Today, I’ll be reviewing the most popular learn Spanish online multimedia course, Rocket Spanish Premium. With over 400,000 Spanish learners using this product, it has been the number one method for learning Spanish online since 2005! In this completely honest Rocket Spanish review you’ll discover what makes this product so popular and whether or not it is a viable method for learning to speak Spanish fluently.

¿Estás listo? Are you ready? Then let’s do it! ¡Vamos a hacerlo!

What’s Good About Rocket Spanish?

First of all let me just say that I have always, and will always, advocate that the best way to learn to speak Spanish fluently is to either live in a Spanish speaking country, or where that is not possible, to meet and converse with real Spanish speakers – either online or in your own town.

Having said that, Rocket Spanish Premium (the course that I bought) is one of, if not the, best introductory to intermediate Spanish courses I have ever used. Let’s delve a little deeper and I’ll explain what I liked about this course.

Audio Lessons

The very first thing I noticed about Rocket Spanish is that the amount of audio lessons you get is huge! I have it in my iTunes library and I can count 37 hours worth of Spanish learning! One of the best things about the audio learning is that you can do it on the move, wherever you want and whenever you want.

Rocket Spanish differs from most courses because it encourages interactive learning. Rather that just listening, repeating, and then eventually remembering, you actually take part in scenarios and situations that would be very similar to practical applications. I love the fact that you get to listen to a native Spanish accent, and a fluent Spanish accent from a non-native and get to be involved in the real-world conversations and examples. Aside from living in Spanish or having a friend to talk Spanish to in real life, it’s the best way to replicate an actual conversation.

There is so much Spanish conversation that you get a real feel for the language, the pronunciation and the subtle accent differences. I often found myself listening to the entire conversations in Spanish without English translation and you’ll be surprised at how much you take in and learn without even having to try.

I’ve actually got so into these conversations when learning on the bus that I have attracted quite a few strange looks and I reeled off a couple of sentences in fluent Spanish. It can be quite fun to freak people out on public transport with your new found Spanish skills!

Watch This Video for gaining experience of how a lesson looks like:

Rocket Spanish Instruction Books

If audio learning isn’t your thing, then I wouldn’t worry about it. I count 6 Rocket Spanish Premium instruction guides in PDF format to sink your teeth into with almost 600 pages of in depth content, flash cards and vocabulary to really help you get to a conversational level of Spanish quickly.

The beginner’s grammar guide follows along with the audio lessons, providing you with the basics of Spanish grammar, as well as important vocabulary. The conversation guide goes a step further by helping you with the intricacies of actual Spanish conversational basics, including common vocabulary and phrases. The advanced grammar guide gives you the “finishing touches” — how to speak with (and understand) more precise grammatical structures.

These guides are really top class and a lot of work has gone into them to ensure they tie in directly to what you learn through the audio courses. A smart learner might combine the two for a while to really drill home the “how” and “why” things are the way they are in Spanish. Everything is presented with real work examples that are current! None of those boring old Spanish text-books with phrases that are decades out of date.

I also got a lot of use out of the Spanish vocabulary supplement too. Once you learn the structure of the language, the quickest way to become fluent is to just build your knowledge of vocabulary. With ten lists of vocab spanning from conversations, people, nationalities, places, tourism, emotions and feelings, shopping and much more, you will be well on your way to a conversational fluency as long as you apply it and actually talk to people in Spanish.

MegaSpanish

This is another supplement to the main Rocket Spanish course and is basically like digital flash cards for the modern day. I didn’t use this much, if at all, because I learn better through other methods but it is definitely a fantastic resource and tool to have.

It comes in three parts – MegaVocab, MegaAudio and MegaVerbs.

MegaVocab is a little like Rosetta Stone Spanish in that it uses images of the Spanish word to help you visualize it. With over 1,000 words to test you with and the ability to add more words, this is a great tool for testing yourself every now and then to gauge your progress.

MegaAudio speaks vocabulary out loud to you and allows you to really focus on your pronunciation to give you a real ‘native’ sounding Spanish accent.

MegaVerbs is another great testing tool to see how good you are at conjugating a verb. If, for example, the verb was Tener (to have) and the program wanted you to conjugate that verb into ‘you have’ in the present tense, you would type tiene into the box. It’s very strict on accents too so you learn how to write Spanish correctly as well.

How Rocket Spanish Could be Better

As I’ve always said, no one method is perfect and there are a few things I would change about Rocket Spanish if I could. (Note: No other Rocket Spanish review I’ve found will tell you the absolute truth about this!)

First of all, the introductory course is very basic. It covers a lot of words that people who haven’t even spoken or learned Spanish before would know. Maybe it’s because I already had a stronger range of expression when I used the course though and for most complete beginners it wouldn’t be an issue?

My second point is that some of the content doesn’t ‘flow‘ in the same way that the Michel Thomas Spanish recordings do. I like the sort of improv nature of Michel Thomas and would have liked to see more live learning in the Rocket Spanish course.

If you already have what I would consider an intermediate level of Spanish fluency, and by that I mean you are able to hold conversations in Spanish already and have the confidence and knowledge to order drinks, book tables, find your way around a new town, meet new people and have proper conversations about your likes and dislikes, then this course probably isn’t for you. If, however, you’d like to be able to do all of that then Rocket Spanish could be what you are looking for.

Want me to tell you whether or not to buy this course? Keep reading and I’ll tell you!

Conclusion – Should You Buy Rocket Spanish?

My Rocket Spanish review has been more honest and open than any that I’ve read before and for that reason I’ll also be honest about whether you should buy it.

For complete beginners and people looking to speak Spanish fluently in the quickest time possible, then Rocket Spanish Premium is the best course out there at this time to do that.

Despite the couple of shortcomings I mentioned, I fully believe that it gives you so many different ways to learn to speak Spanish that it’s hard not to absorb the information. From audio lessons, real conversations, flash cards, verb, audio and vocab software to fun Spanish learning games there really is a learning method for all types of learner.

Of course if you already have a good command of the Spanish language and can talk about likes, dislikes, jobs, friends, family, hobbies, travel, weather and so on, and you can understand spoken Spanish on TV, radio or online as well as reading Spanish to a good level, then Rocket Spanish definitely is not for you. I’d recommend for that type of person that they either travel to a Spanish speaking country or meet up with someone locally to really practice and expand your vocabulary to gain full fluency.

Before I finish this Rocket Spanish review, I wanted to tell anyone reading that unlike Michel Thomas, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone or any other learn Spanish course, you actually get a 60-day money back guarantee with Rocket Spanish Premium. If you’re not completely satisfied within the first two months of purchase, just email the support team and you’ll get your money back – no questions asked!

Buy Rocket Spanish Premium now and you’ll be having fluent Spanish conversations in as little as 2-3 months!

Until our next review, adiós amigos!

Juan,
Learning Spanish Like a Rocket!

On this part of Spanish product reviews I am going to review one of most known Spanish Learning software you can find in the market today. Rosetta Stone has started its way somewhere around year 2000, and keep updating new versions regularly. Rosetta Stone offers software that makes the process of learning both easy and fun. It uses the same method you have experienced as a child and have learnt your mother tongue – It teaches you Spanish words with image and word association.

If you want to learn Spanish for business, everyday activities or to strengthen your résumé, using Spanish software is a smart thing. Spanish is spoken throughout the world and is very common in the USA and Europe. The number of Spanish-speaking individuals in the United States is in an ever-increasing rate.

But more important, if you are like me and you LOVE to travel, it certainly helps to know how to have a conversation in Spanish, especially when you are touring countries where this is the language of most of the population. Knowing you ways in Spanish get definitely increase your enjoyment in the upcoming vacation.

With over 30 languages and more than 100,000 units sold a year you’ll find out shortly whether the product has stood the test of time and quality, and now is a viable method for learning to speak Spanish fluently! ¿Estás listo? Are you ready? Then let’s do it! ¡Vamos a hacerlo!

What’s Good About Rosetta Stone?

As been said in my other reviews – the best way to speak Spanish Fluently, as a non-speaking, is to live in Spanish speaking countries. By that you meet and converse with real Spanish speakers in your own town.
I believe that most people can’t really stop their life and move to live in another country.

 ROSETTA STONE LEVEL 1-5 SETS – NOW AT $399 (WAS $499)

Rosetta Stone software comes to give another but similar solution. The Rosetta Stone software uses a combination of images, text, and sound, with difficulty levels increasing as the student progresses, in order to teach various vocabulary terms and grammatical functions intuitively. According to the company, the software is designed to teach languages the way first language is learned, or as they describe it, learn a language the way you learned as a child. They call this the “Dynamic Immersion method”.

How does it work

By eliminating translation and grammar explanations from language learning, your own natural language-learning ability is activated. If forces you begin the same way you learned your first language and think from the very begininning in your new language.
Step by step, you will work with the software by connecting words with images to confirm their meaning—all through a carefully designed sequence.That way you build grammatically-accurate language.

Speech-Recognition Technology

Unlike videos or books, Rosetta Stone’s method is all about interaction. At every step of the learning process, your understanding of the new language is being tested. In every lesson you will get the opportunity to develop language skills achieved —listening, speaking, reading, and writing— the speech-recognition technology compares your pronunciation to native Spanish speakers and corrects you with immediate feedback so you can polish it.

If you exceed the program’s expectations. you will proceed with lessons . Otherwise, The program automatically notifies you when it’s time to repeat the Review activity. In other words, this feature helps you transfer what you’ve learned in previous lessons and arrange it in your long-term memory.

Check this Video to see a short Demonstration:

How Rosetta Stone can be better

As you probably know, no language learning method is perfect. No language learning is able to cover every aspect of learning process. Each system chooses its own point for focus – and this is why I think trying a demo (if available) to check if you like it or not, is highly recommended.
Here you can find what are the things should be considered before you purchase Rosetta Stone:

No Translation

I heard some people complained due to the fact there is no English translation. When you see on the screen a word in Spanish, you can’t find a translated English word. I know it is can be important to some people – If they could add a small button to the software that gives an immediate translation to the words and phrases, it will solve that issue.
I personally think is it a good way to learn better the language by using your logic as well.

Check this example lesson to see if you find it Good/Bad :

Cultural Information

During the ongoing lessons, I did not find any cultural information or reference of the Spanish speaking countries.
I bought the Rosetta Stone Spanish set for one clear goal: to prepare myself for the journey to South America, so I can hold a conversation in Spanish with the locals and will not have the risk .

I think there is more than enough room to add, somewhere in this big amount of discs package, some cultural references regard some staring countries.

Conclusion-Should you Buy Rosetta Stone?

In my Rosetta Stone reviews I did my best to be honest & open and wrote my point of view on a product I’ve tried myself first.

For complete beginners I would say it is a great way to extend your basic vocabulary the include first words such as hola, adios and buenos dias then Rosetta Stone is the right software for teaching you the structure you need to be able to speak fluent Spanish.

Despite the few shortcomings mentioned above, I absolutely believe that this is the Best Value For Money for learning to speak Spanish.
Millions of learners around the world have discovered a new language with the Rosetta Stone software.

With the offer of 6-Month No-risk Money Back Guarantee on all Rosetta Stone CD-Rom products purchased direct from Rosetta Stone, it sound like a great deal to me.
Isn’t it Great?

You can buy Rosetta Stones on Amazon which also includes 2 bonus CD’s for absolute beginners!

Until our next review, adiós amigos!

Juan,
Rosetta Stone Customer

The problem is that choosing the best learn Spanish course is incredibly different for a number of reasons. It’s kind of like making a car that appeals to every single person on the planet. It has to be BORING, and cater to everyone. Which means it’s forgettable!

I’ve spent years studying and researching the best learn Spanish material — both online and offline and I think I’ve come up with a foolproof way to choose the very best learn Spanish course possible.

Are you ready to get my proven formula for ultimate Spanish learning…?

Of course you are! So here it is.

Native Speakers + Audio + Written Guide + Testing + Practice = AWESOME SPANISH

Let’s look at each of those portions so you can fully understand exactly what you need to look for when choosing the best learn Spanish course for YOU.

Why Native Speakers Are So Important

With the very unusual exception of Michel Thomas (who happens to sound very much like a native), I would say it is essential to learn Spanish from a native speaker. “But why, Juan?” I hear you cry.

It’s simple really. Do you want to learn Spanish listening to a smooth tongued, native-Spanish speaking teacher, or a Spanish tutor who speaks Spanish with a hillbilly, redneck accent? I know which option I’d get most enjoyment and learning out of.

Not only that, but listening to native speakers over time will help you pick up the little nuances of the language, and you’ll be able to sound just like a local — maybe even convincing a few of them that are you in fact a native speaker yourself!

So, the best learn Spanish course will heavily use native speakers to really help you get to grips with how the language sounds rolling off the tongue and a Spanish speaker.

Why I Love Audio Spanish Learning

Of course, there are many learn Spanish courses which don’t use native speakers because it is all textbook based. If you are trying to speak Spanish by reading a text book only — you’re an idiot! You cannot possible be using the best learn Spanish methods if you are doing this and, above all else, it’s boring as all hell.

Audio learning is fundamental to your learning and is non-negotiable. Here are the only three reasons you need to always choose audio based Spanish courses.

1. You can take it anywhere. Whether it’s at the gym, commuting to work, on a beach, a plane or anywhere else on the planet — with an audio program you can learn Spanish EVERYWHERE. It’s the perfect medium.
2. You can HEAR the accent. Instead of reading how to roll your r’s you can actually LISTEN and learn Spanish the proper way — listening to native speakers.
3. You can pause and repeat. In most circumstances I encourage you to get out and speak to Spanish people, but audio courses are great for letting you pause, understand, and repeat phrases. It’s a quick and easy way to commit Spanish to memory.

When you are looking for the best learn Spanish course for your needs, make sure there is an audio portion of the course — and it should be substantial. (i.e. NOT just the basics such as hola and adios — which every knows!)

Why Is a Written Guide Important Then?

Okay, so I hate written guides for learning to SPEAK Spanish. But you do need a companion piece to go with the audio lessons. Why? Well, you want to know how the damn words are spelt don’t ya?

Written guides are good for getting to grips with accents on letters, word spellings and so on. Basically, they teach you the grammar part of the language that you can’t get listening to a native speaker.

Ideally these should be read WHILE listening to the audio to really nail the vocab. Some people like to recap the lesson by reading these without the audio. If you’re one of these weirdos then that’s cool too. It does work wonders for some people.

The best learn Spanish guide will be a companion to the audio that doesn’t take away from the main content. Use it to polish up on your grammar, while the really heavy learning comes from the audio lessons.

How Can You Test Your Spanish?

The best learn Spanish courses will also encourage you to test what you learn. After all, it’s not really learning if it isn’t APPLIED.

Now, the very best way to test your newly acquired Spanish skills is to simply get out there and try to talk to people. If you live in a Spanish speaking country this is easy. If not, I’m sure there are Spanish communities, stores and hangouts in your town or city that you can visit.

For the grammar portion of your testing (which is VERY important if you ever want to email someone or leave Spanish love notes for your sweetheart) the best choice is PC software.

I’ve seen some pretty nifty looking computer software that tests your knowledge of tenses, accents, spelling and more right in the comfort of your own home. This is what really makes a learn Spanish course the best. It’s those little extras to help you learn Spanish in as many ways as possible!

Time to Practice…

Before you ask, practice is different to testing because with testing, you focus on only a specific few things you have recently learned. With practice, you need to have full conversations, speaking to real people online, offline and anywhere you can meet them.

A few examples of how you can practice:

• Speaking to people face-to-face
• Speaking to people on the phone
• Chatting to people online
• Listening to Spanish radio shows

Be creative in your practice. I know some people who labeled every single item in their house with a post-it note and the Spanish translation for the item. THAT’S DEDICATION!

So what happens when you combine all these elements together? Well, you get the very best learn Spanish course that money can buy, of course…

The Best Learn Spanish Course: My Recommendation

There are hundreds of Spanish courses out there — from huge products like Rosetta Stone to more niche products aimed at teaching your toddle how to speak Spanish — so I know how hard it is to make a damn decision!

However, I have found Rocket Spanish to be the very best learn Spanish resource available today. Here’s what makes it stand out from everybody else:

• Over 400,000 people have used it to start speaking Spanish! (including me)
• It uses real NATIVE SPEAKERS.
• The vocab guide makes it so easy to follow along with the audio lessons.
• The desktop software is great for testing your knowledge quickly.
• You learn WITHOUT having to memorize stuff.
• They offer a 60 DAYS MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!

In my Rocket Spanish review, I highlighted why I think this is the very best learn Spanish course for beginners and I stand by it.

Don’t take my word for it though. Try Rocket Spanish today and see for yourself. They offer a full 60 Days refund policy if you’re not happy.

Chances are good though that you’ll love the course and be able to have fluent Spanish conversations within 6 months. And isn’t that what you want out of a good Spanish course?

>> Click here to find out more about Rocket Spanish <<

Here’s to finding you the best learn Spanish course for YOU,

-Juan

Via: Sell Back Your Book

árbitro

[ar-be-tro]
(noun)
1. Referee (sport), Umpire (en tenis, críquet)
2. Arbitrator (law)

Ejemplo

Only one example for this word of the week and it’s a phrase I use on an almost daily basis during the soccer season. If you like to watch Spanish football (and let’s face it, what soccer fan doesn’t) then this can be your new catchphrase when the referee is making unbelievably bad decisions!

¡El árbitro es idiota! => The referee is an idiot!

Everyone wants to learn Spanish fast but not everybody will. For most people it will take around 3-4 months to be having very basic Spanish conversations with native speakers and around 6-9 months to become conversationally fluent in a variety of tenses. To become fully fluent and nail down all the vocabulary and grammar in the Spanish language can take 3+ years to achieve.

With all that said, there are some very effective ways to speed up your Spanish learning and have a confident command of the language very quickly indeed.

So, do you want to learn Spanish fast? Keep reading and I’ll give you the best tips in the business for doing just that!

Learn Spanish Fast: How Do You Do It?

I’ve covered pretty extensively a great many ways to learn Spanish before and believe that almost every strategy going is mentioned in that post. Today, I’ll give you the absolute best three ways to learn Spanish fast and get you talking Spanish with Spanish speaking people, in record fast time!

1. Move to a Spanish speaking country. This has been said time and time again by anybody who has ever learned Spanish and it’s worth repeating if you are just looking into the language. The absolute best way to learn Spanish fastis to move to a country where you are forced to learn it. If this is possible for you, then there are a couple of things you can do to get the most out of your experience:
   • Make mistakes when talking to locals. If you want to learn Spanish fast, then you have to fail fast and fail often. In communication it’s all about feedback. If a foreign person said to you, “I eat it already” then you wouldn’t correct them and say that they said it wrong, you’d give them feedback and say something like, “Oh, you ate already” and they would say, “Yes, I ate” and learn from the feedback the correct way to say it. Make mistakes often and don’t be afraid to mis-speak. Once you get the feedback, you’ll learn Spanish fast, guaranteed.
   • Get tuition from a local. In addition to your tourist exploits of making mistakes with locals, seek out a local Spanish learning school to get tuition and instruction from trained professionals. It’s often way cheaper to take Spanish lessons in-country than it would be to do it in your home town! The best part of this is that you get to apply what you’ve learned before you forget it, and this in turn makes you remember.
2. Get social online (and off). If dropping everything to fly to Spain isn’t an option for you, then you can recreate the social conversations in an online environment instead. With tools like Skype now readily available, you can learn Spanish fast online using your computer and a microphone. There are many places to find a Spanish speaking local who has access to Skype and the best option is to do a language exchangewith them. Essentially, you swap your knowledge and skills in English for their knowledge and skills in Spanish and you teach each other. The beauty of this is that it forces you to communicate even when the common language skills you share are very basic.A couple of sites I recommend for this are My Language Exchange, Shared Talk and Busuu. You can even find people to meet up with in your local area to learn Spanish with on sites like Meet Up and Spanglish Exchange.
3. Immerse yourself in Spanish. If you really want to learn Spanish fast, and I mean superfast, then full immersion is the key. If you can’t get to Spain or a Spanish speaking country, and all the people you meet on language exchange sites seem weird and creepy, well then you have to go whole hog and use as many tools and methods as you can to absorb information. Many people swear by watching Spanish TV, movies and dubbed series of The Simpsons and Lost. A good friend of mine became conversationally fluent from doing almost nothing but watch TV in Spanish for 5-6 hours a day for months at a time. He was also meeting on Skype to learn Spanish that way and he was using courses like Rocket Spanish and Michel Thomas Spanish.It’s a hell of a lot of work, but if you need to learn quickly then you can do this all out method in the short term and enjoy the rewards when you’re relaxing on the soft white sands of Mexico. To avoid overwhelm, stress and confusion, you need to keep your mind clear of distractions while absorbing information. It can be tempting to drift off, surf the net or do something else while listening to an audio course, but you have to be present and repeat phrases out loud, participate and be an active learner. If you can do that and dedicate 4-5 hours a day to learning, you should be able to speak Spanish fluently in a very short period of time.
4. Check Our Partners
   If you want to expand your Spanish knowledge and learn new stuff, it is important that you often navigate the web and find more information.
   We are going to put here OUR RECOMMENDED PARTNERS,which we think you should check out:Learn Spanish in SpainSpanish school for foreigners. Learn Spanish in Alicante,
   Barcelona, Granada or Madrid. High quality at reasonable prices.

What it really comes down to is just how fast do you want or need to learn Spanish? Personally, I take my time and learn little by little because I enjoy the process of learning the language. This is why my free Spanish lessons are once a week rather than daily like some other courses – I want you to learn slowly, avoid getting burnt out and really enjoy what you are learning!

Of course, if you just want to learn Spanish fast and have the time available, then use one or more of the above methods and you’ll be speaking fluently in no time at all!

Until next time, I’ll say hasta entonces mi amigos! ¡Adios!

Juan,
Learning Spanish Slowly (But Faster Than Those That Quit!)

It was one of the first tools I used to actually improve my comprehension of spoken Spanish at a normal pace. I think structure can be learned very well through books and audio courses with word repetition and such, but to achieve conversational fluency you absolutely have to be able to understand spoken Spanish at full pace and be able to respond to it – even if you feel uncomfortable at first.

So, if you haven’t watched the entire series of Mi Vida Loca then I suggest you do so now. Each episode of the show has learning materials available for you to download and expand upon what you’ve learned.

To save you the time of doing that I have compiled them all into one file for you.

I know, I know… I do too much for you! You can thank me by signing up for my free Spanish lessons if you haven’t already.

But What Is The Best Way to Use These Tools, Juan?

Glad you asked! I’d use them as a reference guide as you watch each episode so that you can focus on listening to what is being said. You can also use them to expand your vocabulary and practice the conversations from the show out loud in your spare time.

Another great way to use the transcripts would be to find a friend or Spanish-learning “buddy” and you can both act out scenes from the show to replicate real life Spanish conversations. Whatever you do, have fun and enjoy learning!

You might recognize some of the material as being similar to that in the Fluently Spanish Lessons E-Course. That’s because all learners start in the same place and you need to be able to say hello and how are you before you can expand into political and philisophical conversations in Spanish!

Get the free Mi Vida Loca materials here and have fun learning to speak Spanish fluently!

Juan,
Livin’ La Vida Loca

In the past I tried to learn Spanish at school using the old, out-of-date, and straight up boring text books. When I struggled to learn I figured it was all my fault and maybe I just wasn’t smart enough to learn a new language.

Luckily for you, I’ve spent a lot of time researching methods for learning Spanish and have come across so many new, exciting and original ways to speak Spanish fluently. To save you the trouble of figuring this out on your own, I’ll give you 101 practical ways to learn Spanish quickly without ever having to touch a boring old textbook again.

46 Ways to Learn Spanish

1. Ask for help! If you have a Spanish speaker to practice with, you can say ¿Cómo se dice (English Word) en español? which means how do you say (English Word) in Spanish.
2. Pay for private tuition.
3. Find a local group of Spanish learners on Meet Up.
4. Listen to Spanish podcasts and/or radio shows on the bus to work or school.
5. Listen to Spanish lessons, radio shows, music, podcasts or any other form of audio while you sleep. Many people have had great success with sleep learning!
6. Find and chat with Spanish friends on Skype.
7. Play Scrabble in Spanish with your friends and family. Don’t play with Spanish speakers unless you wanna get beat!
8. If you’re feeling brave and think you can keep up, listen to Spanish rap music!
9. Listen to learn Spanish podcasts in iTunes. Coffee Break Spanish being one of the better podcasts that is fun, enjoyable and actually teaches you the basics. Nice little jingle too!
10. Listen to Spanish radio online and just try to keep up!
11. Move to Mexico on a whim and fully immerse yourself.
12. Guess words. If you’re wrong, it can be a conversation starter with locals!
13. Learn Spanish while actually in Spain or Mexico to really get a feel for the culture.
14. Learn Spanish structure quickly with the master of languages, Michel Thomas. I did a Michel Thomas Spanish review to give you a taste of what to expect.
15. Follow along with the BBC’s Interactive Spanish Soap, Mi Vida Loca.
16. For learners who already have a basic grasp of Spanish, you can have fun learning on Childtopia’s learn Spanish site.
17. Join an online language exchange site like Shared Talk or Busuu
18. Listen to (and dance to) Spanish music.
19. Keep a journal of Spanish words or phrases you don’t understand.
20. Take a no-risk 60 day trial of Rocket Spanish Premium. Check out my Rocket Spanish review to see what I really think of it.
21. Learn Spanish while watching TV on LoMásTV.
22. Read your favorite book in Spanish. Nothing like Harry Potter en español!
23. Read Spanish websites online (without Google Translate). Hint: focus on topics you enjoy in your own language. I read about soccer news in Spanish on ElPais.com.
24. Take a Spanish class in your local city or town.
25. Try to complete crosswords in Spanish.
26. Write Spanish translations for as many things as you can in the home. Label the fridge, the TV, the wall, the door, the window and so on with the Spanish word written on a Post-It note.
27. Pick up basic Spanish while entertaining a young child with Dora the Explorer or Diego.
28. Buy a good Spanish Dictionary.
29. Sign up for free video lessons on SpanishDict.
30. Visit the famous Ramblas in Barçelona.
31. Play a game of Comprendo.
32. Eavesdrop. That’s right. If you travel to a Spanish speaking country, get used to listening in on conversations and try to understand what’s going on.
33. Play any of the games at Digital Dialects.
34. Download Spanish-dubbed versions of Lost/The Simpson or whatever your favorite show is.
35. Challenge your friends to a game of Spanish Monopoly.
36. Speak Spanish out loud every day!
37. Start eating at Spanish or Mexican restaurants. Read menus, speak to waiters, listen to other diners!
38. Listen to audio soaps. My favorite is Buenos Entonces which is like Rosetta Stone meets Grand Theft Auto! Awesome.
39. Watch your favorite movies with Spanish subtitles on.
40. Watch your favorite sport with Spanish commentary on. Nothing like watching Lionel Messi score the winner for Barçelona against Real Madrid to the backdrop of a commentator saying, ¡Gol!
41. Get a translation app for your iPhone, Android or Blackberry.
42. Use image association to remember more words and phrases.
43. Have fun. You’ll learn more when you enjoy what you’re doing.
44. Find a Spanish Pen Pal to write, email and speak to on Notes from Spain, Pen Pal Party or My Language Exchange.
45. Yet another great board game that will make Spanish learning fun is Spanish Guess Who? Also known as ¿Adivina Quien?
46. Use a learn Spanish game for your handheld console. You can get My Spanish Coach for Nintendo DS at Amazon.

Of course there are countless variations of each of these learning methods you could use to speak Spanish fluently so I encourage you to have fun, experiment, and find new and exciting ways to learn Spanish.

Now it’s over to you. I really wanted to get this list to 101 fun, interesting and non-textbook ways of learning Spanish and for that I’ll need your help. If you have an interesting or unusual way of learning Spanish that isn’t mentioned here then please leave a comment below with your method.

I’ll add all new learning methods to the original list until we eventually have 101 ways to learn Spanish with a boring textbook!

Leave your comment below now!

¡Adiós amigos!

todavía

[to-dah-bee-ah]
(adverb)
1. Notwithstanding, nevertheless.
2. Still, yet.

Ejemplos

Todavía no se. => Still I don’t know/I still don’t know.
Están todavía aquí. => They are still here.
¿Pero vive todavía? => But is she still alive?

Today, I’ll be reviewing a product which has been around for a very long time. Michel Thomas Spanish was first released somewhere around 2000 if I remember rightly, and you’ll find out shortly whether the product has stood the test of time! ¿Estás listo? Are you ready? Then let’s do it! ¡Vamos a hacerlo!

What’s Good About Michel Thomas Spanish?

One of the best things about this audio program is most definitely Michel Thomas himself. The man literally oozes charisma and despite his age in the recording (I think he was somewhere in his 70′s) there is a distinct undertone of flirtation between him and the much younger female learner. If you ever get a chance to read his story, you’ll also discover that he lived a fantastic life of adventure, passion and languages despite having to escape captivity during a world war! But what can he teach you about Spanish?

Well for starters, the entire method revolves around a few ‘rules‘. One of which is that the entire responsibility for language learning is with him as the teacher. He instantly makes you feel at ease by letting you know right away that there will be no vocabulary or grammar exercises or even memory lessons. You simply listen to him speaking Spanish and explaining the sentence structure, then you listen to the two learners repeat it, then you pause the recording and repeat it yourself. It’s a very quick, easy and stress free way to get a grasp of the language and has you speaking and understanding in a matter of minutes.

The course spans over 8 CD’s and focuses primarily on the present tense (I speak, I want, I need etc) but he also easily explains future tense and past tense in a way that is so simple a trained chimp could learn Spanish.

Michel Thomas

Throughout the course both you and the students on the recording are encouraged to guess words and sentences, with Michel ensuring that you are structurally correct. For instance, as a native English speaker I would never have known that to say I need it in Spanish is it I need(Lo necesito) in English. It’s a basic example but once you understand the structure of the language, it’s merely a case of building your vocabulary of words to increase your range of expression.

The one thing that I enjoyed most about this product though was that it flows naturally and uses language you’ve already learned to teach new ideas and concepts. Most courses focus on a topic such as Greetings, Weather, Travel and although some are good for teaching basic words, it doesn’t explain the structure behind it. This course does that extremely well and at times you’ll find Michel asking you to translate a complicated sentence that you would struggle to repeat back in English, let alone Spanish, but because you know most of the words already, you find yourself reeling off full sentences in perfect, fluent Spanish!

Of course, no product is perfect and Michel Thomas Spanish is no different. Keep reading and I’ll tell you what I didn’t like about it.

What Didn’t Work in Michel Thomas Spanish?

As much as I loved this audio course, there are a few gripes that I have with it.

First, Michels accent does take a little bit of getting used to. When I first tried to use the recordings, I had to switch off because his accent wasn’t endearing to me. Funnily enough, after I got used to the way he speaks I actually really liked his accent and it does add character to the experience. For first time listeners, please don’t be put off by his voice in the beginning and I promise you will come to love him.

Second, the male learner is annoying! One of the big parts of this course is the present tense “push” which is basically the way you pronounce the syllable before last on any given word and push down to make it noticeable. The male learner doesn’t get it at all and you will be frustrated when he can’t even say I can (Puedo) without being prompted by Michel. There are times when it seems like you’ve spent 10 minutes listen to Michel and the learner go back and forth just saying, “Pueeeeeeeeedo!”

They were the only real problems I had with Michel Thomas Spanish and despite its flaws, I learned a great deal of my basic language from him and he really is an exceptional teacher and an incredible human being too!

Want to know whether you should buy this product? Keep reading and I’ll tell you.

Conclusion – Should You Buy Michel Thomas Spanish?

For complete beginners or people who’s grasp of Spanish extends only to hola, adios and buenos dias then this is one of the best products on the market for teaching you the structure you need to be able to speak fluent Spanish.

If, on the other hand, you are already able to have basic conversations with Spanish speakers, then you might want to check out the Michel Thomas Advanced Spanish course instead to add to your skills.

If you do buy this audio, you’ll be given hundreds of words in English than can be translated into Spanish instantly by anybody. Vocabulary = vocabulario, necessary = necesario, information = información and so on. You will be taught to ask and answer basic questions as well as explore the future tense (will, would, going) and dive into the past tense.

You can literally forget the whole verb, noun, adjective structure too as Michel makes everything very easy so all you have to focus on is the structure and the words you are learning. ¡Es muy fácil! It’s very easy!

I bought the CD set, imported it onto my iPod and learned Spanish on my way to work each day. You can take it on a place to Madrid, Mexico, Argentina or any other Spanish speaking country you might go to and when you land, you’ll instantly be able to talk to locals. How amazing is that?

You can buy Michel Thomas Spanish on Amazon which also includes 2 bonus CD’s for absolute beginners!

Until our next review, adiós amigos!

Juan,
Michel Thomas Admirer