Learning Spanish Table of Contents

Introduction  1

A Note About Cuenca  2

How This Book Is Organized  3

Why We Wrote This Book  4

Similarities and Differences with English  8

Part One: Learning at Home

Chapter One: What To Expect from the Spanish Adventure

Acquiring a First Language: How We Learn  10

Learning a Second Language at an Older Age  12

You’re Not Ready?  14

How Many Expats Learn Spanish?  15

Chapter Two: Learn-Spanish Websites

Introduction  16

BBC Languages/Spanish  17

Duolingocom  19

LiveMocha  21

NewsInSlowSpanishcom  23

Qué Onda Spanish  23

Rocket Spanish  25

Spanishaboutcom  28

SpanishHourcom  28

StudySpanishcom  29

More?  31

Chapter Three: Learn-Spanish Books

Introduction  32

Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish  34

CliffsQuickReview Spanish 1  35

Practice Makes Perfect  35

Lots of Dummies, Lots of Idiots  36

Two Dictionaries and a Verb Pocket Book  36

What Now?  37

Chapter Four: Learn-Spanish Software

Rosetta Stone  39

Pimsleur  40

Berlitz  41

Fluenz  43

Michel Thomas  43

Part Two: Continuing Education

Chapter Five: Language Schools in Ecuador

Cuenca  46

Quito  48

Private Tutors  49

Chapter Six: How Expats Learn Spanish

Introduction  50

What Expats Say About Learning Spanish  51

500 Comments  51

Pronunciation Here We Come  56

Part Three: Pronunciation Here We Come

Chapter Eight: The Alphabet

A Note on the Phonetics in This Book  61

The Letters  61

The Vowels  62

The Consonants  63

That’s All, Folks  70

How Ya Doin’?  72

Chapter Nine: Vowel Combinations

Strong Vowels  75

Weak Vowels  76

Strong-Weak Combinations (Diphthongs)  76

Chapter Ten: Natural Stress

When the Word Ends in a Vowel  79

When the Word Ends in an S  80

When the Word Ends in an N  80

When Word Ends in a Consonant Other than N and S  80

Chapter Eleven: Unnatural Stress

Combinations of Strong-Weak and Weak-Weak  83

One More Mark  83

Chapter Twelve: Where You Are and Where You’re Going  84