A Travel-Story course to learn & practice Spanish (& German, French..)

As we completed our Spanish 1 course in preparation for our upcoming stay in Spain, we were reassured that our idea of a “Travel-Story” for our language courses makes sense. (Click HERE to listen to the "The Story" Podcast of Level 1 as our Spanish 1 "hero" flies from Boston to Barcelona.)

Why a Travel-Story Language Course to Learn & Practice Spanish?

When we are trying to recall certain words and phrases, we begin to imagine the situation our Spanish traveler (David) finds himself in.

And expressions such as: “...es la primera vez...”, “ ...es muy bueno...”, or “...no es muy bueno...”, “...me quedo tres semanas...”, “...me alegro...”, etc., etc. often come to mind as we are thinking about '”The Story”.

We also fully expect that with a vocabulary of only 700 words, we will not be “fluent”, nor likely to understand everything that is being said. But we also are sure that we will encounter many of the travel related words and phrases on our trip.

We already know that we can read a fair amount of Spanish text (which users of only audio and picture programs may not be able to); and watching yesterday a Spanish "soap opera" (La Que No Podía Amar) for the first time, we already understood quite a bit as well. We'll keep a log of our language adventures.

However, if you want to learn some basics in Spanish: greetings, polite phrases, travel terms, go to our - also completely free - sister site Lingo-Late, where we have 30+ Spanish words and phrases. You can Listen, Record Yourself, Playback Your Voice as many times as you want to learn and practice.

PS: See our posts about our month-long stays in Barcelona and Seville. We were fortunate enough to be able to practice our Spanish while also enjoying the many museums and cultural events in both cities.

False Language Friends - Spanish: me despierto et al

"Cognates" are words that have the same language root and often have the same or a similar meaning.

Word pairs that look like they have the same root, but have a different meaning, are called "false cognates" or "false friends."
Below are six Spanish examples (for speakers of English):

1. me despierto: I wake up 

Not: I'm desperate (Spanish: estoy desesperado)
Example: Mañana tengo que despertarme temprano para tomar el tren a Granada.
Translation: Tomorrow, I need to wake up early to take the train to Granada.

2. éxito: hit (success)

Not: exit (Spanish: salida)
Example: Este nuevo tour se está convirtiendo en un éxito para los turistas que visitan Sevilla.
Translation: This new tour is becoming a hit among tourists visiting Seville.

3. pretender: to try

Not: to pretend (Spanish: fingir)
Example: Pretendemos lanzar la campaña “Visita España” la próxima primavera.
Translation: We will be trying to launch the “Visit Spain” campaign next spring.

4. recordar: to remember

Not: to record (Spanish: grabar)
Example: Recuerde abrocharse siempre el cinturón de seguridad.
Translation: Always remember to fasten your seat belt. 

5. ropa: clothing

Not: rope (Spanish: cuerda)

Example: Es conveniente ponerse ropa de abrigo al visitar Granada en invierno.
Translation: It's advisable to wear thick clothing when visiting Granada in winter.

6. contestar: to answer

Not: to contest [a decision] (Spanish: protestar contra)
Example: ¿Podrías contestar al teléfono por favor?
Translation: Could you please answer the phone?)