Spanish Podcast For Improving Listening Skills

Spanish Podcast of the Dog Who Chased the Lion

...One of Aesop's Fables...

Podcasts can form an important part of your Spanish Learning. They are easily downloaded and carried on your mp3 or other player. You can practice anywhere. Download this little gem.
Muchas gracias to El Ochito Venezolano who recorded the podcast. It was published to the public domain and may be used in any way you choose.

How to Improve Your Listening Skills with this Podcast

• Listen to the whole thing a few times.

• Try speaking out loud along with the speaker. See Amerigo's Mexican Treasure for tips on speaking with media.

• Jot down some notes as you are listening. This will really make you ears sweat.
  

• If possible, memorize the story. It isn't very long.

• Peek at the transcription if you need to.

El perro que perseguía al león
Podcast in Spanish of The Dog who Chased The Lion

**If the embedded player is not visible or doesn't work: you can still listen to the podcast but it opens on a separate page. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Spanish Transcription of Aesop's Fable

Un perro de caza se encontró con un león y partió en su persecución. Pero el león se volvió rugiendo, y el perro, todo atemorizado, retrocedió rápidamente por el mismo camino. Le vio una zorra y le dijo:

-- ¡ Perro infeliz ! ¡ Primero perseguías al león y ya ni siquiera soportas sus rugidos !

The moral of the story is:

Cuando entres a una empresa, mantente siempre listo a afrontar imprevistos que no te imaginabas.

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Technorati Profile

Sing to Me in Spanish

Music and Memory
When you speak English, a word or situation will often trigger a phrase from a song and if you hear a song it will often take you back to when you listened to it a lot. Think of a lullaby from your childhood, songs you sang around a campfire, your goin'-down-the-road music, a tune from graduation or one from your Spanish immersion program in Guatemala. What happens has nothing to do with the lyrics and notes printed on page of sheet music. The performance of the song stimulates a cascade of images and feelings that transport you to another time and another place.

Yo Recuerdo

Learning new songs is something I still enjoy and benefit greatly from. When I work on a tune, I find I am seldom distracted. I feel fully engaged. I love the idea when watching a music video, that the artist is singing to me. Then I can feel motivated to learn to understand the singer. For me the lyrics are easier to remember when paired with the music. One reminds me of the other. I would be hard-pressed to remember a single line from any Spanish novel I have ever read. But a year from now I'll probably remember songs from the Maná albums I listened to in Guatemala.

Online Translation

Preparing Your Written Work for Translation

Writing in Spanish is probably the most difficult skill to perfect. However, some time you might want to send a message, memo, letter or longer document in Spanish.
If you are stuck and need to jump start your written Spanish you might try using online translation software. I use Babel Fish but there are others.

To get the best results in your Spanish document, you need to polish your English version a bit first.

• Make sure you check your punctuation carefully.

• Try not to use any slang.

• Run your document through a spell-checker and watch your capital letters.

• If you are going to use any abbreviations use common ones. If you're not sure the abbreviation is a standard one, write the word out.

• Try to use simple grammatical constructions; use ordinary word order- don't get too poetic with a machine translator.
  

Using these simple techniques, you should end up with a useful, readable document.

Online Comics in Spanish

W.E.E. has provided us with a great dropdown list of Spanish language comics They started out in July 2004 and have been doing a great job of providing new cartoonists a way to promote their webcomics (comics, mangas, historietas or tebeos, online and most importantly in Spanish.

¿Por qué en español?

Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world yet many are unaware of these graphic works. And those who do know about them have a hard time finding them. Well, now you've found them and I hope you enjoy reading everything from graphic novels to daily cartoons.

In their own words: ¡Webcomiqueros hispanos, UNÍOS!

How to Improve Your Spanish Fluency with DVD Movies

DVDs are Perfect for Spanish Learners.

Video tape is good for watching the movie. Spanish movies on VHS were usually dubbed in English or had English subtitles. We tend to watch them passively letting them wash over us.

The DVD has changed all that. Not only can you watch a Spanish movie in Spanish, you can now watch even a Hollywood movie in:

• English;

• English with Spanish subtitles;

• Spanish;
  

• Spanish with English subtitles,

• and my personal favourite- Spanish with Spanish subtitles.

How to Do It

1. Pick a movie with a Spanish sound track. Pick one that is not so gripping that you get caught up in the action and flip on the English track to catch every detail. On the other hand it can't be so dull as to put you to sleep.

2. Watch a scene with the Spanish sound track and no subtitles. See if you can get the gist of the scene from body language, context and of course spoken Spanish.

3. Watch the same scene with the Spanish sound track and with the Spanish subtitles turned on. See how much more you can understand.

Note: The subtitles don't tend to match the spoken dialogue exactly but that is a small matter and if you notice this you are doing well indeed.

3. Watch the scene with the Spanish sound track and the English subtitles turned on.

Bonus Fluency Tips for the Keeners

1. The really great contribution of DVD players to Spanish learning is that it is random access. We can repeat scenes, phrases or words very quickly and precisely. Use these features to review the difficult parts. Speak aloud along with the actors.

2. Some DVD players, and hard drive based viewing systems such as media players and virtual DVD players also allow you to slow down the movie. If you have access to this feature, try slowing down the fast or wordy bits.

3. You can try writing down some of the dialogue. This is to help you focus on the exact details of what is said. It is not a written exercise.

See also previous article on:

Learn Spanish Talking to Your TV.