Interactive Guide to Learning Spanish Free Online

Book Support: Tips and Updates

Thank you for purchasing the "Interactive Guide to Learning Spanish Free Online." 

Like probably every author, since publishing the Guide things have come to mind that might change. For example, I wish I’d put more space between links for e-readers for adult fingers (but then the book might have been 500 pages!)

Since I use the book myself almost every day, I am always finding new ways to use its tools.  Web sites included in the book may change their organization, add new features or a link may take me to something new I want to tell you about.

This page will provide you tips and new information that has arisen since publication.  New editions are planned annually that will incorporate these tips.

Tip #1:  Briefly scan all the screenshots.  While it’s tempting to go straight for the lesson plans, get a little familiar with all the tools at your level. Not every tool is included in the lesson plans and you will probably find a few you like better than I did. 

Tip #2:  I didn't write anything about Spanish/English exchange groups that exist in Mexican towns if you are already an expat. I made my best Mexican friends directly and indirectly through such a group. Like “domestic” groups I mention in the book, consistency is crucial. Go every week, whether you think it’s helping or not, for at least a year. You never know who will drop in and out who could become your  M.B.F. “Mexican Best Friend.” I write about this in several blogs. 

Tip #3:  I have become a real fan of Readlangs “Word of the Day” since printing the book. They send you some words to practice every day with flashcards. It just takes a minute to run through them and they repeat the word on other days. The retention in this method is beating out other programs for me.

Tip #4:  I mention keeping a log but don’t emphasize the importance.  Record the date, tool used and lesson you reviewed. Go ahead and write a few notes of the biggest things you got out of the lesson too.  By doing that, you will have a complete notebook of what you need to study most.

Tip #5:  Learn Spanish Feel Good is a new site I just discovered.  This also has an English component - great for your Mexican friends learning English or your language exchange partners.

Tip #6 -  Advanced students only.  I left out streaming news sites but included radio stations (does anyone actually listen to radio anymore?)  I will include a more complete list later. My favorite is www.elconfidencial.com in Spain.

Tip #7 - Practice all skills.  You may think you will never write, for example, but each skill helps develop other skills.

Tip #8 - When you are scanning lesson titles in different sites like Esaudio or Spanish Language Blog, it's easy to see a title and think, "I already know that."  Listen to the entire lesson anyway. Almost always it covers vocabulary or a point you didn't know.  

Tip #9 - Instead of studying lists of words, take the word, plug it into Spanishdict.com and study the sentence examples where the word is used as a much better way of learning all the different contexts.

Tip #10 - If you found my book through the Amazon site, you may not know that many of my blogs are about learning the language so check the blog category index "Learning Spanish."

Book Updates

#1 - It appears Verbs Online is no longer functional.  Try Spanishnewyork.com. Andrian Gonzales Martinez has an excellent verb trainer on his site.

#2 - The Instituto de Cervantes website (advanced learners) no longer has the essays and reading materials and mainly promotes products now. Instead, try Carlo Slim's foundation's Aprende.org. Although not as high-brow, the free, ultra-short courses will test your listening skill and teach you a few things. YouTube also has a large catalogue of National Geographic documentaries in Spanish.  

Suggestions?  email me at kerry@ventanasmexico.com