Telenovelas

I started studying German (again) last fall, but it's just been in the past few months that I have really kicked it into high gear.  I've always heard that if you know a second language, learning a third is easier.  I'm not buying it.  Learning German is hard work.

The only advantage I see to having already learned another language is that I know how I learn best.  One thing I found that really helped me strengthen my ear for Spanish was watching telenovelas.  I can't say that I know enough yet to strengthen anything in German, but I'm learning a lot watching a German telenovela. Yes, the Germans have telenovelas, and they  follow the same format as their Latin American counterparts: boy meets girl, but then boy loses girl many times thanks to some terrible/meddlesome people and unfortunate circumstances.  However, in the end (and there is always an end),  the bad guys get what is coming to them, and the good guys live happily ever after. FIN.

Telenovelas are great for learning a language.  Since you don't have to focus on the plot (really, we all know the plot already), you can concentrate on what's being said.  So, I've been watching Lena - Liebe Meines Lebens on the German channel ZDF (the website has captions, too!).  I have to admit that this one comes with an extra load of cheese, but it's entertaining.  Besides, where else are you going to learn words like Lösegeld (ransom) and Hirntumor (brain tumor)?