Un viaje a Sevilla Cuando mi esposa y yo fuimos a España en 2007, queríamos ver la ciudad de Sevilla. Rentamos un coche a la frontera entre España y Portugal y condujimos a Sevilla. En Sevilla no teníamos una reservación para un hotel. La ciudad de Sevilla es muy bella pero también había mucha gente que querían rentar hoteles así que era muy difícil encontrar habitaciones disponibles. Encontramos un hombre que dijo que tuvo una habitación para rentar y debíamos seguirlo. Después de cuatro o más cuadras y muchas idas y vueltas mi esposa dijo que fuimos demasiado lejos y no fuimos más. El hombre se quejó que la habitación sólo estaba a la vuelta de la esquina y si lo seguía un poco más podíamos ver a ello. La habitación estaba en un edificio viejo con un gran patio cerrado en frente de muchos apartamentos. Entramos el patio y pudimos ver el propietario del edificio. Tenía una caja de voz y no podía hablar sin esta caja. Cuando este hombre hablaba, su voz era muy rara, como una maquina rota. Podíamos ver las habitaciones y eran muy sucias y habían hormigas caminando a través de la pared. Mi esposa sabía inmediatamente que no quería una habitación aquí. El propietario nos pido si queríamos una habitación por un cantidad de dinero muy pequeña. Yo sabía que si yo lo ofrecía menos dólares, iba a ofenderlo así que dije que “no, no quiero cualquier habitación aquí”. De repente mi esposa trató de salir el patio pero las puertas estaban cerradas. Ella gritaba “Déjanos salir” en una voz muy alta y sacudió las puertas. El propietario se rió y otro hombre abrió las puertas y nos fuimos muy rápido.

Beta version of italki excludes discussions with <0 rating

In the original version of italki you could choose to see only discussions that had a site rating of >=0 or all discussions regardless of the rating. Now I notice that if members vote down a discussion to the point that it's overall rating is <0 you can no longer see it on the page of current discussions. If you have commented within the discussion it will show up under "My commented discussions" but otherwise you have to search through your internet browsing history to find it. Seems like a step backward to me.

Unless I'm just unable to see where the user can choose the setting to view "all discussions".

A method of learning Spanish

Here's a method to consider. I am reading the book by Gabriel García Márquez called "El coronel no tiene que le escriba". You can read the spanish version here:

 

http://www.literatura.us/garciamarquez/coronel.html

 

See a translated (English) version here:

 

http://studentstt.yolasite.com/resources/No%20One%20Writes%20to%20the%20Colonel%20-%20Gabri.pdf

 

Hear the audio of the book (Spanish) very clearly spoken here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXOFy3FrKJ0

 

And watch the movie here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0TS5-q-IbQ

 

So I read a couple of pages in Spanish & while I'm reading it, I write what I think the English version would be on a Word document. Then I read the same section in the English book & see how I did, learning new words as I go. Then I listen to the audio of that section while looking at the Spanish book (or not). And then I watch the same section of the movie.

 

It can be slow & ponderous but in the end I figure I'll be able to simply watch the movie & understand it.

English learners take heart

I'm not suggesting you accept poor grammar from yourselves but you should give yourselves a break. Watch any North American tv show that includes real people, average folks speaking without a script, and you'll quickly realize that proper grammar is a rarity rather than the norm. Quite often I hear English that hurts my head trying to understand why they are phrasing things the way they are, and trying to decipher the actual meaning.

 

And writing skills are equally dismal. The whole "there they're their" issue is just the tip of the iceberg. As I learn Spanish I am constantly confronted with basic issues like bien vs bueno, things that average English speakers have no clue about in their native language. It makes me see that these details are important for a language learner but you certainly won't stand out as an idiot if you don't master them.

 

So take heart & work towards improving yourself but realize that you're probably aware of more language/grammar/spelling issues than the average English speaker.

Some resources for those learning Spanish

I've been studying Spanish for a little over a year now & have found some pretty good resources on the net.  I've compiled a list of them here & grouped them by purpose.  Hope they can be of help to others.  Feel free to offer your own suggestions.

 

Studying:

A site to see verb conjugations

http://www.123teachme.com/spanish_verb_conjugation

 

Google translate. Not the best, but a reasonable starting point for understanding new vocabulary.

https://translate.google.com/#es/en/practico

 

An amazing site with tons of Spanish resources for all levels.

http://www.podcastfromspain.com/recursos-spanish-resources/

 

A ton of tests & quizzes on various subjects.

http://iteslj.org/v/s/

 

A huge resource of Spanish lessons complete with quizzes & answers.

http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/S210.HTM

 

The best set of books I've found for learning Spanish is Gramática de uso del español.  I have found some downloadable PDF files for this series of books but the files are difficult to read so I decided to buy the book I was using. They have an A1-A2, B1-B2, C1-C2 and A1-B2 book but the only book I've used is the C1-C2.  It includes lessons & information that I haven't found anywhere else on the net or in other books.  Really good stuff.

 

Listening:

A series of conversations spoken in Spanish. You choose the level and subject matter. A good way to hear the language.

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/index.html

 

In this site you can listen to Spanish speakers and then try to write what you have heard. Compare what you have written with the actual text. There are also tests and conjugation exercises.

http://www.listeningpractice.org/dashboard.php

 

Reading:
Books, books, books. If you want to read Spanish books, or listen to them, this is a good resource

http://albalearning.com/

 

Create an account on this site & you can download up to 35 books to sample the site. The books are small (13 pages or so) and if you choose the highest level, they’re pretty good practice.

https://www.readinga-z.com/translations/spanish/leveled-books/

 

Here’s a site to read news in Spanish. Choose the reading level. Most articles are followed by quizzes with answers.

http://www.practicaespanol.com/noticias/

 

Watching:

Destinos. A set of videos of a story about a reporter working for a dying man. There are 52 episodes that get increasingly advanced. Includes grammar quizzes.

http://learner.org/series/destinos/watch/ep1/

 

Extra en Español. This is like Three’s Company in Spanish. It’s available on youtube, pretty cheesy but still ok.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfb9-ZTCA-E

 

Videos of everyday Spanish speakers being interviewed on the streets on various subjects.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA5UIoabheFMo9oB_AF7JftV34ecOalvM

El domingo El domingo fue un mal día. Monté en bicicleta y quise ir a la casa de mis suegros. Cuando estaba veinte kilómetros lejos de mi casa me di cuenta que tenía un neumático plano. Paré mi bicicleta y traté de reemplazar la cámara de aire pero no me di cuenta que había un pedazo de metal en mi neumático así que cuando puse aire en el neumático mi segunda y última cámara de aire rompió. Entonces no tenía una manera para arreglar mi neumático y nadie respondió cuando llamé a mi casa. Había nada más que podría hacer, tuve que caminar a casa. Estaba más que diez kilómetros y tomaba casi dos horas caminando. Pero era más difícil porque tengo zapatos especiales para ciclismo y ellos no son buenos para caminar. Ahora me duelen los pies y me duelen las piernas pero al menos podía arreglar mi bicicleta.

And people wonder why learning English can be difficult

A rough coated, dough faced, thoughtful poughman, strode through the streets of Scarborough. After falling into a Slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.

 

The bandage was wound around the wound.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
At the army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
A buck does funny things when does are present.
A seamstress and a sewer fell into a sewer.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.

 

Here's a reason I like to use video for conversations in a new language

I understand that there are valid reasons why some people don't like video and prefer audio only.  Personally I find that I understand the words much quicker, I learn better & it turns out there may be a good reason.  Our brains do a lot of the work that we think our ears are doing. 

 

This video says it all. It's really amazing...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FefFfvriAwQ