Anyone interested in the possibility of using videos taped from Spanish TV for their Spanish class? I would be willing to look into it if there is interest. There might be copyright problems, but it is my understanding that international copyright says that copies can be made for educational use if there is no profit being made. The format would have to be switched from PAL to NTSC, or maybe put on a CD, and these expenses, media and shipping would be expected to be paid by the person ordering. Also what type of show/s would you like to have, game shows, soap operas, drama, culture?

Then again maybe it would be totally illegal. . . anyone out there have information on the topic?

I would definitely reccomend it to any Spanish teachers on the board! I taught some of my friends over the summer using videos of Operacion Triunfo and they learned a TON of Spanish (maybe not all PROPER Spanish but....). Many of them had been studying without success for years and said they were thrilled to finally have something to actually connect the words and lessons to. Language and culture are very much connected to each other and I think a language student should be introduced to the culture of a country in the first year of study. That's what my Spanish teacher did and my Russian teacher didn't do. After 4 years of Spanish I'm fluent... I never reached a level of being able to speak Russian. Without seeing a television show or film or hearing music, language is just a string of abstract grammar rules and generic voices on language lab tapes. They wouldn't understand a thing if they went to most countries without having ever been exposed to what daily Spanish language sounds like!

As for changing tapes, VCRs are availible that play both kinds of videos. I got mine for about $200 a few years back. A lot of laptops with DVD roms don't have region coding either.

Is it really illegal to show a TV program for non-profit educational purposes? If so, THAT should be illegal!

Melinda