There are only 2 regular silent letters in the Spanish language. But, you’ll need to be careful with both of these letters because they are silent in some words and pronounced in others. In addition, when I say ‘regular’ silent letters I’m referring to the pronunciation of traditional Spanish words, not words that have been adopted from Greek or ot…

Imagine your partner says to you that as a couple you should move together to the other side of the world to start a new life. Could you do it? Would you do it? This week we talk to Cristina Orts about her experience of moving to a new country that doesn’t speak her language. These days, Cristina is comfortable in her new environment. But there was…

Imagine your partner says to you that as a couple you should move together to the other side of the world to start a new life. Could you do it? Would you do it? This week we talk to Cristina Orts about her experience of moving to a new country that doesn’t speak her language. These days, Cristina is comfortable in her new environment. But there was…

This episode of the podcast is part 2 of a two-part interview with Daniel Welsch. If you missed part 1 of the interview you go back and listen to it here. Daniel has some great advice for Spanish students or language students in general. He has a lot of experience teaching English and talked about some of the challenges for his students learning En…

This episode of the podcast is part 2 of a two-part interview with Daniel Welsch. If you missed part 1 of the interview you go back and listen to it here. Daniel has some great advice for Spanish students or language students in general. He has a lot of experience teaching English and talked about some of the challenges for his students learning En…

Ever considered an ex-pat life in Spain? This week you will hear from Daniel Welsch who has been living in Madrid for more than 10 years. I’m very excited to welcome Daniel to the podcast. It is great to talk to someone who has focused solely on Spanish and immersed himself in the culture. This interview is a great opportunity to focus not only on …

Ever considered an ex-pat life in Spain? This week you will hear from Daniel Welsch who has been living in Madrid for more than 10 years. I’m very excited to welcome Daniel to the podcast. It is great to talk to someone who has focused solely on Spanish and immersed himself in the culture. This interview is a great opportunity to focus not only on …

One question you have to ask yourself if you are learning Spanish is: which accent should you focus on? How do you choose an accent? Does it matter? In this week’s theory podcast I interview Alba del Pino. Alba is from the Canary Islands. Her accent is distinctly different to the accent of the rest of Spain. Having said that, there are subtle diffe…

One question you have to ask yourself if you are learning Spanish is: which accent should you focus on? How do you choose an accent? Does it matter? In this week’s theory podcast I interview Alba del Pino. Alba is from the Canary Islands. Her accent is distinctly different to the accent of the rest of Spain. Having said that, there are subtle diffe…

How much do you notice? Actually notice? Did you know that the ability to notice is a skill that can be improved? And that you can use that ability to improve your language learning capacity? This week’s mindset podcast is inspired by the book: Alexandra Horowitz — On Looking: 11 Walks with Expert Eyes This book is a fascinating read. It highlights…

How much do you notice? Actually notice? Did you know that the ability to notice is a skill that can be improved? And that you can use that ability to improve your language learning capacity? This week’s mindset podcast is inspired by the book: Alexandra Horowitz — On Looking: 11 Walks with Expert Eyes This book is a fascinating read. It highlights…

Can you explain when you use “to end” and “to finish” in English? If so, you can apply the idea to the Spanish verbs “acabar” and “terminar”. This week’s Spanish theory episode is dedicated to the common spanish verb “acabar”. In many of the examples in today’s podcast the Spanish verb “terminar” and “acabar” are interchangeable. But, just like in …

Can you explain when you use “to end” and “to finish” in English? If so, you can apply the idea to the Spanish verbs “acabar” and “terminar”. This week’s Spanish theory episode is dedicated to the common spanish verb “acabar”. In many of the examples in today’s podcast the Spanish verb “terminar” and “acabar” are interchangeable. But, just like in …

In today’s mindset podcast you will hear part 2 of the two part interview with John Fotheringham. In the second part of the interview we discuss how to manage frustration due to a lack of progress. We talk about what separates a good language learner from a great language learner. And we debate the merits of the language learning classroom and how …

In today’s mindset podcast you will hear part 2 of the two part interview with John Fotheringham. In the second part of the interview we discuss how to manage frustration due to a lack of progress. We talk about what separates a good language learner from a great language learner. And we debate the merits of the language learning classroom and how …

“Hay” is a unique Spanish verb. It is related to the verb “haber” or commonly referred to as the impersonal form of “haber”. In today’s podcast, you will learn how to use the verb “hay” in the past, present and future. You will also learn how to use the impersonal phrase with the verb “hay” to express obligation. Check out today’s podcast for all o…

“Hay” is a unique Spanish verb. It is related to the verb “haber” or commonly referred to as the impersonal form of “haber”. In today’s podcast, you will learn how to use the verb “hay” in the past, present and future. You will also learn how to use the impersonal phrase with the verb “hay” to express obligation. Check out today’s podcast for all o…

In this week’s mindset podcast we welcome John Fotheringham to talk about habit forming, how to set goals for success and one aspect of language learning that rarely gets discussed. John is a passionate language learner and is running Langauge Mastery—a language learning blog and podcast dedicated to helping language learners. The focus of his webs…

In this week’s mindset podcast we welcome John Fotheringham to talk about habit forming, how to set goals for success and one aspect of language learning that rarely gets discussed. John is a passionate language learner and is running Langauge Mastery—a language learning blog and podcast dedicated to helping language learners. The focus of his webs…

The uses of Ser and Estar are an important part of Spanish that you should always be revising. In today’s podcast, you will learn about one specific part: the uses of ser and estar with adjectives. As a reminder, ‘ser’ tends to imply a permanent feature and ‘estar’ tends to imply a temporary feature. Keep this in mind as you listen to the examples …

The uses of Ser and Estar are an important part of Spanish that you should always be revising. In today’s podcast, you will learn about one specific part: the uses of ser and estar with adjectives. As a reminder, ‘ser’ tends to imply a permanent feature and ‘estar’ tends to imply a temporary feature. Keep this in mind as you listen to the examples …

This podcast episode is part 2 of a two part interview with Shayna Oliveira. In this second part of the interview we cover language learning expectations, creating good study habits, getting over making mistakes and living in Brazil. Shayna’s website on teaching English is http://www.espressoenglish.net/. If you missed part 1 of the interview you g…

This podcast episode is part 2 of a two part interview with Shayna Oliveira. In this second part of the interview we cover language learning expectations, creating good study habits, getting over making mistakes and living in Brazil. Shayna’s website on teaching English is http://www.espressoenglish.net/. If you missed part 1 of the interview you g…

How well can you make do in Spanish? This week, for the theoretical Spanish podcast, you will learn about the uses of the verb ‘hacer’. Of course, ‘hacer’ doesn’t just mean ‘to make’ or ‘to do’, there are 8 other ways that you can use this common Spanish verb. Check out today’s podcast for all of the details. If you have any questions or thoughts y…

How well can you make do in Spanish? This week, for the theoretical Spanish podcast, you will learn about the uses of the verb ‘hacer’. Of course, ‘hacer’ doesn’t just mean ‘to make’ or ‘to do’, there are 8 other ways that you can use this common Spanish verb. Check out today’s podcast for all of the details. If you have any questions or thoughts y…

In this week’s mindset podcast we welcome Shayna Oliveira to talk about language exchanges, building friendships and teaching English. Shayna is teaching English over at http://www.espressoenglish.net/. For a number of weeks I have wanted to get Shayna onto the podcast to talk about improving your ability to teach english. Why? Because one of the b…

In this week’s mindset podcast we welcome Shayna Oliveira to talk about language exchanges, building friendships and teaching English. Shayna is teaching English over at http://www.espressoenglish.net/. For a number of weeks I have wanted to get Shayna onto the podcast to talk about improving your ability to teach english. Why? Because one of the b…

The verb ‘pasar‘ is in the top 10 most common regular Spanish verbs. It occurs frequently, it is useful and easy to conjugate. But, it is used in a lot of different situations and contexts, which means we still need to set aside some time to take a closer look at this important Spanish verb. So, in today’s podcast, we are going to look at some of t…

The verb ‘pasar‘ is in the top 10 most common regular Spanish verbs. It occurs frequently, it is useful and easy to conjugate. But, it is used in a lot of different situations and contexts, which means we still need to set aside some time to take a closer look at this important Spanish verb. So, in today’s podcast, we are going to look at some of t…

It’s hard to imagine the feeling of being in a space shuttle when it is taking off. But I could imagine the experience may involve a lot fear. It’s a funny comparison but speaking Spanish in public and taking off in a rocket ship aren’t vastly different when it comes to our fears. Both can bring up a fight or flight response. So what does an astron…

It’s hard to imagine the feeling of being in a space shuttle when it is taking off. But I could imagine the experience may involve a lot fear. It’s a funny comparison but speaking Spanish in public and taking off in a rocket ship aren’t vastly different when it comes to our fears. Both can bring up a fight or flight response. So what does an astron…

Is forgetting in Spanish as simple as forgetting in English? If you want to forget in Spanish or at least express the idea, there are three ways you can do it. This week explore how the verb ‘olvidar’ is used and how the idea of something forgotten in Spanish differs from how we are used to it in English. There are 5 main ideas around the use of ve…

Is forgetting in Spanish as simple as forgetting in English? If you want to forget in Spanish or at least express the idea, there are three ways you can do it. This week explore how the verb ‘olvidar’ is used and how the idea of something forgotten in Spanish differs from how we are used to it in English. There are 5 main ideas around the use of ve…

Last year, when I was living in Madrid, I was chatting to a friend about a very addictive chocolate biscuit we have in Australia. She said she would love to try them. Immediately after uttering those words, we both thought—Madrid is a big city, we could find them here, right? What else was I going to say—challenge accepted! The search started by si…

Last year, when I was living in Madrid, I was chatting to a friend about a very addictive chocolate biscuit we have in Australia. She said she would love to try them. Immediately after uttering those words, we both thought—Madrid is a big city, we could find them here, right? What else was I going to say—challenge accepted! The search started by si…

The good thing about transitive and intransitive verbs in Spanish is most English students tend to get them right when guessing. The bad thing is we don’t really learn about this idea in school. But, it helps if you want to understand certain phrases and grammar structures in Spanish. And of course, there is the odd exception to the rule. Verbs in …

The good thing about transitive and intransitive verbs in Spanish is most English students tend to get them right when guessing. The bad thing is we don’t really learn about this idea in school. But, it helps if you want to understand certain phrases and grammar structures in Spanish. And of course, there is the odd exception to the rule. Verbs in …

Memory is important for language learning. That’s pretty obvious. But how can you improve your memory? It turns out there are a number of simple tactics to can use to boost your memory. But underlying all tactics for an improved memory is one very important principle. The defining principle for all memory tactics is … importance. If you want to mem…

Memory is important for language learning. That’s pretty obvious. But how can you improve your memory? It turns out there are a number of simple tactics to can use to boost your memory. But underlying all tactics for an improved memory is one very important principle. The defining principle for all memory tactics is … importance. If you want to mem…

In this week’s theory podcast we take a close look at the verb “llegar”. “Llegar” is a common Spanish verb and generally gets used correctly by native English students but there are more ways to use this verb than what you may expect. In today’s podcast I have broken out the use of “llegar” into two categories: literal and figurative use of the ide…

In this week’s theory podcast we take a close look at the verb “llegar”. “Llegar” is a common Spanish verb and generally gets used correctly by native English students but there are more ways to use this verb than what you may expect. In today’s podcast I have broken out the use of “llegar” into two categories: literal and figurative use of the ide…

This podcast episode is part 2 of a two part interview that I recently did with Kris Broholm. Kris is running his own language learning podcast called The Actual Fluency Podcast. He was great fun to speak to and has a lot of experience learning languages as well as talking about them. His advice on finding your process for building your second lang…

This podcast episode is part 2 of a two part interview that I recently did with Kris Broholm. Kris is running his own language learning podcast called The Actual Fluency Podcast. He was great fun to speak to and has a lot of experience learning languages as well as talking about them. His advice on finding your process for building your second lang…

Answering the phone is an everyday occurrence. But the rules of phone etiquette in English don’t exactly work in another language. When you make a phone call in Spanish, the language you tend to use is more direct. If you translate literally to English it may feel rude. But, it isn’t for a Spanish person. In today’s Spanish podcast we look at the t…

Answering the phone is an everyday occurrence. But the rules of phone etiquette in English don’t exactly work in another language. When you make a phone call in Spanish, the language you tend to use is more direct. If you translate literally to English it may feel rude. But, it isn’t for a Spanish person. In today’s Spanish podcast we look at the t…

This week we welcome Kris Broholm to the podcast to discuss language learning mindset. Kris is running a language learning podcast called Actual Fluency. Each week he invites on an ‘expert’ language learner—typically a polyglot who can speak a number of languages. He then attempts to find out what is working for them and their best tips for effecti…

This week we welcome Kris Broholm to the podcast to discuss language learning mindset. Kris is running a language learning podcast called Actual Fluency. Each week he invites on an ‘expert’ language learner—typically a polyglot who can speak a number of languages. He then attempts to find out what is working for them and their best tips for effecti…

Valencia is an amazing city. It home to delicious food, a good climate, great people and some impressive modern architecture. In this week’s Spanish podcast episode we talk about what to see and do in Valencia from a local’s perspective. In this podcast, we introduce a new guest, Laura Del Busto Bel. Laura is a good friend of mine. She is from Vale…

Valencia is an amazing city. It home to delicious food, a good climate, great people and some impressive modern architecture. In this week’s Spanish podcast episode we talk about what to see and do in Valencia from a local’s perspective. In this podcast, we introduce a new guest, Laura Del Busto Bel. Laura is a good friend of mine. She is from Vale…

This podcast episode is part 2 of a two part interview on language learning with Olly Richards. If you haven’t listened to part 1 of the interview then go back and start with part 1 first. In this second part of the interview we cover: What Olly used to keep himself going in Japan for 3 years when he was struggling to learn the language. What you c…