Trying to Learn Spanish Web Site

podcast #19, listener suggestions 2

2006-08-10T20:45:00.000-06:00

podcast #19, listener suggestions 2

(link to this episode of the podcast)

from Charles:

How-to-Learn-Any-Language.com

from Lisa:

join the Yahoo Group: Spanishconversationworldwide

or email the group at this address: Spanishconversationworldwide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

(these groups talk using Skype free internet phone service)

from Brian:

free New Testament (Reina Valera edition) mp3s here

bilingual New Testament Reina Valera/King James

New Testament CD's (NIV Spanish edition CD's)

New Testament Bible (NIV Spanish/English)

from John:

the expatcast podcast

thanks to all the listeners who sent in suggestions.
Please contribute if you have any tips on what works for you
in trying to learn Spanish

please email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com,

or leave your comments on this site

podcast #18, listener suggestions 1

2006-05-31T10:34:00.000-06:00

podcast #18, listener suggestions 1

(link to this episode of the podcast)

1. from Bobbie: http://wordsgalore.com

2. from Nate: Album, book with audio recordings

This link has the online audio.

This link is for the book and cd

3. from Alan: Spanish Phrase of the Day podcast

or find it in iTunes

4. thanks to Steve for the audio clip on watching telenovelas

5. from Martin: BBC audio magazine El Mensual

also recommends the Bloguipodio podcast

6. from Sean: BBC Say What You Think

thanks to all the listeners who sent in suggestions.
Please contribute if you have any tips on what works for you
in trying to learn Spanish

please email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com,

or leave your comments on this site

podcast #17, tutoring by internet & phone

2006-03-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

podcast #17, tutoring by internet & phone

(link to this episode of the podcast)

contact Paulino Velasco for tutoring sessions by internet or phone:

Paulino's email: ClasesEspanol@yahoo.com
Paulino's website: http://www.spanishtutoronline.com/
Paulino's SkypeIn number: (508) 283-3559 (you can call this # from your telephone)

find information on free internet phone service here:
Skype
Yahoo Messenger

please email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com,

or leave your comments on this site

podcast #16, audio magazines

2006-01-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

podcast #16, audio magazines

(link to this episode of the podcast)

ThinkSpanish audio magazine

(buy packs of ThinkSpanish audio magazine)

Puerta del Sol audio magazine

LoMásTV website

Democracy Now! titulares en español

online pop-up dictionaries
Ultralingua (for the Mac & Windows)
Oxford Spanish Pop-up dictionary (for Windows only)

please email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com,

or leave your comments on this site

podcast #15, vocabulary flash cards

2005-11-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

podcast #15, vocabulary flash cards

(link to the podcast)

How to Learn Any Language
by Barry Farber

Bilingual America
Spanish Power series of lessons

The Amazing Flashcard Machine

Flashcard Exchange

Before You Know It
by Transparent Language

iFlash
Macintosh flashcard program

Vtrain
flashcard program for Windows computer

please email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com,

or leave your comments on this site

podcast #14, Instant Immersion Spanish Deluxe

2005-10-02T12:40:00.000-06:00

podcast #14, Instant Immersion Spanish Deluxe

(link to the podcast)

thanks to Steve for this review of the computer program.

Here is the Learn Spanish Software Review website.

Amazon.com links:

1. Instant Immersion Spanish Deluxe at $39, good reviews with this link (This program is the subject of podcast #14)

2. Instant Immersion Spanish Deluxe 2.0 at $29 and free shipping. (This is newest vision of the program. It just came out and no reviews are available)

3. another option is Instant Immersion Spanish Platinum.
This seems to be a newer and more expensive version ($80), but I don't know the difference from Deluxe.

please email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com,

or leave your comments on this site

podcast #13, Destinos, Textbooks, & Dictionaries

2005-09-13T14:06:00.000-06:00

podcast #13, Destinos, Textbooks, & Dictionaries

(link to the podcast)

thanks to Jon for most of the material in this podcast!

Destinos:
online version
textbook
workbook I
workbook II
half.com selections

Textbook:
¿Cómo se dice?

Dictionaries:
Spanish - Spanish
Larousse Diccionario Educativo Estudiantil
Larousse Diccionario Educativo Juvenil
English - Spanish & Spanish - English
Larousse Student Dictionary

please email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com,

or leave your comments on this site

podcast #12, Immersion Language Schools II

2005-08-19T20:46:00.000-06:00

podcast #12, Immersion Language Schools II

(link to the podcast)

two excellent immersion language schools:

Spanish Institute of Puebla
located in Puebla, Mexico

Encuentros
located in Cuernavaca, Mexico

suggestions from listeners:

Stephen Krashen website
on language acquisition

BBC language resources

Telemundo talk and reality shows
watch with closed-caption turned on

please leave your comments on this site,

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #11, reading books to learn Spanish

2005-08-03T17:27:00.000-06:00

podcast #11, reading books to learn Spanish

(link to the podcast)

Links to books and lists mentioned in this podcast:

Bilingual books
1. List from the National Education Association
2. Angel’s Kite list
3. Powell’s Books list
4. One more bilingual list

La Isla de Abel
By William Steig

James y el melocotón gigante
By Roald Dahl

Matilda
By Roald Dahl

Huevos verdes con Jamón
By Dr. Seuss
Caldecott Award Winners available in Spanish

Newbery Award Winners available in Spanish

El Codigo da Vinci
By Dan Brown

Los Cuatro Acuerdos
By Don Miguel Ruiz

Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal
By J.K. Rowling

Bendícime, Última
By Rudolfo Anaya

e-book Thirteen Senses
recommended by Daniel

A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish
By John Butt, recommended by William

Pimsleur’s Spanish Plus
Recommended by Vince

please leave your comments on this site,

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #10, Intermediate Grammar Books

2005-07-14T09:48:00.000-06:00

podcast #10, Intermediate Grammar Books

(link to the podcast)

Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses
by Dorothy Devney Richmond

Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns & Prepositions
by Dorothy Devney Richmond

501 Spanish Verbs
by Christopher Kendris

English Grammar for Students of Spanish
by Emily Spinelli

Side by Side, Spanish and English Grammar
by Edith and Frederick Farrell

Breaking Out of Beginner’s Spanish
by Joseph Keenan

note on the PBS series "Destinos":
all 52 episodes are found online free at:
http://www.learner.org/resources/series75.html

please leave your comments on this site,

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #9, Grammar Books

2005-06-29T11:07:00.000-06:00

podcast #9, Grammar Books I

(link to the podcast)

this podcast covers three beginning grammar books.
You can find all of them at Amazon.com, and I
recommend you use Amazon to read comments from
other readers and peruse the lists that people have
posted of favorite Spanish grammar books.

Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish
by Margarita Madrigal, illustrated by Andy Warhol
ISBN: 0-385-41095-6

Spanish for Reading, a Self-instructional Course
by Fabiola Franco & Karl Sandberg
ISBN: 0-7641-0333-4

Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice
by Ronni Gordon & David Stillman
ISBN: 0-658-00075-6

Steve recommends the PBS series "Destinos",
kind of a telenovela (soap opera) for Spanish students

Wayne recommends www.cheappimsleur.com for
inexpensive Pimsleur Audio CD's or tapes, use at
your own risk.

have any comments or recomendations on grammar books?

Please comment on this web site (include your email if you want a reply),

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #8A, Immersion Language Schools IA

2005-06-12T08:22:00.000-06:00

ERROR CORRECTION!!!

the website I directed you to on my last podcast about Immersion Language Schools was wrong.

here is the correct website:

www.123teachme.com

Sorry, Rich

email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #8, Immersion Language Schools I

2005-06-11T12:53:00.000-06:00

podcast #8, Immersion language schools, I

(link to the podcast)

ERROR CORRECTION!!! 123teachme, not 123thinkspanish (thanks Jake)

www.123teachme.com
I recommend this website to find schools you might like.
this website will direct you to the specific websites of each school.
Email the director of each school to learn more and get a feeling about their interest and accessiblity.
Ask for a list of former students, and communicate directly with them, this is very interesting and valuable.

thanks to Jake Byrne, I now realize my feed address is case- sensitive,
set your RSS feed to:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TryingToLearnSpanishPodcast

from Stacey: any feedback on Think Spanish audio magazine?

Have comments or questions on immersion language schools?

Please comment on this web site (include your email if you want a reply),

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #7, DVD's

2005-05-28T12:56:00.000-06:00

podcast #7, using DVD's to learn Spanish

(link to the podcast)

www.amazon.com (to search for DVD's with various spoken and subtitle language options)

www.netflix.com (to search for foreign language DVD's, also to rent them)

www.MySpanishDVD.com (long list of DVD's with spoken Spanish option)

www.synergyspanish.com (recommended by a listener)

Total Recorder (record internet radio on a Windows computer)

Replay Radio (record internet radio on a Windows computer)

Please comment on this web site,

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #6, internet radio

2005-04-24T13:18:00.000-06:00

podcast #6, internet radio

(link to the podcast)

program to record Internet radio on the Macintosh:

iRecordMusic

directories of Spanish internet radio sites:

www.multilingualbooks.com
www.publicradiofan.com

Spanish Internet Radio stations:

www.Radiobilingue.org
program recommended: Linea Abierta

www.columbia.co.cr
programs recommended: Salud para Todos, Charlemos, De Cara a la Realidad

www.imagen.com.mx
programs recommended: Qué tal Fernanda, Crónicas de Salud

Please comment on this web site,

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #5, language instruction tapes & CD's

2005-04-14T16:17:00.000-06:00

podcast #5, language instruction tapes and CD's

(link to the podcast)

Pimsleur Spanish I CD set
ISBN 0-743-52357-1

Pimsleur Spanish II CD set
ISBN 0-743-52893-X

Pimsleur Spanish III CD set
ISBN 0-743-52895-6

or look at this web site: www.cheappimsleur.com
(recommended by a listener, I have not tried it)

Spanish with Michel Thomas
ISBN 0-071-38164-3

Advanced Spanish with Michel Thomas
ISBN 0-340-88703-6

Please comment on this web site:

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #4, language partners

2005-04-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

podcast #4, language partners, and where to find one.

(link to the podcast)

recommended book:
Conversation Inspirations for ESL
by Nancy Ellen Zelman
ISBN 0-86647-015-8

Please comment on this web site:

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #3, dictionaries

2005-03-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

podcast #3, dictionaries

(link to the podcast)

Dictionaries:

Oxford Color Spanish Dictionary
paperback, 100,000 words, phrases and translations
marking system, circle, solid circle, highlight, flashcard
ISBN 0-19-864562-7

Larousse Diccionario Educativo
recommended by 2 immersion language schools
ISBN 970-22-0696-0
example sentences, regional usage, synonyms
spanish-spanish

The Pop-up Oxford Spanish Dictionary
240,000 translations; 170,000 words, phrases and definitions
only available for Windows; anyone know of a Mac equivalent?
can load English-Spanish or Spanish only dictionaries
other languages available with same iFinger engine

Franklin electronic handheld translator
model DBE-1450, uses Merriam Webster
can enter any form of a verb
translates both directions
stores looked up words in a word list
has conjugations (not easy, but they are there)
also has word games
includes a calculator for changing temperatures, quantities, weights, etc.

Please comment on this web site:

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #2, books on language acquisition

2005-03-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

podcast #2, books on language acquisition

A review of books on second language acquisition
(link(2) to the podcast)

How to Learn Any Language
by Barry Farber

Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition
by Stephen D. Krashen

Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One
by Edward Trimnell

How to Learn a Foreign Language
by Graham Fuller

Principles of Language Learning & Teaching
by H. Douglas Brown

Please comment on this web site:

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

podcast #1, introduction to Trying to Learn Spanish

2005-03-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

This is the link(1) to the first podcast.

Click on it to listen, or download and save.

to get automatically with your RSS downloader (such as iPodderX), set feed to:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TryingToLearnSpanishPodcast

Please comment on this web site:

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com

Subject matter of this blog

2005-03-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

To the readers and listeners of this blog:

This podcast is for adult students and learners of Spanish. I only specify "adult" here because I think the resources and methods of learning a language as an adult are different than for children. My experience is as an adult learner, and that's what I will address in this blog/podcast.

I have been interested for some time in "Trying to Learn Spanish". Note "trying" signifies a work in progress, a work certainly in it's early stages. By now, about three years in, I have amassed some experiences and resources that I will share here. I imagine that someone else can profit from some of the things I have tried, and also hope to attract some feedback and comment that will be of use to me and others on our path to learning Spanish.

I am setting up this, my first blog, without much of any technical experience in blogging or podcasting, so if you come across this and have something to offer me in the way of advice, I would welcome it.

This weblog and podcast are not about the actual mechanics of learning Spanish, but about the process, and especially the resources available. I will leave the "how" to the experts; but I do hope to provide some insight on where to find some of these experts, and to attract more comments on the same, which I will share with you.

Basically, I hope this will be the blog I wished I could find as I looked for and tried many different things in my ongoing attempt to learn Spanish. There is no one "right" way to do it, I hope together we can create a smorgasbord of possibilities that will help each of us continue to enjoy and make progress in "Trying to Learn Spanish".

I plan to eventually cover the following material, and more:

1. Books and articles on language learning, especially second language acquisition.
2. Tapes and CDs designed to teach you Spanish
3. Immersion language schools (I have attended 4 so far)
4. Language learning in schools here in the US (I have studied in a community college)
5. Speaking Spanish with local hispanohablantes
6. Volunteering with your Spanish
7. Grammar books and other books designed to teach you Spanish
8. Using podcast for learning Spanish
9. Using movies for learning Spanish
10. Using live radio for learning Spanish
11. Using websites for learning Spanish
12. Using Internet radio for learning Spanish
13. Using novels for learning Spanish
14. Using magazines and newspapers for learning Spanish

Please leave me your comments and feedback,
Rich

Please comment on this web site:
http://tryingtolearnspanish.blogspot.com/

or email me at: learningspanish@gmail.com