Why learn Spanish in 2018?
6 great reasons to learn Spanish!
January is the time when we all set our goals and new year’s resolutions for the coming year. A survey by the British Council has revealed that one in five Britons (21%) want to learn a new language this year with Spanish being the most popular choice.
Why is Spanish so popular?
Top languages to learn in 2018!
With fun quiz “What Language Should I Learn?”
According to a poll carried out by the British Council in December 2017, one in five Britons (21%) intend to learn a foreign language in 2018 with Spanish the most popular. 64% say they have always wanted to learn how to speak another language. Over half say they regret not making the effort to learn another language. 58% say that they think it is more important than ever now to learn another language. So if you are thinking about learning a language this year here are the British Council’s recommendations of the top languages to learn: Continue reading
10 ways to make sure you reach your language learning goals in 2018!
Learning a new language can change your life and open up many doors for you. It can improve your career prospects, allow you to make friends in other countries and help you get more out of holidays and trips abroad. Every January many people decide that this is the year they are finally going to learn that language they always wished they learnt more of at school.
I believe that anyone can learn a language given the right attitude and by sticking to habits that make it a part of your daily life.
At the beginning of a new year is the best time to set fresh goals however, sticking to them throughout the year can be the real challenge. In this blog post we will give 10 tips to help you make sure you stick to your plan and meet your language learning goals. Continue reading
5 Lucky New Year Traditions in Spain
12 lucky grapes
Every New Year’s Eve (Noche Vieja) people gather in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid to hear the chimes of midnight ring out. Upon each chime it is traditional to put a grape in your mouth and if you manage to eat all 12 you will have good luck through the coming year. Shops sell packs of 12 grapes especially for this new year tradition. Often they are not seedless grapes, making it even more of a challenge! It is a really funny experience especially when you have a go for the first time and you are surrounded by people laughing – it is not easy to achieve! Continue reading
Turrón – Spain’s traditional Christmas sweet
This sweet nougat made of almonds, honey sugar and egg white, is one of the most traditional desserts eaten at Christmas in Spain. It is of Arabic origin and was introduced in Spain over 500 years ago by the Moors. It is produced in the town of Jijona, 30 miles to the north of Alicante. The area’s economy is based on the manufacture of turrón and there is even a museum of turrón.
Turrón is produced in this area because the wild flowers on the mountains surrounding Jijona allow mountain bees to produce rich honey, a key ingredient. Along with honey, almonds from local orchards allow the “turroneros” to make this delicious artisan sweet.
Continue reading
The Past Perfect Tense in Spanish
Last week we looked at how to use the perfect tense in Spanish to talk about what you “have” done recently. After you feel confident with this tense it would be a good idea to learn the past perfect or the pluperfect (pluscuamperfecto) since it is formed in a similar way. The past perfect is used to talk about what “had” happened prior to something else. Continue reading
How to say what you “have done” in Spanish
The Perfect Tense
In Spanish to talk about what you have done recently or things you “have done” you would use what is called the “perfect tense”. Luckily it is one of the easier tenses to learn. In this blog post we will look at how to form this tense and the irregular verbs.
There are two parts to this tense: Continue reading
Interview with polyglot Steve Kaufmann
Who is Steve Kaufmann?
Steve Kaufmann is a well-known polyglot who has been learning languages for over 50 years. He can speak 17 languages fluently and is currently learning more. He has a strong social media presence with over 100,000 subscribers to his Youtube channel, maintains a language learning blog and is the author of books to teach people how to learn languages successfully. Steve kindly agreed to answer a few questions that language learners frequently ask: Continue reading
50+ Conversation Starters in Spanish
Meeting Spanish people for the first time is a great opportunity to practise your Spanish. You probably already know the usual greetings and basic questions when you first meet someone, but it is good to be able to ask more in-depth questions to get to know someone better. In this blog post there are questions on various topics to help you go beyond ¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?): Continue reading
Irregular Future Tense verbs in Spanish
The two good things about the future tense in Spanish is that:
i) there is only a small group of irregular verbs to learn
ii) They still have the same endings as the regular verbs so you only need to remember the stem Continue reading
Follow Us
