Learn Spanish grammar: how to describe masculine nouns – free Spanish grammar lesson

Posted in 'How to' articles, Free Spanish resources, Podcasts and videocasts, Spanish grammar, Spanish lessons on November 21st, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

You can watch my free Spanish video lessons on my YouTube channel spanishvideolessons and also on this blog where I will post all my Spanish learning videos.

In this lesson you can learn how to describe masculine nouns. This is the Lesson 6 grammar from my Spanish Online Course.



This free Spanish video lesson includes plenty of examples with their English translation, easy grammar notes, and a speaking drill to review what you’ve learned.

To watch this video at the highest image quality, please change the settings to 1080p on the bottom bar of the video.

If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions, please leave a comment here or on my YouTube channel spanishvideolessons.

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“Learn Spanish At Your Own Pace” – Spanish course now on Amazon

Posted in Spanish course, Spanish grammar, Spanish lessons, Spanish pronunciation, Spanish vocabulary on November 18th, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

You can now get my Spanish language course Learn Spanish At Your Own Pace on Amazon.co.uk:



This is a Spanish course that takes you from a beginners’ to an intermediate level in 24 lessons with: dialogs, vocabulary practice, grammar, pronunciation drills, learning tips, speaking and listening drills, reading and writing exercises, and more.

This course contains a 300-page book and 2 audio cds with more than 2.5 hours of recordings by native Spanish speakers.

At Spanish Bookworld you can find all the information you need: features, lesson plan, cd content, free audio samples, free text samples and about the author.

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Get a free Spanish learning ebook and audio lessons

Posted in Free products, Free Spanish resources, Spanish ebooks on November 9th, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

I have two freebies for you: one of my Spanish learning ebooks and Lessons 1 to 4 from my Spanish Audio Course. To get them, all you need to do is subscribe to my Spanish Online Course. Get them today!

Here’s what my Spanish Online Course looks and sounds like:



button online course price 12 months transparent Get a free Spanish learning ebook and audio lessons

Play the free lessons

How to learn Spanish vocabulary and remember it

Posted in 'How to' articles, Learning ideas, Spanish ebooks, Spanish vocabulary on October 31st, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

cover how to learn spanish small margins arrow How to learn Spanish vocabulary and remember it

This is an extract from "How to learn Spanish", ebook by Maria Fernandez

This is an extract from my ebook “How To Learn Spanish“:

You can learn new Spanish vocabulary fast, and remember it easily, if you use the right learning technique.

One of the biggest frustrations we all face when studying a foreign language is failing to remember the words and phrases we thought we had learned. How do you stop forgetting the words you came across in previous lessons? Here is the technique my students and I use:

1. Learn new vocabulary with audio material rather than from text only. The difference between learning new Spanish words by reading them in your lesson’s glossary only and by hearing them said by native speakers is abysmal. Hearing the vocabulary said by a native speaker will not only make you familiar with those words substantially faster, but it will also help you understand them better, and you will pronounce them correctly and memorize them easily.

2. Learn new vocabulary in context. Whenever you learn a new Spanish word, make sure you also hear it in context; in you lessons’ dialogs, for instance. Remembering lists of single words without context is practically impossible for most of us, because the human brain works best when it can make associations. In my experience both as a language teacher and a learner, recorded dialogs are the most effective tool for reinforcing your vocabulary.

3. Review vocabulary by listening to your audio material regularly. Listen to the dialogs and flashcards in your lessons as frequently as you can. Repeat them out loud, along with the recordings, with and without the transcript in front of you. In other words, make reviewing part of your study routine. Reviewing always pays off. The more often you review the vocabulary you have learned, the more solid your knowledge will be and, in turn, the faster you will be able to learn and remember new, more difficult, words.

4. Learn all Spanish nouns with their article (“el”, “la”, “los”, “las”) rather than on their own. Whenever you learn a Spanish noun with its article, you are avoiding endless future mistakes. In essence, you are saving yourself a lot of time, and unnecessary, repetitive work. As you may know, the Spanish gender rules can help you “guess” the gender of many nouns, especially those ending in “a” and “o”, but there are many nouns that will let you down if you try to guess their gender. That is why it is safer, and faster, to learn them all with their article when you first come across them.

5. Learn phrases and idioms as a whole, rather than analyzing them word for word. Better still, learn them in context, within complete sentences, and you will not forget them.

6. Redo the vocabulary drills in your course until you can get all the answers right.

You can read these and more tips on how to learn Spanish vocabulary and remember it in my ebook “How to learn Spanish“.

You can get this ebook on:

amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.de

amazon.fr

Spanish poetry in English and Spanish

Posted in Free Spanish resources on October 19th, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

Here are some of my favorite Spanish poetry sites:

Wikipedia: Spanish poetry

Wikipedia: Latin American poetry

www.poets.org

www.poetryfoundation.org

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Some poetry readings I love:

Mariposa, by García Lorca – read by Andy Garcia

Puedo escribir los versos…, by Pablo Neruda

Una canción desesperada, by Pablo Neruda – read by Juan José Torres

No te salves, by Mario Benedetti

Cuando la noche te envuelve, by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer – sung by Manzanita

Romance sonámbulo, by García Lorca – sung by Manzanita :: Transcript and translation.




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Spanish recipes in English and Spanish

Posted in Free Spanish resources on October 19th, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

Here are some Spanish recipe sites I like:

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IN SPANISH

www.directoalpaladar.com

www.eladerezo.com

www.rtve.es

allrecipes.com.mx

cocina.univision.com

www.recetasdiarias.com

www.canalcocina.es

www.hogarutil.com

www2.esmas.com

televisa.esmas.com

www.cocinadominicana.com

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IN ENGLISH

cookinginmexico.com

www.cookingchanneltv.com

www.mexicoinmykitchen.com

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YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Recetas 0nline




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Free Spanish online radio stations

Posted in Free Spanish resources on October 18th, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

Here is a list of some of the most popular online radio stations in the Spanish-speaking world:

Intereconomía: Spain

Kiss FM: Spain

La Z 107.3 FM: Mexico

Onda Cero: Spain

Radio Mitre: Argentina

Radio Nacional de España: Spain

Spanish Online Course by Maria Fernandez

Posted in Podcasts and videocasts, Spanish course, Spanish lessons on August 28th, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

Want to see what my Spanish online course looks and sounds like? Here’s an insight into the course:



button online course price 12 months transparent Spanish Online Course by Maria Fernandez

Play the free lessons

Win a Spanish course

Posted in Free products, Free Spanish resources, Spanish course on July 19th, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

Great news!
 
I’m giving away three 12-month subscriptions to my Spanish online course.
 
To win, all you need to do is enter your email address here.

banner win spanish course 450 90 Win a Spanish course
 
To see what my Spanish course looks and sounds like, go to Spanish Bookworld.
 
My Spanish course includes: 45 interactive dialogs, vocabulary audio flashcards, grammar lessons, pronunciation practice, speaking and listening drills, kids’ lessons, Spanish language learning articles, quizzes, and more.
 
If you have any queries, or simply want to have a chat, please contact me.

To find out about all my Spanish course offers, sweepstakes, contests and coupons, join me at:

icon facebook large Win a Spanish course
   
follow me b Win a Spanish course

icon newsletter signup large Win a Spanish course

Top 5 Spanish learning courses – The most popular Spanish courses

Posted in Spanish course reviews, Spanish lessons on June 18th, 2011 by Maria – Be the first to comment

In my long experience as a Spanish language teacher and course author I’ve come across dozens of Spanish courses, good and bad, student-friendly and dry as a bone.

This is a great time for learning foreign languages. The quality of the learning material has improved quite dramatically over the years, prices are generally very reasonable, and the nasty no-pain-no-gain approach to language learning is long gone.

Over time, some Spanish courses that were once popular have now but disappeared from the radar, others have turned out to be much more successful than I had imagined.

Here are the top 5 Spanish courses currently on the market. They all have their own learning approach and emphasize different aspects of the language. I have written reviews for all of them and linked to the free lessons they offer.

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Visual Link Spanish

visual link spanish 2 150x150 Top 5 Spanish learning courses   The most popular Spanish courses

Visual Link Spanish


This is without question the top 1 Spanish language course, and has been so for many years.

Its friendly approach to language learning, and the fact that it comes on cd-rom and cd make it a highly attractive course.

Read my Visual Link Spanish review and get the free Spanish lessons.

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Learning Spanish Like Crazy

learning spanish like crazy 88 135 Top 5 Spanish learning courses   The most popular Spanish courses

Learning Spanish Like Crazy


This Spanish audio course is very popular with commuters and those who don’t have the time to sit in front of the computer or a book.

It focuses on conversation, and it’s fun and engaging.

Read my Learning Spanish Like Crazy review and get the free Spanish lessons.

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Rosetta Stone Spanish

rosetta stone spanish 119 144 Top 5 Spanish learning courses   The most popular Spanish courses

Rosetta Stone Spanish


This bestselling series of Spanish courses covers all levels, from beginners to advanced. It comes not only on cd-rom, but also on mp3, and it has recently introduced an app.

This Spanish course puts the emphasis on speaking and understanding, and it has some powerful pronunciation software to help you improve your accent.

Read my Rosetta Stone Spanish review and get Rosetta Stone at 30% off.

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Rocket Spanish

rocket spanish 120 135 Top 5 Spanish learning courses   The most popular Spanish courses

Rocket Spanish


This popular Spanish course also comes on cd-rom and cd. It covers the grammar thoroughly, and it includes 31 culture lessons.

Rocket Spanish focuses not only on listening and speaking, but also on reading and writing.

Read my Rocket Spanish review and get the 6-day free trial.

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Verbarrator

verbarrator product image small Top 5 Spanish learning courses   The most popular Spanish courses

Verbarrator - Spanish verbs


This is a fairly new Spanish course, but one that has quickly earned its place at the very top.

Verbarrator is a Spanish verb course that covers 550 verbs in all tenses, with audio recordings, drills and verb phrases. It’s flexible, intuitive, fun and motivating, and it works.

Read my Verbarrator review and get the free Spanish verb lessons.

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Need more details? Please post your comment below and I’ll reply to you today.

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