Spanish Phone Conversations

While on Twitter, I ran across the Spanish Phone Conversations site from the Defense Language Institute via Kristen at Spanish Is Your Amigo.

Since this was new to me, I thought I had better check it out and write a quick post about it.

So, upon visiting the Spanish Phone Conversations site, you can choose a country which there are only six available (Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Cuba, Honduras and Argentina), level (2, 2+, 3) and various topics ranging from clothing and working conditions, to education and family life. There are 10 total.

Once you make your choices, you can either listen to the conversation online or download the audio to put on your mp3 player.

There are over 300 phone conversations which should provide plenty of listening comprehension practice. Even though they mention lesson plans, I'm afraid they're not available. In any case, I feel it's still a good site for practicing your Spanish language listening skills.

News in Slow (Latin American) Spanish

Because I was going on a long car trip last week, I started to look for new podcasts to put on my iPod Touch. That's when I found News in Slow Latin American Spanish. As you know, there is News in Slow Spanish which has been around for a while now. (For instance they're on episode number 224. The Latin American version is just on number three.)

There are six sections:

1) Flashcards
2) News Stories
3) Grammar
4) Expressions
5) Pronunciations
6) Quizzes

You can access the audio for sections 2, 3, and 4 from the site or download them via iTunes or another similar program. (I use the Downcast app on my iPod Touch.) You can also download the flashcards in pdf format from the site. The full transcripts, and the pronunciation and quizzes sections are accessible by subscription only.

They also offer educational discounts (individual licenses, individual floating licenses, and language lab licenses).

By the way, the same folks also offer News in Slow Italian, Chinese (suspended but there are 20 episodes available), and French.

Summer Proficiency Pack for Middle Schoolers

Run, don't walk to Maris Hawkins' blog post Made It Monday: Summer Proficiency Pack. It's for middle schoolers, but please, go look anyway even if you're not teaching at that level or just learning on your own at home.

She has put together a wonderful packet for her students so that their language skills do not dwindle over the summer. She based it on the most recent #langchat on Twitter: Keep Students Motivated with 9 Summer Language Learning Activities. You'll find links to recipe sites, YouTube videos, news video sites, and more.

In her post, she also mentions that Zachary Jones has put together an ebook, Summer Spanish 2013. It costs $5.00 and I imagine it's worth every penny.

Spanish Language Route: Learn Spanish Using 3D Adventure Game

Just saw this and had to share...

Teaser de 'Spanish Language Route'

• Teaser de 'Spanish Language Route'

It will be available September 2013 and will contain linguistic exercises from levels A1 to C2.

From the article on RTVE.es:

Aprender jugando es una técnica empleada en muchos niveles educativos, también en el ámbito de los idiomas. Una empresa española está desarrollando una ambiciosa apuesta en la enseñanza de idiomas, la Spanish Language Route (en español Ruta de la Lengua Española), una aventura gráfica en 3D en la que, con la excusa de rescatar el diario de Cervantes, el alumno-jugador  pasa múltiples etapas de aprendizaje de español.

El viaje a la Edad Media y a parte del Siglo de Oro español (el siglo XVI) con soporte multimedia en 3D comienza con el robo del diario de Cervantes. El usuario, que puede acceder al juego en su propia lengua, como inglés, francés o ruso, por ejemplo, tiene que escoger un aspecto (avatar) y comenzar una aventura por el Camino de Santiago.

This looks like it will be a lot of fun. I can't wait to try it!

Exercise Videos in Spanish

Challenge your mind and your body by exercising using Spanish language workout routines.

Recently I was browsing one of my favorite YouTube channels, OnceTV México, when I saw a show called Energía. This caught my eye because I work out at least five times a week and am always looking for new routines.

When I googled the show, I discovered that not only do they have regular exercise shows (cardio & strength), but also yoga, pilates, and a couple of other types as well. 

Del sitio

Energía invita a las mujeres a conservar su salud física y mental mediante distintas técnicas para realizar en casa sin necesidad de aparatos o equipo especial. Se busca con ello un equilibrio en la relación con el cuerpo y el bienestar al reforzar aspectos espirituales, de fuerza muscular y cuidado cardiaco. 

Have fun working out your Spanish language skills and your body!

Links

OnceTV México Energía 

OnceTV YouTube Channel

By the way, I discovered the videos by browsing the channel's upload feed. 

First NASA Google+ Hangout in Spanish

Space and Spanish go together like... well, I'm not sure, but in any case, you'll get the chance to participate in NASA's first Google+ Hangout in Spanish hosted by NASA en Español.

From the Google+ Hangout event page:

Durante este evento, la científica terrestre Erika Podest y la investigadora principal e ingeniera de sistemas Michela Muñoz Fernández, ambas del Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) de la NASA en Pasadena, California, compartirán sus historias. Ellas responderán a preguntas de los participantes sobre el camino que tomaron para llegar a la NASA, lo que hacen, por qué es importante y cómo formar parte del programa espacial.

The event is scheduled for Thursday, March 28 from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM EDT. To participate, visit the event page at Google+ or watch it on the NASA YouTube Channel.

For more information about Podest and Fernández, visit the Women@NASA y Science4Girls.

Free Customizable Picture Book Apps

A quick post about a set of apps that is free... for now at least. They are the "I Like" Picture Books apps from Grasshopper Apps.

They're in English, but and this is a big BUT, you can customize the photos, text and the sound recordings. I downloaded the "I Like Colors" book and yes, I was able to customize it using my own voice and text turning it into a Spanish picture book. (I haven't tried changing the photos yet, because I wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible about this app!)

From the site:

All “I Like” Picture Books contain engaging stories written by Miranda Paul and stunning crisp photographs. Words are highlighted as they are being read to optimize the learning curve. Literally everything is customizable; add your own voice, your own photos and even your own story line!

There are other free ones as well such as I Like Numbers, I Like Grandpa, I Like School, I Like Planes and several more. 

Spanish Classes at Verbling.com

Well, that was a lot of fun! I just finished a conversation class in Spanish on Verbling. I learned that the classes were being offered just a couple of days ago via Learn Spanish with Paulino.

Currently it appears that there are several Spanish teachers offering classes from beginner to advance. You chat using Google Hangout, but keep in mind you have to connect via a link within the Verbling website.

You can join the classes for free or become a premium member which guarantees you a seat in advance which may come in handy.

EDITED 5/12/2013
Now it appears you have to buy tickets to join a class. Please visit Verbling for more information.

Coursera Classes in Spanish

If you really want a language challenge, Coursera.org is now offering select classes in Spanish. 

So far, there are two universities participating: La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Tecnológico de Monterrey. 

Classes include Matemáticas y movimiento, Innovación educativa con recursos abiertos, Ser más creativos and more. (To view the classes, click on the university links above.)

The following video is from Dra. María Soledad Ramírez Montoya, one of the instructors of Innovación educativa con recursos abiertos.

Also from Tecnológico de Monterrey, a 6-week Latin American Culture class will be available in June. From the About the Course section:

This course will develop students’ abilities to understand Latin American culture at both the national and regional levels. Students will analyze the social, economic, political, and cultural development of the region by applying modern critical thinking to the understood history of the individual Latin American countries. At the same time, students will study the contributions of different cultural and ethnic groups that exist within these countries, in order to understand fully the social complexity of what we call “Latin America”. Lastly, students will evaluate the developmental needs of Latin American countries and propose possible solutions in which individuals can act as a force for change.

Unlike the others, it appears this class will be in English.

To learn more about Coursera.org, visit the About page. By the way, all Coursera classes are free.

A large collection of resources in one place

This morning I noticed that Red de Bibliotecas del Instituto Cervantes posted a link to a booklet (downloadable PDF) put together by Spain’s Ministry of Education in Italy, Greece and Albania.

What will you find in this booklet? A large collection of resources to help teach Spanish as a foreign language. On each page you will find the name of the site, a screenshot of the first page, a description, tags and the site’s URL at the bottom.

Glancing through the pages, I found links to associations, educational materials, exercises, videos, online courses, games and much more. (And believe it or not, there were some even I had not seen before!)

Spanish Language Podcast: "A mi aire"

First of all, I apologize for the long break. My paying job is working at a summer camp so summer is one of my busiest times of the year. Hopefully in a couple of weeks, I can start writing blog posts on a semi-regular basis. (By the way, we have had three campers from Spain and one from Mexico, so I have been able to use my Spanish a little.)

I started listening to a new podcast (new to me at least) about a month ago and I must say I have really enjoyed it. It’s called Alicia: A mi aire and can be found at www.podclub.ch. You can find past episodes here with links to entire transcripts and vocabulary used.

An overview from the site:

A mi aire es un podcast de Alicia para estudiantes de español a partir del nivel A2/B1. Alicia es el seudónimo utilizado por Paloma Bétrisey. Paloma tanto como Alicia es de Madrid y llegó a Zürich cuando las tiendas cerraban a las seis y media y los bares a las doce de la noche. ¡Qué tiempos aquellos! Alicia se acuerda de lo extraño que era para ella pasear por el centro de la ciudad a las siete con las tiendas cerradas y sin ver a nadie. Se preguntaba: "¿Dónde estará la gente?". Acababa de llegar de Madrid, una ciudad enorme, donde hay ruido y personas por todas partes. Su hermana Lucía se lo había dicho: "Alicia, te vas a Europa, allí no puedes comprar todo a última hora y tendrás que cenar a las siete, ¿eh?". "Ya lo sé, ya lo sé", le contestó ella entonces convencida, pero no fue tan fácil como ella pensaba al principio.

What makes this podcast different? Well, I find them engaging and truly interesting. She speaks clearly and a bit slower than normal, but not too much. And they’re free which is always a good thing.

The podcasts come out every two weeks. She is on a summer break, but it appears the podcasts will start up again in mid-August. Also, they offer podcasts in other languages such as English, German, French and Italian.

Magazine: Bilingual Times/Tiempo Bilingüe

Just a really quick post since it’s late, but had to share this one. Bilingual Times is a magazine for children that’s available in print and digital format. The digital version is free at this time.

From the site:

TIEMPO BILINGÜE es una publicación mensual en inglés y en español creada con el objetivo de aportar material de lectura para la práctica de los dos idiomas. Un contenido internacional y multicultural, que incluye noticias, artículos, relatos, juegos de palabras y actividades creativas que despiertan la iniciativa, la imaginación y el poder inventivo natural que todos tenemos.

BILINGUAL TIMES is a monthly publication in English and Spanish. It was created with the idea of bringing reading material to practice both languages. Our scope is international and multicultural; it covers news, stories, games, play on words and creative activities that awaken the initiative, the imagination and the common power of invention we all have.

Enjoy!

Hat Tip: Todoele.net

Happy Hour Spanish

As usual, I ran across this resource as I was spending a bit of time this morning on Twitter. Happy Hour Spanish is a fairly new site (2011) that features videocasts, podcasts and exercises to help you learn Spanish and about the Spanish culture.

Hayley, a California native, was a student of Maider who was teaching classes in Bilbao (her native city) when they decided to start the Happy Hour Spanish program. More information from the About Us page:

After becoming fast friends, we decided to embark on creating the ultimate language learning program based on our unique experience in both teaching and learning foreign languages. We have designed Happy Hour Spanish as a program that teaches Spanish grammar while also giving you an immersion-style experience of Spanish culture and the Spanish lifestyle.  We like to say you can consider our program a cross between “Rick Steve’s Europe” and “Rosetta Stone”.  Follow along with us on our video tours throughout Spain and enjoy all the sights and sounds the Iberian Peninsula has to offer while feeling what it is like to be immersed in a foreign language…

With the podcasts, you’ll find transcripts and translations. Accompanying the videocasts are transcripts, translations and printable exercises (beginner and intermediate).

Here is look at one of their videos about La Boqueria in Barcelona:

Art Resources for Children from El Prado

You will find a wealth of information about the works of art on the Museo del Prado website, but I wanted to highlight a resource for children – a series of videos with La Infanta Margarita from the painting Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez. The animated version of Margarita along with her friend, Francisco de Paula act as guides as they share “secrets” of some of the works of art via interactive videos. There are several games available as well.

Free online magazine: El mundo con eñe

El mundo con eñe is a new free magazine available online. The first one is about Argentina – covering topics such as literature, music, movies, recipes and more.

Each article is given a reading level from A1 to C1. (Look for the number of aliens near the top of each page… yes, aliens.) Also throughout the articles certain words are highlighted which can be found in the glossary section near the end of the magazine. You will also find comprehension exercises for the reader.

In addition to the magazine, there are podcasts and a YouTube channel (links can be found in the magazine).

From their blog:

¿Qué es "El mundo con eñe"?
Es una revista mensual dirigida para quien estudia, enseña o simplemente le gusta el español.

¿Cuánto cuesta?
¡Nada!

¿Dónde la encuentro?
Aquí mismo, en nuestro sitio. Su publicación en línea permite que esté siempre disponible para descarga o lectura en el propio sitio donde la subimos.

Pero...¿qué voy a encontrar en la revista?
Todos los meses trabajaremos un país de habla hispana. Este mes se lo dedicamos a Argentina. Incluimos varias secciones: historia, qué hacer allí, literatura, música, entrevistas y recetas; todo referido al país elegido. Incluimos tambien, un  glosario y ejercicios para aplicar lo que aparece allí.

¿Cuándo la publican?
El útlimo viernes de cada mes.

¿Contiene audios para practicar la comprensión auditiva?
Sí. A partir del segundo número, todas las revistas serán acompañadas por un archivo de audio donde encontrarán  los textos leídos para quien quiera escucharlos y no leerlos. Pero hagan las dos cosas, vamos...

¿Qué harán cuando cubran todos los países de habla hispana?
(Silencio)

No entendí la respuesta...

(Silencio- silencio. Ruido de grillos)

From the questions and answers you can tell that the magazine will be pretty interesting.

Hat tip: http://www.todoele.net/

Free Bilingual Family Magazine: Plaza Familia

Just a quick post to let you know there’s a new free bilingual magazine for Latino families called Plaza Familia.

According to Mommy Maestra they will be distributed for free at various Walmarts and supermarkets across the country. If you can’t find them there, you can also read the issues for free online. I downloaded the latest issue and then uploaded it to my Nook Color. Looks great!

For more information visit Mommy Maestra.

About.com en español

Okay, where have I been and why haven’t I noticed this before? As I was scrolling through the Teaching & Learning Spanish Facebook page, (yes, shameless plug, but turning out to be a great resource) I ran across a post on mamalatina.about.com. I paused and thought, wait a minute, about.com in SPANISH! So, I clicked on the About.com en español link at the top of the page, sat back in my chair and thought how cool is this!

The menu at the top lists the following topics: Autos, Casa, Cocina y recetas, Cultura, Deportes y actividades, Educación, Familia y more. (Hmm… shouldn’t that say más?) Either hover over the menu at the top or scroll down to view the subcategories.

Needless to say, this is a great resource for learning everyday Spanish. I can’t wait to dive in!

Radio Ambulante

Radio Ambulante is a new monthly Spanish-language radio program. Here’s more from their web site:

Radio Ambulante es un nuevo programa de radio que contará historias latinoamericanas provenientes de todos los países de habla hispana, incluyendo Estados Unidos. Buscamos llevar la estética de la buena crónica de prensa escrita a la radio.

Nuestro podcast podrá ser escuchado pronto desde nuestra web en cualquier parte del mundo. Además crearemos alianzas con emisoras en Latinoamérica y Estados Unidos, para alcanzar una audiencia de habla hispana en todo el continente.

Una de nuestras metas es formar una comunidad de cronistas de radio en distintos países, aprovechando los avances tecnológicos para producir, distribuir, e intercambiar historias.

There are stories, so far, from Peru, Argentina, United States and others. You can keep up with Radio Ambulante on Twitter and Facebook. I think this program is of course wonderful for native Spanish speakers to listen to stories in their own language, but also for those of us who are learning the language.

More Free Resources for Learning Spanish

I ran across this resource via Twitter. Es de la página del Departamento de Español de la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Coruña.

En la página hay tres secciones:

1) Para comenzar a saber el español
2) Para reforzar el español que aprendemos
3) Situaciones más específicas

Y no dejan de echar un vistazo a los enlaces en la lista de blogs y sitios a la izquierda de la página.

Revista: Educación 3.0

As I was browsing the website Issuu, I ran across this downloadable magazine, Educación 3.0. From the magazine description:

Educación 3.0 es la revista del aula del siglo XXI. Nuestro objetivo es facilitar la compleja integración entre las nuevas tecnologías y la educación. Para que el aula digital sea una realidad, contribuimos ofreciendo todo tipo de contenidos (información, nuevos dispositivos, novedades editoriales, recursos educativos, materiales, plataformas, software, juegos...) que resulten útiles a los integrantes de la comunidad educativa española…

Keep in mind it’s an abbreviated version. For instance the latest issue is 18 pages while the hard copy has over 50 pages. Still, you’re able to read a few articles. Also, you can load this on your ebook reader which is quite handy.