Live Lingua Podcast

  Welcome to the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast! This unit is made up of 15 episodes that take from 1 to 5 minutes. That way, you can go back and review the parts that you’ve missed without having to go through a whole 45-minute class. The goal of Unit 1 of the Live Lingua Spanish […] Read more

    Conversations — the vehicle of language. Being able to properly introduce yourself is akin to hopping into the vehicle. This audio and text guide will show you how to do just that. This is a conversation between Ms. Laura Ramirez and her husband, Ray, who is an American that speaks a little bit […] Read more

  Cultural and Language Notes: In this m-episode we’re going to go over some basic language and cultural notes for the Spanish language. When you’re learning another language, one of the most important things to understand is that it’s not just about learning the words and vocabulary. I know this from personal experience when I […] Read more

  ¡Buenos días! In this episode, we’re going to learn how to say Good Morning (hint: we just did!), Good Afternoon, and Good Evening in Spanish. In order to say “Good Morning,” you’d say: Buenos Días In order to say “Good Afternoon,” you’d say: Buenas Tardes In order to say “Good Evening,” you’d say: Buenas […] Read more

  I’ll be honest — when I started learning Spanish, I didn’t actually know what an honorific was. It wasn’t until I started learning another language that I actually learned that that was the word we use for titles — such as Mrs., Mr., and Dr. In this exercise we’re going to learn some of […] Read more

  What we’re going to do in this section is bring it all together! We’re going to combine what you’ve learned in the past few episodes about greetings and honorifics. Let’s practice a little bit. When you hear a phrase in Spanish, we want you to translate it into English. Say it out loud if […] Read more

  In this episode, we’re going to practice everything that you’ve learned in the past episodes. We’re going to do this by giving you the time of day and the subject of the conversation. Perhaps “married female” or “Dr. Ramirez.” From that, we’re going to ask you to come up with the correct greeting for […] Read more

  Now that you’ve learned how to say good morning, good afternoon, and good evening in Spanish, as well as addressing the people you’re talking to, let’s move on to the next step: How to introduce yourself! When you introduce yourself, the only phrase you really need to know is “Yo soy” – “I am.” […] Read more

  In this section, we’re going to learn how to say “How are you?” in different circumstances. Now, this might sound simple — but in Spanish, we have both formal and informal, and to add a spin in there, it’s even more complicated when talking to a group of people. Asking “How are you guys?” […] Read more

  For better or worse, we may actually have to introduce members of our family to the people we meet in Latin America or in Spain — this may be more embarrassing for some than for others! Here at Live Lingua, we’re going to teach you the basic vocabularly words you need to do so. […] Read more

  Let’s practice introducing others.  To introduce others we will use the phrase ‘le presento’ which means ‘may I introduce you to’.  This is followed by ‘a mi’ if you are introducing a family member, since you are implying a relationship to you.  Example:  Le presento a mi esposo -> May I introduce you to […] Read more

  Let’s bring together everything you’ve learned in Unit 1 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. You learned how to say “Good Morning,” “Good Afternoon,” “Good Evening.” You also learned people’s titles, and how to introduce the people in your family. Now, we’re going to give you a few phrases — in English — combing […] Read more

  This is a review to help you review what we’ve learned so far in Unit 1 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. If you’ve listed to all of them and practices the exercises, you should be able to get through every word of it now – even if you weren’t able to when you […] Read more

  One of the best ways to learn anything is to visualize it. This is why you see boxers doing a visualization of their practice and shadowboxing. We’re going to try the equivalent in language learning. We’re going to give you three scenarios. Close your eyes (as long as you’re not driving, of course) and […] Read more

  Congratulations! You have made it to the end of Module 1 of the Spanish Lingua podcast, brought to you by Live Lingua.  You should now be able to: Greet others Respond to others when they greet you Introduce yourself and others with you Respond when others introduce themselves to you. If you are not […] Read more

  Welcome to Unit 2! In this unit, we’re going to teach you how to talk about where you live. When you meet new people, one of the first things you usually want to know is where they live. They want to know the same about you! So that’s what we’re going to talk about […] Read more

In this episode, we take a look at a basic conversation in which two people discuss a location. That location is Boston, where a Mr. Michael Smith is from. Mr. Smith has recently moved to Mexico. Don’t worry if you don’t understand it yet — by the end of this unit, you’ll understand everything in […] Read more

In this episode, we talk about the language and cultural notes that came up in the conversation you heard in the previous episode. To understand a conversation in Spanish, you need to understand not only the language but also the culture. Pay close attention here because otherwise, you may make a fool of yourself when […] Read more

If you want to ask how long someone has lived in a particular place, it’s actually pretty easy. All you have to do is say the phrase, “Cuanto tiempo ha vivido en . . . ” and put the location at the end of the sentence. This is a great way to find out how […] Read more

Learning numbers in Spanish is probably one of the most valuable things you can do. This is true whether you’re just visiting a country and want to negotiate, or whether you’re planning on living there long-term. In this episode we’re going to learn the numbers 1 through 10. These are generally the numbers you will […] Read more

Let’s not confuse you — we’re not actually diving into how to say the days, weeks, and months in Spanish in this episode. We’ll get into that in later episodes. What we’re actually going to do is learn how to say the word “day(s),” week(s),” and month(s),” and similar terms in Spanish. This is really […] Read more

Now, we’re going to put together everything you’ve learned in the past three episodes. You’ll learn how to tell people how long you’ve lived in a certain place. The first time through, we’re going to say certain sentences in Spanish. See if you can figure out how long that person has lived somewhere. The second […] Read more

Let’s check to make sure you have grasped what we’ve learned in this unit so far. In this episode, we’ll see how well you can answer questions about how long you’ve lived somewhere — on the fly! We’ll provide a time frame — say, four months — and you add “He vivido in Mexico” in […] Read more

Let’s bring together everything we’ve learned in Unit 2 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast so far. Say the following English phrases in Spanish (If you’re not able to say one of them, review the previous episodes to brush up on what you’ve missed.) The first time through, we’ll only say the English version, followed […] Read more

When asking if someone likes a country they are in, the way you ask varies slightly depending on whether you are asking an individual or a group of people. For an individual, you say, “Le gusta . . .” This means “Do you like.” For a group, you would say, “Les gusta . . . […] Read more

In the previous episode, we went over asking whether you like a place or not. In this episode, we’re answering that question. When you answer whether you like a place or not, there are of course two ways to respond — yes or no. Depending on your answer, the form you use will be a […] Read more

Now let’s combine everything you’ve learned in Unit 2 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast up to this point. We’re going to say some phrases using the material you’ve learned in the last few episodes. The first time, we’ll only say it in English to see if you can answer in Spanish yourself. The second […] Read more

I know — this is the epitome of small talk. When you meet somebody, you’re probably going to talk about the weather. Whether you like it or not, it’s something that is going to come up. Especially if you’re going someplace new — you want to know what the weather is like. Is it hot? […] Read more

To ask somebody about whether it is hot or cold in a certain place you use the same phrase as you would if you were simply telling them the information.  So the quetion becomes how to know the difference. The difference between the answer and the question actually depends on the inflection on the last […] Read more

Now let’s say you’ve met somebody and they want to know how the weather is where you come from. Let’s practice giving that answer. In these exercises, we’re going to ask you the question in Spanish and then tell you the answer you should give. Here’s some examples: ¿Hace calor en San Francisco? You would […] Read more

Using what you learned in the previous exercises in this unit to translate the following English phrases into Spanish. By the end of this, you should be able to answer a basic question about the weather in the place where you are from. If you have any trouble, repeat the previous episodes as necessary. Let’s […] Read more

Let’s practice asking where people are from.  There are three ways to ask this in Latin America.  There are two ways to ask an individual — a formal and informal way. For somebody you know well you would ask: “¿De donde eres?” For somebody you don’t know well you would ask: “¿De donde es?” If […] Read more

Let us practice answering the question where are you from.  Like most things in Spanish the phrase you would do to answer depends on whether you are answering for yourself or a group. If you are answering just for yourself you would say: “Soy de” If you are answering for a group you would say: […] Read more

Now we’re going to bring together what you’ve learned in the last few episodes to talk about where you live. Using what you learned in this unit translate the following English sentences. Just like in the last unit, we’re only going to give you the English sentences the first time through. Try to say the […] Read more

Let’s listen again to the first conversation you heard in Unit 2. You should now be able to understand all of it. If there are any parts you don’t understand, just go back to the episodes in this unit to review, and then come back here and try again! Laura Ramirez:  ¿De donde es?Michael Smith: […] Read more

This will be a visualization practice covering everything you’ve learned in Unit 2. Imagine you are in these three scenarios and try to picture in your head how the conversation would go. If you don’t know how to answer any of these questions correctly, review the previous episodes in this unit for a quick practice. […] Read more

Congratulations.  You have made it to the end of Unit 2 of the Live Lingua Spanish podcast, brought to you by LiveLingua.com.  In the past hour, you have learned how to: Reply when people ask where you are from Count from 1-10 in Spanish Talk about how long you have lived somewhere Let someone know […] Read more

In this unit you will learn how to: Ask for the menu. Understand when the waiter asks what you want to order. Ask what are certain dishes. Order your meal. If you want to read along with the text of these episodes, find additional practices exercise or get paired with a professional Spanish tutor to […] Read more

This is a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs and a waiter at a restaurant. They are seated at a table and order their meal. Waiter: ¿Qué van a pedir señores? Mrs. Jacobs: Para mí, las enchiladas de mole y una ensalada. Waiter: ¿Y usted, señor? Mr. Jacobs: ¿Cuál es la sopa del día? Waiter: […] Read more

In Latin America they tend to eat most meals at different times than in Europe and the US. Breakfast (“desayuno”) is usually between 7:00 – 9:00 a.m., the same as non-Latin American cultures. Lunch (“comida”) usually gets eaten between 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. This is usually the biggest meal of the day. Dinner (“cena”) […] Read more

While the variety of food you can try when traveling around Latin America and Mexico is almost limitless, there are some staple dishes that you can see almost everywhere. Let’s learn those.  Keep in mind, however, that the way these dishes are served can also vary by country even if the base ingredients are the […] Read more

If you are going to order steak in Latin America they will probably ask you how well you would like it cooked. The question for that is: “¿Qué término?” You can answer with the following depending on your preference. Repeat the following. Let’s get started!   ¡Empecemos! Well done Bien cocido Medium well Tres cuartos Medium […] Read more

If you are traveling to a place you have never been before, you may run into dishes you don’t know. In these cases you may want to ask what is in the dish. You can do this by saying: “¿Qué es eso?” If you are asking about a specific dish, just add the name of […] Read more

One of the difficulties when traveling to a foreign country, if you have dietary restrictions or food allergies, is finding food to eat. In this m-episode we’ll practice asking if a dish has a specific ingredient. Let’s start by reviewing some ingredients that people normally ask about due to dietary restrictions or allergies. Repeat the […] Read more

This one is for those with dietary restrictions and their travel companions. One of the difficulties when traveling to a foreign country, if you have dietary restrictions or food allergies, is finding food to eat. In this m-episode we’ll practice asking if a dish has a specific ingredient. Let’s get started!  ¡Empecemos!   We’ll see […] Read more

Now let’s practice ordering your meal. When a waiter is ready to take your order, they will typically say either: ¿Qué van a pedir señores? which means, “what would you like gentlemen?”, or more casually, they may say: ¿Qué va a ser? Which means “what will it be?” Your response would be: “Deme X, por […] Read more

Let’s bring together everything you’ve learned in this unit so far. Listen to the English phrase I say, and you try to say it in Spanish. The first run-through, I’m only going to say it in English. The second run-through, I’m going to say it again in English, but at the end I’ll give you […] Read more