The Spanish Spotlight provides one free Spanish lesson every
other week. It's a biweekly newsletter designed to help
you build a solid foundation through repetition.
he "Free Spanish Lesson" concept was born because we realize that there are so many rules, exceptions to the rules, words, phrases, idioms, nuances ... you must continually be aware of while you keep striving to apply them all correctly, in the right order when you’re supposed to.
Learning Spanish or any foreign language is full of pitfalls that challenge you along the way. For that very reason, you need to be regularly reminded. This is one of the best ways to learn Spanish. This is also one of the fastest ways to learn Spanish.
Eventually, you will be able to apply it all correctly without even thinking about it — which is what this Free Newsletter is all about. It has been created to serve as a quick reference guide full of reminders that you can refer to. No need to read tons of other books searching for answers, we do that for you.
Note:
Your privacy is greatly respected. Your information will never be sold or disclosed to anyone.
In fact, we will also be providing audio files of this newsletter, in mp3 format, that you can listen to if you prefer. We borrowed this idea from the audio books concept - audio newsletters - if you will.
When designing this free Spanish lesson newsletter, we considered several things we thought would be important to you — the subscriber — based on our own years of experience. And, here’s what we’ve concluded:
Access to someone to answer your questions
Avoid having to search through tons of books to find answers
Avoid having to spend a lot of money to learn
Non-technical explanation about Spanish grammar
Personal, "take-you-by-the-hand" help to avoid common mistakes
Tips and techniques to improve the learning experience
Product and resource reviews
Ability to listen to the information
* Note: check out our online videos for visual, classroom-like learning. It's great for learning Spanish at your own pace, in the privacy of your own home.
So, after careful thought and a lot of planning, every other week, you will receive a free Spanish lesson, a new issue of The Spanish Spotlight.
The newsletter was given this name merely based on the idea that we will be focusing in on the finer points of learning Spanish. Popping up the hood - if you will - and, shining an ultra-bright light in many different areas, so as to uncover and thoroughly explain each and every component – one free Spanish lesson (or issue) at a time.
For example -
Grammar
Pitfalls
Learning tips & techniques
Resources
Periodic product reviews
Our experience has shown that you need to totally immerse yourself, not just with learning Spanish. Learning to speak Spanish, of course, is where you start. Unfortunately this is also where it ends for most people.
You need to also focus on all the other things that go along with learning Spanish fluently. For instance, the food, the music, the culture, the people. All of this encompasses the whole idea of learning to speak Spanish.
Another reason why we encourage you to subscribe to The Spanish Spotlight, if you haven’t already done so. You don’t want to miss even one free Spanish lesson.
If you are reading this web page, we are assuming that you share this one basic belief, namely, that if you’re taking the time to really learn to speak Spanish, your intention is to go all the way.
In other words, if you’re going to learn Spanish, you’re not just going to accept and/or do certain parts and ignore other parts. Ultimately the decision is yours, but if you really want to experience and enjoy the full benefit of learning Spanish as a second language, you must truly believe that the only way to do this is to fully immerse yourself.
And, what better way to do this than through a free Spanish lesson every other week!
Idioms - Speaking Spanish With Style
One very effective technique for developing your own voice and style is learning Spanish idioms or everyday phrases that are very much a part of both English and Spanish. Phrases like “every now and then” or “that’s a horse of a different color”, which in Spanish would be “de vez en cuando” and “harina de otro costal”, respectively.
I like to think of learning such phrases as “learning Spanish in Spanish” just because these popular word combinations and figures of speech are very important but very often overlooked. And, they are an addition to the core language building process.
These expressions can be learned while doing other leisure activities like chores at home, while driving to and from work, or even while exercising. The “Learning Tips & Techniques” section of your free Spanish lesson biweekly newsletter would expound on these learning techniques more at length.
Essentials of Spanish - Effective Writing Techniques
When it comes to writing Spanish, it goes without saying that you must also learn to read Spanish. Effective writing becomes much, much easier after you’ve gotten a good handle on your reading and word pronunciation.
Unlike English, if you master the correct pronunciation of the Spanish vowels, you’ve won half the battle. This is true because the pronunciation never changes, it is always the same without exception.
So if you want to learn Spanish really fast, or at least give yourself a strong footing in a very short period of time, learn to properly pronounce the vowels. Don’t just memorize them, but learn them cold - to the point that you don’t have think about it.
The “Grammar” section of your free Spanish lesson biweekly newsletter would go into more details about this subject.
For example, here’s a list of the vowels with an English equivalent for correct pronunciation. When sounding out the English equivalent, please keep in mind that it’s a short, snappy pronunciation, not a long, drawn out pronunciation.
A - ah
E - ay
I - ee
O - oh
U - oo
Vocabulary Building - What Does This Word Mean?
As you know, a language is made up of words. So, it stands to reason that the more words you know - in this case Spanish words - the better off you’ll be.
As part of the free Spanish lesson newsletter concept, you will be learning lots and lots of words. This will certainly help you to build up your vocabulary enabling you to not only become more expressive in your own speech, but will just as importantly give you the ability to understand more of what’s being said to you by others.
Please don’t get overwhelmed here, because in each free Spanish lesson you’ll get tons of examples as well as tips and ways to remember them. But please keep in mind that THE best way to engrave these words on your brain is by using them at least once in a sentence while conversing with someone else.
After that, you will inadvertently find ways to use them without even thinking about it. And, more importantly, without translating them from English to Spanish.
Rest assure that the Learn Spanish Resource Center is always looking for an easy way for you to learn Spanish - one free Spanish lesson every 15 days. The free Spanish Spotlight newsletter will also give periodic reviews on books, software and any other material we critique and rate.
