Chinese movies of TV shows for improving listening comprehension

[blandmc]

Hi all!

So... I am getting to the point where I think I might benefit from more immersion in listening comprehension activities but would like to do it in a more fun way than listening to listening drills, etc. I have found in that past that while listening to music is enjoyable it is not overly practical in learning language because it is not a real way of speaking. In the past with other languages I just went out to bars, chatted up girls, and got girlfriends that didn't speak my language. Being that I am married now, my wife takes objection to this obviously ideal way of improving listening and speaking... I can't imagine why.

In any case, I thought perhaps watching some good Chinese movies or TV shows might help me. I tried watching a few on my own and recommendations from Chinese people here in Shanghai, but they have all proved far too difficult or hideously boring. Any DVDs I get in China never have English subtitles, so I just have to use Chinese subtitles and watch the movie...which is OK, though sometimes I like to watch multiple times and watching once with English subtitles to get the story can help. No chance to do that here.

Therefore - I am appealing to the westerners out there who may have knowledge of some good TV programs or movies that are not so difficult to understand and are hopefully entertaining. Please let me know any ideas.

For your reference I have been in China just over 1 year. I last took the HSK in April 2009 after 6 months here and got a level 3 on the old one. I would guess if I took it again now (I will in November) I should get a level 4. Reading and writing is not bad for me, but listening is tough as I haven't been immersed.

Anyway... thanks in advance for any ideas!

-michael

[889]

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/24097-tv-series-recommendations-and-index-thread/

[blandmc]

Awesome - that is the perfect thread.

I actually DID do a forum wide search before posting of course and found nothing. Curious as to why... I certainly thought it was strange it hadn't been covered before.. maybe the search function on this board is not very reliable.

Anyway, thanks a million!!

[renzhe]

Well, that was easy.

Please don't forget to post a comment in the discussion threads if you end up watching one of those, it keeps the place lively! If you are looking for anything specific, just ask.

[Cheng_Tsui]

You could also try China Scene - it has transcripts of original Chinese TV broadcasts:

http://www.cheng-tsui.com/store/products/china_scene

[blandmc]

Sure thing. I was thinking of trying to buy the DVDs for those shows at one of the many shops around Shanghai tomorrow.

I was going to try to start with 家有儿女 since it seems a bit easier to understand perhaps and at least it comes in shorter time segments. We'll see if I can find the DVDs...

[renzhe]

家有儿女 is not terribly.... well, good but if you are looking at it as exercise, then it's quite easy and modern in terms of language.

The biggest problem with TV series is the lack of really easy shows in terms of language. Once you get to the intermediate level, you have many more options.

[blandmc]

yeah - i watched the first episode and it is crap as far as I can tell. My Chinese teacher also said there is really nothing easy enough for me to watch until my Chinese is fairly advanced (i.e. high intermediate level... I would say now I am at a low intermediate level or very advance beginner).

I found the show far too difficult due to:

- the DVD graphic quality is good but somehow the subtitles are very blurry and hard to read

- they talk SOOOOOOOO fast - seems unnaturally so. Maybe due to the sitcom/comedy style

- seems like they use fairly difficult words.

I would guess I understood about 30% max the first run through of episode one.

Even so... I was able to see some usage of words I knew but hadn't been aware of the usage. So, I think it will be useful for me to endure the crap show and practice listening.

I look forward to improving my level enough in the next year or two that eventually I might be able to enjoy some better quality shows/movies.

Again - thanks for the advice!

[Gleaves]

Shows are tough at first, but stick with it (I'm guessing your teacher didn't mean to discourage, but nonetheless I totally disagree that you need to be advanced to enjoy shows).

魔幻手机 is ridiculous and fun. Its easy to watch even with little comprehension. I also loved 痞子英雄. They are intermediate level, but I'd suggest them over suffering through something easier. Here are two thread on cartoons in Chinese, if you want to go that route. Here and Here. Cartoons can be a bit easier, but are still surprisingly tough.

加油.

[blandmc]

thanks for the encouragement!

I will keep those shows in mind if I reach a point where I can no longer bear 家有儿女... or if I amazingly suffer through it all and look for something else. I'd rather avoid the cartoons, but thanks for the suggestions.

[rob07]

魔幻手机 is ridiculous and fun. Its easy to watch even with little comprehension.

Agree with Gleaves. I think this is probably easier than 家有儿女, simply because 魔幻手机 has a lot of fighting, chasing and visual gags to break things up, whereas 家有儿女 is mostly dialogue, some of it quite tricky.

[WoAiJolinTsai]

I like Taiwan talk shows

Try these ones

康熙来了

大学生了没

tvbs哈新闻

娱乐百分百

they are all good and usually have subtitles you can watch along with

Enjoy!