- You’ve got an important meeting to Spain in a week.
- You’ve discovered you’ve got a relative in Spain & they invite you to come in.
- You just got a lot of cash and want to learn Spanish quickly.
- Can you become fluent in a week? No.
- Can you talk to people about food, money, culture & arts? Yes.
- And this will kick-start your way to conversational fluency if you’ve enjoyed your journey, and plan to go live in Spain.
Pick your topics
- Where will you go?
- How long is your trip?
- Who will you talk to?
- What do you need to ask?
- What do you need to answer?
- What passionate you the most?
50 min a day Listening, 10-15 min a day Speaking
- That’s our baseline.
- It will be enough to get you started on your new habit.
- Reading, Listening & memorizing for 50-60 minutes.
- Video-format or podcast, for more convenience.
- Speaking about a specific, narrow topic for 10-15 minutes, without the least amount of pauses.
- Our 7 days topics will be : shopping, travel, rest, cinema, games, food & people
- How do you get the most of your shopping?
- Why do you travel? To visit Landmarks.
- Where do you rest? In a Park (at the hotel?).
- What movie do you want to watch today?
- What game do you want to play today?
- What do you want to eat? Where?
- What’s their goal? Their hobbies? Their favorite things?
How will you learn?
- Videos
- Language – Innovative Language Learning & SpanishPod101.
- Culture – Langfocus, for historical/geographical insight & language comparison (with other Romance languages).
- How to speak if you know no Spanish speaker?
- Find a learning partner.
- If no one is will to make the jump with you, well it’s sad.
- But you can always go for conversational exchange.
- Conversation Exchange is great place for this.
- If you have more than 20 min/day on your hands an want a book you can pick:
- Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish,
- Breaking Out of Beginner’s Spanish,
- Lonely Planet’s Spanish Phrasebook & Dictionary.
- Mindset
- It will be Fun in the beginning, Frustrating in the middle & Fulfilling in the end.
Shopping district & Markets
- How much does it cost?
- ¿Cuánto cuesta esto?
- How much does [ham] cost?
- ¿Cuánto cuesta [el jamón]?
- I’m looking for [Spanish ham].
- Busco un [jamón Ibérico].
- Where can I buy [espadrilles]?
- ¿Dónde puedo comprar [espadrilles]?
- How much does [this dress] cost?
- ¿Cuánto cuesta [este vestido]?
- Is there another color/size/model?
- ¿Hay otro color?
- ¿Hay otra talla?
- ¿Hay otro modelo?
- I’ll take Two (Three/Four/Five).
- Voy a comprar dos (Tres/Cuatro/Cinco).
- Can I have a discount?
- ¿Puedo tener un descuento?
- Can I have 10% off?
- ¿Puedo tener 10% (diez por ciento) de descuento?
Parks & Landmarks
- The most valuable advice will come from a barman/barber, the hotel personnel since they speak to so many people.
- Ask to restaurant & shop personnel, or any other person knowledgeable about what’s to do in the City/Town you’re in.
- Look for interesting & unusual paths recommendations.
- What’s your favorite place in Castille?
- ¿Cuál es tu lugar favorito en Castilla?
- Where should I go in Bilbao?
- ¿Dónde debo ir en Bilbao?
- What’s the story of Merida?
- ¿Cuál es la historia de Mérida?
Museums, Art Galleries & Cinema
Spain is an old country with a rich history dating back to antiquity.
They’ve also invested quite some money in new techs, especially machine learning.
So, wherever you’re an history enthusiast or a futurist-to-become, there will be something for you.
- What is your favorite piece of art/Movie/Album/Book?
- ¿Cuál es tu obra de arte, película, álbum o libro favorito?
- How did you 1st discovered it?
- ¿Cómo lo descubriste?
- I’m looking for the City of Arts and Sciences (in Vallencia)?
- Estoy buscando la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.
- How much is the entry fee?
- ¿Cuánto cuesta la entrada?
Restaurants & Cafes
Spanish gastronomy, markets, fresh products, Ham,..
- What’s the top restaurant around here?
- ¿Cuál es el mejor restaurante de por aquí?
- What’s your favorite restaurant in town?
- ¿Cuál es tu restaurante favorito en la ciudad?
- What are the best cafes in Salamanca?
- ¿Cuáles son los mejores cafés de Salamanca?
- A table for [two, three, four] people, please.
- Una mesa para [dos, tres, cuatro] personas, por favor.
- I want a [menu].
- Yo quiero un [menu].
- Would you like a drink?
- ¿Quieres tomar algo?
- I would like Tap water/Bottled water.
- Me gustaría tener agua del grifo/agua embotellada
- Regular or Sparkling Water?
- Sin gaz/Con gaz.
- What would you like to eat/drink?
- ¿Qué quieres comer/beber?
- What do you recommend?
- ¿Qué me recomienda?
- Where is the bathroom?
- ¿Dónde està el baño?
- On the left/right.
- A mano izquierda/derecha.
Transportation & Directions
This is the only section where we will put words since when it comes to directions & transportation we often answers with words.
- I’m looking for […]
- Estoy buscando […]
- How much does [a bus ticket] costs?
- ¿Cuánto cuesta [un billete para el bus]?
- I would like a 1-way ticket.
- Quisiera un billete simple.
- Where can I catch the bus?
- ¿Dónde puedo coger el bus?
- Where is the [bus station/train station]?
- ¿ Dónde está [la estacion de buses]?
- ¿ Dónde está [la estacion de tren]?
- Where is [Street/Avenue name] Street/Avenue?
- ¿ Dónde está la calle/avenida [Nombre de la calle/avenida]?
- Where is the ATM?
- Dónde está el cajero?
- Where is the Bank?
- ¿ Dónde está el banco?
- Where is the tourist information office?
- Dónde está la oficina de infomación turística?
- On the left/right.
- A mano izquierda/derecha.
- Straight ahead.
- Derecho.
- Bajar/Subir.
- Go down or Get off/Go up or Get on.
- Outside/Inside.
- Fuera/Dentro.
- At the corner.
- En la esquina.
- In [one, two, three, four] blocks.
- A [una, dos, tres, cuatro] cuadra.
