Argentina, Buenos Aires
Bolivia, La Paz, Sucre
Chile, Santiago
Colombia, Bogotá
Costa Rica, San José
Cuba, Havana
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
Ecuador, Quito
El Salvador, San Salvador
Equatorial Guinea, Malabo
Guatemala, Guatemala City
Honduras, Tegucigalpa
Mexico, Mexico City
Nicaragua, Managua
Panama, Panama City
Paraguay, Asunción
Peru, Lima
Puerto Rico, San Juan
Spain, Madrid
Uruguay, Montevideo
Venezuela, Caracas

Wouldn’t it be amazing to visit every one of these countries? Check out our new Spanish Speaking Countries page and see which ones you might want to visit. We will be adding new info regularly on each of these countries, so check it out. I’ll admit I’ve only been to one: Mexico. How many Spanish speaking countries have you been to? List them in the comment section!

Dave,  thanks for your explaination on the “a” before some verbs… Now I remember from level 1 that after some verbs you had the “a” in parentheses after some verbs. I also purchased the 501 verb book that you suggested. I think it will help, especially when I get used to the terminology used in the book.

Comment:

As you mention, there are certain verbs from Level I that you have to put an “a” afterward if you add another verb on after (you have to memorize these):

Quiero aprender a leer. (I want to learn to read.)

Necesito enseñarle a tocar el instrumento. (I need to teach her to play the instrument.)

Question:

As I said in my last email, I have started level 3 now. I have been in the program for a year and a half now and in some respects feel like I am progressing pretty well but in others feel like I am lagging a little. Just have trouble with the irregulars in as far as getting them mixed up. I keep going back through them to try to get them straight. Is this pretty common? I learn them fine while in a lesson but as I go on I get confused on which verbs for which tense.

Answer:

This is very common. The most challenging part about Spanish is learning the verbs because there are so many tenses and conjugations. The good news is that the more you practice (with the software and with native speakers), the better you get. Keep plugging away and eventually it will come. To really become fluent, I recommend 30-60 minutes a day 3-5 days a week. Remember, cramming doesn’t work. You learn it and then forget it soon thereafter.

Question:

Another concern I have is how slow I am to comprehend when others are speaking. I can read and write pretty well, speak pretty well if I think first but comprehension is my weak point. I am thinking of the DLC product but don’t want to overload. I still have to finish level 3 and I have the additonal verb product that I haven’t even looked at yet. Just wondering what your thoughts on this are. I should probably mention that I am 58 yrs old and that might hinder the speed of my progress some. I would appreciate any advice you might have. I am hooked and want to become fluent. By the way, what is considered fluent? Thanks—————Rick

Answer:

For what you want, I would really recommend the Spanish Comprehension Trainer and not the DLC at this point. It has real-life conversations between native speakers and it helps you to understand them with a translation tool. There is also a tool to let you hear everything slower. As you use this software, you will start to recognize the verb tenses you are learning and how they are used.

To answer your question about becoming fluent, fluency really means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. remember to just keep practicing – eventually you reach breakthroughs that are exciting and that confirm your progress.

Question (from a different anonymous Spanish learner):

I don’t know what I ought to do.  No sé lo que debo hacer.  Why the direct object lo?

Answer:

Here the “lo que” means “that which”. So, the translation would be, “I don’t know that which I ought to do”.

Question:

I’m going to ask my aunt what she thinks.   Voy a preguntarle a mi tía lo que piensa.  Why the direct object lo? I can’t figure this out.

Answer:

Again, here you are literally saying, “I am going to ask my aunt that which she thinks.” I realize that sounds a little different from the way we would actually say it in English, however, that’s how they say it in Spanish.

Hopefully that answers your questions.

If any of you readers has future question, please comment here on our blog.

¡Hasta luego amigos!

I know the title of this week’s video lesson may sound a little controversial – don’t worry, we don’t advocate being mean to children. However, it probably caught your attention and got you to read the title and wonder what the lesson would be about. Anyway, here you are and here’s the lesson.

If you have children, these are some useful phrases I have said to my kids in Spanish over the years and they’ve learned them quite well. You can learn them and practice them with your kids also. It’s a great way to give your kids exposure to Spanish. Be sure and listen to the Spanish pronunciation well so you teach them a proper accent.

Here is the vocabulary from the video:

After learning those words, be sure and try them out on your kids or grandkids (if you have either).

Regardless, please come and share with us on Facebook Fiesta Friday. Remember, you can come to our Visual Link Spanish Facebook page each week and practice what you learned. The questions of the week will be ¿Tienes hijos? (Do you have children?), and How many children do you have? (¿Cuántos hijos tienes?)

If you don’t have children yet, please tell us in Spanish how many you want to have in the future. Example: I want to have three children. (Quiero tener tres hijos.)

Please practice what you’ve learned and come answer those questions on Facebook – hope to see you there!

If you want to learn Spanish at a higher level, try one of our Free Spanish Downloads.

Future Facebook Fiesta Friday Topics:

September 30, 2011 – What to Say to Your Parents in Spanish

October 7, 2011 – Speaking Spanish With Your Best Friend

October 14, 2011 – Getting to Know a Spanish Speaker

Don’t be like this guy

E

Good Luck!

E

I hope you enjoy learning more each weed about Latin American culture.  I know I am!

E

One day in class, my teacher turned on the tape player (if that doesn’t age me, I don’t know what will). He turned on La Bamba by Ritchie Valens. Of course, I knew every word because I would listen to it with my dad on a regular occasion. However, I never understood the meaning of the song, which he taught us that day.

Well, as a flashback, I turned on YouTube and listened to this song again. I hope you enjoy the song. I’ve included the lyrics below so you can sing along. I’ve also included the English translation so you too can understand the meaning of the song.

Have a great weekend friends!

Lyrics | Ritchie Valens lyrics – La Bamba lyrics

Enjoy learning these Spanish words? If you would like to learn more, please visit our spanishprograms website