Beginners Spanish 1

Welcome to our first episode, all about the weather! Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Questions to ask people when you first meet them
• How to ask about the weather
• How to tell people that it’s hot, cold, raining, or sunny

We’ve just reached another new year, and another opportunity to make and break new years resolutions! We run through the most popular resolutions, and tell you our own new years resolutions. Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Do they have new years resolutions in Colombia?
• The top 10 most popular resolutions, and how to say them in Spanish
• How to say your own resolutions, in Spanish

Learn about different types of transport in Spanish, including a few methods which are unique to Colombia! You’ll learn:

• Different methods of transport
• The cardinal numbers (first, second, third, etc)
• The “masculine problem” (you’ll see what we mean)
• Problems of transport

Rob and Liz are enfermos (ill)! They talk (moan) about their illnesses, and what they’re going to do about it. In episode 4 you’ll learn:

• Different ways of saying “I have a cold”
• How to say you have a head ache, stomach ache, back ache, or anything-ache!
• How to cure your cold with vitamins, hot drinks, and staying at home (no secret there…)

Podcast número cinco (not four, as I say in the podcast…) is all about el día de San Valentin, where love is in the air and you learn all about Romantic Spanish. Learn phrases and terms for referring to your significant other, some love idioms, and more. You’ll also learn all about the South American tradition of El día de amor y amistad.

Our recent mudanza to sunny Barnes, London. We talk about the problems we faced, and how we did it.

Lis and Rob talk about their families. We soon find out that Lis has an enormous family, with over thirty cousins! ¿Cuántos primos tienes tu?

How to talk about sports in Spanish: Sports vocabulary, key phrases and conversation. Do you play any sports? What do you think the most popular sports in Colombia are?

Talk about going out on the town with your friends – from “juergas” to “citas a ciegas”!

Learn how to express your inner self, whether good or bad. We also introduce to the verb sentirse – to feel. This is a reflexive verb, so needs a little extra attention when we conjugate it. Also, learn about how using poner and dar can be used in a cool way to describe your emotions!

Learn vocabulary related to money – how to ask about prices, how to actually say prices (numbers do come in handy!), as well as a few other money related phrases!

Useful phrases for some of the most intense “conversations” you can have: arguments! Tempers may be running high, so it’s always good to have a stock of phrases that you can fall back in should you ever be unfortunate enough to have an argument with a Latino/a or Spaniard!

Using “adverbs of frequency” to talk about how often you do things, how to ask “how often”, and using the incredibly useful verb soler.

Learn how to tell the time in Spanish, along with other time related phrases.

Building on our previous podcast about how to tell the time, we now give you a few ways that you can arrange to meet with someone. We also take a quick look at the conditional.

One thing that we’ve noticed since living together is how different we feel about mornings and evenings. Liz is a morning person, and Rob is definitely not…

Learn the latest Spanish vocabulary around social networks, and communication in the digital age:

• How social networks are changing Spanish (as well as English)
• How to say “update”, “upload”, “download”, “tag”, and other important “digital verbs”
• What is “a like” in Spanish?

Learn the vocabulary and phrases you’ll need should you ever have to pay a visit to the doctor or pharmacy. You’ll learn how to:

• Ask for a doctor’s appointment
• Describe different types of pain, and how you feel
• Understand common medical procedures

Learn the subtle art of complaining in Spanish:

• Say when something doesn’t work, is broken, or doesn’t function properly
• Use no creo que and hasta que to complain
• Talk about how long you have been waiting

Learn important vocabulary and phrases for when you are out and about on the roads in Spain and Latin America. Here’s a taste of what you’ll learn:

• Some rules of the road in Spanish
• Driving verbs, such as “back up”, “pull over”, and “give way”
• All of the types of road and weird road signs you’ll see!

Rob and Lis both tell a story about their experiences of dealing with the authorities, in Spain and Colombia. This lesson is focused on comprehension, so be sure to follow along with the transcript if you struggle.

We explore 6 common and useful Spanish proverbs that you can start using in your conversations right away.

Learn different ways and structures that you can ask for favours in Spanish:

• “Lending” vs “borrowing” in Spanish, and why Spanish speakers struggle to understand the difference
• Different ways of asking for a lift, and asking to be dropped off
• Using esperar que and the subjunctive

Specific language you can use for when you need to make an excuse in Spanish:

• Es que, resulta que, and other ways of “introducing” your excuse
• Phrases using excusas
• Using the past conditional: habría terminado, pero…

We cover some useful and authentic ways of paying someone a compliment in Spanish

• Using ser and estar when describing someone
• The verbs quedar and verse, meaning “to look”
• ¡Qué bonita estás! structured phrases

Learn some of the tell-tale signs of a learner accent:

• Spanish pure vowels
• Soft “d” and “t” sounds
• Using the English “schwa” sound

Learn useful verbs and constructions to help solve problems:

• Verbs including arreglar, solucionar, and more
• Lo que se puede hacer para… type phrases
• Use the subjunctive with necesitar que – “I need you to…”

Learn all about those little phrases and words which Spanish speakers use to:

• Keep the conversation going
• Show their understanding
• Interrupt people and groups
• Excuse themselves from a conversation

All about those little things people say to bring a story to life and help it flow:

• How to start a story
• Sequencing and linking words and phrases
• Introduce new elements to a story
• How to finish a story

Learn a few jokes, guaranteed to make your audience groan:

• Puns, and juegos de palabras
• Chistes con doble sentido
• ¿Qué dijo un… al otro?
• Joke vocabulary