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Non-peninsular Spanish course | ||
Tags: Latin America | Spanish | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| getreallanguage Diglot Senior Member Argentina youtube.com/getreall Joined 5473 days ago 240 posts - 371 votes  Speaks: Spanish*, English Studies: Italian, Dutch | Message 1 of 7 24 June 2013 at 1:24am | IP Logged |
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Hello there,
I am currently tutoring an American living in California who wants to learn Spanish and is writing (in English) a series of works of literary fiction concerning Latin America. I am trying to find a course that we could either use together in class or that he could use on his own time and I would assist him in the journey. I am looking for a course that would be attainable either by buying it (here in the States) or borrowing from a library, that would be suitable for somebody at an almost pure beginner level, and that would focus not on Spain Spanish but on any variety of Latin American Spanish (Mexican etc), i.e. with audio not recorded in Spain, teaching ustedes instead of vosotros/ustedes, etcetera. What are some options that fit this? Thanks in advance :) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5377 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 2 of 7 24 June 2013 at 1:49am | IP Logged |
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I recommend Living Language's Ultimate Spanish Beginner-Intermediate
It is readily available in many libraries and is relatively inexpensive. The audio quality is extremely good and of a very neutral Latin American style... to me it sounds like a very clear Bogota accent. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| getreallanguage Diglot Senior Member Argentina youtube.com/getreall Joined 5473 days ago 240 posts - 371 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English Studies: Italian, Dutch | Message 3 of 7 24 June 2013 at 1:54am | IP Logged |
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Thank you! A course with Mexican voice actors would be ideal (given the place this guy is living in), but Bogotá Spanish could very well do. Looking forward to other people's suggestions, too :)
(Does the Living Language course include a textbook plus audio cds?) Edited by getreallanguage on 24 June 2013 at 1:56am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5867 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 4 of 7 24 June 2013 at 3:44am | IP Logged |
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Yep, it includes a book with the accompanying audio CDs.
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| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5377 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 5 of 7 25 June 2013 at 12:59am | IP Logged |
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Yes... and it has lots of notes about local culture and things. It is a cool course. I did not do the beginner one, but I did the Beyond the Basics one and have done the dialogues of the Ultimate Advanced version. I don't know for certain that it is a Bogota accent. It is the very neutral Latin American Spanish you hear on dubbing of US TV shows so maybe it is "American Spanish."
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| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5377 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 6 of 7 25 June 2013 at 1:05am | IP Logged |
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You may also want to take a look at Cajas de Carton.
It is an autobiography about a seven year old boy who crosses the border into California with his family illegally so his father can find work. It is a collection of short stories about things that happened in his childhood and it is quite touching. The Spanish is at a fairly basic level and there is an audiobook too with a very nice narrator... with a very noticeable Mexican accent. I got the audiobook from my local library. It is about 3.5 hours in total. There is also an English translation called "The Circuit" that matches the Spanish translation pretty closely and can be used for L-R. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Gala Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4552 days ago 229 posts - 421 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 7 of 7 25 June 2013 at 1:12am | IP Logged |
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I remember several different types of Latin American Spanish on Beyond the Basics and
Ultimate Advanced, as well as a Peninsular speaker or 2 here and there. Although most accents were fairly neutral, they weren't totally lacking in regional features. I especially remember one man that sounded Argentinian or maybe Uruguayan, and not a bit neutral (though very comprehensible.) And LL doesn't completely neglect Peninsular usage, although it focuses less on it. It does cover vosotros, etc. I imagine the Ultimate Beginner-Intermediate probably shares these features. For your purpose (purely Latin American audio courses, well-suited for absolute beginners) I guess I'd have to recommend Pimsleur Spanish Comprehensive: Latin American and Learning Spanish Like Crazy. They are both expensive (especially Pimsleur,) but can be found in libraries (again, especially Pimsleur.) Pimsleur has a few speakers that are definitely Mexican, although speaking a fairly neutral Mexican Spanish. These are both audio-only, though. If you're certain that your student is dedicated, motivated and, though a beginner, up for a bit of a challenge, then it's FSI Spanish Basic (or Platiquemos, the same thing but remastered and slightly altered) hands-down. This isn't technically strictly Latin American, but they only introduce 1 occasionally used Spaniard and get into a brief overview of vosotros in the 4th unit. It's more strictly LA than Living Language and much more Mexican. EDIT: On rereading the above, I realize that it gives the impression that I don't think LL's Ultimate Beginner-Intermediate is a viable option for your purpose. Which isn't true, I think it likely is. The fact that it has a book while LSLC and Pimsleur don't is definitely a point in its favor. I just wanted to provide more information and a few alternatives. But my strongest recommendation is FSI/Platiquemos (which include lots of text as well,) if you think he's up for it. If you don't already know much about FSI, there are tons of threads about it here. Edited by Gala on 25 June 2013 at 2:07am 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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