Learning Spanish Tips: Using Free Online media to Improve Fluency

Tips and Tweaks: Make Your Best Podcast and Attract More Fans

2008-05-18T20:10:00.006-06:00

Do you enjoy listening to podcasts as much as I do? Many of us spend quite a bit of time listening to them. Today we are blessed by a proliferation of topics and an increasing number of podcasts in languages other than English. I listen to all sorts of podcasts in four languages. There are more and more podcasts all the time. Even two years ago there weren't many in Spanish let alone Italian or Portuguese. Today there multiple directories of podcasts in more than a hundred languages.

Now, podcasts are listened to by people from all over the globe. People like to listen to podcasts in their native language. However, there are hundreds of thousands of people who listen to podcasts in a language that is not their native tongue. What does this mean to the podcaster? My guess is that most podcasters, other than language-teaching podcasters, don't realize how many non-native speakers listen to their podcasts. I suspect too, that if they are aware of this market they might not have thought too much about what to do with the opportunity.

A Simple Tweak to Keep International Listeners.

I listened to one Spanish podcaster who had interesting content that was exceptionally well presented. But...... he ran a tuneless background music track that was a tad too loud. I am guessing that a native speaker would easily follow the podcaster. But alas, I am not a native speaker and the background sound distracted me and made it difficult to focus on and follow the excellent dialogue. I listened to the podast a few times as I usually do to catch more detail. But I couldn't mentally block out that background murmur which was the same on every podcast on that site. This was a fatal flaw to my ear and consequently after listening to five episodes several times I took it off my Best Spanish Podcasts bookmark list and haven't been back.

This podcast could be a great podcast. The only tweak this podcast needs in order to cast an even wider net, is to turn off the background music or at least turn it down. He might also try test-driving his podcast. Letting a few other podcasters or friends listen to his choice of music and the recording levels could help a lot.

Thus without slowing down his rate of delivery; without using simpler grammatical structures or frequent rephrasing; and without changing one word of vocabulary a broader listener base could more easily understand and enjoy his podcasts.

Tips and Tweaks: Make Your Best Spanish Podcast by Using Less Work.

2008-04-17T01:47:00.006-06:00

This means that there is a lot more choice. With choice, the standards against which we measure how badly we want to listen to a given podcast tend to rise. In other words we get pickier. We listen to the best spanish podcasts we can find.

For example, over the past five or six years I have been trying to develop my Spanish listening comprehension. At first I would listen to anything in Spanish in hopes that I might understand something. I listened to topics in which I had absolutely no interest; I listened to songs in styles I would never consider were the lyrics in English; I watched Spanish language movies on VHS. Why VHS? Because DVD's often have multiple language tracks and if I got caught up in the movie, I would cheat by turning off the Spanish track and turning on the English one.

Fortunately these efforts have paid off. Now my ear is a lot keener and I can follow most conversations. And just as I can tell in a few seconds whether I want to watch a given a video in English on Youtube, I can now tell if I have any interest in a Spanish podcast's topic or whether I want to spend time listening to that particular podcaster.

In other words I am listening to many podcas, not as an exercise, but because I have an interest in the actual content of the podcast.

More and more, podcasts are being listened to by people from all over the globe. People like to listen to podcasts in their native language. However, there are hundreds of thousands of people who listen to podcasts in a language that is not their native tongue.

What does this mean to the podcaster? My guess is that most podcasters, other than language-teaching podcasters, don't realize how many non-native speakers listen to their podcasts. I suspect too, that if they are aware of this market they might not have considered what to do with the opportunity.

A Very Simple Tweak.

I listened to one Spanish podcaster who had interesting content that was exceptionally well presented. But... He ran a tuneless background music track tha, but alas, I am not a native speaker and the background sound distracted me and made it difficult to focus on and follow the excellent dialogue.

I listened to the podcast a few times as I usually do to catch more detail. However, I couldn't mentally block out that background murmur which was the same on every podcast on that site. This was a fatal flaw to my ear and consequently after listening to five episodes several times, I took it off my Listen To list and haven't been back.

This podcast could be a great podcast. . The only tweak this podcast needs in order to cast an even wider net, is to turn off the background music or at least turn down the levels on the music track.

Thus without slowing down his rate of delivery; without using simpler grammatical structures or frequent rephrasing; and without changing one word of vocabulary, this podcaster, with absolutely no extra effort could make his podcast a Best Spanish Podcast for a broader spectrum of listeners.

Best Spanish Podcast Sites: Desde el Baño

2008-04-05T01:39:00.005-06:00

Podcasts are an excellent way to keep your Spanish skills tuned up. There are many podcasts available but for the language learner not all podcasts are created equal.

Here is a sweet little treasure. This podcast is done by an Argentinian named Sofia.

Her podcast description reads:

"La idea del Podcast es darle la posibilidad a todos los que estén interesados, de aprender el vocabulario y las expresiones más comunes de la Argentina. Para poder aprovecharlo, es necesario tener un conocimiento previo de español."

"The idea of the podcast is to give you the possibility to learn vocabulary and common Argentinian expressions. To benefit a previous knowledge of Spanish is needed."

These podcasts are perhaps most suited to advanced-intermediate (and up) learners. Although, if you slow the speed of your player*, an intermediate-level listener could probably follow the podcast pretty well.

The podcast is inactive; the last entry is dated September 30, 2007. However, fortunately for us, the site is still up and the archives are available.

Some examples of her tags/topics are:

Acentos(6), Errores(3), Fotos(6), Futbol(4), Peliculas(3), Preguntas de oyentes(2), and Vocabulario(10).

Her delivery is pretty speedy but her sentence are fairly short. She uses a lot of rephrasing and question and answer structures which make the presentation easier to follow. She speaks in full sentences and controls the level of vocabulary and slang. In one podcast she mentions that she doesn't speak as quickly as she does with her friends nor does she use slang and sentence fragments as she would with them.

The sound quality of the podcast clean, consistent and well-edited.

*If you have difficulty following the podcast, you might try downloading the file and playing it in Windows Media. You can slow down the speed and make it easier to understand.

If you like the podcasts, there are a couple of her quizzes on the Quizilla site.

I highly recommend Desde el Baño as one of my picks for Best Spanish Podcast Sites.

Best Spanish Podcast Sites: SpanishPod

2008-03-26T04:21:00.009-06:00

Podcasts are an excellent way to keep your Spanish skills tuned up. There are many podcasts available but for the language learner not all podcasts are created equal.

Featured Podcast : SpanishPod

This site features Spanish Lessons in podcast format. Each session consists of two or occasionally three speakers. If there is a third speaker, it is usually a guest. In all but the advanced level there is a native English speaker who usually explains things in English but is also fluent (to my ear) in Spanish. The native Spanish speaker almost always uses Spanish only.

This is a prolific website. There are weekly podcasts at five different levels, each with its own archive.

To date the archives contain the following: newbie (33 lessons), elementary (26), intermediate (18 lessons) , upper intermediate (13 lessons), and advanced (8 lessons).

If you dig a little you can find the Extra section. It is called Del Taco al Tango. These are in Spanish only and are very interesting.

This description is from their website.

"Del Taco al Tango is a show about the various cultural difference in Latin America; from Mexico to Argentina and everything in between! In this series, we will have guests from around Latin American sharing their slang, their national dishes, their jokes, and much more! We are trying not only to help you learn Spanish, but also to help you understand how we think, talk, and behave in the Spanish-speaking world."

PRODUCTION QUALITY

These podcasts are professional studio quality. The sound is very clean with no distractions. Each lesson has an annoying little plug for their CD lessons but is a small price to pay for the free podcasts.

NOTES

The type of Spanish on these podcasts is very clearly spoken, i.e. well-enunciated, grammatically correct and spoken in full sentences. There is little slang except to draw attention to a word or phrase. In other words this is not street- Spanish nor even the spontaneous fragmented rapid-fire Spanish spoken among friends and family.

The topics are of general interest with nothing too too esoteric or specialized. The presenters are always professional and personable and have no axes to grind.

All in all I highly recommend this site to Spanish learners at all levels wanting to improve, especially their listening comprehension skills.

Spanishpod main page

Best Spanish Podcast Sites: Notes in Spanish

2007-12-01T00:47:00.003-06:00

Podcasts are an excellent way to keep your Spanish skills tuned up. There are many podcasts available but for the language learner not all podcasts are created equal.

NOTES IN SPANISH

Notes in Spanish is a series of podcasts produced by Ben and Marina. They are married couple living in Madrid . Marina is from Madrid. Ben, who from England, has lived in Spain for over eight years and is now fluent in Spanish.

They put a lot of thought, flair, and charm into their work. Over the hundred plus podcasts you learn more than Spanish. You learn quite a bit about Ben and Marina; their likes and dislikes, their histories, their relationship, their families and friends and so on.

INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED LEVELS

Their site includes audio podcasts and several video podcasts. Until recently, they have produced two levels of podcast in Spanish: Spanish Podcast - Intermediate and Spanish Podcast - Advanced. Both these levels are produced completely in Spanish. The intermediate series uses simpler sentence structure, slightly easier vocabulary and grammar, and flows along at a gentler speed than the advanced series.

INSPIRED BEGINNERS

This summer Ben and Marina began a new series called Inspired Beginners. Inspired Beginners targets learners with a basic knowledge of Spanish grammar and vocabulary, who want to improve their listening skills and abilites in conversational Spanish. Even if you can follow the intermediate and advanced podcasts, it is well worth listening to Inspired Beginners. You get a pretty good review of your Spanish and can learn many ways to make yourself sound more Spanish.

Inspired Beginners podcasts are excellent language-learning programmes. Each session begins with a review, in English, of the highlights of the previous podcast. They continue in a mixture of English and Spanish explaining the new phrases and vocabulary. They demonstrate these points in Spanish and give you a chance to practice. They then move to a pre-recorded conversation in Spanish that gives you a chance to hear everything you have just learned in context.

PRODUCTION QUALITY

The production quality of these podcasts is very high. The voices are balanced in volume, tone and intensity. In other words they are speaking at the same distance from their mike, or if they are using two mikes, the mikes are matched in terms of quality. The sound levels remain constant throughout the podcast. There is also no music or sound effects or other clutter in the background. They are a joy to listen to, so do give them a visit.
Inspired Beginners Podcasts
Intermediate Spanish Podcast
Advanced Spanish Podcast
Video Blogging

Singing with Stars in Spanish Part 2: Mana

2007-07-15T21:59:00.000-06:00

Amerigo likes to Sing

I like singing in Spanish with the Stars. One of my favourite bands from Mexico is Mana. I only found out about them a few years ago when I was staying with a family in Guatemala while studying Spanish. I asked the kids in the family who their favourite singing stars were.

Amerigo is Culturally Challenged

They said "of course there's Mana" and gave me the 'but of course you've listened to them for so many years you probably have all their albums' look. I said I hadn't heard of Mana. This caused quite a stir in the family and I was whisked off to el mercado the next day to hit the stalls. They loaded me up with some great stuff and I have enjoyed Mana and others ever since.

Amerigo Finds Something Other than Videos of Bottle Rockets on YouTube

Imagine my delight when I found Mana videos on YouTube. I had listened to many of Mana's albums before I thought of looking up a Mana on Youtube. It is quite a different experience to see them perform even on video.

This Squidoo site is dedicated to Mana and features some Mana videos with lyrics, trivia , a history of the band from when they were called the Green Hats to their latest tour and a look at a few of their albums.

Enjoy singing along with a few videos of these Mexican superstars.

Amerigo is going on holidays until mid-September. I'll see you then.

Singing With Spanish Stars

2007-07-08T01:04:00.000-06:00

On Music videos

Here is a nice little site called called Singing With Videos in Spanish
It features Music Videos in Spanish that you can sing along with. The lyrics are written out to follow and there is even a karaoke version of one of the songs. The songs are written and performed by Rock Superstar Julietta Venegas whose quirky videos are fun to watch and whose songs are infinitely singable. This is a great way to pick up a few more phrases of Spanish in a very enjoyable manner.
http://www.squidoo.com/singvideospanish

Radio Canada International Experiments with Time-Shifting: Ends Up in the Past

2007-07-01T20:57:00.000-06:00

Radio Canada International (RCI) Broadcasts in Shortwave around the world. They produce superb daily programming in English, French, Spanish, and other languages. They have a well deserved world-wide following.

They also broadcast online. Their programs used to be available for download in mp3 format. It was great to download a weekend review of the news in Spanish and listen to it while exercising or driving or sitting in the shade. The new world of online broadcasting was wonderful.

Then one dark and stormy night RCI reported they had some copyright issues. Changes were in the wind. What would be their response? What would some of broadcasting's brightest minds come up with? How would they lead us through to a new age of media dissemination?

The media savvy use and interact using a half-dozen delivery modes, often in one day. Millions make their own 'casts of one sort or many. These new Sociocasters insist on choices. If the choice isn't there they'll go elsewhere or more than likely they'll create a new format to get what they want. For millions this is not the future, this is the current base-line.

In the context of these trends, RCI reviewed their copyright issues and came up with a brilliant set of recommendations. They came up with a truly lateral conclusion. They stopped making broadcasts available for download. The exact title of the report was something like, An Off-White Paper on Copyright Solutions by I. Mann Ostrich, LLB.

Now if a quick check of the archives reveals broadcasts only up until 2006.

Listeners want more choices not fewer. They find it irksome when a public broadcasters tell them that the only legal way to use their services is to chain themselves to computer workstation. They don't need infinite choices. So...how about two choices? One of them portable.

Take your heads out of the sand RCI. You can figure out a better solution. Put those heads together where they belong.

Spanish Podcast For Improving Listening Skills

2007-06-25T01:59:00.000-06:00

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.

What Would You Like To See Next?

2007-06-23T03:39:00.000-06:00

Technorati Profile

Sing to Me in Spanish

2007-06-20T05:41:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-17T04:58:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-12T03:04:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-06T11:17:00.000-06:00

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.

Learn Spanish Talking to Your TV.

A Peek at My Spanish Toolbar

2007-05-28T03:42:00.001-06:00

My Spanish Toolbar

You probably like clutter about as much as I do, so not many things make it onto my browser. However, a few sites have earned a spot on my Learning Spanish Toolbar. You might like to test drive them too.

Babelfish

The first site that made its way to my toolbar was Babelfish. This is a translation program and does a reasonably good job of helping you to get the gist of whatever text you cut and paste into the text box. The grammar in the results is not great and the program translates within a medium to narrow band of vocabulary, so don't expect laser-like accuracy. At times it shows the original and translated word as one and the same. When this happens you have to dig a little deeper.

WordReference.com

To do the deeper digging, I use a site called WordReference.com. It describes itself as an Online French, Italian and Spanish Dictionary, though it will also translate Portuguese into Spanish.
It also functions as a regular definitions dictionary for both Spanish and English. You might also be interested in the Spanish synonym feature. I highly recommend this resource and am rarely disappointed in the results I get from it. Not only can it handle verb conjugations, It will give you a number idiomatic expressions based on your entry. You'll probably spend a bit of time just playing with this tool. Did I mention that I like it?

Wikipedia in Spanish

A third resource on my toolbar is Wikipedia in Spanish. Wikipedia is not known for its complete accuracy nor its depth, but even knowing this I like it anyway. It provides a quick overview of the vocabulary of a topic and allows me to better follow an audio, video or live discussion of the subject.

Improve Your Fluency: Don't Let Mistakes Slow You Down

2007-05-23T23:47:00.000-06:00

Written Language
Formal written English is just one type of English. We can craft our written words into the exact form we wish. We can go back and add, change or delete things until everything is just right. However, we rarely speak formal, written English except in speeches or when making excuses to a police officer. Spoken language has different expectations. Our speech is laced with sentence fragments, false starts, abrupt shifts in topic and so on, and nobody cares. These types of errors
would be unacceptable in written language but are not really errors in spoken language; it is what normal spoken language is.

Just Get your Message Across
Making mistakes in Spanish is nothing to worry about. What matters is getting your message across, not whether you use all the right words, If you get stuck on a word, use other words. For example, if you are talking about the United States and cannot remember the word estadoudinenses to describe U.S. citizens, use other words such as "the people of the country to the south of Canada" instead.

Symbols Can be Anything
Remember that words are only symbols to which we attach and convey meaning. There is nothing sacred about any particular word. Sometimes you don't really need any words to convey a message. We can convey meaning nonverbally. Think of back catchers, gang signs and any teacher in a classroom. The same meaning can be conveyed many ways.

Extroverts Learn Spanish Faster
Act out what you are trying to communicate. Use humour, exaggeration, facial expressions, gestures, tone, pitch and pace of voice - even funny noises, to convey your meaning.

Don't try to sound like a Spanish textbook, talk like a Spanish speaker.

Spanish Videos

2007-05-16T12:59:00.000-06:00

There are quite a few good video sites on the web. YouTube and Google are probably the best known but there are others with lots of Spanish videos in them.

One interesting collection is at SumoTV. (This site is worth checking out in and of itself. ) Many of the Spanish videos on the site look like they were made by high-school students as a project for Spanish class. Some are quite entertaining and fairly easy to understand.

This video is from Sumo.TV is about testing a new car entitled Prueba De Audi A4 2.0T Del 2007 En Espanol Por Camillo Alfaro.

There is a bit of wind noise in the background but it is visually easy to follow and you can imagine what he might be saying even without the sound track. See how much you can catch.

Sorry this Video was removed.

Online Shortwave for Learning Spanish

2007-05-10T13:06:00.000-06:00

Online shortwave is a real boon to learning Spanish.

Some sites have been particularly useful to me in improving my listening skills. The greatest site hands down is the BBC. You owe it to yourself to spend quite a bit of time poking around there. You'll find language instruction, news stories, video, photos, and tons of written material.

Another great site is Radio Netherlands. In terms of its focus on programming, including a lot of joint productions with networks all over Latin America, it is probably the best source for audio programmes. They have daily news, and weekly shows varying from science, agriculture, and Dutch news, to a very interesting "answer letters, emails and phone calls show".

Another good shortwave station online is Radio Canada International or RCI. Monday to Friday they have a daily one hour show in Spanish which is well worth listening to. Saturday there's a one hour show with highlights from the week's stories interspersed with Canadian music. Sunday is my favourite show, a listeners show similar to Radio Netherland's Sunday show. Coincidentally, the two listeners' shows on Radio Canada and Radio Netherlands team up and do a couple of shows together each year. The last one was at Christmas time.

There are other excellent sources of online shortwave programming but we'll get to that.

Tip 4. Skype, Yahoo, Jaha and Lycos

2007-05-05T10:12:00.000-06:00

Tip 4. Skype.

If 35 cents is too much to chat on the phone to a mayor's assistant, sign up for a service like SKYPE and talk to millions of people in Spanish for FREE if the other party also has the Skype service, or very inexpensively if you call a non-Skype phone.

Some of their services you, as a Spanish learner, might be interested in are:
Skypecasts, Skype Chat, and Skype Video Calling.

The skype article in wikipedia
will give you a good overview of the services before you head for the Skype Site itself.

Other competing services are low-cost by not free such as Jajah and Yahoo. A third competitor to Skype is Lycos which has free calling but you have to put up with their advertising.

Self Assessment Tool for Learning Spanish

2007-05-03T01:43:00.000-06:00

Learning Spanish with the BBC

For a bit of fun try the wonderful BBC Spanish section. In their placement test you answer a series of multiple choice questions. You keep going until you choose a wrong one. Then you'll get your final score plus a guide to those parts of the BBC site that might be most useful for you at your level. They have a lot of stuff. There is a course based on using video clips of typical situations and news-style listening exercises with scripts and comprehension exercises. There is a lot of help and you're bound to find lots to choose from. BBC Spanish Placement Test

What Level is Your Spanish

2007-05-02T23:58:00.002-06:00

What do I need to learn?
Are you a beginner, quite fluent or somewhere in between? Here is a technique you can use to determine your current level of Spanish and use that information to to help yourself improve.

Rate Your Spanish
One important standard is the ILR scale developed by the US Foreign Service. It has five levels:

* Level 1 - Elementary proficiency
* Level 2 - Limited working proficiency
* Level 3 - Professional working proficiency
* Level 4 - Full professional proficiency
* Level 5 - Native or bilingual proficiency

To see details of the five classifications, you can check out the Wikipedia article on the ILR scale.
While you read them make a note of what you can and cannot do.

Tip 3. Learning Spanish by Talking to Distant Invisible People

2007-04-29T23:43:00.000-06:00

With long distance telephone services like Yak charging only 5 to 10 cents a minute, you can speak Spanish with anybody you like.

Try an activity like one of these. You might spend 35 cents a call.

Call up a green grocer in Little Havana in Miami and ask how the weather is or what's on special today.

Call the Colon Opera House in Buenos Aires (Do the online tour first then call to ask how the renovations are going.)

Try calling the Mayor of Mexico City's Secretary about whatever you like. Who knows, if you call during lunch, the Mayor might pick up your call himself. (His name is Marcelo Ebrard; he's very nice).

The point is, of course, that the world is full of people who would love to talk to us and we now have the means to do just that.

Tip 2. Learning Spanish while Talking on the Telephone

2007-04-23T23:15:00.000-06:00

Practicing Spanish on the Telephone.

The telephone is a great way to find opportunities to speak Spanish to real people in a controlled low-risk situation. This tip builds on Tip 1. Learning Spanish by Talking to Invisible People, in which we began learning to keep the stress level down by talking to people we can't see.

Tip 2. Accessing Local Spanish Media

In many communities there are local access shows on radio and cable tv. These media are very happy to receive your calls and answer your questions.

Where I live, Saskatoon, we have a Co-op radio station which runs a weekly one-hour show in Spanish, called Radio Luna. You can call them, dedicate a tune, get a birthday greeting
read over the radio. and ask them about activities in the community such as dances, Folk Festivals and Food Fairs. They are happy to talk to people in Spanish and appreciate Spanish Learners' efforts in learning their beautiful language.

Many communities also have small-circulation magazines and newsletters. When you check into these publications keep in mind that there are probably many Spanish-speakers from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, and each group in your community may publish newsletters that you can ask about and subscribe to.

Another group to call and practice on is local folk festivals, carnivals, food festivals and so on. Find out if there are Spanish-speaking organizations participating and give them a call to get the details. When you get even braver, ask about volunteer opportunities.

Tip.1. Speak Spanish while Talking on the Telephone to Invisible People

2007-04-21T17:32:00.000-06:00

Our last series of four tips on learning Spanish...
concentrated on finding opportunities to speak out loud to yourselves while doing various activities. Those activities do not require the input of another live human and are thus less stressful for you.

The next series of tips...
eases you into the wonderful world of trying out your Spanish on real people. However, to keep the stress level down you can start by talking to invisible people.

Tip 1. Use Local Spanish Resources.

Locally: larger cities have Spanish community centres. Call them on the phone and
ask about events, facilities, activities or classes.

You don't have to go to the events, facilities or classes, your goal is just talk to somebody over the phone in Spanish about something. You might prep a few questions so you don't stumble out of the gate and make them switch into English. People in these positions are delighted to talk to you.

Tip 4. Singing In Spanish

2007-04-19T02:43:00.000-06:00

4 Tips on Learning Spanish Every Day.

Today's Tip:

Tip 4. Huevos Rancheros lV: Sing About Eggs

Even if you aren't creating a masterpiece with eggs you can still sing to help you in learning Spanish.

Sing in Spanish while making a meal.

Start by singing along with a Spanish tune or two.

Try making up Spanish lyrics to a familiar tune.

Try a little Spanish rap.

Your lyrics don't have to make sense, just play around with the language.

Tip 3. Everyday Spanish Every Day

2007-04-16T13:46:00.000-06:00

4 Tips on Learning Spanish Every Day.

Often we would like to speak Spanish but there is nobody readily available to talk to. We can take opportunities to speak Spanish aloud to ourselves while doing our daily tasks.

Today's Tip:

Tip 3. Huevos Rancheros lll: Today I am going to make eggs.

Make your To Do list in Spanish.

As you write down items on your list, talk to yourself about each item. Use tenses and structures according to your current level of Spanish.

When you start planning your outing, you are looking to the future. Use phrases like I am going to buy apples...; I should try a new variety.

As you are doing a task, talk about that with the present and present continuing tenses: I am looking at apples; he is stealing grapes.

As you check off items, pull out your tenses that apply to past activities: While I was looking at apples, a guy was arrested for eating grapes.

Tip 2. Learning Spanish by Talking to Yourself

2007-04-14T23:39:00.000-06:00

4 Tips on Learning Spanish Every Day.

Often we would like to speak Spanish but there is nobody readily available to talk to. We can take opportunities to speak Spanish aloud to ourselves while doing our daily tasks.

Today's tip:

Tip 2. Huevos Rancheros ll: Where is my egg shampoo?

Talk to yourself in Spanish while you're in front of the bathroom mirror or in the shower.

After my first year of university in Canada, I tried learning Spanish in Mexico City and lived in a pension just down the street from the Canadian Embassy a.k.a. my mail drop. One of the teachers suggested I might try taping labels in the bathroom to reinforce my tiny vocabulary while I talked to myself about brushing things. I taped labels in the bathroom and while I was on a roll, I taped notes to everything else in my quarters.

I was happy with this technique until I arrived home from class one afternoon and heard a lot of giggling in my room. I went in and found one of the housekeepers giving a guided tour of my labels to a few of her coworkers. This is a bed, and here is a chair and over there is a floor, yes a floor...giggle, giggle giggle...you get the picture. To this day I have mixed feelings about the labels but I still use the the talking-to- myself-aloud part.

Learning Spanish Talking to Your TV

2007-04-12T12:17:00.000-06:00

Amerigo's Mexican Treasure

Here's a technique I learned from a friend in Mexico city. Her English was excellent, perhaps at an advanced-intermediate to lower-advanced level. She had never taken an English course, never been abroad and didn't have any family or friends who spoke English.

How did she do it?

She watched American soap operas every day. She watched them actively. While the show played she repeated every word out loud as quickly as the characters spoke. At first she could only chime in and repeat the occasional word and just hummed the rest, but after awhile she could repeat almost everything that was said a fraction of a second after it was said.

Of course she understood almost nothing at the beginning, but that's not the point; she kept repeating what she heard. Her aural discrimination, her ability to hear subtle differences among sounds, got better and better. The key to this technique is that in order to repeat what you hear you first have to focus like a laser on the speaker. Your mind cannot drift. When your ear is well-trained your comprehension will improve as will your speaking ability.

How Should I Do it?

First the technique part:
To practice the technique, first try it on an English news broadcast, a movie or even a willing friend who will keep up a stream of speech for you to repeat. When you are comfortable with the technique, use it in learning Spanish.

Now add the Spanish part:
I suggest beginning with a Spanish-language news broadcast. Learning Spanish with news broadcasts offers four major benefits: there is only one speaker; we can see the speaker's mouth and facial expressions; we hear broadcast-quality Spanish which is clearly-articulated and less colloquial; and we are familiar with the characters and stories in the news.

After a few weeks you'll notice a significant difference in what you are able to hear.

Tip 1. Chores are Fun in Spanish

2007-04-11T18:33:00.000-06:00

4 Tips on Learning Spanish Every Day.

Often we would like to speak Spanish but there is nobody readily available to talk to. We can take opportunities to speak Spanish aloud to ourselves while doing our daily tasks.

Today's tip:

Tip 1. Pick at least one daily activity and use Spanish every time you do it.

Over time I have applied this to cooking, playing my trumpet, driving, biking, washing the car, doing yardwork and housework. It takes your mind off scrubbing the floor although it would take a milagro verdadero to make it fun.

Make sure you concentrate on just one activity and keep it up for at least a few weeks. This will get you accustomed to the vocabulary and phrases associated with this task. In turn you will begin to think in Spanish, at least for this activity.

This accomplishment will give you great confidence to move on and expand your Spanish to horizontes nuevos.

Build Spanish Facial Muscles With a Comic Strip

2007-04-09T09:54:00.000-06:00

Reading aloud gives us a different set of benefits from silent reading for gist. Silent reading only exercises our minds. Speaking aloud is a physical process. When we were children trying to say mama or dada can I borrow fifty bucks and the car keys, we heard what we were saying. This process provides the necessary feedback loop through our ears to help us judge how closely what we say matches what we hear around us. In learning Spanish we need to develop a slightly different combination of muscles in our cheeks, lips, tongue and throat in order to reproduce Spanish sounds.

Ready to exercise?

Step 1. Read a few Spanish comic strips and pick one with a moderate amount of dialogue.

Step 2. Read the strip out loud several times.

Step 3. Read the strip out loud in funny voices with funny facial expressions. Go nuts! This trick forces you to use and strengthen a range of muscles you don't use in your normal voice. It will also make you laugh along with everyone else in the library.

Now have fun learning Spanish with comic strips.

The Dreaded Spanish/English Dictionary Affliction

2007-04-09T04:49:00.000-06:00

Are You Addicted to Dictionaries?*

Take the Amerigo's test to see if you might have a dictionary problem.

1. - Have you ever decided to stop using your Spanish/English dictionary for a chapter or so, but only lasted for a couple of pages?

2. - Do you tell yourself you can quit using a your Spanish/English dictionary any time you want to, even though you keep using one when you don't mean to?

Using dictionaries while learning Spanish, or any language, is a deeply ingrained need which cannot be changed overnight.

3. - Have you ever hidden extra dictionaries around the house?

Dictionary abusers have a great fear of not having a dictionary at hand and will go to great lengths to have one available?

4. - Have you missed days of work or school because of using a dictionary?

Many of us admit now that we "called in sick" lots of times when the truth was that we were over-tired from reading so slowly with one finger in the dictionary.

5. - Do you have "blackouts"?

A "blackout" is when we look up a word in the dictionary and then have to look up the same word again the next time we see it.

If you answered Yes to one or more of these questions you might have an adDictionary disorder.

*With apologies and respect to Bill W.

How to Get the Most Out of Reading Picture Books

2007-04-07T08:10:00.000-06:00

Amerigo's First Law of Reading for Fun: Lose the Dictionary.

By show of hands. Who loves picture books? How many like comic books like Condor and Mafalda; or the classic picture books like Tintin and Asterix? They are a boon to learning Spanish.

Why lose the dictionary?

When we read in our first language we never read word-for-word; we always read by gist. Even when the reading is a tough slog we still do not read every word and we rarely look up anything unless we need to for academic or technical precision.

Why do we think we have to look up every single word in a Spanish article? We don't. When learning Spanish, gist reading is equally important but more difficult to allow ourselves to do. Perhaps we feel guilty or lazy. In school when we didn't know a particular word, we were told to look it up in the dictionary. Those pesky teachers' voices are difficult to dislodge from our memories. They should have told us just to carry on and we would figure it out all in good of time.

When we read without a Spanish/English dictionary we are not being lazy. We are gaining a lot more information and understanding than we give ourselves credit for. Without the looming spectre of the dictionary, we can focus instead on the situations and characters in the graphics. Learning Spanish with picture books can be a lot more fun.

So here's something to tell those pesky voices from the past. Silence. I lost my dictionary.

Comic Strips for Learning Spanish

2007-04-07T07:49:00.000-06:00

Start Your Day with a Laugh in Spanish

A seasoned speaker knows when to open with a joke. A seasoned Spanish learner knows the same thing. It's a good way to start the day. From a practical perspective, we often remember best when there is some elevated emotional state associated with a situation. Amusement is as good an emotion as any to associate with learning Spanish. Comic strips are especially interesting to us because we tend to identify with the characters and their situations. In trying to figure out the cartoon we can pick up a lot of clues about what the characters might be saying from what we see in the frames. The context helps us to guess at the unfamiliar Spanish words. But we're still not completely sure.

This sets up another effective learning device-the teachable moment. We learn better when our curiosity is aroused. The cartoon images present a puzzle we want to solve. The more we work on the puzzle, the more satisfied we'll be from being able to solve the puzzle and get a laugh out of a Spanish comic strip.

All this was to give you an excuse in case you get snagged reading cartoons.

Learning Spanish for cartoon lovers. My suggestions.

Ronaldinho Gaucho
Dilbert in Spanish
Baldo
Calvin and Hobbes
Condorito

Pooch Café
Gaturro
Pepe
Overboard
B.C.

I have not been able to find anyone running the Mafalda strip. Any thoughts?