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.

Self Assessment Tool for Learning Spanish

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

Tip 2. Learning Spanish while Talking on the Telephone

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.