Step-by-step Spanish exercise to improve your listening skills fast – Episode 97

Step-by-step Spanish exercise to improve your listening skills fast

Podcast episode 97 – SEE ALL EPISODES

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

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Today you’re going to hear an easy conversation with greetings.

See also: Maria’s step-by-step Spanish courses.

Today’s question comes from Edward, one of my newsletter subscribers. Edward wrote to say: “I’ve been studying Spanish for a few months, but I hardly ever get the chance to speak the language. Is there anything you could do to help me practice speaking?”

I’ve been wanting to add some conversations to my podcast lessons, and this is the perfect time. So, in today’s lesson you’re going to hear an easy conversation.

The conversation I’ve chosen for this lesson comes from my Learn Spanish At Your Own Pace course. It has only three lines.

Before you hear the conversation, let me tell you why I’m going to play at real time speed, and not at a slowed down speed.

I’ve noticed that there are a number of language courses out there that follow the trend of slowing down language videos and recordings. In my opinion, those courses have clearly been put together by people with little knowledge of how to teach, or learn, a foreign language.

A couple of years ago I was curious to see whether this method works. Some of my students, who were very keen on learning Spanish with slowed down recordings, experimented with this method, and the results were a disaster. They found it very difficult to make the jump from slowed down Spanish to real speed Spanish. It took them longer than average to develop their conversation skills.

So how do you get to understand real speed Spanish? Very simply, by listening to the same conversation several times. It’s the technique I used to learn English, and it has helped me become fluent in French too.

And that’s what we’re going to do here. We’re going to listen to the same conversation several times, until you feel comfortable with it. Notice the difference between the first time you hear the conversation, and the last, just a few minutes from now.

Have a look at
Maria’s step-by-step Spanish courses

The first time I play this lesson’s conversation, I don’t expect you to understand more than a couple of words, if any. Let’s hear it:

María: Buenos días, Ana, ¿qué tal estás?
Ana: Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
María: Bien.

Let’s hear it again.

And here’s the translation:

María: Buenos días, Ana, ¿qué tal estás?
Mary: Good morning, Anne, how are you?

Ana: Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
Anne: Fine, thanks, and you?

María: Bien.
Mary: Fine.

Let’s hear the conversation once more:

María: Buenos días, Ana, ¿qué tal estás?
Ana: Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
María: Bien.

Do you notice how it doesn’t feel so fast any more?

Now, have a look at the transcript. You can see it on the screen of your mobile device. If you’re using an iPad, or any other tablet, simply tap on the large blue image to reveal the conversation.

And now, listen to the conversation while you read the transcript:

María: Buenos días, Ana, ¿qué tal estás?
Ana: Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
María: Bien.

Let’s now say it out loud. Repeat the lines after the speakers:

María: Buenos días, Ana, ¿qué tal estás?
Ana: Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
María: Bien.

Let’s say it again.

Have a look at
Maria’s step-by-step Spanish courses

Can you say it one last time?

María: Buenos días, Ana, ¿qué tal estás?
Ana: Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
María: Bien.

Now, without looking at the transcript, listen to the conversation for the last time today. Do you notice the difference from the first time you heard it?

María: Buenos días, Ana, ¿qué tal estás?
Ana: Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
María: Bien.

This is how I became fluent in English and French. I never used slowed down recordings. Instead, I listened to the conversations in my courses many times. It’s the best way to develop your conversation skills.

Find out more about my Spanish courses.