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Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:40 pm
by M-Biggles
I started studying Spanish! Still building my study habit but always improving. Enjoying the language so far! Hopefully I'll get far with it in 2021!

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 11:09 pm
by MorkTheFiddle
iguanamon wrote:There's a new App available that helps learners use Radio Ambulante to learn Spanish. I saw this thread on twitter today from Daniel Alarcón of Radio Ambulante. I can't include the videos but you can click on the link and see and hear it all.
Daniel Alarcón wrote:Several years ago, when we started doing audience surveys at @radioambulante, we discovered something interesting: 20% of our listeners were using our stories to learn Spanish. So we started asking ourselves what we could do to better serve them.
It's an important question. For more than a year we’ve been working on @Lupa_app, (http://lupa.app) an app that transforms the rigorous journalism of @radioambulante into a fun and efficient method of learning Spanish. Let me show you some of its features.
You can switch seamlessly between the Spanish transcript and the English translation as needed.
With @Lupa_App, you're encouraged to use your ear to do the heavy lifting -- as it should be! -- but you can always turn on extra help when you need it.
And @LupaApp helps you keep track of new vocabulary you've learned, and learn colloquial phrases as they're used in different contexts -- so you're learning Spanish as it's really spoken!
We're so excited about this app for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it will give people who aren't yet fluent a chance to hear the amazing journalism we do. To hear Spanish that's real, with innovative tools that transform great stories into effective language lessons.

Looks like an easy and convenient way to use a great podcast to help Spanish learners incorporate native material in their learning on a tablet or phone.

Es exactamente lo que estaba buscando, although Lupa does cost money (as of today, 2-10-2021, $12/mo billed monthly or $99/12 one-time non-recurring purchase, and there are student discounts*), which you pay via credit card.

* Your status as a student will be verified via your verified student email. Not a student, so I can't tell you how that works.

I searched this site for further mention of Lupa, but found none. The app works a lot like Lyricstraining, if you are familiar with that tool. If not, the Lupa site offers a free trial with two podcasts that you can download and familiarize yourself with.
Before you shell out your cash, probably you should check out the kind of stories Radio Ambulante's podcasts offer, which you can do for free. There are lots of stories, lots of voices. See above in iguanamon's post for links to Lupa and to Radio Ambulante.
Just now I ordered a year's worth of access, so we'll see what happens. Apps like this for other languages would be spiffy! 8-)

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 12:16 am
by IronMike
Of possible interest to this group, Andrei, author of The Untranslated blog (a great blog and at least one page of it is worth reading by everyone here), is starting a book club. The fourth book will be in Spanish, but Andrei hasn't chosen which one yet. Possible choices include: Los sorias by Alberto Laiseca or La tejedora de coronas by Germán Espinosa.

The main goal of the Book Club is to encourage learners of a foreign language to read a long, challenging novel in that language reviewed on my blog.


Caveat emptor: this is a Patreon thing, so it would cost you. Also: I gain no benefit from advertising this. I simply love reading his blog and want to support him.

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2022 2:15 pm
by DaveAgain
Weird accents
The interview between Veronica Macedo and Marcelo Rojo qualifies as an weird-spanish-accents programme according to Ms Macedo.

She is originally from Venezuela, but spent a long period in Spanish-speaking-Miami, and Mr Rojo is originally from Argentina but has spent a lot of time in Mexico, giving them both unusual accents says Ms Macedo.

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2022 6:22 pm
by whux
I've seen a lot of recommendations here (and on other sites) for reading, learning grammar and listening, but how is everyone practicing their speaking skills? For me, and assuming for many others, that is the most difficult part of learning a language. I'm still searching for good options (online) to converse with people in Spanish.

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 12:15 am
by Kraut
whux wrote:I've seen a lot of recommendations here (and on other sites) for reading, learning grammar and listening, but how is everyone practicing their speaking skills? For me, and assuming for many others, that is the most difficult part of learning a language. I'm still searching for good options (online) to converse with people in Spanish.


This Contigo app might deliver us what we want, hopefully they can take it to the next levels soon. This would be the first app I am prepared to pay for.
I think the current voice they have is Google's, which is good but can't compete with Edge Browser's round 40! Spanish voices/accents.

A peek into "Contigo" - An AI assisted tool to help learn Spanish through conversations
Contigo Demo Youtube Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwF7j0nRtdM

Dear learners and conquerors of Spanish,

Recently, two of my colleagues who are avid language learners and software engineers created a tool that utilizes conversational AI to help them learn Spanish.

When I heard about this early prototype project that they were working on, I was instantly excited by the thought of having a bridge between learning a language, and actually having a conversation in it.

Their project, Contigo, is a language learning tool that utilizes GPT-3 to provide a conversational AI “tutor”. The tool is a bridge to building conversational confidence, while also displaying intuitive grammar correction. The goal is to provide you with a personalized learning experience that evolves as your language ability advances.


https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/commen ... &context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/commen ... &context=3
------------
When the beta launches, we will have an array of voice options from Contigo with different local accents! As for cultural responses from the perspective of particular Spanish speaking areas (Spain, Mexico, etc) we are doing research into this and would love to add it to the app in the future!

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2022 10:35 am
by Kullman
Permitidme un pequeño "anuncio".

Llevo tiempo buscando, sin demasiado éxito, compañeros de conversación con los que mejorar mi inglés.

No es necesario, realmente, que esta última sea su lengua nativa. Con tener la oportunidad de mejorar mi soltura al hablar, me sobra.

Si hay alguien interesado en conversaciones inglés / español, dejadme un mensaje privado, y me pondré en contacto con vosotros.

Un saludo.

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2023 9:16 am
by Matthew Longfoot
Hi.

I am new here. I am English but live in Barcelona where I am learning Spanish, working, and creating a new life for myself. I am here to bounce help and advice from people wanting to do the same.

Many thanks

Matt

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2023 4:30 pm
by Brock1
Hello, I am brand new. I’m not sure if this is a dead thread. I understand basic Spanish want to study meet some Spanish speaks to become friends with and learn the language

Re: Spanish Group

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2023 6:20 pm
by MorkTheFiddle
Brock1 wrote:Hello, I am brand new. I’m not sure if this is a dead thread. I understand basic Spanish want to study meet some Spanish speaks to become friends with and learn the language

Hi, Brock1. Not a dead thread. Welcome to the LLORG Forum. Good luck with your pursuits.