Any excuse for a fiesta in Spain, and Halloween is by no means an exception. After spending an unforgettable weekend in Madrid during the Halloween celebrations a few years ago here is my account of how Halloween is celebrated in Spain. Continue reading
How to Learn Spanish with Instagram – Top Tips!
As you already know Instagram is a social media platform known for sharing photos and short video clips.
Why is Instagram good for learning Spanish?
• Visual: As it is a visual app it is a brilliant way to learn a language. Seeing an image related to the Spanish word is a great way to make it stick out in your mind and you will find that you will memorise words more easily this way and also retain them in your long term memory. Continue reading
7 Clever Ways to Fit Language Learning Into Your Busy Schedule
So many people say, especially at the beginning of a new year that they would love to learn a new language but they just don’t have enough time. Most people are busy enough just trying to fit in their work, home life, socialising as well as all the other daily chores like shopping, washing and house work. They think they couldn’t possibly add anything else into their busy schedule.
However if you break down how long you spend doing different tasks you will start to see how you could actually fit in a little language study each day. With a little planning and creativity you can easily fit in language learning into your busy day.
In today’s blog post we will look at 7 ways to help you fit in language learning every day. Continue reading
How to say Thank You & You’re Welcome in Spanish
Being able to say “thank you” and “you are welcome” is perhaps one of the first things anyone wants to learn to say in another language. It is the best way to show that you have good manners and appreciate what someone has done for you.
When you are learning Spanish and go to Spain on holiday you might need to say, “thank you” at the hotel when talking to the receptionist, when asking someone for directions in the street or when the taxi driver helps you with your luggage.
In this blog post we will teach you the most common ways to say thank you in Spanish: Continue reading
20 Strategies to Fit Language Learning into your Busy Life!
So many people say they would like to learn a language, however the number of people who actually go ahead and do it is much lower. Why? The main reason is probably working out how to fit it into your already busy schedule. Well a few things to bear in mind which could persuade you to start learning a language are:-
- You do not need to know every word in the language to be fluent or even to get by.
- You only need to learn 2,500-3,000 to use it effectively.
- The key is to focus on what you are actually going to need to know.
- You don’t need to learn too much grammar, vocabulary is more important in the beginning stages.
- You only need to spend 15-20 minutes a day focused on language learning to make good progress. Little and often is the key.
So this blog post is aimed “busy” people who may not have hours spare to learn a language.
20 ideas to build language-learning activities into your daily life:
How many words do you need to know to be fluent in a language?
Most people ask themselves this question when they start learning a foreign language. It can be daunting to think about how much you need to learn to be able to have a conversation with someone as you do in your native language. However the good news is that it is not as difficult as you might think! Continue reading
Language Learners: How to Improve Your Basic Writing Skills
An essential part of learning a new language is learning how to write it. Not only is this a critical part of communication, but writing things down is one of the best ways to ingrain the information into your mind to help you learn it more effectively.
However, learning to write in another language is much easier said than done; and you’re sure to be looking for all the help you can get. Today, we’re going to explore all the things, tips and pieces of advice you need to know when it comes to learning how to improve your basic writing skills. Continue reading
Learn Spanish By Watching The News – Top News Resources
The best way to learn Spanish successfully is to combine it with things you enjoy doing;
• listening to music
• keeping up with current affairs / the news
• sports
• eating out / cooking
• reading
In this post we will look at the best resources to keep up-to-date with the news in Spanish, something that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine even if you lead a busy life. This is the key to learning a language successfully – little and often. Learning Spanish through following the news is a great way to learn useful, everyday vocabulary.
Continue reading
Tips and Tricks for Learning a New Language
About 43% of people around the globe speak two languages. There are many benefits to learning a foreign language. For example:
● It can improve your memory
● It boosts brainpower
● Increases the capacity of your mind in other areas
● Can improve your native language, as well
People have different motivations for learning a new language, which we’ll talk about later, but no matter your reason, it’s not always an easy feat. Learning a new language is hard and can often feel overwhelming, especially if it seems so different from your native tongue.
But, there are different tips and tricks you can use to make the process easier on yourself. It’s important to keep in mind that learning a new language is a lot like learning to communicate all over again. You probably don’t remember learning how to talk as a child, but the steps are similar. You’ll learn in a variety of different ways, including picture-based learning, conversing with others, and practice and repetition.
So, how can you make learning a new language less frustrating and even a little easier?
10 Common Mistakes NOT to Make in Spanish
I have noticed that beginners of Spanish often make the same kinds of mistakes. If you learn about these easy to make blunders from the beginning you will be more likely to avoid making them yourself.
Spanish is a different type of language to English therefore the grammatical structure and phrases are often very different to how we say things in English. Learners of Spanish often want to transfer something in English directly into Spanish, however this does not always work!
In this blog post we will point out the most common mistakes to avoid as a beginner of the Spanish language: Continue reading
