Your TV !!! Great option to improve your Spanish.

It is true, watching a Spanish language soap opera or movie, can help improve your Spanish.

Perhaps you took Spanish lessons in high school or college, but you can’t handle a conversation now. Or, maybe you have limited grammar or vocabulary and you’re not sure if what you’re saying is correct. In addition to taking private lessons with an instructor, you have the right tool to help you improve your Spanish, your TV!!!!

Total immersion is the key to learning another language. How did you learn to speak your native language as a child? You listened and listened to the same words many times before speaking them. They were recorded in your memory and then the muscles of your tongue started working out in order to pronounce all those recorded words. Now it is time to recreate this environment to learn or improve your Spanish.

Soap operas are an excellent tool for intermediate or advanced students. If you’re a beginner and want to try, yeah, go for it! Everything helps in the learning process. Podcasts with basic conversations and vocabulary is another suggestion. In New York we have the Latin channels Univision and Telemundo, where you can find a variety of programs and shows. If you are not fond of soap operas, no problem!!! Pick your favorite movie and use the SAP option on your TV or cable settings. I recommend this option because you can listen to a clear and standard translation in Spanish. Play around with the closed captioning, but never use subtitles in English; try the caption in Spanish as well.

Remember, everything helps in the learning process, so try it now, television, a fun and relaxing way to learn in the comfort of your home.

By Juan Carlos Jurado

http://www.talkinspanish.com/

Podcast, an excellent tool to improve your Spanish!!!

That’s a great idea if you want to learn or improve your Spanish. The percentage of the Hispanic population is increasing every year, and there will always be Spanish language speakers in the United States. Here we present a very helpful tool to practice and improve your Spanish, Podcasts.

The idea people has about learning Spanish by teaching yourself using Spanish-English dictionaries and phrase books; by listening to Spanish-language lessons on audio cassette tapes, or CDs; or by installing Spanish language teaching software on your computer, is totally wrong. Those are just helping materials that well combine with a good tutor or language schools are going to be an important tool.

Using a podcast to learn Spanish is the most modern way to help you in your learning process. It’s also a fun way to learn Spanish because you download the podcast to your iPod or other mp3 players, and listen to the podcast as your way to your office, exercise, or just relax at home. Some podcast come with worksheets you can buy for a very low cost, but the download is totally free in most of the sites.

Here are the most popular Spanish Podcast Sites:http://www.notesinspanish.com/
http://www.radiolinguamedia.com/cbs/www/index.html
http://spanishpod.com/
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 Your TV !!! A good option to improve your Spanish.

by Juan C Jurado

Children teach us how to learn or improve a language

When children speak their first words, no one teaches them how to speak. Children make mistakes every time they start a conversation in their native language. Children don’t memorize rules or grammatical structures. What they do is repeat what they hear. They are not afraid to make mistakes. An adult should expect to learn a language in the same way children do.

Let’s talk about some basic words you have heard several times in your life: si, gracias and mañana. At this point you don’t need to translate these words into English in order to understand the meaning. For example, as soon as you hear the word gracias, immediately your brain processes the information, and without any translation you know that gracias means thanks. Why? -- It happens because you have heard that word so many times that you realize the meaning without thinking.

So, hearing and repeating is a good exercise to improve your Spanish. But don’t be afraid to make mistakes or mispronounce a word. Making mistakes is part of the learning process and mispronouncing a word is acceptable when communicating with someone in Spanish.

Grammar is an important reference. I always say, you just need to know the grammar, but not to study it. It slows down your learning process. Take the experience of a kid and apply the same method they use. Have your grammar book as a back up!!!

by Juan Carlos Jurado

jcj@talkinspanish.com

SPANGLISH use it or avoid it!

Many of us have heard the word Spaniglish in our lives. It sounds like another language, but it is just a mix between Spanish and English. Usually Latinos in the United States, whose primary language is Spanish and English as a second language, use basic words in English when speaking Spanish. For example, we say: "estoy busy"- I am busy. Sometimes we make English words sound like Spanish. For instance, "lonche" - lunch or "la Boila no funciona" - the boiler is not working; and a common one, "tienes una cuora?"- do you have a quarter? Even though Spanglish is acceptable in an informal context of the language, it is not proper to speak it and even worse if you are in the process of learning Spanish. I found on Wiki a very good description and samples of Spanglish. If you speak Spanish, you can use it with your friends, but if you are learning Spanish, just avoid it.

by Juan C Jurado

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Learn Spanish Quick and Easy with a Tutor

If you've always wanted to learn a foreign language, there's never been a better time than the present! You can learn Spanish quick and easy if you just hire a tutor. Tutors make it simple to learn a new language, as they will walk their student step by step through the entire process. Tutors are relatively inexpensive to hire, ranging from just a few dollars an hour, up to around $40 an hour. If you're really serious about being able to learn Spanish quick and easy, then a tutor is definitely the way to go.

Why Hire a Tutor?

A Spanish tutor's job is to help you to learn Spanish quick and easy. They do this through the process of simplifying the entire language learning process. A tutor also will help you to understand the finer points of learning a new language, such as verb conjugation, tense, and proper noun usage. Although you certainly don't have to hire a tutor in order to learn a new language; but it certainly does make the process much easier. Hiring a tutor is a great investment if you want to learn Spanish quick and easy.

Other Ways to Learn Spanish Quick and Easy

If hiring a tutor is not in your budget, you can still learn Spanish quick and easy utilizing several other methods. One of the best methods for learning a new language is to surround yourself with those who speak Spanish as their first language. This is called immersion. Spending ample amounts of time with those who regularly speak the language you want to learn is by far the simplest way to start picking up a basic grasp of the language.Another way to learn Spanish quick and easy is to ask someone else who is also trying to learn to practice with you. By speaking to each other in the language you are trying to learn, it will be much easier for the both of you to spot each other's mistakes, and to correct your own. This is mostly due to the fact that each of you will be speaking much slower than someone who speaks Spanish regularly. Regardless of whether you hire a tutor, find a friend to practice with, or simple immerse yourself in the language, one fact remains; learning Spanish is a very rewarding endeavor, no matter what age you are, or what level of learning you are starting at. Learning a new language can be difficult for anyone; but if you practice often, and get some help, you can find a way to learn Spanish quick and easy.

Resource: http://www.linkroll.com/learning-spanish

Why do you want to learn Spanish?

Spanish is becoming one of the most important languages in United States and Europe, where it often the foreign language of choice after English. And it's no wonder that Spanish is a popular second or third language: with some 400 million speakers, it's the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world (after English, Chinese and Hindustani), and according to some counts it has more native speakers than English does. It is an official language on four continents and is of historical importance elsewhere.

Here are some reasons why people wants to learn Spanish:

“I am Hispanic and have never gained a solid grasp on the Spanish language”

“I need to learn for my travel and business I need to start learning more than the basics as well as more conversational Spanish”

“Everybody in NYC speak Spanish”

“I am a Physician Assistant and a large percentage of my patients are Latino”

“My husband is Colombian and I am having trouble communicating with some of his family”

what about you?

SAP Secondary Audio Program

Have you heard about SAP, but you haven’t used it? Well the SAP could be a great tool to practice and improve your Spanish.

SAP stands for Secondary Audio Program, a feature on most stereo televisions and VCRs manufactured in mid 90s. SAP is often used in the U.S. to supply Spanish-language audio for English-language television programs. “En Español”. The SAP feature allows a TV station to broadcast other information to the viewer through the audio receiver system. The other information could be the same program audio in another language, or something completely different, such as weather information or Descriptive Video Services (DVS) for the visually impaired.

It is easy to get the Spanish-language audio on your Stereo TV set. You can select SAP by pressing the menu button on your TV or on your remote control, selecting the audio function from the menu, and switching to SAP from mono or stereo. If you have satellite or cable, it is much easier. Just go to setting and select “audio/SAP” and all set.

So now you can watch your favorite show or movie in Spanish!!! Additionally you can enable closed caption in Spanish as well, which will make it easier to catch those words we miss when we just listen.Remember, anything helps when you are learning or improving your Spanish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_audio_program

http://www.accessdome.com/com-sap/sap.general.asp