Learn Spanish Blog

Spanish Learning Updates, Tips, and Tricks

False Cognates and Falsos Amigos

by Jake Beus

October 17th, 2011

Spanish Cognates

Cognates are words that have a similar spelling and similar meaning in two languages. False cognates, often called falsos amigos, look similar in both both languages but they don’t share similar meanings. It’s not surprising that these false cognates are often falsely used. They will fake you out much like a fake friend will fake you out. I don’t want you to be false or fake. I want you to say what you mean and mean what you say. Here are some of the most common false Spanish cognates:

Spanish Noun	English Meaning	English Noun	Spanish Meaning
arena	sand	arena	estadio
carpeta	folder	carpet	alfombra
colegio	high school	college	universidad
costumbre	custom	costume	disfraz
decepción	disappointment	deception	engaño
disgusto	argument	disgust	asco, repugnancia
éxito	success	exit	salida
idioma	language	idiom	modismo
librería	bookstore	library	biblioteca
parientes	relatives, kinfolk	parents	padres
snetencia	verdict, sentence	sentence	frase, oración
vaso	glass	vase	florero

Those are just a few of the false cognates or falsos amigos. Practice using them correctly. It is very common for people to use these words incorrectly. Set yourself apart from those people. Be better. Have you made any of these mistakes? Now you know better. Good luck!

Tags: cognates
Learn Spanish

Heading to the Weekend

by Jake Beus

October 14th, 2011

1 Comment

I hope that it has been a great week for everyone. Last Friday I wrote a post about staying motivated on the weekends. I stated that it was difficult for me to stay productive on the weekend. I said that I would do better. Well, I did do better. I hope that you did too. I ate healthier than I normally do on weekends, maintained normal exercise routines, and was able to do some research on a few projects I’m working on.

In no way do I write this to gloat; however, it was a victory for me because it’s something I’ve wanted to improve in my life. Now the trick is consistency. Certainly do give yourself a break on the weekend, but don’t lose complete sight of who you are, what goals you have, and what you want to accomplish in life. Many of you want to learn Spanish or improve your Spanish. Take a little bit of time this weekend to review or learn more with your Visual Link Spanish software and any other methods you have of learning.

Let’s tackle this weekend. What do you want to accomplish this weekend?

Tags: consistency, weekend
General

Getting to Know a Native Spanish Speaker

by Jake Beus

October 13th, 2011

2 Comments

Spanish Video Lesson – Getting to Know a Spanish Speaker

Ask Good Questions and Listen

I want you to be a good conversationalist. When you have an opportunity to speak with a native Spanish speaker, don’t just say hello and ask them how they are doing and stop. Those are BORING conversations. In fact, it’s not really a conversation in my opinion. It’s good to say hello and find out how they are doing, but don’t stop there. This is a good opportunity for you to learn. Ask good questions and listen. If you haven’t already, watch the video above, then visit Visual Link Spanish on Facebook to practice.

Here is the vocabulary from the video:

Are you from here?	¿Eres tú de aquí?
Where do you work?	¿Dónde trabajas?
Tell me about your family.	Cuéntame de tu familia.
I am learning Spanish.	Estoy aprendiendo español.
Do you have any advice for me?	¿Tienes algún consejo para mí?
Can I help you with something?	¿Puedo ayudarte con algo?
Could you speak slower, please?	¿Podrías hablar más despacio, por favor?
What do you like to do?	¿Qué te gusta hacer?
What do you like to eat?	¿Qué te gusta comer?
Thanks for talking with me.	Gracias por hablar conmigo.

The key to being a good conversationalist is listening. Ask good questions. Ask fun questions. Show the person that you care about them because you listen well. Listen to the natives and learn from them.

Please practice what you’ve learned with us on Facebook for a chance to win free software from us.

Future Facebook Fiesta Friday Topics:

October 21, 2011 – Speaking Spanish With Your Best Friend

October 28, 2011 – Halloween Special

November 4, 2011 – Workplace Spanish

Tags: spanish conversation
Spanish Video Lesson

Do You Want to Learn Spanish in Video Chat Groups?

by Dave Clark

October 12th, 2011

42 Comments

We need your feedback on a new possible way to learn Spanish: Visual Link + Weekly Video Chats

Come share your opinion on our Facebook Survey: Would you like to learn Spanish in video chat groups?

If we get a large enough response, we may consider forming groups that meet for an hour each week.

How it Would Work

Our idea is to sell a monthly subscription to the Visual Link Spanish Level I course for only $9.99 per month. Individuals would learn a particular section during the week, then they would come to their video chat group (which would be free) for an hour to practice with 9 others. Individuals would create 10 questions, from the given weekly section, then come to the video chat group and take turns asking and answering questions in Spanish.

There would be a group leader (also learning Visual Link Spanish Level I) who would help coordinate and guide the conversation and questions.

The sessions would go for 8 – 10 weeks or so. Participants would study on their own, then come once a week, at a given time, to practice with their group.

Your Feedback will Help Us Decide

That being said, if we get a big enough response, we will seriously consider starting these type of groups.

So…we need your feedback.

If you have ideas on how this could better work to help you learn Spanish, please let us know. We are open to suggestions as we are the focus-group phase at this point.

Once again, to participate in the survey, please visit http://www.facebook.com/visuallinkspanish to vote on the survey. You can either leave us feedback on Facebook or feel free to comment here on our blog.

¡Gracias Amigos!

Tags: Learn Spanish, video chat groups
General, New Releases, News

Spanish Occupations Lesson

by Jake Beus

October 11th, 2011

3 Comments

Occupations in Spanish

You have had a nice weekend, and some of you didn’t have to work yesterday. Welcome back to work my friends. The world is happy to have you back at work. Be proud of what you do. In fact, let’s talk about what you do for a living. Here is a list of occupations in Spanish and a little Spanish vocabulary.

Here is a little Spanish grammar lesson:

Soy panadero. | I am a baker. (correct)
Soy (un) panadero. (incorrect)
Do NOT use “un” or “una” after the verb ‘ser’ when describing what you do for work.

Please answer the questions in the blog comments or on the Visual Link Spanish Facebook page. Be proud of what you do!

Tags: occupations
Learn Spanish, Spanish Words

Spanish Animals

by Jake Beus

October 10th, 2011

Spanish Animals

Some of you might be thinking that animals have not received enough coverage on my blog posts. To all the animal lovers: I am sorry. I am simply going to provide you with a list of some of my favorite animals with their Spanish translation. If you are offended because I left out your favorite animal, please leave me a note in the blog comments. So, without further adieu, I give you this list of my favorite Spanish animals:

As I began building this list, I knew I could probably go on forever. Just because I left an animal off of this list doesn’t mean I don’t like that animal, except in the case of cats and snakes. I’m not a big fan of those. What is your favorite animal? (Please share in Spanish with an English translation.)

Tags: animals
Spanish Words

Welcoming the Weekend

by Jake Beus

October 7th, 2011

1 Comment

I would like to start out this post by giving a shout out to Elise Taylor, the customer service manager. Today is her last day working for Visual Link Languages as she will be moving on to other things in her work life. Many of you may have talked to Elise on the phone or communicated with her via email over the years. She has worked very well with co-workers and with customers alike. If you happen to live in Utah, she is also a great photographer. So, a big thanks goes to you, Elise, for being a great co-worker and friend. It has been wonderful to have you here and I wish you well in your future endeavors.

The weekend is a time for many things. For me, it is often a time to catch up on the things I have been unable to do during the week. I have been thinking a lot lately about routine. Many of the good routines and habits I have during the weekdays are often put aside during the weekend. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are typically not the days that I eat healthy, exercise, and study. I must admit that it feels good in the moment to have a break from all of those things, but on Sunday nights and early Monday mornings I tend to review my weekend and feel a little bad to have broken my good habits and routines.

I think it’s good to give yourself a break sometimes, but how much break is too much break? Consistency is one of the hardest things about life. Consistently working hard to reach your goals is not an easy task. Since learning Spanish to some degree is probably a goal for many of you readers, being consistent is something you deal with as well. It is important to consistently study Spanish. If you go weeks without studying, you will likely lose some of the Spanish knowledge you’ve gained. I encourage you to make a better effort this weekend to make time for the things that are truly important to you. I promise to do the same.

So, let’s welcome the weekend together and not forget about the things we’ve accomplished this week. Definitely fit some fun in there if you can. Keep the momentum building. Have a great weekend!

Tags: consistency, goals, weekend
General

Spanish to Say to Your Best Friend

by Dave Clark

October 6th, 2011

1 Comment

Spanish Video Lesson – Spanish For Your Best Friend

Have You Ever Wanted to Speak Spanish to Your Best Friend?

If your best friend is a Spanish speaker, these phrases will be super useful. If your best friend is not a Spanish speaker, maybe you can give them the desire to be a Spanish speaker by saying these words to them :-). Then you can send them here to our website where they can learn to speak Spanish free! Either way, you can come and practice with us on our Facebook page on Fridays. Actually, you can come any day of the week and there are people there, however, Jake and I make it a point to come to “Facebook Fiesta Friday” every week when we’re available. Every so often, we choose a person a particiapant (in our conversations) and give them free Spanish software worth at least a few tanks of gas (in a compact car).

Here is the vocabulary from the video (come use these phrases on Facebook!):

You	Tú
Hi Pablo	Hola Pablo
How have you been?	¿Cómo has estado?
You are my best friend.	Tú eres mi mejor amigo.
You are by best friend ever!	¡Tú eres mi mejor amigo jamás!
What do you want to do this weekend?	¿Qué quieres hacer este fin de semana?
How about if…?	¿Qué tal si…?
…we go to the movies?	…vamos al cine?
…we go to the basketball game?	…vamos al partido de básquetbol/baloncesto
…we go shopping?	…vamos de compras?
…we go to lunch?	…vamos a almorzar?
Thanks for being such a good friend (to male)	Gracias por ser un amigo tan bueno.
Thanks for being such a good friend (to female)	Gracias por ser una amiga tan buena.
Question of the week
Do you have one best friend or multiple good friends?	¿Tienes un mejor amigo o varios amigos?

So, come share with us on Facebook. Let us know if you have one best friend (“Tengo un mejor amigo”), multiple good friends (“Tengo varios amigos”), or both (los dos). In the sad case that you don’t have friends, you can say “No tengo amigos” – however, remember that all of us on Facebook are your friends!!

Future Facebook Fiesta Friday Topics:

October 14, 2011 – Getting to Know a Spanish Speaker

October 21, 2011 – Workplace Spanish

October 28, 2011 – Halloween Special (Be sure to dress up in your favorite disfraz!)

Tags: best friend, Spanish, video lesson
Spanish Video Lesson

Spanish Questions and Answers | Use of the “Personal A” and other Prepositions

by Dave Clark

October 5th, 2011

1 Comment

¡Hola Amigos!

Here is a great question posted this week that came from Sherry about our Visual Link Spanish Level I course:

Thanks for posting it Sherry!:

Here is her question: “With the phrase – necesito hablar con usted… I don`t understand why it would not be – necesito hablar con a usted.”

Sherry, it looks like you are probably in the Communication Section of the Visual Link Spanish Level I course. In that section, you learned that when there is a person in Group 3 (which technically is a direct object – but all you need to know is “person in Group 3″), you have to put an “a” before the person. In Spanish, that is called a “personal a”. The “a” is pronounced “ah” (“personal ah”).

So, your question is a very perceptive one – ¡muy bien! In Spanish, there is a rule that if you use a preposition in front of a “Group 3″ word or “direct object that’s a person”, like “con” (“with”), it actually takes the place of the “personal ah”, and you don’t have to use it anymore.

Spanish usually doesn’t like to have two prepositions next to each other, except with the exception para/con. Sometimes native speakers will use para/con in the same sentences next to each other. It means “for/with”. However, that’s a different topic for a different day.

Hopefully that makes sense – another preposition will take the place of the “personal ah”.

Here is a short list of Spanish prepositions:

de: of, from, about

con: with

en: in, at, on

por: because of, for

para: intended for, in order to

antes de: before

después de: after

a: to, at (used with time)

cerca de: near

I love this language!! I hope you love it too! We believe this is the best website on the internet to learn Spanish online!

¡Hasta luego!

Tags: con, personal a, spanish prepositions
Spanish Questions

Bathroom Spanish Vocabulary

by Jake Beus

October 4th, 2011

1 Comment

Bathroom Spanish

Many of you have been asking for some “bathroom Spanish vocabulary”. I have had a difficult time reading between the lines on the suggestions. Were you hoping that I would post some inappropriate bathroom humor in Spanish or merely wanting to learn how to say “toilet” in Spanish? Since this is a family friendly website and blog, I will not be posting “bad stuff” on the blog. Okay, here is a small vocabulary list for the bathroom.

Challenge: Don’t take a shower until you learn these words. If you stink bad enough, you will do it for your sake, and because you care about others.

Tags: bathroom
Learn Spanish, Spanish Words

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Learn Spanish Blog

False Cognates and Falsos Amigos

Spanish Cognates

Heading to the Weekend

Getting to Know a Native Spanish Speaker

Spanish Video Lesson – Getting to Know a Spanish Speaker

Do You Want to Learn Spanish in Video Chat Groups?

Spanish Occupations Lesson

Occupations in Spanish

Spanish Animals

Spanish Animals

Welcoming the Weekend

Spanish to Say to Your Best Friend

Spanish Video Lesson – Spanish For Your Best Friend

Spanish Questions and Answers | Use of the “Personal A” and other Prepositions

Bathroom Spanish Vocabulary

Bathroom Spanish

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More Spanish, More Effective, Less Money

Become Conversational in Spanish

1. Watch Demo

2. Try

Free 7-Day TrialInstant Download

3. Get Started

List Price: $199.99

Hard Copy: $149.99

Download: $99.99

Learn Spanish Blog

Spanish Cognates

Spanish Video Lesson – Getting to Know a Spanish Speaker

Occupations in Spanish

Spanish Animals

Spanish Video Lesson – Spanish For Your Best Friend

Bathroom Spanish

Categories

Archives

Meta

NEWSLETTER

NAVIGATION

SPANISH LESSONS

CONTACT INFO

Free 7-Day Trial
Instant Download