Comments on: Lesson 03 – Coffee Break Spanish

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:28:20 +0000

I have had so much fun listening to this podcast. I have been using it to refresh my Spanish. While I understand Bella’s comments (I notice I picked up on the same things and Ojos!) I have to admit that it has made me go back and practice over and over my own accent.
Even after having lived in Spain for a year I realized I would never be able to say certain words perfectly the “Spanish” way, but I would get by over here in the States
Mark, I have always had trouble with verb tenses and you have made them much easier to understand. Thanks so much! After 10 years I need more practice and I hope to continue practicing with you all!

By: radiolingua

radiolingua — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:39:59 +0000

Thanks for your comment. The feedback from our listeners suggests that teaching Spanish through the medium of English is exactly what they want. The amount of motivation required to listen to a solid burst of Spanish, even for a couple of minutes is completely different to the kind of ‘radio show’ you can listen to while having a coffee. There is lots of content available in the style you suggest, so we’ve tried to produce something a bit different – and it seems to be enjoyed by our listeners.

By: radiolingua

radiolingua — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:37:58 +0000

Hi Bella. Thanks for your comments. However as we explain throughout the Coffee Break Spanish course, Kara is a learner, and like all learners she makes mistakes and develops her accent and confidence in the language gradually. Corrections and advice are given in a gradual way throughout the course: if she makes mistakes in the early lessons sometimes these mistakes are “let through” if they do not actually affect comprehension. In later lessons we spend time teaching the best way to pronounce a ‘t’ and ‘d’, etc. You should also remember that pronunciation changes in different parts of the Spanish speaking world, so some letters are softer or harder depending on where they’re spoken.

By: Bella

Bella — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:26:17 +0000

And, she’s using a hard ‘t’ when she should pronounce it softly like a barely audible ‘d’. “Y tu” should be spoken like “EE doo”. Don’t speak the ‘t’ through your teeth. Use your tongue instead, make a small pucker with your lips and let your tongue quickly hit the inside of your gums above your front teeth.

By: Bella

Bella — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:18:21 +0000

Why isn’t the female’s pronunciation of the word “me” not being corrected??? It’s driving me nuts!!!

To those who don’t know what I’m referring to, the pronunciation of “me” should be “may”, not “me”.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 10:06:47 +0000

I think learning a language through podcasts is the most ludicrous idea ever!! Especially if hosts are not speaking in your target language for the most part of the podcast!

By: Camcam52

Camcam52 — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:26:47 +0000

I am only 10 but understand these lessons completely!!!!!!!
I use to take spanish in 4th grade, but have learned more
spanish than I did in that whole year of spanish class.
THANKYOU COFFE BREAK SPANISH.
P.S- I don’t take coffe breaks but I do take hot chocolate
breaks.

By: rodolfo

rodolfo — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:48:45 +0000

I think that “Usted” is an abbreviation of “Vuestra Merced”:
Vst ..ed.

By: Marwan

Marwan — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:26:28 +0000

‘Usted’ in Spanish actually has Arabic origin. It is ‘ustaz’ which means ‘Mr.’ and as ‘usted’ in Spanish is used as the formal way to say ‘you’ to someone who is older or being polite with a stranger, then ‘Mr.’ is better than just ‘you’.

By: Jo

Jo — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:03:07 +0000

I’m 64yrs old and trying to learn a little spanish as my grandaughter, son and daughter-in-law live in Peru. This a lovely way to learn.

By: hamburger

hamburger — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:40:53 +0000

best wishes from Germany and feliz navidad y un prospero ano nuevo para todos! It’s nice to fresh up my English by learning the spanish language. Queremos mas, por favor!

By: Bradley

Bradley — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:57:04 +0000

This episode was absolutely great but I think that since I am only 12 I would find it easier to loearn if they had a video showing pictures and colours etc. Soy Keniata Donde Eres?