Free online resources for students of Spanish

There are no limits to the things you can do to aid your learning of Spanish. Here are some things we’ve been using a lot lately. All of them a freely available online!

1. SpanishDict: lots of grammar help here! Vocabulary, conjugation, translations, etc!

2. Linguee: this one is great for looking for translations of phrases, etc. It will show you results from the work of translators.

3. Learning Language with Netflix: This Google Chrome plugin is a godsend! It lets you have subtitles in two languages. Why not have it in Spanish and English at the same time?

4. Radio Garden: amazing radio project. Look for stations in Spanish or Latin America and let time do the rest. Here are some tips of how to use it.

5. Conjugato (app): great free app for practising your verbs.

6. BBC MUNDO: Lots of international use. Top tip: try to read about things you are familiar with. Unless you are a rocket scientist going for that rocket science article might prove difficult.

7. Spanish Games: Classed from easy to difficult, here are some cool games for you to practise when you don’t want to engage with thorny grammar practise!

There are many more things you can do! Of course, we are always here to help if you fancy some guided learning. Our online classes (groups) restart on 20.07. And we teach one to one all through the year.

Get in touch today!

Getting better at listening

Yes, listening is hard. But here are some tips that will help you get better at it.

Anyone who’s been learning Spanish for long enough will agree that listening is one of the hardest things. This is to do with many things: the speed of the language, the many accents, the many things a person might talk about, the fact not every speaker is a professional voice artist, etc. This problem is further exacerbated by bad teaching creating wrong expectations about listening. Many students are trained to listen in class, wasting a lot of time in the process, with very little gains. We believe this is the wrong way to go about it.

The moment of listening in class should not be seen as specifically training listening skills. We use that moment to introduce concepts in a practical way, and to see how your listening is progressing. Think about it like going to a tennis class: you’ll still have to play tennis outside of class to get good at it — no one would think the class alone is the moment in which you get good at your tennis, or that you’ll go to class and do a simulacrum of a game, as if you were playing with mates. Instead you will see the class as a moment of learning, and your instructor will use that time to correct your posture, and to suggest ways of improving your skills, perhaps to introduce a new trick, etc.

So, if the class is not really the moment of playing / listening, when do you play / listen? Well there are many things to do in your own time, and none of them need to be a chore. There are things that you can do actively; and there are things that don’t need your attention 100%.

Actively, in a nutshell, try to listen to podcasts, watch things on Netflix with subtitles, listen to people talking and try to spot words, expressions, etc. There are many exercises that we teach our students for them to listen actively and if you want to learn more about these please get in touch because after wall we are a school! That said, there are no limits to the things you can do with free materials available online. Be inventive and just go for it.

In terms of non-active learning there’s a lot to do too. This is very interesting, very simple, and rarely exploited by language tutors (spoiler: we do; but we are also the best around, so there’s that). In our classes we talk a lot about the concept of unconscious acquisition. If this is something of interest there’s an article here about what this means in depth. Basically, it means that there are things that happen when we learn, when we pick up the language without really trying; listening has a lot to do here, and we still don’t know how this works but we know it works, judging from how kids continue to learn their mother tongue: did you mum or dad sit you down and explained the subjunctive to you or did you just pick up the language from them? More likely the second option…

So we need to try to replicate that situation of someone learning their mother tongue. For that reason it’s important that you spend time in the language — there’s a post here for you to see what we mean by that. But to put it simply, one thing you can do is having a radio in Spanish in the background when you aren’t necessarily paying attention 100%. This will improve your listening and your overall language learning, through that unconscious acquisition. We see this all the time — our students who do this learn much faster than the ones who do no! (We would have to say that they also learn faster and better than in other schools but that’s something for another post!).

So, yes, do some proper work with podcasts, etc, or get in touch with us and follow our method to go about this. But also, next time you are doing exercise or cooking, just blast a Spanish radio station instead of the latest Coldplay (yawns in Spanish). You’ll be taking a lot in without even noticing it!

FREE ONLINE RESOURCES:

Good podcasts: Radio Ambulante (www.radioambulante.org), El Hilo (http://elhilo.audio), Sobremesa, a podcast by Memrise (https://memrise.libsyn.com), Duolingo Podcast (https://podcast.duolingo.com/spanish).

A good place to find radios in Spanish:  http://www.radio.garden. 

Lots of news in Spanish: BBC Mundo (https://www.bbc.com/mundo)

And there’s a lot more online!

Learning online — some tips (and most important etiquette matters)

And then we all ended up learning Spanish (and other things) online...

You know well what happened before the “And then”, so there is no need to start talking about “these extraordinary times”, etc. For some this online life might be a new thing; for others a more radical version of things they were already doing.

We — as we have been offering online classes since our launch — belong in the latter group. So here are some things we’ve learned, tips, some matters pertaining etiquette and practicalities. We hope they might be of use to you.

1. A good internet connection helps a lot. Broadband is ideal; cable internet is better than wifi, unless you are close to the router. These things aren’t always possible, so if you can, make sure no one else is hogging the bandwidth at the same time you are taking your classes. If you are downloading things you should pause them until you finished your class.

2. Ideally use headphones. Otherwise other users will get an echo when their voices come out of your speakers and are taken by the mic. Headphones + microphone (like with most mobile phones headphones) are ideal.

3. Use a web camera, if you can. It is considered good etiquette that if other users make themselves visible to you they can see you too. If you can’t use a camera — for example because your internet is a bit slow — or don’t want others to see you — for example because you haven’t shaved since February — let them know at the start of the class. This gives other people the chance to turn off their cameras. Most of the time they’ll leave them on anyway!

4. Monotask. This applies both to your computer and you. Keep open only the apps in use (Zoom, Google Meet Hangouts, Skype, etc), notes, any PDF you are working with. Do you need Safari or Chrome open? If you don’t quit them. And yourself: resist the temptation to go on social media or the refreshing the live coronavirus blog at the Guardian. Focus on your class. You’ll have time to procrastinate later. You’ll have a lot of time.

5. Have your desktop arranged so that you can access all things at all times, so that everything is visible at all times. That stops a lot of unnecessary tabbing. Check out this photo. That’s how an ideal desktop should look like during a class.

The ostrich toy is not included in our tuition fees.

6. Be familiar with the rules of the classroom. Delivering an online class is slightly different from delivering a class in person. Your tutor — if it’s good like our tutors ;) — will minimise this by leading the class in a more managed way. S/he’ll probably use your name more, indicate when you are expected to talk, and so on. When you are teaching an online lesson you miss many of the normal indicators that you’d have in a face to face (irl) setting, but there are other way to compensate. In our first class, we always make sure to make the rules of the classroom clear, whether for online learning or face to face. If you mistakenly decided to learn Spanish elsewhere make sure you ask in the first class how things will work, so that you can get disappointed when no one knows how things will work, then come to us. (That’s a joke by the way — you should come to us without wasting time elsewhere first!). The reality is that once these things are clear, e-learning isn’t that different from learning in a classroom.

If you mistakenly decided to learn Spanish elsewhere make sure you ask in the first class how things will work, so that you can get disappointed when no one knows how things will work, then come to us.

7. Don’t have in your computer anything you don’t want others to see! Sometimes during an e-class you might be asked to share your screen in order for the teacher to see how you did a certain task. In fact, not having in your computer things you don’t want others to see is a motto you should incorporate as part your whole life.

8. Avoid the “dolly shot”. We teach very creative people and we invite creativity in our classes. We would love to make films too. But leaving the laptop / tablet / phone still while the camera is on, instead of taking it for a walk around the house, is good etiquette. Otherwise you will end up with a dolly shot like this one by Spike Lee. It’s a great dolly shot. But it’s likely to make others in the class dizzy.

9. The mute button is your friend. Really. Use it. You will be very likely at home. There will be interruptions. Just hit that mute button when you need to attend to whatever is not a part of the class.

10. Get to know the class software before the class starts. Most likely you will receive a link for the class with plenty of time in advance — log in a few moments before the class and explore your virtual classroom like you would do with a real classroom on the first day of your course.

11. Relax and learn. Online classes are flexible, comfortable, and a great way of learning and meeting people without leaving your home. Ideally we all like to meet irl. But when and while this is not possible, make the best of your online experience. The important thing is to keep doing the things you want, with the people you like.

Ser or estar — that is the question

You might be aware that Spanish has two ways of expressing the verb to be: ser and estar. This is something that puzzles most beginners, and that many advanced students continue to find difficult as they progress with their studies. This difficulty is generally made worse by the fact that the use of these two verbs is generally simplified in this way: 

• Ser is permanent

• Estar is temporary

While this is truth, it is only partially truth. How would this explain a sentence like “Mi casa está en Hackney” (My house is in Hackney)? The location of my house is permanent, so it can't be explained with the opposition between ser as permanent and estar as temporary. 

A better way of thinking about these two verbs is thinking of two different functions that explain the vast majority of its uses: qualifying versus locating. 

QUALIFYING

When we want to say how a thing or someone is we are qualifying. And here the opposition between permanent and temporary is true. 

We use ser when we understand something to be intrinsically related to the thing or person we are qualifying. It is important to note that we aren’t talking permanent and temporary from a scientific point of view here, but about how Spanish speakers perceive these things to be.  If I say “Soy Español” (I am Spanish) I understand that this is something that I can’t change. It’s not like it will go away. If I say “Soy delgado” (I am thin) it means that I am generally this way. 

On the other hand, estar is used to talk about states. A state is something that can change. If I say “Estoy enfermo” (I am sick) I understand that I wasn’t always sick, and that I will very likely stop being sick at some point. The same with “Estoy cansado” (I am tired) — I will at some point stop being tired. 

Sometimes I can use both verbs to qualify things or persons. What do you think is the difference between “Soy delgado” and “Estoy delgado”? In English you would need another word to make this difference clear. “Soy delgado” means I am thin always. That is just the way I am. Whereas “Estoy delgado” means I am thin now, because I have lost weight, for example. 

This is the opposition between ser as permanent and estar as temporary. Let’s see what other things we can do with these two verbs. 

LOCATING

Both verbs can be used to locate. 

I can use ser to locate events. An event is something that happens in time and space. I can use ser to locate an event in time and space. I can, for example, say “La fiesta es en mi casa” (The party is in my house). Here I am locating an event (the party), in space (my house). I can also say “La fiesta es a las 9:00” (The party is at 9:00). Here I am locating an event (the party), in time (9:00). 

When it comes to things or people, which can only be located in space, we use estar. For that reason I would say “Mi casa está en Hackney” (My house is in Hackney) or “Londres está en el Reino Unido” (London is in the UK). 

See that these uses of ser and estar can’t be explained with permanent versus temporary? 

TO SUM UP

These are the two functions that will help you get right 99% of the uses of ser and estar:

• QUALIFICATION: SER — PERMANENT // ESTAR — TEMPORARY

• LOCATION: EVENTS — SER // THINGS — ESTAR

We hope this helps and if you need more help feel free to drop us an email or take some classes with us!

Happy learning!

How to choose a good language tutor

There is a popular misconception: anyone can teach his or her native language. This couldn’t be further from the truth: teaching a language demands mastering a very specific set of skills, just as with any activity we wish to carry out in a proper way.

How has this misconception come to be? It would be hard to blame it on a single factor, but it is perhaps possible to suggest that the large amount of natives of any language offering their services –– for ridiculously low fees –– contribute a lot to it. The impression a prospective student gets after a simple web search is that language tuition is a sector saturated with relatively cheap teachers with very few specific skills. 

Nevertheless, a language tutor is a language professional. And like any other professional a good language tutor charges professional fees for a professionally delivered service. You wouldn’t pay a ridiculously low fee to a solicitor, a consultant, or an accountant –– a low fee would actually make you suspicious. Why would you pay a ridiculously low fee to learn a language? Choosing an unprofessional tutor might put you off learning a new language altogether. This is a story we hear our clients repeat over and over. 

A good language tutor is someone fully prepared to teach his or her language, from a methodological and grammatical point of view. There are many relevant courses that prepare natives to teach their language to foreigners and these qualifications are generally a good way of spotting people taking language tutoring with the professionalism it demands. It is also quite common for successful language tutors to have strong academic backgrounds or even to have had successful careers in other sectors. It is not only money that moves good tutors to teach but their love for their native language and teaching. 

There are also matters of personality for you to consider when choosing your tutor: you might get along with this or that other type of person; you might prefer someone younger or older; you might want someone with a business/art/law/etc background; you might prefer this or that gender. These are all things that are important for you to figure out before you go Gumtree-happy and call the first number that pops up on your screen. 

Take the time to figure out what kind of person you would like to have as a teacher and search for someone that fits the profile –– you will hopefully spend a long time with this person learning a new language. And don’t be afraid to ask for qualifications or references: any professional tutor will be happy to provide you with a long list of both. 

Whether you go privately or through an agency always choose a professional. You might pay more for your course but you won’t regret it. The new world that comes with a new language is one of the best things that money can buy.