The Real Fast Spanish Tips Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Tips 007: How To Use Verbs Like Gustar To Express Your Ideas Jun 19, 2014

Show notes

Verbs like gustar operate in a group of their own. In this episode of the podcast, I discuss ‘gustar’, other similar verbs and how they are used.

This theoretical Thursday builds on last week’s tip including more useful vocabulary that can be used for conversational Spanish. The verbs discussed fit in well with the conversation hacking framework as they are included in the top 1000 most useful Spanish words.

Spanish verbs, in general, can be categorised into two groups of three.

Group 1:

Ar verbs
Er verbs
Ir verbs

Group 2:

Normal verbs
Verbs like Gustar (discussed in this tip)
Reflexive verbs (coming in a later episode)

Verbs discussed in the episode:

Gustar – Is pleasing to (to like)
Costar – Is costly to (to cost)
Doler – Is painful to (to hurt)
Importar – Is important to (to matter)
Parecer – Is seeming to (to seem)

Indirect object pronouns explained in the episode:

Me – Me
Te –You
Le – Him / Her
Nos – Us
Os – You-all
Les – Them

Examples from the episode:

Me gusta la comida – I like the food
No me gusta la comida – I don’t like the food
Me gusta hablar – I like to speak
Me gustan los colores – I like the colours
Me cuesta hablar – I find it difficult to speak
Me cuesta hablar Español – I find it difficult to speak Spanish
Me duele la cabeza – I have a headache
Me importa la fiesta – The party is important to me
¿Que te parece la idea? – How does the idea seem to you?
Me parece bien – It seems good to me
Me parece mal – It seems bad to me

Quote from the podcast episode:
“Me gusta la gente que habla claro desde el principio, que son honestos con lo que sienten, piensan y se muestran tal y como son.” – @BuenaFraseEs

Other verbs that behave in this way are highlighted by using similar definitions as the ones described in this episode in the conversation hacking guide.

The post Tips 007: How To Use Verbs Like Gustar To Express Your Ideas appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

spanish drivers — **Tips 006: How To Find Your Spanish Drive – The First Mindset Monday** Jun 16, 2014
Show notes

This episode of the Real Fast Spanish Tips Podcast is the first mindset monday.

What has worked really well for me to improve my Spanish has been getting into the right mindset. If you want to learn Spanish quickly there are far more things that you need to learn than just verb conjugations and vocabulary.

In this tip I share my story and give you some insights into the drivers that have helped me push my Spanish forward.

Quote from the podcast episode:

“Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7 of your life.” – Steven Wright

In this tip, you will learn about:

How working on your mindset on Monday will help accelerate your Spanish

Cultural differences – Do the people from Spain feel the same way about Monday as us?

How learning a language can be driven from a place of appreciation

Some of the experiences that you could experience with a new language

Where I got my start in Spanish

What helped me to drive forward

The post Tips 006: How To Find Your Spanish Drive – The First Mindset Monday appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

Tips 005: Your First 10 Spanish Words Jun 12, 2014

Show notes

In this episode of the Real Fast Spanish Tips Podcast I introduce the first 10 words of the conversation hacking high frequency vocabulary.

These first ten words are chosen based on the a combination of frequency, utility and my own personal experience with using the language during my Spanish adventures.

Quote from the podcast episode:

“Pero no hablar contigo es como tener el mismo mal día, una y otra vez.” – Carolina Pineda

In this tip, you will learn about:

The new routine for the podcast
The first important 10 Spanish words
Basic verb conjugations

#	Español	English
1	yo	I
2	querer	to want
3	este	this
4	sí	yes
5	no	no
6	poder	to be able to
7	hablar	to speak
8	encontrar	to find
9	tener	to have
10	necesitar	to need

Examples from the episode:

– First person conjugation of “Querer”: Quiero (I want)

– Yo quiero este (I want this)

– Yo quiero esto (I want this unknown gender for this)

– Quiero este (drop the pronoun “yo”)

– No quiero este (I don’t want this)

– Hablo Español (I speak Spanish)

– No hablo Español (I don’t speak Spanish)

– No puedo hablar Español (I can’t speak Spanish)

– No necesito este (I don’t need this)

– Quiero encontrar este (I want to find this)

– No puedo encontrar este (I can’t find this)

If you want to learn more check out the conversation hacking guide here.

The guide includes:

Top 1000 words for conversation hacking spanish
13 Spanish grammar hacking sentences
Sounds to focus on for pronunciation
Conversational skills questions and tips
Language learning mindset tips

The post Tips 005: Your First 10 Spanish Words appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

Tips 004: An Introduction To The 7 Principles Of Conversation Hacking Jun 07, 2014

Show notes

In this episode of the Real Fast Spanish Tips Podcast I introduce the 7 principles of conversation hacking.

Conversation hacking is one of the best techniques I know to get to a conversational level in Spanish as fast as possible. If you are learning Spanish and haven’t reached a conversational level yet then it is worth reviewing the principles of the conversation hacking method.

Quote from the podcast episode:

“Love without conversation is impossible.” – Mortimer Adler (1902 – 2001)

In This Tip, You Will Hear About:

2 Approaches you can take to learn a language – read more here
The 7 Principles Of Conversation Hacking:

Fluency is not the goal
Not all words are created equally – spanish frequency study
Not all grammar rules are created equally – see grammar hacking rules
Total vocabulary and total grammar does not equal effective usable vocabulary and grammar
Listening comprehension is improved by active listening and context – active listening course
Spanish pronunciation requires focus on a few distinct sounds
Conversational skills in general need to be developed

Conversation exchange websites:

http://www.italki.com/

https://www.verbling.com/

http://www.conversationexchange.com/

If you want to learn more check out the conversation hacking guide here.

The guide includes:

Top 1000 words for conversation hacking spanish
13 Spanish grammar hacking sentences
Sounds to focus on for pronunciation
Conversational skills questions and tips
Language learning mindset tips

The post Tips 004: An Introduction To The 7 Principles Of Conversation Hacking appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

Tips 003: The Third And Final D Of Language Learning May 28, 2014

Show notes

In this episode of the Real Fast Spanish Tips Podcast, I discuss the last and final D of language learning.

When you are struggling to execute, when you are trying to propel your Spanish forward and not seeing results it could be that you haven’t applied the third D of language learning.

Quote from the podcast episode:

“God provides the wind, but man must raise the sails.” – St. Augustine (354 – 430 AD)

In This Tip, You Will Hear About:

How the third D could be the missing link between theory and achieving your goals in Spanish
What can happen if you don’t apply the third D of language learning
A simple tip for implementing the third D from a polyglot friend

4 tips to implement if you are having trouble executing the third D:

If you are having trouble with doing then take another look at definition
If you have a good definition of what you are trying to achieve have another look at desire
Take a look at will power theory:

My recent post on will power and learning spanish
Take a look at this book Kelly McGonigal – The Willpower Instinct
Or another even better option Roy F. Baumeister – Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

Start forming action habits – start doing something for your Spanish every day

My doing challenge to you is to have a look at my recent post on the English-Spanish cognates.

Find 5 words that haven’t used before and use them on another Spanish student, a friend or record it on a computer. Leverage this small action to grow into bigger things.

The post Tips 003: The Third And Final D Of Language Learning appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.