How to improve your Spanish: only 10 minutes a day with this simple exercise!
Hello! My name is Carlos, and I’m a Spanish teacher in Mexico City, I speak several languages, over the past couple of years I tried different resources to learn a language by my own.
The following excercise is very useful when you don’t have someone with whom to practice a language.
I create small stories about someone’s daily life, you can also create your’s!
Try to translate atleast two paragraphs every day, this will help you to improve your confidence when speaking.
I recommend you to translate by your own, and then check it on google translate if it correspond to the actual text.
Let´s start…
Hi, my name is Tom. Tom Smith. I am from United States. Now I am living in Mexico City, currently I am learningSpanish in a School, also I use Duolingo, and I like to talk with locals.
I am an entrepreneur and digital nomad. I am starting my own company. I just moved to Mexico this month. My life is very interesting. My family says it’s not interesting, but I think it’s very good.
I am alone. I have no wife, no dog, no cat. I have an apartment. That’s not bad. And also I like to travel and dancing salsa. I am planning to travel to Colombia to improve my salsa moves.
In the morning I eat tamales and atole. I take a shower for ten minutes and get dress very quickly. I start working very early in the morning, about at 8 am.
I am so busy, I have to talk with clients in China and Japan. In the afternoon I have lunch in a cafe shop and talk. At 7pm I go to the park to work out. And sometimes at night, I eat pizza and have a drink with my friends.
In the evening at home I watch TV, football. Then I sleep. I like to live in Mexico, food it is so good and places are beautiful.
I hope this was useful for you. We are a Spanish School located in Mexico City, and we like to share and prepare materials for an effective learning. If you have further questions leave me a message.
I want to share a few sources to learn Spanish for beginners during your commute.
Your commute to and from work or school is the perfect time to Learn Spanish! Of course we know that because of our daily routine it seem impossible to find the right place and time to practice or study.
Here is a little guide with some practical tools that can be used either in your way to work or while doing multitasking (cooking, cleaning, working out, etc.).
Audio clips…..
«I would like to listen to Audios in Spanish but I do not understand anything»
Todo normal! Claro que no entiendes! It’s perfectly normal to understand nothing at first! But, how do you deal with that?
First, you will play your podcast or audio clip while doing other activities.
You will tell me «well pfff I do not understand anything so it’s useless», False! Certainly you have the impression that it is useless because you are in passive learning but your ear begins to get used to the sounds of the language.
Soon words will come out of your mouth and you’re going to ask, «where does that come from?» This moment is magic! You’re going to tell me this method is great, it’s simple! Yes it is simple but obviously, it is not enough.
Second, this time, you will pay attention to this podcast, even if you do not understand everything or even «nothing». Concentrate a little and find some words of vocabulary.
Write them down on a piece of paper, then look for the translation. I recommend you to use Translate by Speech of Google. This way you can learn more vocabulary.
I strongly recommend this one, this is very useful for beginners and it is free.
It offers 100 lessons, covering a broad range of topics such as: numbers, colors, travel situations, verb forms, and a small amount of business conversation.
Users can click any phrase to repeat it as needed. Users can also download audio files (MP3) containing one or two languages.
In the
app, learners can record their own voice for comparison with the recorded
voice.
In this website you can enjoy Spanish podcasts for all levels. You can even choose your podcast according to your level: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2. They deal with various topics of daily life.
It’s up to you to choose your subject, the level and even the voice and accent. Also you can download the MP3 file.
I want to recommend this Audiobook that I found in Youtube, it is very good for beginners because the story it all happens in present tense. You can download this file by using this convert into mp3.
I hope you have found useful this recommendations. Tell me in the comments if you are ready to put podcasts in Spanish every moment of your life to progress even faster. Total immersion to have quick results and soon speak Spanish.
We are a Spanish Language School located in Mexico City, and we create this contect to spread to other students of Spanish around the world. Feel free to contact me , if you want me to talk about other material or ways to improve your Spanish leave a comment below!
Who said that learning a foreign language should be boring? Many students make the mistake of using only textbooks to learn a language. These books are useful, of course, but watching movies or youtube channels in their native language is just as effective and fun to improve your skills and listening skills.
Why are movies the best way to learn Spanish?
When you watch a movie, you are relaxed. In such a pleasant atmosphere, your brain is better able to capture information and memorize new words and phrases. That said, make sure you listen carefully. Watching movies in Spanish will also help you learn more about the cultural and societal aspects of the language.
Do you want
to watch a movie? Why not watch it in Spanish?
We have compiled a list of 6 movies to help you learn Spanish while having fun.
This award winning film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu portrays lives on the edge of society in Mexico City. Dog fighting, violence and poverty dominate the life of Octavio, and to make matters worse he’s fallen in love with his sister in law.
This film is about the ancestral traditions and strong family ties in Mexico. Nominated for a Golden Globe in the best foreign film category, this film received 10 Ariel Awards, the Mexican equivalent of the Caesars, and in 1992 became the most profitable Spanish film ever released in the United States. So it’s worth it to watch it.
The main character, Tita, feels devastated and lost because she cannot marry Pedro, the man she loves. When her older sister marries Pedro in her place, Tita must resign herself to living a life of suffering. Following the story of the family over more than twenty years, the film tells the life of different characters through time. You will certainly be touched by their stories, and it will also be an opportunity to learn some vocabulary words in Spanish.
Pan’s Labyrinth, it is an excellent film for those who love the fantastic genre infused with horror. Guillermo del Toro, who directed the film in 2006, describes it as «a fairy tale for adults«.
The story takes place in Spain, shortly after the Civil War, in 1944. Ofelia and her mother move to a small town where the girl does not want to live. His mother will soon have a baby, and her stepfather, a soldier, is trying to annihilate the enemy forces. That’s when little Ofelia discovers the forest and encounters a fauna that reveals something extraordinary.
Do you want to watch a good comedy? it’s the best way to spend a good evening while learning Spanish. This film is in Mexican Spanish, and very easy to understand for those who want to learn the language. There are also many dialogues in English, as the film takes place in the United States.
Co-written and directed by Eugenio Derbez- a very well known comedian in Mexico- in 2013. The film tells the story of Valentin, a man who finds himself obliged to take care of his daughter alone. This suddenly appears in her life, prompting her to find her mother and give him back the baby. Having no choice but to keep his daughter, he decides to raise her up as best she can and take care of her.
Inspired by Ernesto «Che» Guevara‘s notebooks, the movie «Diarios de motocicleta» («Travel Diaries«) tells the story of Che’s long journey on motorbikes and his friends across South America. This great adventure, full of encounters and experiences, will forever transform the young Che Guevara and push him to try to change things, until the revolution.
Watching this film is one of the best ways to learn Spanish for students of all levels. You will appreciate not only the beauty of South America, but also the accent and the Argentine slang.
This is an hilarious movie that shows the sad reality of Latin American politics. Particularly a satire about Mexico’s long-ruling political party, the PRI. If you want to understand mexican society and politics this is the perfect movie to watch.
I hope you enjoyed this post and got new tools to improve your learning. You can also check some recommendations to learn Spanish on Youtube. Click here.
