Spanish audio lesson with a conversation, speaking & listening drills, number practice, and more – Episode 99

Spanish audio lesson with a conversation, speaking & listening drills, number practice, and more

Podcast episode 99 – SEE ALL EPISODES

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

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Today I’ve got some fantastic stuff for you.

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

We’re going to hear a lesson from my Spanish Audio Course.

This lesson brings you a dialogue with some greetings, vocabulary audio flashcards, the verb ‘estar’, how to master saying the letter ‘o’, and numbers 0 to 25.

So, let’s listen to Lesson 4 from my Spanish Audio Course.

DIALOGUE

We’re going to hear this lesson’s dialogue twice:

Margarita: ¿En qué hotel estás?
Pedro: En el ‘Sol y Playa’.
Margarita: ¡Yo también!
Pedro: Entonces, ¡hasta pronto!
Margarita: ¡Hasta la vista!
José: ¡Adiós!

And here is the dialogue with its translation:

Margarita: ¿En qué hotel estás?
Margaret: Which hotel are you in?

Pedro: En el ‘Sol y Playa’.
Peter: The ‘Sun and Beach’

Margarita: ¡Yo también!
Margaret: Me too!

Pedro: Entonces, ¡hasta pronto!
Peter: Then, see you soon!

Margarita: ¡Hasta la vista!
Margaret: See you!

José: ¡Adiós!
Joseph: Goodbye!

VOCABULARY AUDIO FLASHCARDS

Now we’re going to hear eleven new words and phrases that came up in the dialogue together with their translation:

en
in, on, at

qué
what, which

el hotel
the hotel

el sol
the sun

la playa
the beach

yo
I, me

también
too, also

entonces
then

hasta pronto
see you soon

hasta la vista
see you

adiós
goodbye

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

Let’s now practise saying those new words. I’ll say them in English. Can you say them to me in Spanish?

goodbye
adiós

the hotel
el hotel

in, on, at
en

I, me
yo

see you soon
hasta pronto

what, which
qué

too, also
también

then
entonces

the beach
la playa

the sun
el sol

see you
hasta la vista

Now that we’re familiar with the new words, let’s hear the dialogue once more. Can you repeat each line after the native speakers?

Margarita: ¿En qué hotel estás?
Pedro: En el ‘Sol y Playa’.
Margarita: ¡Yo también!
Pedro: Entonces, ¡hasta pronto!
Margarita: ¡Hasta la vista!
José: ¡Adiós!

SPANISH GRAMMAR

In this lesson we’re going to learn the verb ‘estar’ – to be, in the present tense.

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

Here are the six form and their English translation:

estoy – I am
estás – you (singular) are
está – he/she/it is
estamos – we are
estáis – you (plural) are
están – they are

Let’s now practise saying these six forms. Repeat after me:

estoy

estás

está

estamos

estáis

están

And, once again:

estoy

estás

está

estamos

estáis

están

Estar is one of two Spanish verbs that translates as ‘to be’. The other verb is ‘ser’, which we’ll go through in Lesson 5. Both verbs are used in specific situations. ‘Estar’ is used to indicate:

1. Where people or things are.
2. Moods and feelings.
3. Physical conditions.
4. Physical appearance at some point in time.
5. Temporary rather than permanent conditions.

Let’s hear some examples to illustrate these five points:

1. Where people or things are: El hotel está en Colorado – The hotel is in Colorado.
2. Moods and feelings: Estamos enfadados – We’re angry.
3. Physical conditions: Estoy enfermo – I’m ill.
4. Physical appearance at some point in time: Pablo está muy elegante – Paul is looking very elegant.
5. Temporary rather than permanent conditions: Los zapatos están rotos – The shoes are broken.

To practise the six verb forms, I’m going to say them to you in English. Can you say them to me in Spanish?

we are
estamos

he/she/it is
está

you (plural) are
estáis

you (singular) are
estás

they are
están

I am
estoy

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

SPANISH PRONUNCIATION

In this lesson we’re going to practise saying the letter ‘o’. Please repeat after me: o.

That’s how the letter ‘o’ sounds in Spanish. Always. Regardless of whether it comes at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a word: o.

Pronouncing the letter ‘o’ like in English can make it difficult for Spanish speakers to understand you. In particular, make sure you never say the Spanish ‘o’ like in the English words ‘go’ or ‘son’.

Listen to these five Spanish words which look very similar in English, but don’t sound the same:

momento
teléfono
radio
doble
salmón

Let’s now practise saying these five words. Repeat them after me:

momento

teléfono

radio

doble

salmón

And here are five words with the letter ‘o’ from this lesson’s dialogue. Repeat after me:

hotel

sol

yo

pronto

adiós

To sum up, let’s hear the dialogue one last time:

Margarita: ¿En qué hotel estás?
Pedro: En el ‘Sol y Playa’.
Margarita: ¡Yo también!
Pedro: Entonces, ¡hasta pronto!
Margarita: ¡Hasta la vista!
José: ¡Adiós!

SPANISH LEARNING TIP

Perhaps you’re finding the dialogues in this audio course too fast. That”s OK. The first time you hear a dialogue you might understand very few words, but by the time you’ve gone through a lesson a couple of times, you’ll understand its dialogue without trouble.

Other Spanish courses give you the dialogues at a slowed down speed. In my long experience as a Spanish teacher this, rather than helping you develop your listening skills, will make it more difficult for you to understand real Spanish. That’s why the dialogues in this audio course are at real speed from the beginning. It will be a challenge for the first few lessons, but you’ll make progress much faster.

SPANISH NUMBERS

Now we’re going to learn numbers 0 to 25. This recording is also part of my Spanish Audio Course.

Let’s hear the Spanish numbers 0 to 10. Repeat after me:

0 – cero

1 – uno

2 – dos

3 – tres

4 – cuatro

5 – cinco

6 – seis

7 – siete

8 – ocho

9 – nueve

10 – diez

And once again:

0 – cero

1 – uno

2 – dos

3 – tres

4 – cuatro

5 – cinco

6 – seis

7 – siete

8 – ocho

9 – nueve

10 – diez

There are many words in English that have the same origin as the Spanish numbers. Those words will help you remember them more easily. Here are some of them:

Cero – zero
Uno, number one: unity, unanimous
Dos, number two: duo, duet
Tres, number three: trio, triangle
Cuatro, number four: quartet
Seis, number six: sexagenarian
Siete, number seven: September
Ocho, number eight: October, octopus
Nueve, number nine: November
Diez, number ten: December

Let’s say numbers 0 to 10 once more. Repeat after me:

0 – cero

1 – uno

2 – dos

3 – tres

4 – cuatro

5 – cinco

6 – seis

7 – siete

8 – ocho

9 – nueve

10 – diez

Let’s now go through numbers 11 to 19:

11 – once

12 – doce

13 – trece

14 – catorce

15 – quince

16 – dieciséis

17 – diecisiete

18 – dieciocho

19 – diecinueve

Let’s say them once again. Repeat after me:

11 – once

12 – doce

13 – trece

14 – catorce

15 – quince

16 – dieciséis

17 – diecisiete

18 – dieciocho

19 – diecinueve

Notice how numbers 16 to 19 are actually a compound of two numbers we already know:

sixteen, dieciséis = diez y seis – ten plus six
seventeen, diecisiete = diez y siete – ten plus seven
eighteen, dieciocho = diez y ocho – ten plus eight
nineteen, diecinueve = diez y nueve – ten plus nine

Let’s say 11 to 19 again:

11 – once

12 – doce

13 – trece

14 – catorce

15 – quince

16 – dieciséis

17 – diecisiete

18 – dieciocho

19 – diecinueve

Finally, let’s go through 20 to 25. Repeat after me:

20 – veinte

21 – veintiuno

22 – veintidós

23 – veintitrés

24 – veinticuatro

25 – veinticinco

And once again:

20 – veinte

21 – veintiuno

22 – veintidós

23 – veintitrés

24 – veinticuatro

25 – veinticinco

Pronunciation tip

You must always try to pronounce the Spanish numbers correctly. Mispronounced numbers are very difficult to understand. Here is a tip that will help you:

Remember never to drop the ‘e’ at the end of:

siete – seven
nueve – nine
once – eleven
doce – twelve
trece – thirteen
catorce – fourteen
quince – fifteen
diecisiete – seventeen
diecinueve – nineteen
veinte – twenty

To finish, let’s say numbers 0 to 25. Repeat after me:

0 – cero

1 – uno

2 – dos

3 – tres

4 – cuatro

5 – cinco

6 – seis

7 – siete

8 – ocho

9 – nueve

10 – diez

11 – once

12 – doce

13 – trece

14 – catorce

15 – quince

16 – dieciséis

17 – diecisiete

18 – dieciocho

19 – diecinueve

20 – veinte

21 – veintiuno

22 – veintidós

23 – veintitrés

24 – veinticuatro

25 – veinticinco

Find out more about my Spanish courses.