This Spanish for Beginners interactive mul- timedia Lesson 1 is a follow up to our Les- son 1 Free Podcast and Lesson 1 free Ex- tra Podcast. You can nd both podcasts and their transcripts on our website, www.spanish- bookworld.com All the sound in this multimedia lesson has been recorded by native Spanish speakers. To make the most of this lesson, please read the learning and technical tips. By Mara Fernandez c languagebookworld.com Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Interactive Multimedia Lesson Click on a section: Further speaking & listening practice Further vocabulary practice Translation practice Further pronunciation practice Further number practice Further verb practice Culture & language notes Get our Spanish podcasts Intermediate & advanced audio Learning & technical tips Contact us About the author Other language products nextprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further speaking & listening practice What to do here: 1 To improve your listening skills, click on the Spanish words in blue and listen to them as many times as you want. 2 To improve your speaking skills, read the lines out loud, along with the native speaker. Try to keep up with the speed and imitate the intonation. 3 Repeat each line several times. Dialogo 1 Mara: Buenos das, Ana, >que tal estas? Ana: Bien, gracias, >y tu? Mara: Bien. Dialogo 2 Juan: Hola, buenas tardes. Ricardo: Hola, me llamo Ricardo, y tu >como te llamas? Juan: Juan. >De donde eres? Ricardo: De Inglaterra. Dialog 1 Mary: Good morning, Anne, how are you? Anne: Fine, thanks, and you? Mary: Fine. Dialog 2 John: Hello, good afternoon. Richard: Hello, my name is Richard, and you, what's your name? John: John. Where are you from? Richard: England. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further speaking & listening practice Dialogo 3 Jose: Hola, buenas noches, te presento a mi amigo Pedro. Margarita: Encantada. Pedro: Encantado. Margarita: >Estas de vacaciones? Pedro: S. Margarita: >En que hotel estas? Pedro: En el \Sol y Playa". Margarita:
Donde tu amiga Ana? 3 No se como se el hotel. 4 Juan y yo artistas. 5 >De donde tu padre? 6 Mi director llama Pedro 7 Mi amigo es Inglaterra. 8 Dos y dos cuatro. 9 El Hotel Central esta la playa. 10 >Estas vacaciones? 11 Ricardo Margarita son amigos. 12 Jose, >que estas? Click here to see the answers Learning tip: You may want to repeat this vocabulary drill if you've made more than two mistakes. Knowing the basics well is essential if you want to learn Spanish fast. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further vocabulary practice Vocabulary drill: Type in the appropriate words. Fill in the gaps with words you learned in our two free Lesson 1 podcasts. If you want to review them, here are the links to the words and phrases. 1 Buenos , Margarita. 2 >Donde tu amiga Ana? 3 No se como se el hotel. 4 Juan y yo artistas. 5 >De donde tu padre? 6 Mi director llama Pedro 7 Mi amigo es Inglaterra. 8 Dos y dos cuatro. 9 El Hotel Central esta la playa. 10 >Estas vacaciones? 11 Ricardo Margarita son amigos. 12 Jose, >que estas? Hide answers 1 das (Good morning, Margaret) 2 esta (Where is your friend Anne?) 3 llama (I don't know the name of the hotel) 4 somos (John and I are artists) 5 es (Where is your father from?) 6 se (My director's name is Peter) 7 de (My friend is from England) 8 son (Two plus two equals four) 9 en (The Central Hotel is by the beach) 10 de (Are you on vacation?) 11 y (Richard and Margaret are friends) 12 tal (Joseph, how are you?) Learning tip: You may want to repeat this vocabulary drill if you've made more than two mistakes. Knowing the basics well is essential if you want to learn Spanish fast. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Translation practice Translation exercise: Translate these ten sentences into Spanish. All the words and phrases have come up in our two free Lesson 1 podcasts. 1 What's the name of the hotel? 2 I don't know where your director is. 3 My name is Joseph, and you, what's your name? 4 Hello, how are you? 5 Which hotel is your father in? 6 More slowly, please. 7 Where are you? 8 This is my friend Richard. 9 I don't know his name. 10 Margaret is on the beach. Click here to see the answers speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Translation practice Translation exercise: Translate these ten sentences into Spanish. All the words and phrases have come up in our two free Lesson 1 podcasts. 1 What's the name of the hotel? 2 I don't know where your director is. 3 My name is Joseph, and you, what's your name? 4 Hello, how are you? 5 Which hotel is your father in? 6 More slowly, please. 7 Where are you? 8 This is my friend Richard. 9 I don't know his name. 10 Margaret is on the beach. Hide answers 1 >Como se llama el hotel? 2 No se donde esta tu director. 3 Me llamo Jose, y tu >como te llamas? 4 Hola, >que tal estas? 5 >En que hotel esta tu padre? 6 Mas despacio, por favor. 7 >Donde estas? 8 Te presento a mi amigo Ricardo. 9 No se como se llama. 10 Margarita esta en la playa. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further pronunciation practice Improving your pronunciation 1 A good pronunciation will help you communicate successfully and will dramatically boost your condence in Spanish. That's why we'll put so much emphasis on it in all our extra podcasts and study materials. 2 Here we're going to practise listening to the vowels and saying them. 3 Click on each of the ve vowels below to hear them and repeat them after the native speaker. 4 Remember that the Spanish vowels all have a pure and unchangeable sound. a e i o u 5 Now click on these words and pay particular attention to the vowels. Repeat the words after the native speaker: Ana eres spronto tu speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further pronunciation practice Tips on how to get the Spanish vowels always right 1 The Spanish \a" is like the \a" in \father". Avoid saying it like in \able" or \malt". 2 The Spanish \e" is like the \e" in \egg". Avoid saying it like in \elastic" or \mechanic". 3 The Spanish \i" is like the \i" in \machine". Avoid saying it like in \shirt", \bit" or \mine". 4 The Spanish \o" is like the \o" in \lots". Avoid saying it like in \so" or \comfort". 5 The Spanish \u" is like the \u" in \put". Avoid saying it like in \hut" or \pupil". 6 To get the Spanish vowels always right, remember this sentence: Father put lots of eggs in the machine speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further pronunciation practice Your Spanish pronunciation assessment Would you like to get a full assessment of your Spanish pronunciation detailing: How well you pronounce each letter of the alphabet and the specic mistakes you make. What your weakest pronunciation points are and how to improve your sounds. What your strong points are and why. What mistakes you should avoid in order to sound like a native. What sounds you should concentrate on in the short, medium and long term. An interactive multimedia lesson with 12 exercises that will help you improve your pronunciation. What do you have to do? Simply call our voicemail from your phone or Skype, and read out the words and sentences that we will provide you. When you nish reading them out, send us your payment over the Internet, and within ten days you'll get your detailed report. It really is that simple! Click here to nd out the price and other details. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further number practice Practising numbers 1 to 5 1 Click on the numbers in blue to hear how they sound in Spanish. 2 Repeat them after the native speaker. Make sure you've learned them well before starting the exercises on the next two pages. 1 2 3 4 5 uno dos tres cuatro cinco Pronunciation mistakes you might be making 1 Watch out for the \o" in \uno", \dos", \cuatro" and \cinco". Check that you're saying it like in the English word \lots". In particular, make sure it doesn't sound like the \o" in the English word \so". 2 Make sure your \e" in \tres" doesn't sound like in the English word \need", but like in \egg". 3 Check your \ua" in \cuatro". Both vowels have to be said clearly. 4 Finally, in \cinco", make sure your \i" sounds like in \machine", and not like in \shirt" or \bit". speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further number practice Telephone numbers - speaking practice 1 Native speakers always say numbers very fast, which makes even the simplest ones very tricky to catch. This and the next exercise will help you get used to the speed. 2 The faster you can say the numbers yourself, the easier you'll nd it to understand them when others say them. 3 Let's practise saying these telephone numbers at real conversation speed. 4 Click on each number and say it out loud, along with the native speaker. Your ideal target here is to keep up with the speed while pronouncing the numbers correctly! 225 5344 114 5223 543 3441 334 2112 251 4235 5 Repeat this exercise several times over the next few days. Remember, it's important that you say the numbers out loud, not just quietly. Inevitably at this early stage, words will sound better in your head than when you say them! speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further number practice Exercise - hearing & understanding the numbers 1 Click on the question marks to hear one of the three numbers in each group. Which one has been said in each case? Type in your answers in the spaces below each group. 2 Repeat this exercise a few times over the next few days in order to learn 1 to 5 really well. 3 Many larger Spanish numbers look and sound similar to the ve numbers in this lesson. Knowing 1 to 5 well will make it easier for you to learn other numbers later on. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 3452 3431 5412 4235 1121 5344 2332 4452 3441 5421 4325 1221 5334 2323 3352 3432 4512 4335 1112 5443 2333 4 Type in the numbers you hear: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 Click here to see the answers speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further number practice Exercise - hearing & understanding the numbers 1 Click on the question marks to hear one of the three numbers in each group. Which one has been said in each case? Type in your answers in the spaces below each group. 2 Repeat this exercise a few times over the next few days in order to learn 1 to 5 really well. 3 Many larger Spanish numbers look and sound similar to the ve numbers in this lesson. Knowing 1 to 5 well will make it easier for you to learn other numbers later on. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 3452 3431 5412 4235 1121 5344 2332 4452 3441 5421 4325 1221 5334 2323 3352 3432 4512 4335 1112 5443 2333 4 Type in the numbers you hear: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 Hide answers 3452 3441 5412 4335 1221 5344 2323 speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further verb practice Ser: to be 1 We're now going to practise the verb "ser" (to be), which we learned on the Lesson 1 free extra podcast. 2 These words are essential in everyday Spanish, and very handy. It's important that you know them well. 3 Click on the words in blue to hear them. Then repeat them out loud. Make sure you're saying them correctly! soy eres es somos sois son I am you are he/she/it is we are you are they are Pronunciation mistakes you might be making 1 Make sure the \y" in \soy" sounds exactly like the Spanish \i". Click on \i" in the pronunciation practice above to check its sound. 2 Make sure the \e" in \eres" and \es" sounds like the \e" in the pronunciation practice above, and not like in the English words \erode" or \fern". 3 Make sure you're saying the \o" in \somos", \sois" and \son" like the \o" in the pronunciation practice and not like in the English words \some", \love", or \so" (i.e., with an extra \u" or \w" sound at the end). speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further verb practice Verb drill: Fill in the gaps with the right form of the verb ser - to be: 1 >De donde el amigo de Juan? 2 (Talking to John and Mary) >De donde ? 3 Me llamo Pedro y artista. 4 Tres y dos cinco. 5 Tu itinerario diferente. 6 Ana, >de donde ? 7 Ana y yo de Inglaterra. 8 El hotel bueno. 9 Ana y Ricardo mis clientes. 10 Tu y yo turistas. Click here to see the answers Vocabulary notes 1 Bueno : we've seen \buenos das" in the dialogs. \Bueno" is the singular of \buenos" (good). 2 Mis: we've come across \mi amigo" in the dialogs. \Mis" is the plural of \mi" (my). 3 Clientes and turistas: \Clientes" is the plural of \cliente" (client) and \turistas" is the plural of \turista" (tourist). These two words rst came up on the Lesson 1 free Extra Podcast. We'll learn the Spanish plurals in the next few podcasts. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Further verb practice Verb drill: Fill in the gaps with the right form of the verb ser - to be: 1 >De donde el amigo de Juan? 2 (Talking to John and Mary) >De donde ? 3 Me llamo Pedro y artista. 4 Tres y dos cinco. 5 Tu itinerario diferente. 6 Ana, >de donde ? 7 Ana y yo de Inglaterra. 8 El hotel bueno. 9 Ana y Ricardo mis clientes. 10 Tu y yo turistas. Hide answers 1 es (Where is John's friend from?) 2 sois (Where are you from?) 3 soy (My name is Peter and I'm an artist) 4 son (Three plus two equals ve) 5 es (Your itinerary is dierent) 6 eres (Anne, where are you from??) 7 somos (Anne and I are from England) 8 es (The hotel is good) 9 son (Anne and Richard are my clients) 10 somos (You and I are tourists.) Vocabulary notes 1 Bueno : we've seen \buenos das" in the dialogs. \Bueno" is the singular of \buenos" (good). 2 Mis: we've come across \mi amigo" in the dialogs. \Mis" is the plural of \mi" (my). 3 Clientes and turistas: \Clientes" is the plural of \cliente" (client) and \turistas" is the plural of \turista" (tourist). These two words rst came up on the Lesson 1 free Extra Podcast. We'll learn the Spanish plurals in the next few podcasts. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Culture & language notes When to use buenos das, buenas tardes and buenas noches 1 Unlike in English, these three expressions have more to do with whether you've had your lunch or dinner than with the actual time of day. Roughly speaking, you'd say buenos das in the hours between getting up and having lunch, buenas tardes between lunch and dinner or at least dusk, and buenas noches between dusk or dinner and going to bed. Spanish speakers often have their meals later than English speakers, so it's common to hear people say buenos das at 2.00 pm and later. Buenas tardes, especially in summer, can be said till 9.00 pm and later. 2 Perhaps the most interesting of the three expressions is buenas noches. Buenas noches doesn't necessarily mean \I'm" or \you're going to bed", like in English, although it means that too. Buenas noches is what you say when you meet someone after dinner, often hours before going to bed, so it translates both as good evening and good night. 3 The rules on how to use these expressions are very vague, but if you're uncertain about how to greet people, you can simply say buenas. It's a very common expression and it covers all times of day! speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Culture & language notes The inverted question mark and exclamation mark: \>" and \<" 1 As you will have noticed in the dialogs and exercises in this lesson, in Spanish you have to use an inverted question mark at the beginning of a question. This is done to indicate that a question is starting. Because of the way Spanish verbs and other words work, without the question mark it's often unclear whether something has been asked or simply stated. Here's an example: Estas de vacaciones { You are on vacation >Estas de vacaciones? { Are you on vacation? 2 The inverted question mark must be used in all questions, including those that are obvious, like: >De donde eres? { Where are you from? 3 Exclamations come with an inverted exclamation mark too, as we've seen in the dialogs: " 1 Press Alt, and while still pressing it, press also 168 on the number pad (that's the group of numbers on the right hand side). 2 Altenatively, Press Alt, and while still pressing it, press also 0191 on the number pad. 3 On Microsoft Word: press Alt + Crtl + Shift + ? all at the same time. How to type in the inverted exclamation mark: \<" 1 Press Alt, and while still pressing it, press also 173 on the number pad (that's the group of numbers on the right hand side). 2 Altenatively, Press Alt, and while still pressing it, press also 0161 on the number pad. 3 On Microsoft Word: press Alt + Crtl + Shift + ! all at the same time. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Culture & language notes Facts about Mexico. Did you know that ...? 1 Mexico shares its borders with the USA, Guatemala and Belize. 2 It's the 14th largest country in the world. 3 With a population of 109 million people, it's the most populous Spanish-speaking country. 4 The Aztecs were also known as Mexicas, the word which gave its name to the country. 5 The Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes conquered Mexico in the early 16th century. 6 The rst university in the Americas was founded in 1551 in Mexico City by Charles V. 7 Spanish is spoken by 97% of its population. Other languages spoken in Mexico are: Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya, Mixtec, Zapotec, Tzeltal Maya, Otomi, Totonac and many others. 8 Mexico has contributed to all aspects of culture. Some of the most renown Mexicans are: Frida Kahlo, Cantinas, Pancho Villa, Carlos Fuentes, Jorge Negrete, Benito Juarez, Juan Rulfo, Octavio Paz, Emiliano Zapata, etc. 9 Some of the best Mexican movies are: Like Water for Chocolate, The Crime of Padre Amaro, The Devil's Backbone, Amores perros, Y tu mama tambien, Pan's Labyrinth, El callejon de los milagros (Midaq Alley), etc. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Get our Spanish podcasts Whatever you're doing, wherever you are, you can listen to our podcasts Get our podcasts here - www.spanish-bookworld.com speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Intermediate & advanced audio Spanish audio magazine for intermediate and advanced students Bimonthly 60-minute recording by native Spanish speakers from Spain and Latin America Each issue includes: audio cd and full transcript with glossary and cultural notes Also: vocabulary exercises, grammar drills and audio ashcards on a separate cd Topics: interviews, food, wine, sports, society, culture, cinema, politics, music, etc. An excellent help for improving your speaking and listening skills Click here for free audio samples and details speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Learning & technical tips How to make the most of this interactive multimedia lesson 1 To make the most of the drills and exercises in this interactive multimedia lesson, listen to the Free Podcast and Free Extra Podcast rst, and make sure you've learned the vocabulary there. 2 To make this page a nice size, click on the icons on your screen menu to see which size suits you best. 3 To get an optimal sound quality, use headphones. They're usually much better than computer loudspeakers. 4 To see the table of contents, press the key that says Home on your keyboard. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Contact us How to get in touch with us 1 If you have any vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation queries about what you've learned, you can post them on our language learning forum. 2 If you have any comments or suggestions about our interactive multimedia lessons and podcasts, please post them on our forum too! 3 We check our forum every day and reply promptly. speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 About the author Find out who Mara Fernandez is 1 Learning foreign languages has been my hobby, career, business and passion for over thirty years. I started with English, then French, German and Italian. I then went for Portuguese and in March 2007 I started studying Japanese. My mother tongue is Spanish. Knowing foreign languages is a precious asset for me. I use them on a daily basis! 2 I have learned foreign languages mostly on my own, but also with private tutors and in small group courses. At University I did History in Madrid (Spain) as a rst degree, and then I did a masters in English Literature in the UK. 3 I set up in business in 1994. At rst I taught Spanish and did translations full time. Then, while still teaching, I wrote two language learning publications: Learn Spanish At Your Own Pace (book + 2 audio cds) and Spanish for Beginners cd-rom. 4 The publishing side of the business expanded and in 2003 we launched our rst website, www.spanish-online.co.uk. Soon the language-bookworld.com cluster of websites was developed and I now work full time on our podcast, multimedia lessons, forum, seven websites, blog and Squidoo lenses. book + 2 cds cd-rom speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips productsprevious next Spanish for Beginners - Lesson 1 Other language products Click on the pictures for more details language courses Spanish software books in Spanish audiobooks in Spanish iPods and accessories dvds in Spanish handheld dictionaries Spanish for children Spanish music Do you want to listen to more Spanish? Visit our Squidoo lens on Spanish audiobooks speak & listen vocabulary translation pronunciation numbers verbs culture podcasts intermediate tips products