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If you're looking to learn a new language, keep in mind that the Spanish-speaking world is incredibly vast within the Western Hemisphere. This page will walk you through the basic steps for learning how to speak one of the major languages of the world. The information will follow standard Spanish language rules, but you may encounter varying accents. Unless otherwise noted, what you will learn can be safely used anywhere.
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Categories
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Basic Phrases
BBC Essential Phrases
- Visit the BBC's page of essential Spanish phrases.
- Listen to the phrases as you read along (listen to some BBC MP3s here).
- Download the audio so you can listen to the phrases as often as possible.
- Import them into your iPod or MP3 player so you can learn the language on the go!
- Say the phrases along with the audio as you listen.
- Record yourself to hear how you sound.
- Print out the page of key phrases so you can take them with you!
Learn a key Spanish word with Sesame Street Pronunciation Tips
- Indo-European Languages has some Spanish pronunciation tips.
- Also visit BBC's Spanish Steps sounds of Spanish page
- Remember:
- "QU" is said as "K"; ex. qué - keh
- "LL" is pronounced "Y"; ex. llamo - yah-moh
- "Ñ" sounds like "NY"; ex. español - eh-spahn-yol
BBC's Spanish Steps
BBC's Spanish Steps Front Page - BBC Spanish Steps is a six stage course set up to teach beginners important speaking and language lessons.
- Dialogues cover common speaking situations, like taxi rides, going out to eat, and shopping.
- First choose and listen to a dialogue.
- Study the key words from that dialogue.
- Go through the activities to reinforce what was just said:
- Activity 1 has you rearrange lines of dialogue into the proper order.
- You guess the meanings of key words from the dialogue in Activity 2.
- Activity 3 involves listening comprehension based on words you just learned.
- In Activity 4 you actively participate, by saying and then writing responses to the dialogue.
- Need to refresh your memory? Go to the course's vocabulary list!
BBC's Talk Spanish
- The BBC has another great learning and speaking resource in Talk Spanish.
- Choose one of the 12 topics.
- Watch the video(s) on that topic.
- A column on the right of each video has the dialogue written out in Spanish, with an English translation as well.
BBC's Talk Spanish Greetings Section
- After watching the video, test yourself with the activities in the second section.
- You can then download a worksheet and practice your written comprehension of the words you've just heard and read.
Colby College's Spanish Grammar Exercises
- Choose one of the listed exercises in a language subject area you want to learn or review.
- Fill in the blanks for the lesson.
- You can check your answers by choosing the ? or correct buttons.
- The study modules on the left also provide more learning opportunities.
- Watch videos or listen to songs that relate to the daily life and culture of people in the Spanish-speaking world.
- Many of these exercises let you click on a word to learn its meaning.
- Test what you've learned with the practice exercises after each module.
Centro Virtual Cervantes
- Go to lecturas paso a paso to read different texts in the original language.
- Choose a level of difficulty: inicial, intermedio, or avanzado (beginning, intermediate, or advanced).
- Choose a text to read.
- Review the antes de leer page before reading the selection.
- Read the text.
- Then visit the despué s de leer section and use the activities to check your reading comprehension.
BBC Cool Spanish
- The BBC's Cool Spanish has tips on how to argue, talk about technology, discuss religion, and many other more complicated speaking situations-- all using informal words.
- Note that while some of these expressions may translate to Latin America, they are mostly from Spain.
- Listen to the audio files while reading along.
- Follow the helpful codes to learn when something is familiar, very familiar, vulgar, or just plain rude.
- Download the MP3s and listen on your own whenever you can.
- Review meanings with a print-out of phrases from each section.
BBC Spanish Crosswords
- Have fun with the BBC's interactive Spanish crosswords.
More Learning Tips
- Many first-run television shows are dubbed into Spanish. Use the SAP button on your TV remote to find the Spanish audio channel.
- Watch programming from Spanish-language television stations, such as:
- Watch online clips of Betty la Fea (the original-language version of Ugly Betty).
- Tune to Spanish-language radio stations while driving in the car.
- Listen to songs in Spanish and try to understand the lyrics.
- Read online newspapers like La Opinión.
- Proyecto Sherezade offers stories by authors from around the world; read them and see what you understand.
- Blogs like the one at Tomísimo offer encouragement to study the language, and also post interesting photos and cultural insights.
Resources for Studying Spanish
- You can watch college-level videos, Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish, after registering on the site. Watch, listen and learn!
- Tomísimo has a Spanish-English dictionary, where you can enter words in either English or Spanish to check their meanings.
- Also try the Real Academia Española's online dictionaries, where you can look up words and get their definitions in Spanish, as well as seeing usage examples.
- Check out Verbix's verb conjugator to display all possible conjugations for the Spanish verbs you're studying.
- Bowdoin College has placed an overview of Spanish grammar online.
- Indo-European languages has Spanish lessons and vocubulary.
- Also check out Mahalo's Guide to the Spanish language
