Audio Spanish lessons

[Laurie B]

I am planning on walking the Camino ( St Jean to Santiago) in Sept.2013. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good and reasonably priced audio Spanish DVD.I thought that if I have something I can play in the background in the house or car I may pick up some of the basics. Wish me luck!!

 

[Trishkerry]

I asked a similar question sometime ago and it was suggested i try Michael Thomas. I did and i highly recommend him to you. I've just completed the foundation course and have just purchased the advanced course from Ebay.
Trish

 

[Laurie B]

Trish,
Thanks so much for the info .I will look into Michael Thomas audio and start practising my Spanish.
I appreciate your help, Laurie

 

[Killimor]

This is an excellent course which you can download and listen on ur mp3 player as you walk the camino:

http://www.notesinspanish.com/about/

Killimor

 

[Al the optimist]

Try Coffee Break Espanol (just type this into your search). It is a series of 15 minute audios, starting from scratch. Gentle paced and easy to follow/

 

[clearskiescamino]

CB works for me, very handy and there are over 100 episodes. The Scottish accents are a bonus too

 

[tyrrek]

Oi! I'm Scottish and a woman in Estella told me I spoke the most beautiful, pure Spanish! I really don't know how that happened, but I can only imagine that it was a Camino miracle! Ha ha! :lol: Buen Camino tae yez a'.

 

[grayland]

Oi! I'm Scottish and a woman in Estella told me I spoke the most beautiful, pure Spanish! I really don't know how that happened, but I can only imagine that it was a Camino miracle! Ha ha! :lol: Buen Camino tae yez a'.

The woman in Estella was probably Polish.

 

[clearskiescamino]

ha!

 

[tyrrek]

I think she was from somewhere around Botswana. Buen Camino!

 

[bismith]

Try Coffee Break Espanol (just type this into your search). It is a series of 15 minute audios, starting from scratch. Gentle paced and easy to follow/

I too am using the Coffee Break Spanish method. It was available for free from iTunes. I practice this walking to and from work every day. I have repeated lessons 1 - 20 at least 3 times. Am I an expert, far from it, what I probably can do now is do a simple conversation. Something I could not do 2 months ago. Give it a go, what have you got to lose. Just over a month to go and am I ever excited. Walked 30kms yesterday just around my city (Vancouver Canada). A little tired but feeling great today.

 

[healthytoo]

Try Coffee Break Espanol (just type this into your search). It is a series of 15 minute audios, starting from scratch. Gentle paced and easy to follow/

Allan it is a very effective program. At first I thought "how can someone with such a bthick Scottish accent teach me Spanish" but the Spanish accents are really good...I love using Coffee Break Espagnol. I'm going to listen to the lessons on the Camino too 'cos I'm only up to lesson 6 & I leave for St Jean in 3 weeks.

 

[Jennifer Juniper]

I have heard that you need to make sure you are studying Castillian Spanish or no one will understand you. Has anyone else heard that-and does CoffeeBreak offer it?I was doing a great course on Memrise, also free, but again, can't find out which dialect I am learning. I do speak French and have experienced how different it is in say, Canada, where I live,and France, and Africa, so I know dialect and pronounciation make a huge difference.Advice, anyone?

 

[tyrrek]

Hi! Yes, Castilian Spanish is just what we would call 'Spanish'. Calling it 'Castilian' just acknowledges that there are other languages and dialects in Spain (Basque, Galician, Catalan etc). Castilian Spanish is the only one you really need to know for most Caminos. Although Latin America also uses Castilian Spanish there are some differences in accent and terminology (a bit like North American and British English), but nothing to worry about. Enjoy your studies! It will be worth it. Buen Camino!

 

[Jennifer Juniper]

Thank you- that's a great help. I love languages, but can't afford to lose time studying the wrong ones for where I want to go!

 

[Bouwmeester]

Try Coffee Break Espanol (just type this into your search). It is a series of 15 minute audios, starting from scratch. Gentle paced and easy to follow/

I too am using the Coffee Break Spanish method. It was available for free from iTunes. I practice this walking to and from work every day. I have repeated lessons 1 - 20 at least 3 times. Am I an expert, far from it, what I probably can do now is do a simple conversation. Something I could not do 2 months ago. Give it a go, what have you got to lose. Just over a month to go and am I ever excited. Walked 30kms yesterday just around my city (Vancouver Canada). A little tired but feeling great today.

I can definitely confirm this - Coffee Break Spanish is great for learning the basics (although they have 80 regular lessons, so you could even reach an intermediate level). As I've understood, English is widely spoken along the way, but speaking a bit of the native language always helps to break the ice

 

[Al the optimist]

Sister Simon
Coffe break Spanish concentrates on mainland Spain Spanish, but does highlight where the Latin American differs. The pronunciation will stand you in good stead on the Camino
Healthytoo
I leave SJPdp in a little over 3 weeks (10th). May see you for a spanish conversation! :lol:

 

[kathie rousseau]

Hello Everyone,

I use the following program and have found it to be excellent. It teaches Castillian Spanish. http://www.prospanish.co.uk You can try it out on youtube before you decide whether or not you want to purchase the program.

Also, I have been listening (half watching) to the Espanol versions of Caillou on youtube. They are available in both Castillian and Latin American versions. I often leave it running in the background for subliminal learning, however when I give it my undivided attention I learn much much more quickly.

Cheers,
Kathie