Knowhow-Now Article

Learning to speak and/or write a second language, particularly one of the Latin languages, is something that’s historically been tough to do for most Anglo-Americans like me. Despite the fact that we speak one of the toughest languages to learn in the U.S. (“Americanized” English), we’re also “language-challenged”. We speak the language we know, and typically don’t see the need (or value) in learning a second one.

 

Why? All sorts of reasons come to mind from my own life experiences, along with those of my friends and colleagues. Most of them distill down to a few basic causes, though.

 

  • Do I really need to learn a second language (for purposes of this article, we’ll use Spanish)? Maybe, maybe not – it’s a personal decision. The world continues to shrink, though, and command of a second language continues to become a more essential career skill.

 

  • Can I commit the time to learning a second language? In a world that continues to move faster and demand more of us, this used to be the most daunting challenge. It’s still an important consideration but, technology now offers us flexibility options to help with this. One example that I discovered is by creatively using Spanish Podcasts (more on this in a bit).

 

  • Will the teaching method work with how I learn? Essentially – will I retain the language and be able to use it over the long haul? Traditional teaching methods, and even some newer software-based solutions, are based on curriculums that can be customized, and work for many – but not all.

 

So, assuming that you’ve decided to take the plunge and learn a second language – Spanish in this case, what next? You’ve still got to figure out how to find time and a learning solution that works for you.

 

I was wresting with these questions and shopping the internet for options when I came across something called News in Slow Spanish (www.newsinslowspanish.com). The name intrigued me – primarily because I travel frequently, and often test my Spanish skills by trying to interpret news broadcasts.

 

Usually I’m not very successful (mostly because I can’t keep up), but being able to listen to a broadcast of “News in Slow Spanish” sounded like something worth learning more about. One of the first things I discovered on the NSS landing page was a summary of their Spanish Podcasts which are provided on a weekly basis.

 

News in Slow Spanish has developed these Spanish Podcasts in a way that enables students of all levels to learn interactively, receive information from the news media, and reinforce their knowledge for future use. The Spanish Podcasts include serious news content, and can be used by students in several ways. They can be downloaded to flashcards (for future listening), retained as transcripts, and if you get stuck you can also “point and translate” on specific phrases.

 

News is Slow Spanish is one of the best Spanish language learning solutions available today, and the way they’ve creatively structured their Spanish Podcasts is a key reason. If you’ve made the decision to learn Spanish, check out News in Slow Spanish – you’ll be glad you did!

The author is a student, with a keen interest in languages, learning Spanish on his own.

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