Not that I have to, but that I want to
Paul Ibbotson, The Open University What makes language special is part of what makes us special, so understanding what language is made of and how we learn it brings us closer to our human nature. Is language special because it runs on its own unique piece of mental software written into our DNA? Or is …
Continue reading “The key to language is universal psychology, not universal grammar”
I am reposting the following currency trivia from the Spanishdict website. Enjoy. Name a Spanish-speaking country that uses the same currency as 19 other countries. Name 2 Spanish-speaking countries that use the USD as their national currency.Hint: The 2 names share the same first letter. Name the Paraguayan currency.Hint: It shares the same name as …
What is your favorite comic strip and character? Your answer will most likely give away your age bracket and gender. My wife adores Peanuts and her favorite character is Snoopy. Another comic strip from around the same era is Mafalda which was written and illustrated by Quino, an Argentine. The main character in Mafalda is …
The Paraguayan War: Causes and Early Conduct is a protracted account of the 1864–1870 Paraguayan war, aka the Triple Alliance war. This is a story about the smallish Paraguay at war with the triple alliance of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. The author spent considerable effort in explaining the backdrop of the conflict, going as far …
Language learning can be monotonous and discouraging at times. Anything that can spice up the process is a welcome relief. Listening to Spanish pop music became one of my favorite Spanish learning tools. My previous blog posts here and here listed some of my favorite artists and songs. I found listening to Spanish hit songs …
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‘Are you mad at me?’—’¿Estás enojada conmigo?’ ‘I am’. In Spanish, the equivalent answer is ‘estoy’, right? Not quite. The correct answer is ‘lo estoy’. The lo in ‘lo estoy’ is called the resumptive lo. Like the last missing piece of a puzzle, without it, you can still see the whole picture, but it is …
Continue reading “The resumptive lo: a Spanish gotcha for English speakers”
All 3 series below are currently viewable on Netflix. 1. Money Heist (La casa de papel) The wildly popular Netflix series has reached global cult status. The storyline follows heists in Madrid including 1 on the central bank of Spain. The crimes were orchestrated by a character known as the Professor and executed by a …
Food is an important part of any culture, and street food embodies an authentic gastronomic cultural identity that is tasty and affordable. Typically, street food businesses are small and family-owned. Munching on street food directly supports the local economy. Besides the economic benefits, street food vendors help keep age-old recipes and local gastronomic culture alive …
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Spanish language learners in this time of COVID-19 may have more time in their hands to read. Some may yearn to read a good novel in Spanish but their proficiency level may not be quite there yet. But, there is value in reading English translation of great Spanish novels. Although the language is not original, …
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My previous post introduces Common European Framework of Reference for Languages(CEFR), the de facto standard of measuring one’s Spanish language proficiency level. Now that a learner knows roughly their level of proficiency, they may want to know if a specific Spanish text is about the right level for them. Materials that are too easy or …
Continue reading “Nifty tool determines CEFR difficulty level of Spanish text”