SpanishPod101.com Blog

Featured today in this lesson, we will supply you with a few five great tools to learn how to speak Spanish! Keep these tools under your belt and it'll make your learning experience smoother and easier. Tool Number One: A Spanish Dictionary Bilingual dictionaries used to be a burden to the language student; it used to be that only the larger-sized dictionaries were complete enough to be useful, but these large-format dictionaries were difficult to carry around. Nowadays, web-based dictionaries are the standard; they are complete enough to help you with your composition assignments, faster than paperbound dictionaries, and available in any web browser or smartphone. Tool Number Two: A Verb Conjugator A verb conjugating... Show more

As popular culture changes quickly and drastically, this lesson focuses on the most recent pop culture phenomena in the Spanish speaking countries. Popular Music The Spanish music scene at the moment is dominated by Reggaeton, a mix of hip-hop and reggae that developed mostly out of the music scenes of Puerto Rico, New York, and Miami. With that said, there has also been a steady growth of EMO and electronic bands in the Spanish-speaking countries, which has brought forth fashion styles and trends associated with this music genre: skinny jeans, converse shoes, snug shirts, and full-fledged black outfits. Cinema The revival of Spanish-speaking independent cinema has also propelled major production companies to produce more... Show more

This Spanish All About Lesson you will learn about five of the more famous festivals in Spain and Latin America. Sanfermines-"The Running of the Bulls" This ten-day municipal festival in Pamplona, Spain is well known in the English-speaking world as the "running of the bulls." The festival commemorates Saint Fermin, a martyr and patron saint of the participants, who dress in white with red scarves for the event. Puente Guadalupe-Reyes - "Christmas Season" Traditionally in the Spanish-speaking world, it is the Three Wise Men who mysteriously bring gifts to children on Epiphany, although some families also observe the Santa Claus tradition of gift giving on Christmas Day. Semana Santa - "Holy Week" Holy Week celebrations... Show more

Pack your beach bag with the essentials this summer - bathing suit, sunblock and SpanishPod101.com! The summer is officially here and what better time than now to become a SpanishPod101 Premium Member! To make things even easier for you, instantly knock $50 OFF 1 or 2 Year Premium subscriptions! Save $50 today with the Summer Special coupon! Use coupon code SUMMER2010! At SpanishPod101.com, you can choose to study in 1 of 3 ways: a Free Lifetime Membership (everyone automatically gets one), a Basic Membership (another good option) and our most popular choice, the Premium Membership. Here are just a few excellent learning resources you instantly gain access to with a Premium Membership: Quick Pronunciation & Accent Review... Show more

In this month's newsletter: Study Tips from Peter - THINK in another language Hey Listeners, Peter here. Starting this month I'll be sharing tips on learning languages to help keep you motivated and progressing. This month I'll teach you how to THINK in another language. It's not nearly as difficult as it sounds so don't give up right away; try out ...  Read More >> Ultimate Getting Started with Spanish Sale! If you've been waiting for the ULTIMATE way to learn Spanish, you must click here to get 50% OFF our secret weapon. Read More >> Will The World Cup Champions Speak Spanish? Chances look good! Spanish is the mother tongue of 7 of the 32 teams competing for The World Cup title! So, who are you... Show more

The Focus of This Lesson Is Five Things You Should Know about Spanish-speaking Cultures. 1. The Kiss and the Handshake In the Spanish-speaking world, women are always greeted with a kiss, both as a hello and as a good-bye. Sometimes this kiss is a peck on the check, but many times, it's that kiss where you touch cheeks and kiss the air. In general, you reach left for the first kiss; that is, it's your right cheek that gets kissed first. Men usually greet each other with a handshake rather than a kiss, both as a hello and a good-bye. 2. La hora latina It is a widely held belief that Spanish-speakers always arrive late to events, even among Spanish speakers themselves. People often refer to this as la hora latina,... Show more

This summer, SpanishPod101.com’s Basic and Premium subscription pricing structure is changing. Existing Members,  Don’t worry.  Basic or premium subscription members, your price will not change upon renewal. You get the same prices forever! You will be grandfathered in at the current price, and nothing about your current subscription will change.  However, this is your last opportunity to upgrade your subscription, and save for life! Upgrade my current subscription at the lower rates! Free Lifetime Account holders,  The new pricing plan will go into effect on June 3rd. However purchase or upgrade your subscription anytime before June 3rd, and you will never have to pay the new prices - EVER. Your subscription will be... Show more

Moms, Dads and Grads 15% Off Basic & Premium Subscriptions Coupon Code: MAY2JUNE | Redeem Now! May 2010 In this month's newsletter: 1. 5 New Innovative Language Sites are coming! What new languages will we be adding to the 101.com family?Click here to find out... 2. Cinco de Mayo! Cinco de Mayo is of course, celebrated on May 5th but do you know why? Click here to read about the significance of this day.  3. BONUS Spanish Audio Lesson!  We're back with another free audio lesson just for you! Click here to download and listen... Welcome to the SpanishPod101.com newsletter. We've been really busy gearing up for summer and Innovative Language Learning has a lot of news to share! Stay posted throughout the summer!... Show more

The cuisines of the Spanish-speaking world are as varied and diverse as they are delicious. If you haven't tried these delicious dishes, we recommend you do! If you are a meat lover, you should try "churrasco", which in Latin America means "grilled meat", and Argentinians are known for their love of savory steaks. If you want to try and exotic and comforting dish, venture into Puerto Rico's "mofongo," a delicious dish of fried plantains and pork rinds, vegetables, meat, or seafood. Also on the exotic side, unique technique of curing seafood with citrus juice rather than heat, ceviche, is also very delicious invented in Peru and elevated to an art form. And while it's difficult to pick one dish that represents the... Show more

Have you wondered how much you know about Spanish-speaking cultures?take this quiz! Quiz: 1.  in which of these countries is Spanish not the official language? A) Uruguay B) Guatemala C) Brazil D) Perú 2.Out of the following 3 famous people, match "person" to "profession": PERSON: <Diego Armando Maradona>, <Alejandro Sanz>, <Hugo Chavez> PROFESSION: <singer>, <politician>, <sports Star> 3. Which country has the most populated city? A) México B) Argentina C) Spain D) Colombia 4. TRUE or FALSE: The native populations and cultures of Latin America have left without a trace in the modern culture. Answers: 1. C, Brazil. The Portuguese colonized Brazil, leaving that... Show more