Common Spanish Phrases

Posted by José
Mar
16
2012

Here is a list of some common Spanish phrases and expressions.

a causa de – because of
a eso de – at about
a fin de que – so that
a pesar de – in spite of
a la vez - at the same time
a lo lejos – in the distance
a menos que – unless
a menudo – frequently
a no ser que – unless
a propósito - by the way
a tiempo – on time
a través de – across
a un lado – to one side
a una voz – unanimously
ahora mismo – right now
al aire libre – outdoors
al azar - by chance
al fin - at last
al menos – at least
al otro lado de - on the other side of
al parecer - apparently
al principio – at the beginning
ante todo – first of all
antes que - rather than
aparte de eso – aside from that
así pues - therefore
así y todo - in spite of that
aun así - even so

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What’s the best way to learn Spanish?

Posted by José
Nov
08
2010

For all people who like to open up and extend their horizons by learning a new language, for work purposes, travel purposes or simply to get know a different culture visiting Peru is the best choice to do so. This time each year more and more people want to learn Spanish and experience the vivid culture and customs of Latin America.

Spanish is the third most spoken language of the world after English and Chinese and the number of Spanish-speakers is increasing. Today you can learn Spanish with the help of all kinds of media like books, magazines, CDs and through the internet but to learn a language in the most efficient manner (fast and easy) is to visit the country where it is spoken.

There are a lot of different approaches to study languages and it is crucial besides studying to use your vocabularies and grammar on a day to day basis. This is only achievable by getting in touch with the local population who speak Spanish as a mother tongue. Nowadays the majority of language travelers who travel to Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador or Peru want to learn and improve their Spanish by getting in touch with locals.

For sure Mexico and Spain are the most popular destinations so far but there are various recommendable alternatives, among others Peru is probably the best choice. This country has a unique history and cultural heritage, like Machupicchu, from the Inkas realm. Moreover there is the ancient culture of the Nazca or the natural habitat of Titicaca Lake. These places can’t be compared with any other sites around the world. Machupicchu even accounts for one of the new 7 World Wonders according to a recent survey. Cusco is like an island in the Andes Mountains and the people are very friendly and show a great hospitality. Every year people from all over the world visit this place because of its history and clean Spanish pronunciation which you can’t find anywhere else. That is why most of CNN Latin America speakers are recruited from Peru.

The best you can do if want learn Spanish as much as possible is practice but also you may attend to Spanish courses, in Cusco one good choice is Wiracocha Spanish School that offers courses for Beginners to Experts, Special Programs and voluntary work. Also have to offer home stay with Peruvian families or accommodation in individual apartments to make our visitors feel like home.

As it is said that only by practice you will become a master, it is also clear that the more you get in contact with locals and travel to places like Cusco better your Spanish will be and the more you will appreciate learning this world language.

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Learning Spanish By Your Own Way

Posted by José
Oct
21
2010

Spanish is a language that is constantly gaining more and more enthusiasts around the world, it can be for business or traveling purposes, but the truth is that the people has always any reason to learn Spanish as other languages.

Most people try to learn Spanish by their own way, and truly in this times it can be very easy thanks to the technology, in essence Internet where is easy to find a lot of resources that will help them to enrich their vocabulary and grammar, but not always it could be an easy work to learn other languages as Spanish, so we decided to give some advices to the Spanish learners that wants learn by their own way.

1.  Immerse yourself in the language

One of the best practices to learn any language is to get immersed in that language and if is possible also in the culture, because when you are more immersed is more easy to learn the language. Try to find resources written in Spanish such us books, news, magazines, etc. music in Spanish, read and listen them in your free time.

2. Discipline and effort

Nothing could be achieved without discipline and effort; maybe it not will be easy for many reasons but organizing times will be very beneficial or at least giving special time to study every day will be worth.

3. Practice, practice and more practice.

The practice makes the master, so as much practice better results. Writing and listening are the best way to practice, but they will be nothing without the pronunciation, you can search podcasts on the web, record your pronunciation and compare with them.

4.  Find a Partner

A partner is very helpful to practice the new vocabulary, it would be better if the partner is a Spanish native speaker. Latin American people are really friendly they will be happy to talk with you.

5.  Buy or download from internet a book about Spanish grammar, it will help you to learn to conjugate verbs in different tenses and for each grammatical person (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, ellos, ellas, ustedes).

Obviously learning any language by your way not always will be as good as you expected, but with perseverance you can get success.

In other cases maybe could be good to attend to a Spanish School and better if they school is managed by native speakers or to travel to places where the Spanish is the native language.

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