instagram practice

 i've kept my duolingo going but now, after nearly five years, i'm finding it, other than making sure i do it every day, counterproductive in terms of actually learning. what i am getting a lot out of is spanish language instagram. it gives me the instant hit of duolingo but, and especially if it has spanish subtitles (english subtitles not helpful), i have to read and listen at a native speakers pace at the same time. my current favourites are - 

jimena gonik - a disc a day for 366 days is just a joy. and while she does the english language classics there are cantantes in here i've never heard of. brilliant!

victor del valle - i had a lot to do with hairdressers back in the day so this is well within my comfort zone. what i like is the repetitive nature of the interaction, the speed of the chat and watching victor's skills. he gets some stick in the comments for limited technique but what he's doing he's doing well so i'm not bothered.

erik dominguez - cooking! and in an accent i can actually understand!

ingemar albertsson - okay not spanish but ingemar is such a dude i can't leave him out. plus, far more than french or spanish, or even dutch, i've always struggled with comprehension in swedish. moreso now i have no chance to speak it but i don't want to let it die. there's some really specific vocabulary and the swedishness is dialled! lol

eduardo girardin - my italian is now where near not needing english subtitles but, in addition to not liking italian duo much, this reminds me of why i love italian so much

cheikh niang - more food! as with erik dominguez lots of great kitchen language. plus, west african french is where i started french as a kid, so i can't not love it

obvs i listen to more spanish than anything else but i listen to all of these more or less regularly. native speakers speaking to native speakers is great and all of them have big easy to read subtitles in the target language (except eduardo). in spanish, it's also helping me get to grips with different accents and modes of expression. i find these short clips less demanding than listening to the radio or watching something on tv (netflix spanish viewing a whole other thing!)

that said, i do like me some french radio.  i haven't found spanish speech radio i like yet but i'll do a music station. alternatively theres always the cycling in dutch, which i'm not sure if i really understand, or if i'm cheating because i know what they're talking about! whatever, it fills the house with a vibe that's not english!