Friday, July 06, 2007

Two Excellent (and Free) Spanish Podcasts

I've been working on relearning some Spanish, and so far I love listening to Notes in Spanish and Coffee Break Spanish. In addition to the free podcasts, both websites have forums for discussing Spanish, and both also offer worksheets for paying members.



Notes in Spanish is hosted by Ben Curtis, a Spanish-English translator, and Marina Diez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid. Right now they're working on a series for Inspired Beginners, with 5 great episodes so far. They've also published over 30 intermediate lessons and 75 advanced lessons!



Coffee Break Spanish is hosted by two people from Scotland: Mark, a language teacher, and Kara, a beginning Spanish learner. The idea of Coffee Break Spanish is to learn at a comfortable pace (like during your coffee breaks). Mark and Kara have made over 30 beginner lessons so far, teaching basic phrases and grammar that will immediately be useful in practical situations, like visiting a Spanish-speaking city.

These two weekly podcasts teach different words in different ways, so by subscribing to both you get the full package! I haven't paid to get the extra materials, but from what I've heard they're extremely helpful. With or without them, though, the free podcasts are an amazing resource for any stingy scholars looking to learn some Spanish.