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Intermediate Spanish: Understanding spoken Spanish
Intermediate Spanish: Understanding spoken Spanish

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5.1 Interlingual subtitles

In this activity you are going to explore and practise the use of subtitles to support your comprehension and your language learning while watching and listening to Dr Celia Sánchez-Ramos.

Of course, subtitles are not only used for learning. Many people use subtitles when they watch films, documentaries or even when they watch music videos. Answer these questions to reflect on your own use of subtitles.

Actividad 18

Do you tend to use subtitles when watching films in Spanish or in other languages?

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Do you use subtitles in English (or your mother tongue) or in Spanish?

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If you use English or mother tongue subtitles, in what circumstances do you decide to use them?

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Answer

You might choose subtitles in your own language for a variety of reasons:

  • To help with understanding unfamiliar accents
  • Because I have hearing problems
  • To make sure I don't miss any information

If you decide to use subtitles in Spanish when watching a Spanish film, why might this be?

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Answer

You might choose subtitles in Spanish for these sort of reasons:

  • To understand everything
  • To learn new words
  • To learn new accents
  • To cope with unfamiliar accents

Actividad 19

Though you may find the use of subtitles distracting or tiring when you start, you will develop strategies to use them effectively the more you become accustomed to seeing them on screen.

Let’s look at interlingual subtitles first. Listen to Celia and find out what kind of person she is. Click the button marked CC on the screen and then watch the video with the subtitles in English turned on.

Download this video clip.Video player: openlearn_l116_2017_vid002_eng-640x360.mp4
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Transcript

Celia
Las personas que me conocen en el día a día de trabajo, eh, mis hijos por ejemplo también, pues yo creo que me describirían como una persona activa, vital, eh… generalmente de buen humor, pero cuando me enfado, seria y rotunda. Y… afable con la gente, eh, yo creo que en general una persona de trato fácil.
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Actividad 20

In this video Celia talks about the things that make her happy. Watch the video with the English subtitles turned on and decide whether the statements are true or false.

Download this video clip.Video player: openlearn_l116_2017_vid003_eng-640x360.mp4
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Transcript

Celia
Yo creo que me hacen felices [feliz] muchas cosas, yo soy fácil de contentar en ese sentido. No le pido a la vida grandes hitos. Mm… me hace feliz el trabajo bien hecho, me hace feliz una buena respuesta, me hace feliz, mm… mm… sentirme útil, me hace feliz eh… sí. Me hace feliz, mm… saber que me voy a caer y me voy a levantar. Es decir, esto que dan los años que tiene que ver con la madurez, que tiene que ver con la falta de miedo.
La gente no se esperaría de mí, pues, a lo mejor que sea una buena ama de casa. Pues no se esperarían de mí, mi entorno, eso, no lo soy. Entonces no se lo esperan porque no lo soy.
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a. 

Verdadero


b. 

Falso


The correct answer is a.

a. 

Verdadero


b. 

Falso


The correct answer is a.

a. 

Verdadero


b. 

Falso


The correct answer is a.

a. 

Verdadero


b. 

Falso


The correct answer is b.

a. 

Verdadero


b. 

Falso


The correct answer is b.

Actividad 21

Watch the final part of the video. Watch it without subtitles. Then put the following list of things Celia values in the order she mentions them in the video. Check your answer in the transcript.

Download this video clip.Video player: openlearn_l116_2017_vid004-640x360.mp4
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Transcript

Celia
En mi vida es importante la…, la amistad por supuesto, eh, hacer agradable la vida de mi entorno, eh, sentirme bien conmigo misma, ¡muy importante! Cada día, muy importante, poner objetivos a corto plazo y a medio plazo, satisfacerme cuando los cumplo, ilusionarme con nuevas metas y ¡ah! la automotivación, el…, quizás sea una de mis normas de vida, la automotivación, que, en mi opinión, está íntimamente ligada a la madurez.
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Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

  1. La amistad

  2. Hacer agradable la vida de mi entorno

  3. Sentirme bien conmigo misma

  4. Poner objetivos a corto plazo y a medio plazo

  5. Ilusionarme con nuevas metas

  6. La automotivación

  • a.Sixth:

  • b.Fifth:

  • c.Second:

  • d.Fourth:

  • e.Third:

  • f.First:

The correct answers are:
  • 1 = f
  • 2 = c
  • 3 = e
  • 4 = d
  • 5 = b
  • 6 = a