and see how the language is used every day, away from the artificiality of programmes especially made for learners.
I've been looking for something similar to the BBC's iPlayer for a long time, and finally found RTVE, which offers complete TV programmes. A lot of them look incredibly boring! But one good programme seems to to be Sacalalengua, which concentrates on language use in an interesting and informative way, often spelling out the words so you can look them us:
www.rtve.es/alacarta
They have features that look at slang, my favourite is Paluego, a crumb that gets caught in your beard that you leave 'pa' luego. :)
A fantastic free podcast which I have found recently is Notes in Spanish, which has since stopped producing podcasts, but is an English husband and Spanish wife who just chat away about topical issues, explaining any new words, without get 'pesado'. You can get it on itunes.
Listening to something like this a couple of times a week is a great way to keep your ear tuned, I listen to it before bed hoping to dream in Spanish!
Monday, 28 December 2009
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