If you've always wanted to learn some Spanish, our 7 easy Spanish language games can give you a fun start.
Spanish is a wonderful language to learn. It's spoken as an official language in 20 countries, and for many travels it's a great language to communicate and connect.
Spanish is a phonetic language, and is easy to pronounce for English speakers. Plus, Spanish shares many cognates with English and does not have a difficult word order.
Give a couple of these easy Spanish games a try. You can start with a few common greetings and expressions. Even if you speak only some basic phrases, making the effort will help you connect with Spanish speakers. And remember, in other-language countries, people don't always speak perfect English. They are sure to appreciate your efforts.
When playing a game, repeat the words of the speaker - out loud. Just thinking about what to say in Spanish is not enough. Your mouth needs the practice to sound out the words. I call that "mouth mechanics".
1. Hello, Goodbye, etc.
Greetings and polite phrases belong into your language tool kit. They are a friendly and respectful way to interact with others.
Play the game again a couple of days later to review what you learned. You'll definitely feel more confident when you're in a Spanish-language setting when your responses are automatic and sound "like a native".
Click on our Spanish Language Game: Hello, Goodbye, etc. to learn and practice 10 must-have words and phrases. Here's what you'll learn in Game 1: • Hola - Hi • Buenos días - Good morning • Buenas tardes - Good afternoon • Por favor - Please • Gracias - Thanks • De nada - You're welcome • ¿Qué tal? - How are things? • Lo siento - I'm sorry • Momento - Just a moment • Adiós - Goodbye
2. Spanish Numbers 1-20
Learning the Spanish Numbers 1-20 is a practical next step. Numbers are used in many different situations: at a market, for getting directions, for phone numbers, addresses, fixing the time for an appointment, etc.
Once you're happy with your pronunciation, numbers are easy to practice throughout your day. You could start counting the number of reps in your exercise routine in the morning, or the steps as you're walking to get your coffee.
Click on our blog post Uno dos tres, Spanish Numbers are Easy, where you'll find a link to our Language Games for Spanish Numbers 1-20, as well as another game for Spanish Numbers 21 and beyond. You'll be learning and practicing the numbers out of order and by doing easy additions and substractions.
3. Spanish Question Words
Question Words are useful when asking for information, even if your Spanish vocabulary is limited. You'll use question words for asking what something means, for making appointments, paying for a purchase, asking for directions, etc.
The words are short and not hard to pronounce, but sometimes it's easy to mix them up.
Click on our Spanish Language Game: 8 Question Words. This is what you'll learn in Game 3: • ¿Dónde? - Where? • ¿Cuándo? -When? • ¿Cuánto? - How much? • ¿Cuál? - Which? • ¿Quién? - Who? • ¿Cómo? - How? • ¿Por qué? - Why? • ¿Qué? - What?
(With Spanish 2 for Travel on our - also completely free - sister site, Lingo-Late.com, you can learn and practice 12 practical questions - quite useful when traveling and looking for directions.)
4. Present Tense of "hablar" - to speak
Learning the present tense forms of "hablar" is useful in two ways. 1.You'll be able to express what language(s) you speak or don't speak. 2. You'll learn how to conjugate a regular Spanish verb that ends in -ar.
Click on our Spanish Language Game: Hablar - Present Tense Here's what you'll learn in Game 4: • yo hablo - I speak • tú hablas - you speak (familiar) • él/ella habla - he/she speaks • Usted habla - you speak (formal) • nosotros/as hablamos - we speak (m/f) • vosotros/as habláis - you (pl. m/f) speak [Spain] • Ustedes hablan - you (pl.) speak [Latin America]
Besides learning the verb forms, you'll also practice using them in a few easy sentences.
5. Present Tense of "estar" - to be
Spanish has two words that mean "to be", but they're used in different contexts. This game includes a couple of easy practice sentences for each of these contexts. Basic uses of "estar": 1. express a condition or state "Sí, lui está cansado!" (Yes, he is tired!) 2. indicate a location 3. form the progressive tense
Note that in Spanish, personal pronouns (I, you, he, she etc.) are often left out unless they are needed for context or clarity. The pronouns are included at first in the Shootout game, then dropped in some of the easy Word Invader practice sentences.
Click on our Spanish Language Game: Estar - Present Tense Here's what you'll learn in Game 5: • yo estoy - I am • tú estás - you are (sing. familiar) • él, ella está - he, she is • Usted está - you are (formal) • nosotros/as estamos - we are • vosotros/as estáis - you (pl.) are [Spain] • Ustedes están - you (pl.) are [Latin America] • ellos/as están - they are
The Spanish present progressive tense
Note that the present tense forms of "estar" are used to form the "present progressive", the Spanish tense you use to talk about an action that is going on as you speak.
For example: "Estoy buscando la calle Reyes Católicos." (I'm looking for Reyes Católicos street.) Or "Ellos están caminando por el casco antiguo" (They are walking through the old town.) In Spanish, the progressive forms emphasize the continuing nature of the action.
6. Present Tense of "ser" - to be
Next, is a game to learn and practice the present tense of "ser" - to be. Some basic uses of "ser": 1. indicate origin, identity 2. time, days, dates 3. indicate essential characteristics - "Sí, ella es alta!" (Yes, she is tall!) Note that you would use "estar" to say that you are tired - a condition, not a characteristic.
The game includes a few easy sentences for practice.
Click on our Spanish Language Game: Ser - Present Tense This is what you'll learn in Game 6: • yo soy - I am • tú eres - you are (familiar) • él, ella es - he, she is • Usted es - you are (formal) • nosotros/as somos - we are • vosotros/as sois - you (pl) are [Spain] • ellos/as son - they are • Ustedes son - you (pl) are [Latin America]
You can find a more detailed explanation of the uses of "ser" by ThoughtCo HERE
7. Present Tense of "tener" - to have
Finally, a game to learn and practice the present tense of "tener" - to have. Again, the personal pronouns are included at first and then dropped in some of the easy practice sentences.
Click on our Spanish Language Game: Tener - Present Tense Here's what you'll learn in Spanish Language Game 7: • yo tengo - I have • tú tienes - you have (familiar) • él, ella tiene - he, she has • Usted tiene - you have (formal) • nosotros/as tenemos - we have • vosotros/as tenéis - you (pl) have [Spain] • ellos/as tienen - they have • Ustedes tienen - you (pl) have [Latin America]
Clearly, a few fun language games won't get you to speak the language with any fluency. But they can put you on the track to learning Spanish, and learning a language is a great life-long hobby.
We have dozens more Spanish games on our site, plus a gamified travel story that will get you familiar with the the sounds of Spanish and basic beginner vocabulary in context. Just a few minutes a day of Spanish adds up very nicely over time.
Apparently, there's a Chinese proverb that says: "Learning a language is a treasure that will follow you everywhere". That has definitely been my experience.
Ten years ago, GamesforLanguage started out as an experiment and family project: a language teacher and course editor, a retired engineer, a computer programmer (our son) and his graphic designer wife collaborated on what has turned out to be a fun and rewarding enterprise.
Over the years, we've had a steady stream of users and have gotten valuable feedback. We've also found plenty of incentive for our own language learning by using our own courses, joining online language learning groups and trying out other language programs and apps.
Our site is free to all - without any Google advertisements - a fact that more and more teachers and parents seem to appreciate as well. You can play our Quick Games and Podcasts, and read our Blog Posts by just clicking on the links.
Only our language Courses require a simple registration. This way, players can pick-up the story and continue learning and practicing where they last logged off.
At the beginning of a new year, we usually look back to determine what has interested our users most. Over the last few months of 2020, we've noticed a substantial increase in groups playing our Quick Games and travel-story Courses.
Registrations increased by users with an institutional email address, in particular schools. Most of the students registered that way play Courses in addition to Quick Games.
Although we don't know the email addresses of users who just play Quick Games, Podcasts, or read our Blog Posts, we are able to identify which content receives the most traffic.
Travel Story Courses
Our original purpose for Gamesforlanguage was to combine the idea of learning a new language with a travel story and fun games. Being language learners ourselves, we've used (and are still using) many different language programs.
Not surprisingly, it was our German courses that had the most players from registered users last year. This may also be due to the fact that we have two(2) 36-lesson German courses, as well as an active German Facebook page.
If German or any of our other languages - French, Italian, and Spanish - interest you, click on the registration page or the screenshot above, and register. (Our Course English for Spanish Speakers is still in development and has 3 levels at this time.)
Quick Games
We currently have over 300 Quick Language Games, and we are adding new games every few weeks. These can be played by just clicking on the Quick Games link on our website and selecting the language you want to practice.
Each fun game only takes a couple of minutes or so. It helps you practice a few words, a grammar point or some typical phrases.
We post one of the nearly 90 Quick German Games every weekday on our German Facebook page, Learn German -A Game A Day.
Since we started Gamesforlanguage in January 2011, we've added nearly 400 Blog Posts about language learning, travel experiences, and related topics. That's an average of over 3 posts per month.
It's always interesting to see which of the older posts have become perennials. Our 2013 post about La Paloma Lyrics - Learning Spanish with a Song, was also a favorite in 2020. (And if you like that idea for learning Spanish, we can suggest one of our partner sites, Language-Zen.)
For those who have tried our travel-story based Courses, it's no surprise that we like stories for learning and practice. We are obviously not the only ones. Our 2016 post: Why Polyglots Also Use Stories for Language Learning has been very popular.
And, as it's quite a short post, we're always surprised to see the 2013 entry - Quick French: “On y va”, “Allons-y!” - to be on our most read list year after year!
Podcasts
We have not yet promoted and expanded our Podcasts. (Something we're going to focus on in 2021.) Most of our podcasts are the MP3 audios and chapters of each of our courses.
We believe that listening to the story BEFORE or AFTER playing a course lesson, helps you to internalize the sound and rhythm of the language and to memorize the phrases.
We are planning to add more Podcasts about Language Learning, Culture and Travel.
We're hopeful that in the fall of 2021, we can again travel to Europe. In any case, until travel is safe again, there' s plenty of time to practice languages online, to read books, to listen to podcasts and to watch foreign movies.
Spanish is spoken as an official language in 20 countries, and is rich in idioms and expressions. These are fixed phrases that have a figurative rather than a literal meaning.
1. Nacer con un pan bajo el brazo
Idiom: to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth Literally: to be born with a bread under your arm. (Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash.) Explanation: This is said of a person who is very lucky or very privileged. The expression may also go back to the idea that a new child born to a poor family will mean another pair of hands for bringing in the money. Spanish: Se dice de una persona que es muy afortunada o muy privilegiada.
2. Ser pan comido
Idiom: to be a piece of cake Literally: to be bread (to be) eaten Explanation: You use it for something that's very easy to do. Bread is a good image for something that is easy to get and doesn't need any elaborate preparation. Spanish: Se usa para decir que algo es muy fácil de hacer.
3. Ser harina de otro costal
Idiom: to be a different kettle of fish Literally: to be flour from a different sack (Photo by Jordane Mathieu on Unsplash) Explanation: To be a separate matter, an entirely different thing. This expression probably goes back to a time when people brought their own batches of various types of grain to collective mills. These batches were kept in separate sacks to keep them apart. Spanish: Ser tema aparte.
4. Meterse en harina
Idiom: to get down to it Literally: to get into the flour Explanation: To buckle down eagerly to a job or task. When a baker prepares bread, he is wont to put his hands right into the flour to knead the dough Spanish: Empeñarse con mucho ahínco en una obra o empresa.
5. Estar en su salsa
Idiom: to be in one's element Literally: to be in one's sauce Explanation: To be in a familiar environment and to feel at home, comfortable. Spanish: Estar en un entorno conocido y sentirse como en casa, comodo.
6. Buscarle tres pies al gato.
Idiom: to make a mountain out of a molehill Literal: to look for three legs on the cat (Photo by Ramiz Dedakovi? on Unsplash) Explanation: You don't need to complicate things that are simple. The expression doesn't make a lot of sense like this. It actually used to be: "buscarle cinco pies al gato, y no tiene más que cuatro" (to look for five legs on the cat, when it only has four) and over time it changed to this. Spanish: No hace falta complicar algo que es sencillo.
7. Dar a algun gato por liebre
Idiom: to take someone for a ride Literally: give someone a cat for a hare Explanation: To deceive someone, con fool, trick. In earlier centuries people were not always sure what meat they were eating. If they ordered rabbit stew, is that really what they got? Spanish: Engañar a alguno, embaucar.
8. Empezar la casa por el tejado
Idiom: to put the cart before the horse Literally: to start the house by the roof Explanation:This expression is used when someone doesn't do something in the right order. How can you build a house by starting with the roof? It can't be done, and when you try you're sure to run into problems. Spanish: Se utiliza cuando alguien no sigue el orden correcto para hacer algo.
9. En un abrir y cerrar de ojos
Idiom: in the twinkling of an eye Literally: in an opening and closing of eyes (Photo by Amanda Dalbjörn on Unsplash) Explanation: Something that happens quickly, in an instant. The expression is said to go back to a passage in the New Testament, referring to the moment of resurrection that would happen in a flash. Spanish: Algo que pasa rapidamente, en un instante.
10. Estar hecho como un flan
Idiom: to shake like a leaf Literally: to be made like creme caramel Explanation: To be very nervous or shaky. This refers to people who are anxious, fearful, or unsteady for whatever reason. A flan is a custard-like dessert that has a light texture and trembles when touched. Spanish: Estar muy nervioso o tembloroso.
11. Pedir peras al olmo
Idiom: to get blood from a stone Literally: to ask the elm tree for pears Explanation: Asking for the impossible. Looking for pears on an elm tree is a pretty futile exercise. A pear is a sweet and delicious fruit. On the other hand, the small hairy fruit of an elm tree is not edible for humans. Spanish: Pedir algo imposible.
12. Camina comenzado, medio andado.
Idiom: A good beginning is half the battle. Literally: Road started, half walked. Explanation: The first step is the most important one. Once you take the first step, you're on your way. If you don't even take a first step, you won't make any progress. Spanish: El primer paso es el más importante.
These expressions can be a fun topic of conversation no matter which Spanish-speaking country you're in. If your conversation partner appears puzzled by a "modismo" you're using, you may want to ask: ¿No se dice aquí? (Is it not said here?)
During our one-month stay in Barcelona a few years ago, we had regular language-exchange meetings with a local student. He spoke Spanish, we spoke German, and we met in a neighborhood bar. Talking about equivalent idioms in our respective languages was a natural part of each session.
You know that you're making progress when you start to pick up language subtleties in the language you're learning. Language subtleties can be fun or embarrassing, but you'll especially remember the embarrassing ones.
I'm not only talking about “false friends”, which are not that hard to check. For example, my (German speaking) father quickly learned the English word “gift”, as the same word means “poison” in German. “Gift” was also the first entry in our earlier post, 20 German False Friends To Watch Out For.
There are also quite a few such “cognates” in Spanish, as we listed in False Language Friends – Spanish: me despierto et al. (And, we just realized that we are still to list the major cognates for Italian and French, Gamesforlanguage's other two languages.)
In the meantime, here are just a few language subtleties we came across recently.
GERMAN SUBTLETIES
One of our sons told us the other day that during a stay in Germany he responded to a question whether the room temperature was ok: “Ja danke, ich bin warm.” But, the correct German expression for "I'm warm" is “Es ist mir warm.” He could not understand the chuckle of the family friend he was staying with.
The friend explained that the answer did not go together with the question: “warm sein” in German is used to mean to be “gay”, or “schwul”. Although the above exchange occurred over 15 years ago, our son still remembers the different meanings of the two expressions.
Going back even further, I remember when my French-speaking brother-in-law, who also spoke excellent German, was puzzled when he heard one of our friends tell us over a glass of beer:
“Als ich nach der Party mit dem Fahrrad nach Hause fuhr, hatte ich einen ordenlichen Affen sitzen.” (Literally: When I rode home on my bicycle after the party, I had a substantial monkey sitting.)
My brother-in-law laughed as heartily as all the others, but later he asked me: “Why did he have a monkey sitting on the bicycle with him?”
Idioms
As many other languages do as well, German has many ways to express being tipsy or drunk, for example: • einen sitzen haben (literally: to have one sitting) • einen Affen sitzen haben (literally: to have a monkey sitting) • einen Schwips haben (somewhat literally: to have intoxication) • einen im Tee haben (literally: to have one in the tea)
And in the various German dialects there are quite a few more.
Words with more than one Meaning
This brings me to German words with more than one meaning. For example, “einen Kater haben” could mean “owning a male cat”. But more likely – and you would know from the context – it would mean “having a hangover”.
In German, there are plenty of words with more than one meaning. There is no way around learning them. Examples are: • “Linsen” are “lentils”, but also lenses of cameras • “ein Gericht” could be “a court of justice”, or a meal • “die Wirtschaft” could mean “the economy” or the local pub • “ein Bienenstich” is a German cake specialty, made with yeast dough, filled with vanilla custard and topped with almonds, but it also simply means “the sting of a bee”. I still have no idea how this cake got its name.
You can sometimes guess the meaning of a word from the context, but that is often harder for idioms.
SPANISH SUBTLETIES
The other day I was again reviewing the use of “estar” and “ser” in Spanish. One of the explanations of the difference between both is the following: Think about “ser” as a “passive” verb, something “being” that way permanently, e.g. describing a personal trait; “estar”, on the other hand, is a more active verb describing a (temporary) condition.
Expressions with Ser and Estar
In the examples below the use of either “ser” or “estar” changes the meaning of the adjective. For example:
The young woman in the picture certainly would NOT want to say: “Soy aburrido” which means “I am boring”, when she really wants to say: “Estoy aburrido” (“I am bored”) - hopefully only a temporary condition with her date!
Similarly, when you tell somebody that you are not ready, say “No estoy listo” and NOT “No soy listo”. The latter means that you are not intelligent or a quick thinker. Also:
• vivo/a is “alive” with estar, but “clever” with ser • cansado/a is “tired” with estar, but “tiring” with ser
Remember as well that “estar” is used to indicate your location, as in “Estoy en casa” (I'm at home), but “ser” is used to indicate your origin, e.g. place of birth, “Soy de Austria.” (I'm from Austria.)\
Exceptions
And just when I thought I had understood the differences well enough, I was reminded of a few major exceptions: • “Está muerto” (he is dead) seems to be quite a permanent condition, but uses “estar” to indicate that somebody is dead. • On the other hand “ser” is used to indicate time as in “Son las tres de la tarde” as in “It's 3 PM”, which seems quite transitional.
Words with more than one Meaning
As with German, Spanish also has words that have more than one meaning: • piso: can mean “apartment” or “flat” but also is used for a building's “level” or “floor” • gato: “cat” is the translation I know, but apparently it is also a “car jack” • tiempo: can mean “time” or “weather” • techo: can mean “ceiling” or “roof”
Different Meaning in Different Countries
As Spanish is spoken not only in Spain but also in the Americas, it's not surprising that there are quite a few words that have acquired various meanings in different countries. A few examples include: • fresa: a “strawberry” in most Spanish speaking countries (but “frutilla” in Argentina); in Mexico it's also a slang term for a “spoiled, egocentric, wealthy youngster” • coche: a “car” for Spaniards, but a slang term for “pig” in Guatemala (maybe from French “cochon”?), or a “babystroller” in Chile • torta: a “cake” in most Spanish speaking countries, it also translates as “a punch in the mouth” in Spain.
This iTalki post has quite a few more Spanish words with different meanings in different countries. Only the context of a sentence lets you sometimes figure out the meaning. But because Spanish has phonetic spelling, it is much easier than French with its many homophones, as we'll see below.
FRENCH SUBTLETIES
As with German and Spanish above (and most languages), some French words have two or more meanings.
words with more than one meaning
For example, “voler” can mean either “to fly” or “to steal”. (Maybe the image with the seagulls below will help you remember the two meanings).
But with nouns, often the article changes, and that can alert you to which meaning is used. • la tour (a tower), le tour (a trip) • la poste (the post office), le poste (a position) • la mémoire (the memory), le mémoire (the essay)
I'm doing a lot of listening at the moment (on LingQ) to get my French up a notch for an upcoming trip to French Switzerland.
words that sound the same but have a Different Meaning
One feature that makes spoken French particularly tricky are its many homophones, words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Here are a few examples: • fin (end), faim (hunger) • verre (glass), vers (a verse, or “towards”), ver (worm), vert (green) • vin (wine), vain (in vain), vingt (twenty), vint (came) • saut (jump), seau (bucket), sot (dummy), sceau (seal) • maire (mayor), mer (sea), mère (mother) c'est (it is), sait (knows), s'est (reflexive pronoun + est)
Not to mention the various personal verb endings that get swallowed in spoken French. • (il) est, (tu) es • (je) parle, (tu) parles, (ils) parlent
You have to pay special attention to the context to get the right meaning and spelling.
Idioms
Idioms pose their own challenge as the literal meaning is often quite far from the idiomatic meaning. A couple of my favorites are: • poser un lapin à quelqu'un - to put a rabbit to someone (to stand someone up, not show up for a date) • faire la grasse matinée - to do the fat morning (to sleep in) • faire le pont - to make the bridge (if Thursday is a holiday, you may as well not work Friday either and take a nice long weekend)
Last August, we spent several days in Montreal to attend LangFest 2017. The conference is a popular annual language gathering that attracts language enthusiasts from all over the globe.
We really enjoyed being in a French environment, but it took us a few hours to attune our ears again to the melody and expressions of Québecois, the local language spoken there.
One of the first workshops at LangFest was a quick overview of Québecois by translator and editor Grégoire Lahaia. This was really helpful for us. Lahaia pointed out three major characteristics of how Québecois is pronounced:
1) Dipthongization of long vowels (also called vowel breaking) • père (pronounced: paèr) • rêve (pronounced: raève) • fort (pronounced: faort)
2) The consonants t/d are pronounced ts/ds before the vowels u/i • tu (pronounced: tsu) • tuer (pronounced: tsuer) • tirer (pronounced: tsirer) • durant (pronounced: dsurant)
3) Many words are contracted • tu es (pronounced: t'es • sur la (pronounced: s'a) • il aime (pronounced: y'aime) • je suis (pronounced: j'su)
It made us realize again how important it is to listen to different regional accents of a language to train your ear to understand variations beyond standard pronunciation.
ITALLIAN SUBTLETIES
Even if you've figured out the difference in Spanish between “estar” and “ser”, the Italian verbs “stare” and “essere” will provide you with a new challenge.
Expressions with essere and stare
In general “essere” means “to be”, and “stare” means “to stay”. But in some contexts “stare” also means “to be”. As a starter, it's useful to learn a few basic phrases, so you don't have to think about what to use with these.
Use “essere”:
For nationality, profession, possession, essential qualities. • Sono italiano. - I'm Italian. • Sono insegnate di francese. - I'm a French teacher. • La casa è di Carla. - It's Carla's house. • Il tavolo è negro. - The table is black.
For condition or emotion. • Sono malato. - I'm sick. • Sono felice. - I'm happy.
For Date and Time. • Sono le dieci. - It's ten o'clock. • È lunedì. - It's Monday.
Use “stare”:
For precise location (but in some cases, you can also use “essere”) • La sedia sta/è in cucina. - The chair is in the kitchen. • Lui sta da me. - He's at my place.
For certain idiomatic expressions. • Sto bene. - I'm well. • Come stai? - How are you? • Sto male. - I'm feeling bad.
For the continuous tense: • Sta piovendo. - It's raining. • Sto mangiando una pizza. - I'm eating a pizza.
The little word “ci”
The two-letter word “ci” pops up a lot in conversational Italian. You'll see it on its own and also attached to the end of a verb. It helps to learn basic phrases, but more importantly, just become aware of it as you read or listen to Italian. With time, you'll learn to recognize the various meanings of “ci”.
Personal pronoun “ci” = us/to us/ourselves • Marco ci ha invitato a cena. - Marco has invited us to dinner. (direct object) • Ci l'hanno dato. - They gave it to us. (indirect oject) • Ci siamo divertiti molto. - We enjoyed ourselves a lot. (reflexive) • Ci vediamo là? - We'll see each other there? (reciprocal)
Demonstative pronoun “ci” = about it/on it • Non so che farci. - I don't know what to do about it. • Ci penserò. - I'll think about it. • Ci puoi contare. - You can depend on it.
Adverb “ci” = here/there; there is/there are; it is/they are • Qui non ci ritorno più. - I'm not coming back here again. • Conosco Roma perché ci ho abitato. - I know Rome well because I lived there. • Ci sono 30 kilometri. - It's (there are) 30 kilometers. • C'è nessuno in casa? - Is there anybody at home?
Verbs with “ci”
A number of verbs change meaning by adding “ci”. The meanings have to be learned in context. Here are a couple of examples: • pensare - to think • pensarci - to think/take care of sth; ci penso io (I'll take care of it)
• stare - to be, stay • starci - to be up for it/to fit in it; non ci sta (it doesn't fit in it)
• credere - to believe • crederci - to believe it; non ci credo (I don't believe it)
We obviously could only touch the surface of the four languages' many subtleties. But once you start paying attention to them, you'll be a step closer to mastering the language you're learning. The proof will be when you recognize some of the expressions in conversations and can use them yourself.
If you love music, songs provide a wealth of language learning possibilities for you. But not only that. Each culture has its own tradition, which makes it all the more interesting.
A simple word like the English “song” is a good example of how various languages may differentiate among alternative meanings (or not) for a basic concept.
And, as you get more familiar with the culture of the language you're learning, you'll also begin to appreciate different traditions of "songs".
When you google for the translation of “song” in the four languages of our Gamesforlanguage site, you'll get the following results:
French
English “the song” translates as “la chanson” (music with words) and “le chant” (song-like piece of music, song-like poem), from “chanter” (to sing).
The English language uses “chant” as a synonym for “song” or “singing,” often in connection with spiritual or religious singing. We talk about Gregorian chants, not Gregorian songs, and it's the same in French.
France has a strong tradition of “art songs,” which include not only beloved arias from operas by Bizet, Fauré, Gounot, and Massenet, but also poems, by Hugo, Verlaine, Baudelaire, set to music by Debussy, Fauré, Ravel, and others.
While the English “song,” may or may not include any lyrics, the French “chanson” is typically a lyric-driven song.
Singers that we enjoy include Edith Piaff, Jacques Brel, Mireille Mathieu, Charles Aznavour, Joe Dassin, Georges Moustaki, and Québec's “chansonniers” Félix Leclerc, Claude Léveillé, Raymond Lévesque, and more.
The traditional French “chanson” has a long and colorful history, dating back to the Middle Ages. “Chanson” differs from other French “pop” music by reaching back to French traditions of lyrics and music (rather than following British or American trends).
Songs in French are a wonderful way to acquire the sounds and the rhythm of the French language, and to learn words and idiomatic expressions.
By listening over and over to a French song you really like, you'll even pick up some typical grammar structures.
We are especially fond of Edith Piaf's Non, je ne regrette rien, which let's you pick up a number of grammatical clues.
Check out the “Chanson française du moment” and see if you can find one that you like. If it gets into your head, your French will surely improve.
German
The German translation of “the song” is “das Lied.” This may be a little confusing as the verb “to sing” translates to “singen,” and for “the singing” and you'll get “das Singen” and “der Gesang.”
“Das Lied” is similar to the French “la chanson,” and “Gesang” is the equivalent of the French (and English) “chant.” In German, for example, we talk about the “Gregorian Gesänge” (der Gesang; pl: die Gesänge).
German music lovers will also be familiar with “Lieder” (das Lied; pl: die Lieder). These are often poems put to music by composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, etc.
An English translation for “Lieder” may be “art songs,” as these are poems set to classical music. Their tradition goes back to the 12thCentury and the German “Minnelieder” (courtly love songs).
From the 1960s on, German singer-songwriters liked to call themselves “Liedermacher” (makers of songs).
In modern German, “songs” may also translate as “Schlager,” the popular German songs of the Hit Parade.
Songs performed by Marlene Dietrich and Lale Andersen (Lili Marleen) went around the world; Peter Alexander, Catharina Valente, Freddy Quinn, Udo Jürgens, and many others all had “Schlager” hits in their time.
One of our favorites is Jürgen von der Lippe's Guten Morgen liebe Sorgen.... It topped the Hit Parade list for several weeks in the 80's.
Every week, the Offiziellen Deutschen Party & Schlager Charts are updated. Take a look and see if you can't find a song that you like, and – by memorizing the lyrics - you will improve your German.
Italian
The Italian translation of “the song,” is “la canzone.” “The singing” translates as “il canto,” derived from “cantare” (to sing). All Romance languages trace the equivalent for “song” back to the Latin word “cantio” (singing).
The Italian “canzone,” (which derived from the Provençal “canso,” a troubadour's love song) traditionally referred to a song of 5 to 7 stanzas with a particular rhyme scheme. The form was later made famous by the Italian Renaissance writers Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.
Italian opera, born in the 17th century and fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries has been a rich source of “art songs” that are popular to this day.
Just think of the great Luciano Pavarotti singing exquisite arias from the operas of Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, or Puccini.
In the late 1950s and 1960s emerged the “cantautori” - the singer songwriters, who wrote and sang their own songs, often in protest against the more traditional “canzone.” This was an interesting and important development.
Starting out as an imitation of sorts of the French “chanson” at the time (Brassens, Brel, Ferré, etc.), the Italian “cantautori” soon succeeded in creating songs about Italian everyday life and reality. It's a trend that's strong even now.
A smash hit from 1962 that has 55 versions is “Quando, quando, quando.” We featured it on one of our blog posts, "Dimmi quando..." - An Italian Song for Language Learning. Italian Pop and Rock music is often characterized as “musica leggera” (light music).
Songs by contemporary singers such as Eros Ramazzotti, Mina, Ligabue, Javanotti, Laura Pausini, and many others are good for learning and practicing Italian because the lyrics are relatively simple. The music is great and many of the songs get under your skin, which boosts language learning.
Check out the Canzoni del momento and see whether there is one you can memorize. It will certainly help your Italian.
Spanish
The Spanish translation of “the song” is “la canción” (music with words, song-like music) and “el canto” (song-like poem). “To sing” translates as “cantar.” Spanish music combines a wide range of cultures that were part of Spain's past, most notably Arabic culture.
During the 17th and 18th century a Spanish form of light opera, or operetta, called “zarzuela” developed and became popular. It was a kind of music theater that combined spoken and sung storytelling, and included regional and folk elements. The Spanish full opera was much slower to develop.
Well-known Spanish “art songs” are by the composers Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Fernando Obradors, though this genre did not become quite as popular as its French and German counterparts.
After the Spanish Civil (1936-1939) and during Franco's repressive government which followed, regional culture and its music were banned. Rock and roll and pop music found its way into Spain only towards the end of Franco's regime.
After Franco's death in 1975, and as part of the new countercultural movement Movida Madrileña, there emerged a new, energized style of music. It resembled the British new wave and the Neue Deutsche Welle, but added flamenco passion and rhythms.
Since then, the Spanish music scene, with its centers in Madrid and Barcelona, has been nothing but innovative and exciting.
Latin Music opens a new world of diverse and beautiful sound. Check out this Latin Music History. Croonersinclude Jose Jose and Juan Gabriel, Mexico; Jose Feliciano, Puerto Rico; Leo Dan, Argentina; Jose Luis Rodriguez 'El Puma', Venezuela.
Maybe you'll also like “El Perdón", the subject of a recent post. And, if you like to learn Spanish with songs, Language Zen, has a number of Spanish songs with lyrics to do just that!
If music turns you on, songs are a fantastic tool for getting the sound, the rhythm, vocabulary, and grammatical structures of a new language lodged deeply in your mind. And singing along in a foreign language is just fun and a pleasure – so why don't you find one in the language you are just learning?
Bio: Ulrike & Peter Rettig are co-founders of Gamesforlanguage.com. They are lifelong language learners, growing up in several European countries before moving to Canada and the United States. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The Spanish Travel Memoriesadd to the information that our Spain traveler David picks up in our GamesforLanguage travel-story courses.
In the courses, we use street names, neighborhoods, hotels, and restaurants - many of which we've explored ourselves - in each of the Spanish cities. In Spanish Travel Memories 1, we tell you more about Barcelona. After visiting his aunt and uncle there and exploring the city, David heads south to Granada.
If you're going to visit Spain, you wouldn't want to miss Granada. It's a fascinating city with a multicultural history, and certainly a place for travel memories. We're also listing a few basic words and phrases in Spanish that will help you to communicate locally. The word lists are a combination of words and phrases taught in the course and other useful travel terms.
Just as we did with our post about Barcelona, we'll follow David's discoveries in Granada. For those of you who have done or are doing our Spanish 1 course: David en España, this may be of special interest.
Quick Facts about Granada
The city of Granada is the capital of the province of Granada, one of the eight provinces in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The city proper has a population of over 236,000. Granada has a great location. It lies close to the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and is only about an hour by car from the Mediterranean coast. The name "Granada" may come from either the Spanish word for "pomegranate" (granada) or from the Arabic word said to mean "hill of strangers".
In its early history, the region of what is now Granada was the site of an Iberian settlement, Elibyrge, (5th century b.c.), and of the Roman town Illiberis (150 b.c.). During the reign of the Visigoths (500 a.d.), a small community of Jews who had also settled there, named the area Garnata al-yahut.
In 711, a Moorish Caliphate invaded and conquered Granada. After internal conflicts among Arab clans, the Ziries clan created an independent kingdom, which lasted from (1013-1238).
This was followed by the powerful Nazrid dynasty (1238-1492). It was during the reign of the Nazrid kingdom, that the Alhambra fortress and the Generalife palace were built. Granada was the last Muslim kingdom to be conquered by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.
Basic Words and Phrases - the mountain range - la sierra - snow-covered, snowy - nevado/a (adj.) - the coast - la costa - the pomegranate - la granada - the settlement - el asentamiento - the dynasty - la dinastía- Catholic Monarchs - Reyes Católicos
Train to Granada
The distance between Barcelona (located in the northeast of Spain) and Granada (in the south) is 425 miles. Rather than fly to Granada, David chooses the less expensive option. He takes the train, which in his case is the Arco train with a route along the eastern coast.
Side Note: Obviously, train schedules and routes change over time. The Arco train to cities in Andalusia, operated by RENFE (Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles), has been replaced by their AVE trains with somewhat different routes.
The map above shows the driving options, which also mirror the train routes quite closely. The train route via Madrid may be faster.
Once he arrives in Granada, David asks for directions to “la calle Reyes Católicos,” the street where his friend Daniel lives, in the center of town. From the train station it's about a three-mile walk. (There's also an easy bus connection.)
Basic Words and Phrases - the train station - la estación de tren - the distance - la distancia - he train schedule - el horario de trenes - the train ticket - el billete de tren - the (train) track - la vía - to wait - esperar - a seat by the window - un asiento en la ventana - Is this seat available? - ¿Está este asiento todavía libre?
Washington Irving and the Alhambra
The Alhambra ("the red" in Arabic) is a spectacular palace and fortress built between 1238 and 1358 during the Moorish Nazrid dynasty. It stands on a plateau overlooking the city of Granada. You can read up more on its history HERE.
We were surprised to learn that the American writer Washington Irving (1783-1859) had actually lodged in a room in the Alhambra palace for three months in 1829. During that time he began his "Tales of the Alhambra," a colorful mixture of local history and legend. There's a plaque in the room where he stayed.
On the way down through the gardens, you can see a statue of Irving, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of his death. Downtown, there's also a street named after him.
Basic Words and Phrases - the palace - el palacio - a palatial complex - un complejo palaciego - the writer (m/f) - el escritor, la escritora - the tale, story - el cuento - the plaque - la placa - the garden - el jardín - the statue - la estatua
Side note: The city of Alhambra in California is reportedly named after the "Tales of the Alhambra." In 1874, the daughter of Benjamin Wilson, a wealthy developer, was reading the book and encouraged him to use the name for his new suburban development in Los Angeles County.
University of Granada
Founded in 1531 by emperor Charles V, the University of Granada is one of the oldest in Spain and continues a long educational tradition that goes back to the time of the Moorish epoch. With over 50,000 students in Granada alone (and seven campuses, five in Granada, and two in Spanish territories in Northern Africa), the University of Granada is the one of the largest in Spain.
The university is also highly popular with students of Erasmus, a program adopted by the European Commission in 1987, to encourage and support student exchanges throughout the European Union.
Side Note: The Erasmus Program was named after the Dutch philosopher and scholar, Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536). At the same time, ERASMUS also stands for: European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students.
Mirador de San Cristóbal
The San Cristobal Viewpoint is in the picturesque Albaicín neighborhood of Granada. From the viewpoint you have a stunning panoramic view of the city, including a side view of the Alhambra and the snow-peaked mountains behind. El Albaicín has maintained the narrow winding streets and the architecture of its Moorish past. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, together with the Alhambra.
David's next Stop (and future Spanish Travel Memories 3)
From Granada, David takes the train to Seville for more travel memories. There he checks into a hotel his friends had recommended to him. He explores the Toro del Oro and the Almohad Tower, called La Giralda. Together with Ana and some of her friends he spends an evening in Triana, the neighborhood known for flamenco dancers and singers.
Register or log in again and continue with the Spanish 1 course.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments below or with contact.
The Spanish Travel Memories expand on our GamesforLanguage travel-story based courses, which use the cities' real street names, places, restaurants, hotels, etc. We visited many of them ourselves and tell you a little more about each Spanish city.
In future blog posts, we'll provide additional details for each of the cities our young travelers visit in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. (You'll already find posts on Frankfurt and Paris.)
David is our traveler to Spain. His first stop is Barcelona, often named as one of the top ten travel destinations in Europe. (And no, the photo above is not Dubai, but of the W Hotel right at the beach in Barcelona.)
Visiting Barcelona? Here's a short introduction to this lively, bilingual port city. We'll also list a few basic terms in Spanish and Catalan that will help you make your own travel memories.
We'll follow David's discoveries in Barcelona, for those of you who have done or are doing our Spanish 1 course: David en España.
In our travel-story course, you learn daily conversational Spanish. The Spanish vocabulary listed here is a combination of some words taught in the course as well as other useful terms. We've also added Catalan equivalents.
The first published novel actually includes a “Walk in the Footsteps...” to “give a flavor of the setting for 'The Shadow of the Wind', and can be used as a starting point to explore more of the world of the novel, many of the locations and events.” Many places that we're familiar with and our traveler David visits as well, are described in the novels which span the first half of the 20th century.
The Catalan language
Because our course teaches Spanish, we don't include information about the Catalan language. However, the city is clearly bilingual.
Catalan is a language spoken in three regions of Spain: Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, as well as just across the border in southern France and a small community on Sardinia, Italy. It's also the official language of Andorra.
While 98% of Barcelona's population speaks Castilian Spanish, a majority, around 60%, also speaks Catalan. You'll hear Catalan spoken as you walk around town and you'll see many signs in both languages. You'll notice that many of the names of streets, parks, villa, museums, etc. on your street map will be in Catalan.
If you'd like to know more about the Catalan language and why one should not consider Catalan a “melting pot” of Spanish, French, and Italian, read this excellent post by the Spanish Linguist.
The territory of Spain, according to its constitution of 1978, is organized into 17 autonomous communities, and 2 autonomous cities. (see map)
In its second article, the constitution “recognizes and guarantees the right to self-government of the nationalities and regions of which it is composed and the solidarity among them all.” [Wikipedia]
While the “autonomous” label and “self-government” language in the constitution would indicate a substantial degree of independence of many communities, the tax levies and its distribution by the central government in Madrid remain an area of contention for many, not only for the proponents of secession in Catalonia.
A referendum in 2006, gave Catalonia an higher degree of autonomy than stated above. But a wish for more independence has obviously remained. And language has long been part of politics, with some bitterness on both sides.
Quick Facts About Barcelona
Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is a cosmopolitan port city located on the Mediterranean Sea in the northeast of Spain. It is the second largest city in Spain, with over 1.6 million inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has a population of over 4.6 million.
The history of Barcelona appears to go back over two thousand years, though details of its founding and early times remain elusive. Ruins from Roman Barcelona (then called Barcino) date back to the 1st century AD. These can be visited in what is now the gothic part of the Barcelona's medieval city. In his Blog, the travel writer Richard Varr describes the site as “The world's most Extensive Underground Roman Ruins.”
Barcelona belongs to the world's major global cities and has been called one of the world's leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural centers.
Catalan Art Nouveau architecture, called “Modernisme,” developed between the years of 1878 and 1910, and was an expression of Catalonia's striving for its own national identity. Barcelona claims to have the greatest collection of Art Nouveau Buildings of any city in Europe.
Barcelona hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics, which revamped the harbor area and many buildings, and created a several mile-long beach area with cafés, restaurants, promenade, etc.
David Arrives at Barcelona's El Prat Airport
David is a student who learned some Spanish at home and later studied it in school. His father is from Spain and his mother from Mexico. This will be his first visit to Spain. On his flight to Barcelona, Michael chats in Spanish with the flight attendant and with the woman who sits next to him.
He arrives at the busy International El Prat Airport, which is located 12 miles from the center of the city. (Visitors using certain discount airlines may also arrive at the Reus and Girona airports, which are about 60 miles from Barcelona, so watch out! David's aunt picks him up. Otherwise, he would have gotten into town by taxi, bus, or train.
As David goes through passport control, he continues to use his Spanish. Responding to the standard immigration/passport control questions, he has to explain why he is traveling to Spain and how long he will stay.
1. Useful terms for Travelers
Following the Spanish, you'll see the Catalan equivalent in parentheses. • the flight - el vuelo (el vol) • the flight attendant - el auxiliar de vuelo (el auxiliar de vol) • the airport - el aeropuerto (el aeroport) • the passport control - el control de pasaportes (el control de passaports)
Districts of Barcelona
David's aunt and uncle live on Carrer de Mallorca (Spanish: Calle de Mallorca). This large street runs through the neighborhood (Spanish: barrio) of la Dreta de l'Eixample, and is close to Plaça de Cataluña and el Passeig de Gràcia.
Barcelona is divided into 10 administrative districts, which consist of 73 “barrios.” Each of the 10 districts is referred to by number and a name. (see map)
The old town stretches mostly across districts 1 (Ciutat Vella) and 2 (Eixample). It's in the latter where the barrio “Dreta de l'Eixample” is located.
During our 1-month stay in Barcelona, we stayed in Gràcia, and liked this district very much. You can read about our travel memories in several blog posts.
2. Useful terms for Travelers
Some relevant vocabulary, first Spanish, then Catalan in parentheses. • the street - la calle (el carrer) • the neighborhood - el barrio (el barri) • the square - la plaza (la plaça) • the promenade - el paseo (el passeig) • the district - el distrito (el districte) • the old town - el casco antiguo (el nucli antic) • the city - la ciudad (la ciutat)
Travel Memories: La Sagrada Familia
David and his cousin María walk over from Calle Mallorca to Antoni Gaudí's spectacular church “La Sagrada Familia.”
Begun in 1882, the project became Gaudí's life work. At his death in 1926, only part of the church was finished. Construction resumed after the Civil War (1936-1939) during the reign of Franco, and continued after Franco's death (1975). The building is now projected to be finished in 2026.
“La Sagrada Familia” has been called the most unconventional church in Europe and will certainly be part of your Barcelona travel memories. Gaudí used the natural world and its curves for his inspiration and avoided straight lines and angles as much as he could.
For his constructions, he developed his own architectural techniques. Some of these are on display in the museum of the church as well as in the Casa Milà Exhibits (see below).
3. Useful terms for Travelers
the church - la iglesia (la església) the Civil War - la Guerra Civil (la Guerra Civil) the nature - la naturaleza (la naturalesa)
El Paseo de Gracia (Passeig de Gràcia)
As they walk through their neighborhood, his cousin María asks David if he wants to join her for some shopping on the Passeig de Gràcia.
The Passeig de Gràcia is a wide avenue with shops and businesses that leads from Plaça Cataluña to the neighborhood of Vila de Gràcia. (The photo left is taken from the roof of Gaudí's Casa Milà, see also below)
A little history: Originally, Passeig de Gràcia was called Camí de Jesus and connected the city of Barcelona to the nearby town of Gràcia. With time, small houses, cafés, restaurants, shops, theaters, and dance halls were built along the stretch.
In 1897, the town of Gràcia was formally annexed by Barcelona. It became fashionable to live on the Paseo and to have one's house build in the Modernist style, by architects such as Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and others.
Today, the Passeig de Gràcia has retained its appeal. Most of the older buildings have been restored; villas, shops, and fashion houses have multiplied. Along the avenue, which is lined with trees, there are street lamps and benches.
Here is a link to more history and a walking tour along the Passeig. On the Passeig de Gràcia there are also many restaurants and cafés. In Spain, a café is called “una cafetería.” David and María order “una horchata” (a tiger nut milk drink; in Catalan: orxata), “un cortado” (espresso with a dash of mik; in Catalan: tallat), and “magdalenas” (small cupcakes).
Parque Guëll
In 1900, Count Eusebi Guëll, a wealthy and influential Catalan owner, bought land in Gràcia. He employed his friend Antoni Gaudí to design an estate for the rich. The park was built between 1900 and 1914. Gaudì's imaginative designs and architectural solutions were inspired by natural organic shapes.
Only two houses were built, though neither was by Gaudì. Because the project was not commercially successful,the family Guëll gave the land to the city in 1923 as a public park. It officially opened in 1926. Gaudì lived in the park between 1906 and 1926 in a house built by the architect Francesc Berenguer. In 1984, the park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
4. Useful terms for Travelers
• the park - el parque (el parc) • World Heritage - Patrimonio de la Humanidad (Patrimoni de la Humanitat) • to design - diseñar (dissenyar)
Other Places to visit in Barcelona
• The Olympic Stadium (Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys): Built for the 1929 International Exhibition, the stadium was renovated in 1989 for the 1992 Summer Olympics. It is located on Montuïc, a hill in Barcelona that overlooks the harbor.
• Casa Milà(picture left),popularly known as “La Pedrera”, was Antoni Gaudì's last civil work and built from 1906 to 1912. It is an apartment building located around an inner court yard and incorporates many innovative features of its time.
The gallery in the building's attic exhibits many examples of Gaudi's design and engineering concepts. From the top you get a stunning view of the city. (see photo) The building is a UNESCO Heritage Site.
• Picasso Museum (Museu Picasso): The museum opened in 1963 and houses an extensive permanent collection of Pablo Picasso's works presented in five medieval palaces.
• Joan Miró Foundation (Fundacío Joan Mirò): A collection of Miró's art, exhibitions of contemporary art, and Espai 10 and Espai 13, a Laboratory for Contemporary Art - “where artists have the right to fail.”
From Barcelona, David takes the train to Granada, for more travel memories. There he gets together with a friend he had met in Boston.
(Going from Barcelona to Granada by train, is a nearly 600-mile trip. Taking the train is the most inexpensive option, and the trip can take between 8 to 12 hours. You can, of course, also fly to Granada, which takes about an hour and a half.)
Register or log in again and continue with the Spanish 1 course.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is a co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments below or with contact.
Because I'm interested in everything language learning, I signed up to beta test "a new approach to language learning" in one of my online language groups. This was some time ago.
In the summer, I got an email that I could "test flight" the iPhone app for Spanish and started testing it through its updates. Mid-October 2016, "SuperCoco - Learn Spanish by talking" went live. It's pretty neat.
For many people, myself included, learning to converse with some fluency in a new language is highly challenging. SuperCoco seeks to addresses that issue in interesting ways.
Except for audio programs such as the Pimsleur Language Programs, and more than any other language apps or programs that I've tried, SuperCoco encourages you to SPEAK. The instructions are simple: "When you hear Spanish, you repeat it. When you hear English, you say the Spanish."
Phil Mitchell, who is the founder of Larkwire, the maker of the SuperCoco app, told us:
"SuperCoco was built by people who love language learning. It's the app we wanted for ourselves. Version 1.0 is incomplete, of course, there's lots more coming ... but we'd really love to hear from users about what they like and don't like in the app so far. It's an opportunity for people to get the app that they want."
WHAT YOU LEARN
To date, SuperCoco has four (4) Levels: Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Early Intermediate, Intermediate.
Five (5) more Levels are to come: Advanced Intermediate, Proficient, Advanced Proficient, Near Fluent, Fluent.
Each of the current Levels has 60 or more conversations organized into 4 Chapters. In a Level you'll learn over 1000 sentences, and around 1000 new vocabulary items. (see screen shot: Intermediate Chapter 3)
The conversations are in the form of brief stories, sometimes ending with a humorous or surprising twist. These anecdotes contain cultural information and give context to the language.
You don't learn lists, you always learn words in the context of conversational sentences. That also means you learn grammatical forms as they are used.
Only new words are practiced separately in the Spanish First + words option, which is the initial and default "learning stage." Any words you've had before, are not isolated for practice.
There's a wide variety of topics. They include: Essentials, Food, Shopping, Communications, Transportation, Housing, Health, Social, Entertainment, Sights, Language, Dating, Wayfinding, Family, Work, Culture, School, and others.
LEARNING STAGES
SuperCoco automatically moves you through Learning Stages that are increasingly challenging.
(You could, but don't need to ever touch the Practice Mode button.)
Spanish first + words (Sp. audio - pause - words Sp./Engl. - Sp. audio - pause - Eng. - Sp. written)
English first (Engl. audio - pause - Sp. audio - Sp. written)
Partner: You take the role of one of the conversation partners (tap to hear Spanish)
Phil Mitchell also explained the following:
"Tracking every word allows the program to do something really neat: if SuperCoco predicts that you can already produce a given sentence, it jumps right into English First mode the first time you see that line. This is very powerful. First, it gives you the chance to produce Spanish that you've never heard before; and second, when you're in the flow of the conversation, you often speak the Spanish without even realizing that it's brand new. You're just speaking Spanish."
HOW YOU LEARN: FIRST LISTENING and SPEAKING
With SuperCoco you learn first and foremost through sound. When you start a lesson, you can go hands free, and just listen and repeat. The lesson continues automatically.
Or if you wish, you can control SuperCoco by voice commands, such as Coco WHAT? (alias: Coco REPEAT?) - to hear a line again; Coco SLOW - to hear the line at slower speed; Coco STOP (alias: Coco PAUSE) - to pause the conversation, etc. Go to the Library (Menu icon) for other voice commands. Note that you can only give commands when SuperCoco is not speaking.
You learn and practice each of the conversations sentence by sentence. You never hear the full conversation just in Spanish. (It is always broken up by English translation.)
After the Spanish audio or the English cue, there's a pause to let you say the Spanish word or sentence.
In the early lessons, coach SuperCoco pops up to give you tips, reminders, and encouragement.
At the end of a conversation, you can rate it: Too hard, Just right, Too easy. This information will go into the algorithm of the program, and determine how soon and how often you'll review that particular conversation.
DO YOU NEED TO SEE THE WORDS?
As an adult who's been schooled in reading and writing, you may automatically imagine how words in a foreign language are spelled - when you hear them.
Most likely, you'll apply the sound-spelling correlation that you're familiar with, i.e. the spelling of English if that's your native language.
Learning a new language means that you have to learn a new sound-spelling system. You can only do that by seeing how a word is spelled when you hear it, or right after.
SuperCoco gives you that option. You can see the Spanish text after you hear the audio, following a short delay. The brief pause not only lets you repeat what you hear, you can also anticipate the spelling in your mind.
(By the way, that's quite similar to Gamesforlanguage's “Say It” module, which we use in all of our language story-based courses.)
GRAMMAR at YOUR FINGERTIPS (if you want)
By tapping on a specific word in the conversation, you'll first see a brief grammar point.
Then, if you tap the capsule, it loads a full explanation. For a verb, it explains the tense or mood and shows shows the conjugation. You'll also see links to related topics.
For example (see screenshot above), you'll see the sentence "¿Por qué ne estás tirando fresas?" (Why are you throwing strawberries at me?)
When you tap on "tirando" and then "fresas" you'll see: tirando (tirar): to throw (verb: gerund); and, fresas (fresa): strawberry (noun: pl f ).
By tapping further, you'll load an explanations of the gerund form, and other related links.
Or, tapping on the imperative form "espere," (see screen shot) you'll load an explanation of the form, as well as the (positive and negative) conjugation of the imperative.
NO IMAGES
Very different from picture-heavy Rosetta Stone (and many other popular programs), SuperCoco uses no pictures at all. Interesting!
While pictures can certainly link to the foreign words (or labels) of objects, they can also be a distraction from learning their sounds.
With a picture-driven program you have to constantly figure out what the picture is supposed to represent. Besides, how can one show anything complicated or abstract with a still picture?
THE SKILLS TAB and PRONUNCIATION LESSONS
There are eight (8) Core Skills Lessons which give you one Key Tip in each lesson. Each is about 2-3 minutes long and includes the topics 'How to absorb Spanish faster,' 'What to do when you can't remember,' 'How to find time to practice,' and 'How and when to learn grammar.'
In the Skills Tab, you'll also find 23 excellent short Pronunciation Lessons that cover all the sounds of Spanish, with step-by-step instructions on how to produce the sounds. In each lesson, you can then Listen, Record, and Check your pronunciation. It's a fast track to getting a great accent.
COST
Without a subscription, you are limited to one chapter of conversations -- it can be any chapter.
A subscription to the SuperCoco app Spanish is $4.99 a month in the app store. With a subscription, you have access to all the chapters.
Having a monthly subscription may quite motivating: The serious learner will want to pack in as much as possible into a limited time.
WHAT WE LIKE
The focus on listening and speaking is very effective.
Seeing the spelling right after the audio is a great option.
The stories, which are in conversational format, are humorous and use real language.
Understanding the meaning is always part of how you learn.
The many different topics cover a wide range of vocabulary.
You can find a level that challenges you and you can pick and choose topics.
The voice recordings are high quality and easy to understand.
You're pushed to translate automatically when you hear an English sentence.
You get lots of encouragement.
We really like the hands-free part. You can listen while cooking, walking, commuting, etc.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
SuperCoco is currently available only for Apple devices with iOS 8.2 or later.
There's no setting for listening to a Spanish conversation in its entirety.
You cannot record and play back your own voice to check your pronunciation.
At this time, there's no reading and writing practice.
You don't get alternative translations.
CAN YOU LEARN WITH the APP FROM ZERO SPANISH?
I believe so, but since my Spanish was at an intermediate level before I started testing the app, I don't have an objective answer for that.
In my experience, the combination of hearing, repeating, and understanding the meaning of the foreign words and sentences is essential for learning a new language.
In any case, I can recommend SuperCoco as an excellent resource for learning and practicing Spanish.
Using more than one resource will help you stay interested and motivated. Once you have progressed beyond the basics, choose articles or books with topics that interest you for reading, podcasts for listening comprehension, language-exchange partners for conversations, etc.
In all, SuperCoco is a powerful learning tool that's fun, versatile, and easy to use. Whether using it alone, or adding it to whatever else you're learning with, you're bound to level up your Spanish.
That's true especially for your pronunciation, your listening comprehension, and fluency in speaking. To be contacted about new levels that are added, write to Larkwire: advanced@supercocoapp.com
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.
Disclosure: GamesforLanguage has no business relationship with SuperCoco, except for having participated in some beta testing and receiving the app for free. Certain links above are to affiliates' programs with revenue-sharing, should you decide to purchase or subscribe.
Listening to Spanish songs, first with the lyrics, and then without, is a great way to absorb words, phrases, and even grammatical structures.
In one of our first posts on learning a foreign language with a song, we chose La Paloma, a song which originated in 1861 in Cuba.
Now listen to a much more recent song, "El Perdón," co-written and co-performed by Nicky Jam and Enrique Iglesias, both popular singers in the Latin pop scene.
"El Perdón" became a smash hit upon its release in 2015. The official Spanish YouTube video has had over 650 million views at this time.
The Creators
Nicky Jam (Nick Rivera Caminero) was born in Boston MA, USA in 1981, but moved to Puerto Rico at the age of ten. For the Wiki-bio in Spanish click HERE.
Enrique Iglesias (Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler) was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1975. At age 11, he was sent to live Miami for security reasons. (His grandfather had been kidnapped by the Basque ETA.) See his English Wiki-bio HERE.
You can of course listen to a song in a foreign language and never get the lyrics. That's fine. Music can be enjoyed on its own.
But songs can also be a great language learning tool if you pay attention to the lyrics to understand their meaning. So, what makes music such a powerful way of getting language into your brain? It's because songs combine melody, rhythm, and emotion with language. What's on your side is the "earworm" effect. A good song will continue playing in your head.
Listening to songs in a language you're learning: • Improves your pronunciation • Has you mimic intonation • Helps you memorize vocabulary • Familiarizes you with idiomatic phrases • Lets you absorb grammar structures • Gets you into the rhythm of the language
The Lyrics
Listen to the song again and now follow it by reading the lyrics below. How much can you understand? At the end of the post we have the English translation, so you can check.
El Perdón Dime si es verdad Me dijeron que te estas casando Tú no sabes como estoy sufriendo Esto te lo tengo que decir
Cuéntame Tu despedida para mi fue dura Será que él te llevo a la luna Y yo no supe hacerlo así
Te estaba buscando Por las calles gritando Eso me está matando oh no
Te estaba buscando Por las calles gritando Como un loco tomando
Es que yo sin ti Y tú sin mi Dime quién puede ser feliz Esto no me gusta Esto no me gusta
Es que yo sin ti Y tú sin mi Dime quién puede ser feliz Esto no me gusta Esto no me gusta
Vivir si ti, no aguanto más Por eso vengo a decirte lo que siento Estoy sufriendo en esta soledad
Y aunque tu padre no aprobó esta relación Yo sigo insistiendo a pedir perdón Lo único que importa está en tu corazón
Te estaba buscando Por las calles gritando Esto me está matando oh no
Te estaba buscando Por las calles gritando Como un loco tomando oh
Es que yo sin ti, y tú sin mi Dime quién puede ser feliz Esto no me gusta Esto no me gusta
Es que yo sin ti, y tú sin mi Dime quién puede ser feliz Eso no me gusta Eso no me gusta
Yo te juré a ti eterno amor Y ahora otro te da calor Cuando en las noches tienes frío oh oh, oh
Yo sé que él te parece mejor Pero yo estoy en tu corazón Y por eso pido perdón
Es que yo sin ti, y tú sin mi Dime quién puede ser feliz Esto no me gusta, oh no
Es que yo sin ti, y tú sin mi Dime quién puede ser feliz Esto no me gusta oh yeah, oh
Dicen que uno no sabe lo que tiene hasta que lo pierde pero (Yo sin ti) Vale la pena luchar por lo que uno quiere (No puedo vivir así) Y hacer el intento (No quiero vivir así)
Refreshing a Few Grammar Points
1. Gerundio - the progressive form of a verb describing an ongoing action
• te estas casando - you are marrying (inf. casar) • estoy sufriendo - I am suffering (inf. sufrir) • estaba buscando - I was looking for (inf. buscar) • me está matando - it's killing me (inf. matar) • sigo insistiendo - I keep on insisting (inf. insistir)
2. Adding object pronouns to imperative and infinitive forms
• dime - tell me (imperative form of "decir") • cuéntame - tell me (imperative form of "contar") • hacerlo - to do it (infinitive) • decirte - to tell you (infinitive)
3. Preterito - simple past form of verbs
• fue - it was (inf. ser) • supe - I knew (inf. saber) • aprobó - he approved (inf. aprobar) • juré - I swore (inf. jurar)
Voices and Dialects
Another benefit of using songs is that different singers expose you to different voices, accents, or regional pronunciations. Spanish, especially, has many regional dialects. Interesting reference: 10 Spanish Dialects: How Spanish is Spoken Around the World
Why would it be important to hear different voices, accents, and dialects in the language you're learning?
Think about it: You're probably never going to speak only with people who sound exactly like the person on in your language program.
Both Enrique Iglesias and Nicky Jam are bilingual, with Spanish first and English learned at the age of 10 or 11. Comparing Enrique's and Nicky's Spanish, you'll notice some differences in pronunciation.
The Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico is part of "Caribbean Spanish," which also includes the Spanish of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and regions along the East coast of Mexico and Central America.
These are popular destinations both for Americans and many Europeans. Caribbean Spanish "is characterized by elided middle consonants and omitted final consonants, as well as an aspirated ‘r’ that is pronounced like the Portuguese ‘x.’." [10 Spanish Dialects: How Spanish is Spoken Around the World] You'll definitely hear some of that in Nicky Jam's singing.
English Translation of “El Perdón” - Forgiveness
Tell me if it's true They told me you are marrying You don't know how I'm suffering This I have to tell you
Tell me Your goodbye was hard for me Is it that he takes you to the moon And I didn't know how to do it like that
I was looking for you Crying out in the streets This is killing me oh no
I was looking for you Crying out in the streets Like a crazy drunk
It's just that me without you And you without me Tell me who can be happy I do not like this I do not like this
It's just that me without you And you without me Tell me who can be happy I do not like that I do not like that
Living without you, I can't do it anymore So I came to tell you how I feel I'm suffering in the loneliness
And even though your dad didn't approve of this relationship I'll have to keep asking for forgiveness All that matters to me is in your heart
I was looking for you Crying out in the streets This is killing me oh no
I was looking for you Crying out in the streets Like a crazy drunk oh
It's just that me without you And you without me Tell me, who can be happy I don't like that I don't like that
I promised you eternal love And now another man gives you warmth when you're cold at night oh oh
I know he seems better to you But I'm in your heart So I'm asking for forgiveness
It's just that me without you And you without me Tell me, who can be happy I don't like this oh yeah...
(You without me) They say you don't know what you have until it's gone but... (Me without you) It's worth it to fight for what you love (I can't live like this) And make an effort (I don't want to live like this)
If you like learning and practicing Spanish with songs, we'd suggest that you try out for FREE Language Zen, a great Spanish language learning site, which uses Spanish songs and their lyrics as part of their program. You won't find "La Paloma" and "El Perdón," but many contemporary songs on Language Zen. Also read our post "Language Zen" - Learning Spanish - A Review.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She is a life-long language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.
Disclosure: Language Zen is a partner site with revenue sharing should you decide to subscribe.
Recently, Ulrike reviewed Language Zen - one of our partner sites for learning Spanish. While I had also used it intermittently, I really got into practicing with it during the last several weeks.
I also discovered a few features that are really helpful, but that I had not paid much attention to before.
“Literally” vs. "Meaning”
For translating a sentence, you often have the option to select “literally” vs. “meaning.”
For example, to translate “Not a single man knows it.” I was very tempted to start with something like: “No un solo hombre ...”
However, when I clicked on the “literally” option, it suggested I say: “Not it (male) he knows not one man,” for my translation into Spanish.
And, as “ningun” had been introduced previously, I remembered that it was the translation for “not one.” Thus I was able to translate the sentence correctly. Then, when I confirmed my response, I was given the other possible correct answers, i.e. I could also have used “señor” and a different word order.
Using the“Try Again” Option
Earlier, I'd been frustrated when I made a mistake or could not remember a word or form. I finally discovered the benefits of the “Try again” link. Not only can I correct a mistake, but by retyping it correctly (or saying it again, see below) it helps me to remember it better. It also improves my accuracy score.
A case in point would be translating the following sentence: “That woman has something in her hands.”
Using the “literally” option, I see that in Spanish you would not say “her hands” but “the hands.” However, I had forgotten that the Spanish word for “hand” has a feminine gender – although it ends with an “o.”
As I check my answer I both HEAR the correct translation and am informed of my mistake: “los” is crossed out, and I read “las is missing from your answer.”
I can now rewrite (or say) the sentence with the correct female pronoun “las.” Not only has it now cemented the correct gender for “la mano” in my mind, but I am also are credited for the correct answer in the progress chart. (Love that!)
Translation Alternatives
As I pointed out above, one other feature I find particularly helpful is getting translation alternatives for many English sentences. In many other online programs there is often only ONE possible correct answer.
Language Zen gives lots of translations alternatives both for the vocabulary as well as for the word order of a translated sentence.
The screen shot (on the right) for the translation of “Can you (formal) tell me what happened?” shows a whole series of options, including different verb options for “tell,” and “happened,” different word order, etc.
(You'll also note that I did not conjugate the verb “pasar” correctly - or, the voice recognition did not like my pronunciation and I failed to correct the shown spelling.)
Lesson Accuracy and Progress
One of the motivating factors for me is the “lesson accuracy” at the end of each lesson. See the screenshot of my last lesson: 98%. I just hate it when I can't get close to a 100%, i.e. a perfect score.
My score tends to slip when I lose concentration and get tired. That is also a good reminder that it's time to stop and do something else.
Under “View Progress,” you'll see the words that I've practiced multiple times (green) and the new words (blue) that were recently introduced.
Clicking on the “View Progress” tab lets me see several other learning metrics and also check how I'm doing in several categories: words, phrases, facts and meanings.
The screenshot on the right shows how my recent re-engagement with Language Zen is reflected in those categories.
Courses – Watching Sports
With the Olympics recently happening, I thought I would check out the “Courses” and the “Watching Sports” topic.
Indeed I was learning much relevant vocabulary, e.g. “partido,” “canal,” “defender,” “boletos,” etc.
For the translation of “On which channel is the game?” I had neglected to use the “literally” option (On what channel they GIVE the game?) and promptly made a mistake. Let's hope that I now remember to use “dar” and translate: “¿En qué canal dan el partido?”
I also learned that “One has to defend well” translates to “Hay que defender bien.” Again the “literally” translation option (“There is that to defend well”) had given me the clue to avoid a mistake and pick up this idiomatic expression.
Using the Microphone
I'm also using the microphone more often now to enter my translations. This is only practical when you are by yourself without much background noise.
The voice recognition is not always perfect as this screenshot (right) shows – it understood my “tienes” as “quieres,” but that is also easy to correct.
I noticed that the system appears to be getting used to my still imperfect pronunciation. Either the system's improving with time, or I'm getting better (or maybe both ...)
In any case, having the translation transcribed speeds up the practice, even considering the necessary corrections. It also lets me do more translations within my daily time quota, currently set to 3 hours per week. (I plan to double this time once I have again completed my 2 daily Scenes of our GamesforLanguage Spanish 1 course.)
At the moment, the transcription of dictated translations does not work on my iPad. It does work in my Android phone and tablet with the Chrome browser. We understand that Language Zen is working on an app, which should fix that issue.
Learning with Songs
The idea of learning with songs attracted us first to Language Zen. I have just started taking full advantage of this feature by playing Julieta Venegas' wonderful song “Eres para mí” (You are for me).
It's not only a great way to learn a Spanish song, but the repetition of phrases and sentences certainly makes you remember certain expressions.
For example, it will be hard to forget the refrain “Eres para mí” and its expansion to “Túeresparamíyosoyparati.”
The song feature lets you listen to the song, see the lyrics either in Spanish or in English. (You can switch between either as the song plays.) Then you can click on “Start lesson on the lyrics.”
After that, you're asked to translate the English words, phrases and sentences of the song into Spanish. Again you can use the microphone and when you check your answer you'll often hear the fragments of the song again.
For example, in “Your eyes watching me” you'll pay attention the the gerund of “mirar” and in this, as in many other instances, how Spanish words are linked: “mirándome.”
I especially like songs with a memorable refrain and melody. Language Zen's selection is still limited, but you may well find a song that you like and that you'll want to learn. And when you do it with the Language Zen song feature, you'll not only learn the song, but also improve your Spanish skills at the same time.
In taking advantage of the various options Language Zen provides, I'm not only enjoying the lessons more, but with my increased accuracy percentage I can also see that I am getting better!
Realizing that I am making progress is definitely an important motivator to continue learning and practicing.
Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He's a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.
Disclosure: Language Zen is a partner site with revenue sharing should you decide to subscribe.