I have some news I want to share with you. Pretty soon (within 3 months) we plan to launch the Spanish equivalent of ChinesePod. That’s right, we’re going to teach Spanish (through the medium of English, that is). We’ve had the idea on and off since last year, but in recent weeks we’ve committed to it. Now it’s pretty much sealed.
There are a number of reasons why we made the decision. One is simply the excitement of tackling a new language. I’ve never actually learned any Spanish, so now seems like as good a time as any to start and keep that language learning spark alive! A second reason is the fact that we can readily apply much of what we’ve learned to a new language - from web design to community building, from podcasting to production schedules, and so on. It’s almost obvious.
But the third and biggest reason is that people have been asking us to do it since we began. I don’t know how many times people have said to me “If only you did a ChinesePod type of service for learning Spanish”. Now they won’t have to ask any more.
Rest assured that ChinesePod will not be affected by this development. Staffing will remain unchanged, as will the general plan to build the greatest possible resource for learners of Mandarin. I will have a role in the new endeavor, but both Jenny and I will continue with ChinesePod in exactly the same capacity - as will John, the academic team, and everyone else. From your perspective, the only thing you will notice (I hope) is that ChinesePod continues to get better! (The plans for how are well developed and I’ll be sharing them with you soon.)
So, right now we’re putting together the Spanish team. I’m looking for people to work on this project. In particular I need a project manager and 2 hosts, preferably nati ve Spanish speakers from Latin America. I’ll post more details on that in a few days. In the meantime, if you are interested you can write to
steve dot f dot williams at gmail dot com
Well, that’s the news.
Kind of exciting. Whaddya think?
Ken Carroll
What’s that Ken? A language you haven’t learnt yet?
Yes, very exciting news. Here in Belgium learning Spanish is very popular, you know with all the costas only a couple of hours flying. I’m sure it is the same in the rest of Europe too. The market is just that much bigger than for mandarin.
Marc in Belgium
Woo-hoo! Sign me up!
I need something else to do while I’m waiting patiently and hoping for Cantonese one day. Not nagging or anything, just mentioning it in passing
There’s about as many Spanish speakers as Mandarin speakers around here (0), but it’s still an interesting language to speak to the wall. All of the Asians around here speak Cantonese, and some of the Cantonese speakers speak no English, but there’s no podcast course for that. Yet. Hint.
There would be a greater number of people who, like me, learned a smidgeon of Spanish in the distant past and would like to brush up, especially if there’s no mandatory half hour verb recitations! I suppose it’s a great language to show off the benefits of this style of learning, by absorbing instead of flagellating. Even if it’s not Cantonese.
Did I mention… oh… yes I did. Now I’ll try to be good. Spanish it is. Spanish, bring it on!
Aunty,
I’d be interested to hear your ideas on how to teach Spanish. What, I am keen to know, do you think about the grammar. Should we make it more or less explicit?
Ken Carroll
Ace idea. My missus will be very happy - we’ve divided the language-learning roles for our round-the-world trip: I try to learn Mandarin while she works on Spanish.
Any rebates for dual family subscriptions
And does this mean that we can expect a Gaeilgepod any time soon Ken?!
Brendan,
I think we’ll be able to offer something very competitive for all the family!
I’d love to do an GaelicPod. No question about it. My feeling is that, if a Spanish program gets traction we can run the gambit and do the whole world!
Ken Carroll
I’d be interested in a CantonesePod, a ShanghainesePod or a KoreanPod.
Very good news, I have already started a little preparation for learning Spanish. Statistically if I can eventually speak Spanish, Mandarin and English I should be able to speak to everyone in the world in at least 1.75(a wild guess) languages
I hope that when it kicks off it will be releasing elementary and intermediate levels simultaneously with the newbies levels. Many English speakers are more likely to have come pre-armed with a basic level of Spanish than with basic Mandarin.
Also I would suggest that the speech in the newbie levels may do with being somewhat faster even if the topics are similar. Again Many English speakers will come pre-armed with an idea of what Spanish should sound like and anything too slow will sound unatural to them.
Now like the Beijing yidianr, chu qu wanr vs yidian chu qu wan etc. your next biggest headache is which flavor of Spanish. Will you be teaching Espanol or Castellano (I probably spelt those wrong
and will you have those lovely lispy sounds? Either way some people are going to get upset. Personally I couldn’t care less, once you have moved through a few UK regional accents these are trivial issues.
As for grammar I couldn’t say but my preference would be to make it an optional addition and not overly stress the grammar at all in the podcasts.
Wow, i have no interest in Elspaniel de pod(Apart from the Format), however many people need to know spanish, Doctors nurses, A language skill is a Bonus $£$ to all Ocupations.
Spanish is the Market to be in, over 900 million people Do not speak spanish!
Good Luck New Team
Count me in! I’ll be along for the ride. I live in a section of West Michigan that has attracted quite a few immigrants from Latin America, particularly from Mexico. There are so many mom-n-pop restaurants and shops around here that I would love to visit and speak to the people in there in their native tongue.
As for learning, I think maybe *slightly* more of a focus on grammar might be called for with Spanish. As you point out, Ken, Chinese isn’t an inflected language, but there are certain changes that need to be just learned in Spanish verbs. Mind you, it’s not anywhere near as inflected as, say, Finnish. That said, however, it would be kind of interesting to see how everyone does just being exposed to certain forms of the verb.
Will you be in the booth for some of the lessons, Ken?
And I think a GaeligePod is a great idea too. Go raibh maith agat!
Thanks for the new endeavor. Can’t wait!
Hi Ken, Please count on me for any help you may need for this new project. Dont hesitate to contact me. Remember I’m native spanish. Chris(mandarin_student),”español” and “castellano” are exactly the same language. You use the word “castellano” when you want differenciate it from others minor languages also spoken in Spain.
Ken,
I agree with Chris. Spanish is not one language, and Latin American variants are by many considered as not the proper spanish grammar, vocabulary or pronounciation. Castilian is considered the Spanish equivalent to “Beijing Dialect”, and my teacher always pushed us hard to use this version. It would probably be rated as upper-class spanish by many latin americans. At the same time, you would come across in an inferior way in Spain if you spoke with a colombian or venezuelan dialect. Worth thinking about.
I’m thing there is a big dileme here because the type of spanish you will learn depend of your customers.
In Europe we learn the original spanish from with teacher from spain.
In the US it seems to be central american spanish (as musical and colourful compared to spanish than brezilian partugais to portugais).
But in Asia, will customers choose to learn the european spanish or the american spanish ?
The absolute question is : Wo are really the customers for this podcast ?
*** second try ***
I think there is a big dilemma here because the type of spanish you will learn depend of your customers.
In Europe we learn the original spanish from with teacher from spain.
In the US it seems to be central american spanish (as musical and colourful compared to spanish than brezilian partugais to portugais).
But in Asia, will customers choose to learn the european spanish or the american spanish ?
The absolute question is : Wo are really the customers for this podcast ?
EsperantoPod?
Mikke refers “proper spanish grammar, vocabulary or pronounciation”. There is no such thing as “proper” language and grammar. However, there is ungrammatical language (anything that violates the rules of any dialect). So I’m sure there are many ways of speaking Castilian that violate the rules of Salvadoran or Cuban Spanish. I personally would prefer to learn the dialects of those who have for hundreds of years been oppressed by those in the so-called upperclasses. The regional and dialectical differences in language, especially in North, Central, and South America could be a rich source of lessons.
I’m excited. I’ve been studying Spanish for about 2 years or so, and having regular intermediate and advanced podcasts like the Chinese ones would be wonderful!
Yay! I can’t wait! I’ve been searching for a good learning Spanish podcast from the very begining of podcasting. Tried just about all of them.
I detect some Eurocentric snobbery from a few previous posters. There’re far more Spanish speakers in Latin America than in Europe. I would like to see the SpanishPod to focus on the Latin American usage, but point out the regional differences when appropriate.
Sounds fantastic. I really hope things take off. I just decided to start tackling another language. It was between Cantonese and Spanish. Cantonese won, but maybe i should rethink things….
Mmmmmm…. I think it’s a big mistake. Chinesepod should concentrate on what it does best, which is teaching Chinese to foreigners.
Ken,
I suggest that you read “Confesiones de una Rubia” by Cristina Saralegui, the popular Cuban American TV host of a talk show called “Christina”. Her show has been seen at one time or another in 23 Spanish speaking countries and she talks about how difficult it is to breach the regional gap in Spanish. The term “Spanish” covers a large number of dialects with a common root. I have had to learn several dialects of Spanish to communicate effectively just within Mexico and I am sure that native speakers like Antonio know a lot more than I do. Another suggestion that I would like to make is that you obtain the book, “501 Spanish Verbs” by Christopher Kendris, PhD. ISBN0-8120-9282-1. This book has been extremely helpful to me in learning to conjugate verbs. As you know Spanish has 14 verb tenses (or aspects as you call them), seven simple, and seven compound. Also, the dictionary that you use has a lot to do with what dialect you are learning. Many people in England study Spanish so that they can vacation in Spain. Many of the Spanish/English dictionaries are printed in England. If you want to learn Latin American Spanish you need to have a good dictionary that contains idiomatic expressions that are more common in Latin America than in Spain. I recommend a dictionary called “Larousse Standard” for Latin American Spanish. However, Larousse also publishes a dictionary called “Larousse Concise” which contains idiomatic expressions more in line with England and Spain. After awhile, when you learn enough Spanish it is better to drop the English/Spanish dictionary altogether and just use a local Spanish dictionary. Last but not least, every Spanish speaking country has its own particular culture, and as you know the culture plays a big part in any language. I wish you the best of luck in this new endeavor for you are really taking on an ambitious project. I think it would be easier for you to teach Chinese to Spanish speakers but what the heck…Go for it!
The Ipod lessons should be very interesting. I provide a free vocabulary which is low tec and sent daily via email with sound files. There is vocabulary for all levels of Spanish speakers or students. I also include proverbs, idioms, and basic vocabulary via a thematic approach. You may sign up with just an email at: http://www.spanishwordoftheday.com / Each mail includes a link if you would like to be removed from the database. Good Luck to you all via Ipod.
Nicholas Crowder
As I live in Hong Kong and have no desire to travel to Spanish countries or to the Mainland, I would prefer a Cantonese Podcast service. In my daily life Mandarin and Spanish are as equally useless and pointless. My Cantonese would 突飛猛進 (dat6 fei1 maang5 zeon3) with a good Cantonese version of Chinesepod. Thanks.
Milan says:
As I live in Hong Kong and have no desire to travel to Spanish countries or to the Mainland, I would prefer a Cantonese Podcast service. In my daily life Mandarin and Spanish are as equally useless and pointless. My Cantonese would 突飛猛進 (dat6 fei1 maang5 zeon3) with a good Cantonese version of Chinesepod. Thanks.
Yeah, I would like a CantoPod as well, but there just might be more Spanish speakers than Cantonese speakers …
Nice one! Really pleased to hear this! I would like to see that all the main spanish dialects taken into account, i.e. regional differences in pronounciation/lexical differences/local slang etc.
I’ve been trying to learn spanish but have been too caught up in mandarin, podcasts would make it a lot easier.
You guys are going to corner this market and the world will be better for it.
Jason - amen. Like Ken said, Chinesepod lessons aren’t going to suffer or change, we’re all just getting richer. I can only imagine that a LOT of thought went into this decision, and the Chinesepod folks would only be going through with it if they were absolutely sure it was the right thing to do. Can’t wait to see the results.
Hi all, to make you clear: spanish is spanish. I mean, someone native from Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico or Spain, talks the same language, the difference is the accent and some words where are used in some countries and dont in others. It is similar between the english in US and the english in UK or in Australia. The main difference is the accent and the use of some words and expressions.
A step both bold and brave.
But not without risk.
I am wondering if Spanish is not a totally different kind of game: You might have to face another type of competition and prevail among a myriad of existing resources (just go to Podcast-Alley and search for “Spanish”).
During those times when I was still desperatly looking for adequate Mandarin materials in bookstores (!) I found about 10 shiny multimedia-Spanish courses for each dusty and outdated Mandarin book. You might bring along a superior approach and a fine technological system, but it will already be a challenge to get the necessary attention.
The beauty of podcasting is that you can reach a scattered community - especially nice for niche markets. For example I met quite a few people here who were desperatly looking for Turkish learning resources - none available (learners/km2-ratio obviously too small).
But 千万 do not get discouraged by pessimists like me…
I dont fully agree Bob. You affirm in your previous post “The term “Spanish” covers a large number of dialects with a common root.” These are not dialects, the difference is the accent and the entonation, but the grammar rules, ortography, sintaxis are the same. I keep saying what i pointed in my previous comment: english have the same between people from the north and the south of USA, or between UK and Australia or others CommonWealth countries.
Regarding the dictionary, since 2004 (if I’m not wrong) the Spanish Language Academies Association (Spain plus 21 more countries) published and maintain updated a dictionary called DRAE Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary) which collects all the words and idioms with the difference meanings depending the country of use. I particulary recommend this dictionary which can also be search online.
Too many languages, so little time
Ken- how will you handle pricing for those who want to subscribe to both?
Will the Spanish version of Chinesepod be based in Shanghai? Or in somewhere in Latin America or Spain?
(The above post was grammatically incorrect) Or somewhere in Latin America or Spain?
Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing what(ever) the Chinesepod team including Ken will come up with.
Ken, I think the podcasts should concentrate _mostly_ on grammar, because there is so much to learn. But you can do that with exposure. Don’t make newbies speak only of the present for a year, tack on the related phrases to show the changes. I don’t want to be bombarded with words like “predicate”, but I do want to know how to say all of “sorry I’m late”, “don’t be late” “what happens if I’m late” “I have no name tag because I arrived late” when I head out on an excursion, even if I can only dissect one of them in English.
Like I think I heard you say elsewhere, you can pick up the vocab you need by yourself when you need it, but you can’t give yourself exposure to sentence patterns. That is where podcasts will shine for a language like Spanish, it’s what Spanish teaching has been missing out on all along.
Grammar explanations come in two opposite forms:
1. Now I invite you to memorise this rule, you can use it to make sentences, and you may be required to know it in the future
2. Yes it does sound strange, but this is how it works, it’s more than you need to know right now, don’t try to remember but I offer it to quiet your uneasiness, and to give you the freedom to arrange your own words into this useful pattern
We only need “grammar” number two. We need lots and lots of number two for Spanish, right after hearing the patterns. I also wish we had more of number two for Mandarin. As for number one, not interested!
Oh yes, please don’t make it sound as slow as the Mandarin lessons. I want to be able to understand some of real speech from the beginning.
But… how am I going to learn a language without PlecoDict? It’s unimaginable!
Antonio,
Okay, you’re the boss. Spanish is Spanish. The president of Mexico speaks wonderful Spanish and is understood by everyone but even though the average Mexican in Monterrey speaks “Spanish” and the average Mexican in Mexico City speaks “Spanish” when they get together they have a difficult time understanding each other. In Cuba they speak Spanish and to say “catch a bus” they say “coger un autobus” but in Mexico that means “fornicate with a bus”. Here we say “tomar un camión”. When people from Spain come here they sound verrry different and many times find it difficult to communicate. However, I am not going to argue with a native Spanish speaker and especially with someone as knowledgeable and dedicated as you are. I check to the power! If Ken wants to tackle this thing then I, like you, will be “a sus ordenes”. Regarding the dictionary. Depending on where you live in Latin America there will be words in common use and in the local newspaper that you won’t find in ANY dictionary because the people that use these words don’t use or even have dictionaries. The Royal Academy can do whatever they want but it won’t affect the vernacular much
Chinese pod has been helping to fill a serious lack of learning materials for Chinese for English speakers. When you started it, you were entering virgin territory.
However, in starting up a Spanish pod type service, you are entering an already crowded field; there is more Spanish material for English speakers than for any other language. I’m not trying to discourage it though, the more the merrier. I would think however, that you will have to find some kind of niche rather than try to be all things to all people.
Most Spanish courses in North America base their language on the Spanish of Central America, but avoiding the regionalisms. This Spanish is considered good in all parts of the Spanish speaking world, including Spain. My Latin American friends have told me they consider an attempt to use the “ceseo” of Spain to be affected, a bit like trying to use the Queens English in the Bronx.
If I was starting a language like Spanish, I would want to first learn a standard core language rather than be confused and slowed down by all the many regional variations in accent, grammar and vocabulary. However, with so much of basic material already out there, perhaps you could supply some dialectical variation material to advanced learners as a way of distinguishing yourself from the competition?
For hundreds of years, music teachers have been telling their students “If you can’t play it slow, you can’t play it fast” I would say that the same thing applies to languages. If you can’t pronounce a sentence (somewhat) slowly and correctly, you certainly won’t be able to pronounce it quickly and correctly. And, if you want to understand native-speaker-quick speech, a first step is to learn to understand somewhat slower speech with pauses between sentences. Once you can easily do this, simple exposure to the more rapid speech of media and live conversation will lead to complete understanding faster than you might think.
Looks like there is a KoreanPod:
http://koreanpod.podomatic.com/
ohh that’s really gonna be great. i’m so looking forward to it. I learned spanish for about two years but i really need to brush it up. so more challenging lessons right from the beginning would be cool.
i guess a spanish and a latin american teacher would be best. or you should at least point out the differences between castellano and latin american(mexican, colombian,…)because there are noticeable differences even from lets say mexican to colombian. they may understand each other but it’s a bit like between native chinese and 3rd-generation chinese immigrants(vocab, pronounciation!)
compared to huayi, spanish grammar is much more complex. so i guess its acutally inevitable to put more emphasis on it.(you may learn huayi without as it’s simple)
anyway i found it easy to pick up (verbs are quite regular even those who are ‘unregular’)
i’m waiting for it! and i’m sure whatever it will be it’ll be fantastic!
—————————————————————-
ps i understand those who miss a cantonese podcast but there are cantonese learning sources. just need to google around a bit.
Good luck for your new endeavor!
By the way I think she really has a point: you would have much more creditability to embark on Cantonese.
I am learning Spanish myself, first started out with Birkenbihl courses, then joined a classroom training at my employer. So I hope I will be joining your (upper?)intermediate level.
How to teach grammar? I do not believe in theroetical explanation of rules. Please offer full sentences, even it may sound artificial if you conjugate a verb through all the persons. If all these 6 sentences could be semantically linked in a way to derive a small film script from them - all the better as there is food for the right half of the brain.
I always find a literal (word by word) translation most meaningful to render the differences in grammar sufficiently transparent. Birkenbihl does not continue to offer new learning material, but I consider her approach very valid and would be happy to get up-to-date input in similar fashion. That would entail that you offer additionally to your podcast with all the explanations the pure target sentences to listen to them subconsciously over&over again after having mastered a conscious understanding of every word. The explanation-spanish in your current podcast format may be slower, but this version should be quicker, should converge to real speed with increasing level.
I would LOVE to have this feature for Mandarin, too as I expect it to help me memorizing in lieu of rote-learning. It has worked for me in French and Italian and Spanish so far. I will repeat this wish as often as Aunty Sue does her Cantonese…
Generally I insist on learning from native speakers only. I would appreciate if you explain once in a while if different terms are used in different Latin American countries.
Concerning up-to-date material in Spanish you will have a lot of competition, in Germany e.g. with the monthly print magazines from Spotlight Verlag + Websites (ECOS for Spanish). I am currently following 3 different Spanish podcasts - but I would be curious to find out what might be your unique selling point!
Bob, you’re right, be careful when using verb ‘coger’ in LatinAmerica!!
Here, in Spain, we use ‘coger’ very frecuently with no hidden meanings. I guess you have similar anecdotes in the english language, do you?
Someone in a previous post showed his worries because ChinesePod should do what they know best: teach chinese. Ok, I agree, and that is what Ken said in his announcement. ChinesePod team will continue being the same. They will grow up and I guess will hire more people for this new venture. Remember that along with ChinesePod there is also an EnglishPod, lately known as “On Demand English” where they teach business and advanced english. The idea of On Demand Training Limited will be to offer a “SpanishPod” or something similar.
I was waiting for this. It definitely makes a lot of sense to leverage your expertise with this expansion. Best of luck! I look forward to brushing up my Spanish later this year.
Something to think about: if you do a Google search on “most common languages,” you’ll find a number of lists that have different languages listed from 1 to 10. Invariably, however, Spanish is in the top 5. This includes, of course, the varieties spoken in both Europe and Latin America. The fact remains, that the Spanish language is a major player on the international scene. Seeing as Chinesepod already has lessons in Mandarin and English (http://www.ondemand-english.com/), Spanish is the next logical step for a company that wants to teach important foreign languages.
And the next time you’re at a dinner party, ask your guests where they think Bengali ranks in the top world languages.
I like the sound of it. I learnt Spanish in Chile, and have a mixed Australian-Chilean accent in Spanish. Does that mean when I visit in a few months I can do the rounds in English, Putonghua, Shanghaihua and Spanish.
I can understand just about everyone except Cubans. I’ve never got a hold on their accent…
How about teaching spanish in chinese? (so I can selfishly benefit from it since I’m already a native spanish speaker
). That would be your niche!
bI’m not sure it’s a big mistake, I just don’t see the point. I don’t question whether it makes business sense, but it seems like a very different focus, different markets, competition etc., and so different models. I certainly have no interest in learning Spanish now or any time soon, and I do believe in making the one thing you’r doing well even better.
Not doing the newbie and elementary levels I don’t get much of Ken’s time and I’m more than happy with the whole ChinesePod crew, but when Ken says Jenny and I will continue with ChinesePod in exactly the same capacity I have some doubts. You may have unlimited supplies of adrenaline, you just can’t be all things to all people.
To take a recent example, I’m not sure this will help making m-learning a key part of […] ChinesePod
Yv
Please make a KoreanPod, GreekPod and a HawaiianPod. Aloha kakou! Oh and by the way tell Bazza that the Korean podcast he recommended hasn’t been updated for a very long time.
Yeah, I think that SpanishPod would be great. I have always wanted to be able to speak Spanish. I am a big languages freak so that explains things.
I have just one question. Will SpanishPod be in the same website format and lesson format as ChinesePod?
I really appreciate the great feedback here. At first the recordings will be done here in Shanghai, but we may then move it offshore.
Spanish is a very crowded and competitive field. It was for this type of reason that we actually launched the company with Mandarin - our model had never been done before, so we had to launch in a less crowded field. All along, however, we’ve felt that the approach had wider applicability. It all now comes down to management.
Btw, Cantonese speakers make up only about 5% of the total in China. I’d certainly like to learn some, but Mandarin has far wider use (depending on where you are, of course).
Ken Carroll
I would dearly love to see a GaeilgePod — had been thinking about taking a break from Chinese for a few months to do a course in Gaoth Dobhair, finances permitting. SpanishPod sounds great too: I used to have fairly decent Spanish in high school - Castellano, so I got laughed at whenever I tried to speak it with Mexican friends - but it’s now been squeezed out by Chinese, and I’d like to get some of it back.
If tghe Spanish program takes off, we’ll be in a very strong position to tackle the lesser studied languages, including Russian and perhaps Arabic. Gaelic might have to wait for a little while but it is a possibility.
Ken Carroll
Arabic would also be mighty cool, though the grammar would be a nightmare. (I’ve heard the same of Russian.) Googling Irish lessons online, there does seem to be something at Gaeltalk.net, though they’re not teaching the dialect that I want to learn.
Gotcha, Ken!
You argue:
“Cantonese speakers make up only about 5% of the total in China.”
So I could ask you what is the percentage of Spanish speakers in China, but I’m not learning languages to speak them in China.
I don’t live in China and will probably never go there, and if I did I wouldn’t learn Cantonese for that purpose, that’d be silly.
Chinese is the most spoken language after English in my country. I want to speak a community language, one I can hear up the road, one that has more speakers worldwide than the European languages we get given to choose from at school, one that my non-English-speaking neighbours speak. I’ve never found a Mandarin speaker who doesn’t speak Cantonese fluently, but many Cantonese speak no Mandarin or “schoolboy French” Mandarin, and no English. I’m sure Australia isn’t the only place like this.
The amount of study resources for Cantonese - books, audiovisuals, courses, anything - is so close to nil that it’s not worth counting. It’s an untapped market. Someone is going to be first to fill that market now that the Internet can be used in this way. ChinesePod would be the perfect place to do it, and you alone have the courage to do something so innovative, the pedagogical and business skill to make it work, and current loyal customers who want the product for themselves and their friends and families.
If someone else does Cantonese we’ll go over there when it’s offered (hey, other podcasts, listen up), and when you eventually pull your finger out, we’ll come back and study it here with you Ken. So you’d better add some intermediate levels to those plans for Cantonese that don’t exist yet
Until that happens, yeah I’ll be learning Spanish so that I can speak to the whopping ??% of Spanish speaking people in China if I ever go there instead of the measley 5% Cantonese speakers.
Oh yeah, I know, that’ll be about as useful as speaking Mandarin is in Gosford NSW, but it’s your own idea Ken.
When I learn a real language that I can use to converse with people I meet locally, it won’t be Spanish or Mandarin or Esperanto, but they’ll keep me quiet and busy until then.
PunjabiPod?
>> Cantonese speakers make up only about 5% of the total in China. I’d certainly like to learn some, but Mandarin has far wider use (depending on where you are, of course).
Ken Carrol
——————————————–
This isn’t a good reason why one should not learn or provide teaching materials for Cantonese. There is 100+ million speakers of Cantonese world wide. It is far wider spoken than Mandarin. Only less than 1% of Hong Kong’s population speaks Native Mandarin. The rest who bother to learn Mandarin still sound like they are speaking Cantonese.
If you take the population argument as a reason to study a language, then you might as well learn Hindi. There are much more Cantonese speakers than Italian, German speakers etc.
Brendon,
Thx for the heads up. In fact I take 2 approaches when I answer:
- If I have time I answer individuals, referring to their names and specifics, etc
or
- I offer generalized comments that try to cover the main points of the discussion, or the bits where I feel I hve somethign to contribute.
It’s all necessarily selective. It may be that I tend to respond more to the stalwarts. If so, I wasn’t actually aware of it - until now!
Ken Carroll
I think it’s a good idea that we can learn other langueges by means of this learning system. The problem is that which type of Spanish you will use in your new website
Auntie Sue said:
I’ve never found a Mandarin speaker who doesn’t speak Cantonese fluently,
You must move in very select circles then. I grew up in Darwin and all the Cantonese speakers there (and there were plenty) could not speak Mandarin at all. Also, if you go to many of the restaurants in Sydney’s China Town, you will find plenty of Cantonese speakers who can only speak Mandarin haltingly.
Indeed, my wife, who grew up in Hong Kong, but went to the ANU, has the ability to communicate in Mandarin, but her pronunciation is not good and she is far from fluent. The funniest thing I ever saw was when she and her cousin from Shanghai were reduced to writing things in Chinese in order to communicate.
However, I guess that was your point to some extent.
On the other hand, where I work (Sillycon valley) there are plenty of Chinese from China and Taiwan who do not know Cantonese at all. I would dare say, I have have yet to meet a Mandarin speaker who knows Cantonese fluently.
This isn’t a good reason why one should not learn or provide teaching materials for Cantonese. There is 100+ million speakers of Cantonese world wide. It is far wider spoken than Mandarin.
This is a good point. Those 100+ million speakers of Cantonese are a highly affluent and productive group of people, and, those that live outside of Guangdong or Hong Kong typically want their Children to learn Cantonese, and have money to burn.
Now, of course, the main market for Mandarin and Spanish is the English speaking market, and more specifically, the American market, as lots of people in the US have an interest in languages like Mandarin and Spanish, and I am sure ChinesePod has looked carefully at the business possibilities, but I know there are also plenty of people out there who thirst for on-line teaching resources in Cantonese.
Hi !
I’m a native “castellano” speaker, form Argentina. I agree with Antonio, in the sense that spanish, and castellano, and all the variants that are spokin in latin america have the same grammar rules, but they have different words or same words for different meanings, for example in Argentina, the word “zapatilla” means sportshoe, while in Uruguay they are called “championes”. And in Spain, this word is used for “slippers”…I think that you should teach spain spanish, and mention special meanings in other “castellanos” in specific examples. Good luck and I can help with anything else, please tell me. Adios !
Re: Cantonese and Chinesepod. Would it make sense to offer Cantonese lessons within the scope of the Chinesepod.com website (as opposed to creating a completely new website for Cantonese)? IOW — create a new “level” category that would be in addition to newbie, elem, int and gao-zhong. You’d have to branch out eventually and have newbie-Cantonese, elem-Cantonese, etc.
Just a thought.
Oh, how about Nepalese? I was a peace corps volunteer in Nepal way back in the day, and I’ve love a chance to refresh my forgotten language! You should totally market your product to the American Peace Corps. Of course, I was blessed with amazing language teachers, but after a 8 or 10 week immersion, you are kind of left out there on your own. iPods and the internet, (and electricity for that matter) were not available way back when , but they are now, and I believe Peace Corps Volunteers would hugely benefit from your services!
Good Luck. I’m inspired to learn Spanish now!
Far more relevant is the number of people that actually want to learn a language and how receptive the population is to newbies mangling their language.
I would suggest that those that want to speak Cantonese to people that live locally as foreigners in their country, learn a few words and try them out to gauge the reaction before they embark on learning it for that reason alone.
Spanish on paper, seems a good second language to learn and teach, I don’t think the market for Westerners living in Hong Kong etc. that actually want to learn Cantonese is going to compete with the potential Spanish market. Also are Cantonese speaking parents really going to rely on a podcast to come along before they start teaching their Children, a podcast that suited their needs is likely to be useless for Westerners starting from scratch.
One the other hand the market may support a Cantonese pod but this would seem to be business opportunity for one or two smart enterprising Cantonese speakers that can selfproduce, keep the overheads down to start, who are proud of their language and can make a go of it (maybe even a company like Chinesepod could provide them with a little support to see what happened). But it is not exactly surprising that Cpod have picked Spanish.
BTW the comment I made towards the top of this post was supposed to indicate that as far as I was concerned any flavour of Spanish would be good for me as I would expect that like Chinese I would learn more by finding out the differences by myself. But I think from what I have seen so far that many people will have strong views in support of one or the other ‘version’ of Spanish.
As long as this is still “Chinese” Pod I thought you wouldn’t mind too much if I threw in a humorous little side note about the Mandarin vs. Cantonese thing. I believe there is a saying in China to the effect that a Cantonese speaking Chinese speaking with a Mandarin speaking Chinese is like a chicken talking to a duck.
Trad: 雞同鴨講 jī tóng yā jiǎng
Simp: 鸡同鸭讲
Ken-
Great discussion
Can I ask again how pricing would work if a member wanted to add the Spanish pod? Or will they be completely distinct?
HEY! GREAT NEWS! I´M A SPANISH NATIVE SPEAKER AND OF COURSE I´D LIKE TO JOIN IN THE PROJECT! SOUNDS REALLY EXCITING AND THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LEARN SPANISH. I´D SAY THAT PEOPLE THINK SPANISH IS A VERY “HOT” LANGUAGE.IT´S VERY PASSIONATE! SO TELL ME KEN, WHAT SHOULD I DO TO JOIN THE TEAM????
Bob,
Trad: 雞同鴨講 jī tóng yā jiǎng
I have heard that too, from Cantonese speakers. I have heard it used in reference to other things as well, like men and women talking (about sex, say
gai1 tong4 aap6 gong2
Of course, there’s no need for all the people learning Chinese to go and learn Spanish (unless they want to).
I’d imagine the Spanish market is quite different to the Chinese market (with some overlap - like yours truly), so SpanishPod, or whatever it will be called will have quite a different community.
Speaking about the “different” spanish accents, it seems that as one moves away from, say Venezuela, to the north or south of Latin America, the accent becomes more “melodic”, so the challenge is to choose a native speaker that has a somewhat “neutral” tone. In addition, the accent of the spanish from Spain emphasizes the “ZZZ” sound -in comparison with Latin American Spanish (not that there is anything wrong with that), but it is something to consider to broaden the audience…
I’m mexican, but I have been working with people from many different Spanish-speaker countries, from Spain to Guatemala, and from Colombia to Chile, and even though there are many differences (in the most basic issues, such as the verbs related with “you”), I think the differences vanish a little when the language moves to a “higher” cultural or accademic level, and the problems appear as the conversation gets “normal” (the daily conversation, what you hear on the street, between friends), but there’s always a possibility to teach basic spanish (newbie or intermediate) without even reaching the problematic points.
Obviously, a neutral accent does not exist at all, maybe someone from Caracas, Colombia (but not from north Colombia, sorry!) could be a good “neutral accent”.
Ah!, why don’t we try to learn chinese (or spanish) with music, I would like some songs to be added to chinesepod…
guillermo (another 1)
How about having one host from an american country and another one from Spain?
guillermo (another 1),
I liked your comment very much. I live in Mexico but obviously I am not Mexican. I am a Chicagoan of Polish heritage who has been living and working in Central Mexico for the past eight years. I have found as you have stated that the higher you go socially, economically, and educationally the clearer the Spanish. Actually, I have learned about three variations of Mexican Spanish so far. There is the Spanish of the common laborer or farm worker, there is the Spanish of the middle class city dweller, and there is the Spanish of the upper class and the clergy. I am now more or less learning a fourth version called alburear, which is the art of the pun or double (even triple) meaning. I think if C-Pod follows the advice of you and the other Guillermo, Matias, Antonio, and well intentioned native Spanish speakers of similar interest and enthusiasm it could be done right. I just can’t wait to see how this comes together and I am hoping that it is a great success. Saludos a todos!
I am very excited about your Spanish program. Just make sure that you get hosts with Ken and Jenny’s charisma and chemistry, as that is the major draw for me to Chinesepod.
I think its a very good idea that you are looking for Latin American Spanish speakers since that is where most of the Spanish speakers are. And me being a New Yorker speak to Latin Americans every single day. Latin American Spanish is the unofficial second language of New York. I am not interested in learning the Spanish from Spain.
My dos centavos on the presenters issue. Yes, they should use a “standard” Spanish (not quite Real Academia stuff, but close) and have two presenters from paises diferentes to show the variation that you can have. (one from Madrid (Antonio?) y one from Caracas, both with tertiary education of some sort might be approaching ideal)
Intermediate learners can learn about things like “Voh soy Chileno tambien? Bien po!” or “Shamáme, Argentino!” as they might learn about Shanghainese or Cantonese accents (rather than dialects) in an Intermediate CPod lesson.
Advanced learners might learn some Catalan or Asturian (please, oh please) just in case.
Will,
“Voh soy Chileno tambien? Bien po!” or “Shamáme, Argentino!” ????
Now you’re scaring me!
I guess the only thing I know about Chilean is the weather report…”Chile today, hot tomali”
This is news my sister will definitely be interested in hearing, especially if the advanced/upper intermediate lessons aren’t too far off.
And yes, give us KoreanPod and CantonesePod! The resources for learning Korean out there are pretty meager.
Also, ever consider KhwePod? Khwe is one of the few surviving tongue click languages on the planet. For all its obscurity, difficulty, and comparative uselessness, I think it would be worth it to hear the non-Khwe speaking host (Ken?) burst into tears half-way through the first lesson.
Voh soy Chileno tambien? Bien po!
Eres Chileno tambien? Pues bien!
Shamáme, Argentino.
Llamame, Argentino
‘Voh soy’ comes from Vosotros sois. It’s *very* colloquial. I wouldn’t use it with anyone but a Chileno I know well unless it’s a joke.
‘Shamáme’ is from ‘Llamádme’, and is very Argentino. ‘Ll’ is ’sh’ for many Argentinos (but not all).
When I did my brief course many moons ago, we had teachers from all parts of Latin America and three different ones for my class. The textbook tapes we listened to were from Spain. We ended up speaking the way each teacher spoke during the time that he/she was present, but were not corrected for lapsing into other pronunciations. When directly quoting a line from the textbook, we tended to pronounce it Spanish style. After we were used to the equivalences, the teachers encouraged us to each choose a flavour of Spanish that we wanted to learn, and stick to it, noting which teacher was our model. Then we were pulled up if ever we were inconsistent, e.g. using two pronunciations of ll within a conversation.
Surprisingly this was not at all confusing, and we came out of that course being able to understand any kind of Spanish we encountered with equal ease. Student chats in the Spanish students common room sounded amazing, like a multinational party! And so did the real conversations that we heard if we went to a Spanish speaking community function.
The teachers never tried to change their own natural ways of pronouncing and using the language. In our little speaking tests we could have, say, an Argentinian teacher throwing lines back and forth with a “Chilean” student, including pronunciation and slang, and it never occurred to us that it was a strange way to learn, or that there was another way to approach the language.
Obviously, in the future spanishpod you must not commit mistakes such as mine in my previous reply when I have written Caracas instead of Bogotá, I hope I hadn’t offended anybody out there.
guillermo-2
Ooh, if you ever decide to do a KoreanPod you totally have to get me involved. I am a native Korean speaker living in New York City. I am currently working as an Attorney (licensed in New York State). I actually professionally taught language at Berlitz in Boston while I was a student at Boston University. I taught Korean and English.
Interestingly, there is someone who was podcasting under the name Koreanpod (I accidentally found him through the itunes Podcast directory) but it was just one guy apparently doing it in his spare time. I don’t think he had many episodes.
This is a great idea. I’m learning Mandarin through chinesepod.com but even though I know Spanish fairly well, having taken it in college and after living 8+ years in Puerto Rico I will download the advanced lessons to try to polish off my Spanish.
Don’t make a big deal out of different variations of Spanish. I can understand and communicate with people from all over South America and the Carribean as well Spain. There is a slight (to me) variation pronunciation in Spanish from Spain and the rest of the world. The variations could be handled in occasional lessons as you have done before with Chinese pod in the lesson on other Chinese variants.
Please keep up the good work with Chinesepod. One suggestion for the PDF files. Put the traditional characters right below the simplified ones. I am trying to learn both and I have to keep refering to the previous page to see the differences.
This is absolutely fantastic news. I’ve been trying to learn Spanish with the help of podcasts for a while now and have never had as much success as when learning mandarin with the help of Cpod.
When will it start? The sooner the better as far as I’m concerned,
we’re putting in a lot of the groundwork right now. I want to make this really work and of course I’ll be asking you for as much input as I possibly can.
Ken Carroll
Will there be a discount to subscribe to both?
Chris,
Yes, there will. As yet I don’t have the details, however.
Ken Carroll
Buena idea,
pues, het wachten is op een nederlandspod.com
joeri
Here at the Univ. of Texas, I sometimes repeat my Brazilian Portuguese podcasts with speakers from other regions. That is, our basic team is made up of one person from São Paulo (Michelle) and another from Bahia (Valdo). Given the topic, sometimes I repeat the same lesson with “invited guests” who redo the dialogs with us. I like the effect, it gives learners a change to hear both dialects side by side. Maybe you could do something similar with the Spanish lessons. Sure enough there are regional differences from one place to another, but that is part of the fun of learning Spanish.
Orlando,
Great suggetion. I’ll have a listen. As yuou may some on thes forums are very insistent about precisely which Mandarin accent they want to hear.
Could you tell us a little more about your thought in the Spanish context? Just how big are the differences in accents/dialects across Latin America? Are there any pitfals you think we shoudl avoid?
I appreciate the feedback and I hope we get he chance to collaborate.
Ken Carroll
As a learner of Mandarin and Spanish I think SpanishPod is a great idea. There is Spanish Word A Day which is my favorite web tool but it is not as comprehensive as ChinesePod.
Here in Australia we have plenty of people learning Mandarin for business reasons and Spanish for pleasure so you will have an avid audience here if we can get better broadband access…
I can’t wait for the new podcasts.
PS I also vote for NepaliPod - my father is Nepali but I never learnt…
Hi Ken, in my case I’m interested in being a “On Deman English” student too. Will you offer as well a discount subscription for all of us who will like to learn from ChinesePod and On Demand English?
Spanish - great.
I think Russian should/could be next.
Hi! I am from Argentina, so I speak Spanish, but I used to live in Brazil, so I also speak Portugues and I am learning chinese…
I have a problem and I don’t know why my machine does not support some of the chinese characters…for example, I can write words as “wo” or “ni” but I can’t write “ta”. Can you help me with that???
Xie Xie!
Zhu hao
Alejandra
Ah! Sorry!
About learning languages, it is easy to translate form one language to another, but is not taht easy to speak it, since each language has its own “heart”, I don’t know if you understand what I mean…specially for chinese language. In chinese you don’t translate the words, you understand the whole meaning…
OK Ken, how many enemies can I make here? As to my two cents about which dialect to teach, I relate it to American English. Midwest varieties are less “extreme” than heavy southern or eastern dialects. In some ways, the same is true for Spanish. Your first decision is Spain versus Latin America. In Spain you think of Madrid as your base form, and then work on dialectal differences from there. In Latin America, there is a standard division between coastal and highland dialects. Mexico City and Lima, Bogota for example, seem less extreme than Caribbean, Argentina, Chile, etc.
If you choose Spain as your starting point, you’ll have to deal with additional verb forms (vosotros tenéis) and the issue of how to pronounce words with the “th” sound (caza, civilización).
If you choose Latin America, “standard” Spanish, as if there existed such a thing, avoids extremes (no final “s” issues that are found in Caribbean, no “ll” issues that are found in Argentina, no intonation issues that are found in Mexico, no “vos” forms that are in Argentina and Central America.) (Wow, I can hear people screaming at their computer. Please note that I love all of these varieties, just like I love to hear Ken’s Englishl). Personally, I think that Peruvian Spanish, as in Lima, has a variety that comes close to the textbook idea of less extreme.
As to my advice, I would go with a “standard” Latin American style, and supplement it with additional podcasts that bring in the cool Spaniard, Argentine, and Mexican regional differences. I can easily see a Saturday Program or a WOS that focuses on regional varieties.
Orlando,
At first I thought along the same lines as you describe but my friend Antonio said that Spanish is Spanish. I thought about that for awhile and as far as accents are concerned I guess it wouldn’t be too hard to deal with. For example, it wouldn’t be too difficult to understand the Mexican “Como se llama” as opposed to the Argentine “Como se jama” even thought they are spelled the same way. The part that will be interesting for me is the different uses of the same vocabulary words among countries and also the idiomatic expressions based upon culture. In Mexico when someone dies and another asks about him they may be told, “Ya chupo faros”. “Faro” means light house or search light and there is a lighthouse featured on the package of the cheapest local brand of cigarettes here which are called Faros. They are made of very poor tobacco and to even make them at all palatable the paper covering is rice paper soaked in sugar. When someone says “Ya chupo faros” or “He already sucked faros” it is the American equivalent of saying, “He smoked his last Camel”. There are hundreds and hundreds of idiomatic expressions like this in regular use among the working class. I am sure that each Spanish speaking country has its own variety. In the end I think that learning to Speak Spanish is quite like learning to speak Chinese in that it is a lifelong process. I hope that the Spanish Pod turns out to be something that we can all enjoy and I think participation and encouragement by people like you will be big help. I am looking forward to the first lesson with great interest. Thanks for your very interesting comment.
Great feedback, Orlando. I’m glad to say that we’ve been contacted by some super people who want to get on board, including PhDs, teachers with years of experience, and even a TV voice-over artist from Mexico. I’ve heard much discussion on the topics you outlined. I’m sure we’ll come to an inbteresting conclusion.
Bob, these are terrific insights, too. The approach we take to Spanish will have to be wholly different from that on ChinesePod, for precisely the type of reasons you mention.
Ken Carroll
Hi,
I don’t think that Madrid’s accent can be an standard accent, they change some last consontants (such as “d”) and they sometimes pronounce the mid “s” as “sh”.
Some comments ago I have recommended Bogota’s accent as a possible american standard, in like manner, I think that Zaragoza’s accent could be a good standard from spain.
Although it is true that american Spanish does not have the “vosotros” version of the verbs, it seems to me that Spain has a poorer version of some past forms such as the subtle distinction between the simple and compound form, used in many countries in Latinamerica.
Thanks,
Guillermo-2
Congratulations, ChinesePod! SpanishPod will be especially welcome in my case because I have to brush up the language each year for my annual holiday in Catalunya.
Please don’t flame me for this, fellow ChinesePoddies, but isn’t there already a terrific Spanish resource in the form of the “Notes in Spanish (Intermediate)” podcasts? It’s featured as prominently in the iTunes Music Store as ChinesePod. I know that the ChinesePod format itself will bring value, but at least at the intermediate level — and content-wise –, it’ll be interesting to see how ChinesePod chooses to distinguish itself from “Notes in Spanish”.
If the unique strength of the ChinesePod concept is its ability to teach a language that is believed to be very difficult to learn, then my very dearest personal wish (which I’ve had for over a year) is for the team to do an ArabicPod.com.
Arabic is a very beautiful language that I am longing to learn. The conflicts in the M East are distressing to me, and I am regularly shocked by articles which highlight the shortage of proficient Arabic speakers in, say, the US State Department. In my country, Singapore, Arabic was only ever learned for religious or highly academic purposes. Now we have suddenly woken up the fact that we need to be able to understand Arabic speakers, and are scrambling to learn the language.
However, the resources out there are not very good. I currently own language courses for different kinds of Arabic but none of them seem to find a nice balance between religious vocabulary (culturally important, nevertheless), business language, and the kind of very direct language which is really only useful for a backpacker or a US Marine.
Another thing that makes me think that perhaps only the ChinesePod team could pull it off, is the fact that Arabic seems to be a language with many levels and dialects. Just like Chinese.
What’s more, sounding “educated” in Arabic also requires some knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic (the formal form). I know that John Pasden is a Japanese speaker, so he will understand the issues, eg., learning “keigo” grammar is not difficult, the real difficulty is learning WHEN to use it. This article explains this point much better than I can:
[url]http://www.slate.com/id/2063956[/url]
So sorry, everyone, for this long OT ramble! But I dearly wish to entice the ChinesePod team to take on Arabic, by explaining how much of a challenge that would be. Please?
Cheers,
Auntie
Thank you, Auntie, for trying to convince Ken and his team to do an Arabic Pod sometime in the future. I fully support this idea. I studied Arabic for one and a half years at the local University but then the courses were discontinued and there is no place to learn this beautiful language here nearby anymore. I really do not have that kind of self-motivation to continue all on my own and I fear I’ll forget so much as time goes by, therefore an Arabic Pod would be perfect. Though the discussion about which Arabic would be similar to that for Spanish and Chinese.
Of course I am also looking forward to the Spanish Pod, especially to intermediate and advanced lessons.
Ken, think about it. You started with an exotic language (at least it is to most Western people), now you will start with a very common language, the next one could be something exotic again, etc.
Elvira
I am really grateful for Elvira’s support for the idea of an Arabic.com. Given the (perceived) difficulty of learning Mandarin as a foreign language, my gut feeling is that people who are sufficiently motivated to study Mandarin (ie, the average ChinesePoddie) would take well to Arabic.
I really hope that the ChinesePod team can consider offering a handful of “newbie” Arabic lessons one day, on a trial basis. Just to get a feel of the level of interest.
Arabic seems to be one of those languages where “cultural sensitivity” goes so much further than mere vocabulary. For example, just two simple words — “Al-ham-dulilla” (Thank God!) and “Inshallah” (God Willing) — can say everything that needs to be said in so many situations. These two simple words are a bit like “mai bpenrai” in Thai. In the sense that they can help to lubricate just about any situation, even where your language skills fall short. If that is your Lesson One, it’s already the equivalent of many words in other languages!
To any Arabic speakers out there in the ChinesePoddie community: Please forgive me if you think my analysis is wrong!
Arabic seems to me to be a language where one can go surprisingly far with a relatively small amount of grammar (and the grammar IS difficult, I’ll tell you now). Provided the teaching does a good job of covering the “cultural dimension” of what is being taught.
Most Arabic-speakers I have met are incredibly gracious and accommodating towards foreigners who merely make the effort to try and say the most appropriate and polite words in Arabic for the situation, even if it’s simple. The size of one’s vocabulary does not seem to be as important as one’s grasp of “appropriate” language, meaning language which shows sincerity, and a degree of cultural sensitivity, education, and “general culture”.
Thank you for considering this viewpoint!
Best regards,
Auntie
Auntie,
We’ve discussed the notion of an ArabicPod and I think it would be a truly interesting thing to do. Right now, however, we’re not in a position to make that kind of decision. We first need to get an ‘insanely great’ team on board for the Spanish initiative and get that going. If people respond well to it, then I think there will be many choices open to us. Arabic is one possibility.
Ken Carroll
OK! I understand, I really do. Thanks for the speedy and honest response. Good luck with SpanishPod.com; there is no doubt whatsoever that you will be able to assemble an “insanely great” team for that.
Really, the ChinesePod team has raised the bar for everybody out there on the Internet concerning what an insanely great team can do…
Ciao,
Auntie
Hello from Canada!
I really like ChinesePod like everyone else, but wish to have a Cantonese version of it. I’m doing business with HK companies and would be great to speak (well… at least to be able to have a basic conversation) with them.
Thanks for all your great work!!
Julie in Canada
I would be very interested in Spanish PodCast.
As soon as you will have it ready let me know. I will join immediately.
Will you find a Spanish “Jenny” as good a teacher as she is?
Luca
Italy
Holy smokes that’s a lot of comments. Anyway, in light of the fact that I can’t read through them all forgive me if I am redundant in saying that I hope the elementary and more advanced sections of the new podcast will be up also. A separate section like the advanced section of chinese pod would be awesome, I think the whole idea is great though, surprisingly there aren’t many solid study spanish websites, this could be a real money maker!
i want to learn spanish
Well, Amber, you’ve come to the right place!
Ken Carroll
Is Coffee-Break-Spanish the spanish-pod of the chinese-pod team ?
kmk,
No, it isn’t. We have no relation to them.
CBS do a pretty good job in their podcasts, but we plan to do something more extensive - a full service learning iniative.
Ken Carroll
It’s a bit confusing because it really looks like chinesepod.
Have you got a name and a web-address for the website ?
You need to put quickly a link to something or poddies will search spanishpod by themselves and find the other website.
kmk,
The Spanishpod url is long gone, I’m afraid. We have to choose another name.
Ken