Do Spaniards Talk a Lot? 5 Expressions That Prove It
Darle a la sin hueso, hablar como un loro, enrollarse como una persiana: five Spanish expressions for people who talk a lot, with examples.
Reading the newspaper is one of the best ways to study Spanish. You don’t need to know a lot to start, but you do need to go step by step. Don’t begin with a 10,000-word opinion piece: start with a simple 200-word news story. What matters most is the satisfaction of understanding. Here’s where to start, and how to move on to radio and TV news.
Start with the basics. In Spain there is a newspaper called 20 minutes, named for the time it supposedly takes to read it. As a learner you’ll need a bit longer, but not much. Its news is short and, thanks to the context, not too hard to follow, and its local news helps you get to know the city you live in. Read a little every day.
Another option, with more levels, is Pratique de l'espagnol, the Spanish-learning site of the EFE news agency. It offers news texts, videos and audio adapted to different levels, with grammar and vocabulary practice too.
To raise your level, move on to mainstream newspapers. They are harder, both for vocabulary and grammar, and because many stories need more context: understanding another country’s politics is not easy.
There are plenty of options, with different political leanings and topics:
Radio is the hardest step: you have less context, no pictures and journalists speak fast. Be patient. Before tackling the news, try current-affairs podcasts on topics you like. Once you’re ready, try Cadena SER, Spain’s most listened-to radio station. For podcast ideas, see our list of the best podcasts to learn Spanish.
TV is somewhere in between: harder than reading, easier than radio, because the images help. The hardest part is context, so international news will probably be easier than Spanish news at first. The best place to start is RTVE, which you can also watch on the RTVE Play app.
Reading the news is a great way to learn, as long as you accept your limits at first. If you want to talk about the news in Spanish, come to one of our conversation classes: we’ll bring the coffee. Start with our free level test.
Darle a la sin hueso, hablar como un loro, enrollarse como una persiana: five Spanish expressions for people who talk a lot, with examples.
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