Many language books are boring—this one is not. Written by a native English speaker who learned Spanish the hard way—by trying to talk to Spanish-speaking people—it offers English speakers with a basic knowledge of Spanish hundreds of tips for using the language more fluently and colloquially, with fewer obvious "gringo" errors. Writing with humor, common sense, and a minimum of jargon, Joseph Keenan covers everything from pronunciation, verb usage, and common grammatical mistakes to the subtleties of addressing other people, "trickster" words that look alike in both languages, inadvertent obscenities, and intentional swearing. He guides readers through the set phrases and idiomatic expressions that pepper the native speaker's conversation and provides a valuable introduction to the most widely used Spanish slang. With this book, both students in school and adult learners who never want to see another classroom can rapidly improve their speaking ability. Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish will be an essential aid in passing the supreme language test-communicating fluently with native speakers.
Step By Step, these twenty lessons, with charming and helpful illustrations, will enable you, regardless of previous language training, to read, write and speak Spanish in the shortest possible time. The Cortina Method has been time-tested and is the quick, easy and natural way to learn a language. It has received the approval of teachers, students, schools, colleges and business firms all over the world. Guide To Pronunciation And Spelling Explains how to pronounce the sounds, words and phrases of the language through simple phonetic symbols based on English spelling. Rules of spelling are also explained. Twenty Conversational Lessons These lessons include useful vocabularies and everyday conversations. Alongside of each word and sentence is given the correct pronunciation and English translation. Easy-to-understand grammatical footnotes are combined in this Method to make your language study effective and interesting. Complete Reference Grammar Provides a complete and clear explanation of every rule of structure. It is cross-referenced with and adds to the explanation in the conversational lesson footnotes. Bi-Lingual Dictionary Spanish-English/English-Spanish Dictionary contains all useful words and terms you need to know, so you can locate them easily. Over 2,500,000 Cortina Method language books have been sold.
Having trouble understanding or conversing with native English speakers? If so, try this book! With our book English Conversational Made Natural, you can immerse yourself in real English conversations that tell an authentic story through a variety of dialogues.
Gain the skills needed to converse in English with confidence! Conversing comfortably in a new language can seem like a daunting task. This accessible guide will help you build the skills to communicate in English with confidence. The book is packed with crystal-clear explanations, numerous realistic examples, and dozens of engaging exercises to help you hone your conversation skills. You’ll learn how to introduce yourself, make appointments, strike up conversations, and much more. Practice Makes Perfect: English Conversation is organized around 12 units that present specific conversational situations and common, everyday scenarios. Each unit offers helpful instructions on correct pronunciation, grammar, syntax, and word usage. The exclusive McGraw-Hill Language app features streaming audio recordings of all dialogues in the book plus the answers to more than 100 exercises. Practice Makes Perfect: English Conversation will help you: • Engage in dialogues that illustrate practical conversations • Expand your English vocabulary • Get clarification of new concepts with numerous realistic examples • Reinforce your new conversational skills through extensive exercises • Test your understanding of key themes in the book • Improve your pronunciation through audio dialogs and exercises, online and via the McGraw-Hill Language app
The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey. It is now a cliché that the world is a smaller place. We think nothing of jumping on a plane to travel to another country or continent. The most exotic locations are now destinations for mass tourism. Small business people are dealing across frontiers and language barriers like never before. The Internet brings different languages and cultures to our finger-tips. English, the hybrid language of an island at the western extremity of Europe seems to have an unrivalled position as an international medium of communication. But historically periods of cultural and economic domination have never lasted forever. Do we not lose something by relying on the wide spread use of English rather than discovering other languages and cultures? As citizens of this shrunken world, would we not be better off if we were able to speak a few languages other than our own? The answer is obviously yes. Certainly Steve Kaufmann thinks so, and in his busy life as a diplomat and businessman he managed to learn to speak nine languages fluently and observe first hand some of the dominant cultures of Europe and Asia. Why do not more people do the same? In his book The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey, Steve offers some answers. Steve feels anyone can learn a language if they want to. He points out some of the obstacles that hold people back. Drawing on his adventures in Europe and Asia, as a student and businessman, he describes the rewards that come from knowing languages. He relates his evolution as a language learner, abroad and back in his native Canada and explains the kind of attitude that will enable others to achieve second language fluency. Many people have taken on the challenge of language learning but have been frustrated by their lack of success. This book offers detailed advice on the kind of study practices that will achieve language breakthroughs. Steve has developed a language learning system available online at: www.thelinguist.com.
Have you spent a great deal of time learning Spanish only to find that you can't converse in it? Have you been looking for something to help you break out of basic or tourist Spanish? Then look no further! In this book, you will learn how to take the concepts that we use in everyday English conversation and convey it in Spanish. You will learn the words, phrases and grammar necessary to start speaking Spanish more naturally, the way the natives speak. By learning to speak more naturally, you will more easily be able to engage Spanish speakers in conversation, leading to immersion, which is the absolute best way to learn a language hands down. Everything in this book is written to help you learn difficult Spanish concepts, in a way that makes the most sense to an English speaker. As a native English speaker myself, I have experienced the same frustrations that many of you may now be going through. This book is written to end those frustrations right now. This book doesn't teach academic Spanish and will not overwhelm you with complicated rules of grammar. I just make everything as simple as possible so that you can take what you learn from this book and use it right away. Buy it now and start improving your Spanish immediately!
When it comes to legal matters, lawyers and their Spanish-speaking clients fully understand that proper communication is crucial when working on a particular case. Our 3-panel (6-page) guide can help by providing a thorough, up-to-date listing of the most important phrases and key words--as well as Spanish translations--within the legal field. Our guide, as always, is formatted for ease of use so that finding certain terms is a breeze! Includes a glossary of key legal terms, divided into concepts and actions for easy reference.
Improve your spoken Spanish from home with 101 real-world conversations in intermediate Mexican Spanish.Real Mexicans don't speak like your textbook... so it's no wonder you struggle with the slang and expressions of spoken Mexican Spanish! This book fixes that. For the first time, you'll learn to move beyond beginner level, and speak Spanish in the real world! With 101 authentic conversations in intermediate Mexican Spanish, and a brand-new story in this edition, you'll become confident in the words, phrases and expressions you need to communicate like a local.101 Conversations in Mexican Spanish transports you into a real-world, brand-new story that unfolds between eight Mexican characters, told by the people themselves. Over 15,000 words of real Mexican Spanish, you'll immerse yourself in a gripping Mexican drama and get an education in natural Spanish in the process. Here's what you'll get:101 conversations in intermediate Mexican Spanish, so you can learn the real Spanish spoken in the street, understand spoken Mexican slang with ease, and have local expressions roll off your tongue more fluentlyOver 15,000 words of dialogue - an unparalleled resource that will immerse you in Spanish, at a level you can understand. You'll learn real spoken Spanish without getting lost or overwhelmedReal, daily spoken Mexican Spanish throughout - it's as if we held up a microphone and recorded the exact words coming out of people's mouths - so you can learn the expressions that real people use on the street (not in textbooks). You'll sound more authentic when you speak and make Spanish-speaking friends more easily.Situational dialogues from typical daily circumstances, so you can prepare yourself to survive realistic Mexican Spanish encounters, in shops, cafés, and on the street, making meeting people second natureConversations that are carefully written to be accessible for intermediate learners (B1-B2 on the CEFR), so you can learn from real, spoken conversations, without having to go through the rollercoaster of difficult conversations with strangersEach conversation is limited to around 15 lines of dialogue (150 words), so you can get that crucial sense of achievement and motivation when you finish each conversation, and say "I actually understood all of that!"Word lists with English definitions in every chapter, so you can get instant translations of any difficult words. This means you can focus on enjoying the story rather than wasting time in a dictionary.Summaries of each conversation which contextualise each dialogue, so you can easily follow the plot and enjoy the story without getting lostCreated by Olly Richards, internationally-renowned language teacher and author, 101 Conversations in Mexican Spanish gives you an experience in real Spanish that you won't find anywhere else. You'll be better prepared for using Spanish in the real world, speak with more confidence, and take a giant leap towards fluency in Spanish!
So maybe you've seen a person around that you'd like to get to know. However, without knowing some basic Spanish as well as the English you know, you realize that getting to know the person isn't going to happen comfortably. Perhaps you would like to get to know a person at work better by being able to make comments and even have a simple conversation in Spanish, even though you haven't learned the second language or are still in the infancy stages of learning it. Maybe there is a group at your local fast food joint or bar that speaks in Spanish and you'd like to have more interactions with them. However, you need to learn some Spanish translations or, at least, refresh your language skills before comfortably communicating with others. Of course, attempting to make yourself known to a Spanish speaker who just happens to catch your eye might be the reason you want to learn the second language. Regardless of the reasons you want or need to communicate with someone beyond your first language, this book has the most-often used Spanish and English words and phrases for you to begin communicating and continue communicating with others in their language. Through your continued ongoing interactions with them, you can work your way toward fluency in the second language. In the first part of this book, universal greetings, introductions, and conversation starters are presented - first in English and then in Spanish. Then, many lists of the most common words one may need to know to communicate with others follows the same pattern of being presented in English first and then in Spanish. The word lists are presented in categories, such as people, occupations, clothes, and transportation. By categorizing the words, it assists learners in finding the words and phrases they are specifically wanting or needing to learn. Additionally, studying one category at a time is an effective method of learning new vocabulary. The words and phrases in this book are translated to the Spanish language most-often used in Mexico and other Latin American countries as opposed to the Spanish language that may be spoken in other parts of the globe. Near the end of the book, explanations as to how Spanish words are pronounced are available. The great thing about learning to speak Spanish is that it is a relatively simple language for English speakers to pronounce. This is because, in most cases, a Spanish word is pronounced the way it is written. Therefore, if you can read and speak English, you can likely pronounce Spanish words as they are written. Basically, every letter in a Spanish word gets one sound. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. That is why information regarding the speaking of Spanish from the written word - phonics - is offered in this book. Phonics and accentuation involved in speaking Spanish is discussed. Besides speaking with many people who speak Spanish as their first or only language, this book has been prepared with the assistance of numerous translation websites and programs that are designed to teach the Spanish language. Many of the Spanish speakers have been students in the author's English classes through the years. Additionally, research regarding the many aspects of conversation, from the phrases people use when meeting one another to the most common words generally used in conversations, has been administered in the writing this book. Finally, be forewarned that two translated sections of the book have some offensive language. These sections are "Sexual Encounters" and "Informal Expressions and Words." The sections have been included to make the book marketable to those who are interested in learning street language, which often includes offensive words and phrases. If such language offends you, please read these two sections with caution.
