Quote: (01-16-2015 06:53 PM)getdownonit Wrote:
Obviously real, local films will give you a better sense of the culture, slang, mannerisms, etc. that you aren't going to get from a dubbed Disney flick.
I agree that local films are the most desirable.
But I do think there is some value of dubbed movies for a language learner. As much as I hate dubbed movies, because they are required to be synced up to the timing of the English language, the Spanish will be spoken at a much slower pace than a straight Spanish movie. I find dubbed movies a lot easier to understand for this reason.
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The best countries to learn Spanish in my opinion, because of clarity and easiness of native tongue, are Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, and Ecuador. The worst places in my opinion to learn Spanish are the Caribbean countries, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile.
I agree with you on all except Cuba. They speak a Spanish that is pleasing to the ear and not too fast, but is often missing syllables as is the case with most Caribbean Spanish dialects, including Caribbean Colombia.
If I were to choose a country to learn Spanish, based just on the accent, it would be Colombia followed by Mexico, then Nicaragua or elsewhere in Central America. Ecuador and Peru are also good options.
If you're trying to learn Spanish with a Spain accent, slang etc. I would go to Madrid, Salamanca, Santander, or somewhere in central-northern Spain. This area has the most neutral accent and you'll be surrounded by 100% Spanish speakers, as opposed to Barcelona for example where you'll easily get confused with Catalan and not be as immersed in Spanish. Whatever you do don't go to Andalucia to learn Spanish. Unless you'll be living there long term and becoming fluent, learn a more standard accent. A few girls at my university studied abroad there for a semester or year and came back speaking the worst type of hybrid, grating second-language Sevilla Spanish that was damn near impossible to understand.
The reason why I put Cuba there is because I had a number of friends who started there and did well with picking up Spanish. But yes, the weak pronunciation of constants is something that isn't helpful to a beginner speaker.
I've never been to Nicaragua, but if you think it's a great dialect than it's hard to pass off as one of the best in LA because of the relative cost of formal lessons there.
The best Spanish for beginners I have encountered so far is Ecuador. The Andean regions, particularly places like Loja, and to a lesser extent Quito, are super clear and at a good pace for a beginner's ear. Actually funny enough, Chilango (Mexico City) and Andean Ecuador Spanish were quite similar bizarrely enough, which made it easier for me because Mexican Spanish is what I first learned and have become accustomed to the most.
Colombia was pretty good but had quite a bit of variance. I found the Caribbean area of Colombia quite ugly Spanish wise and was quite hard to understand.