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.

Learning Spanish Talking to Your TV

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.