I see now that rocketspanish is now offering videos like you have, but they will never be as good as yours are. No one can ever come up to the excellent quality and calipher as what you and Luis have producded.

Gracias a todas

Glad we have come to an agreement about the transcripts.

When I talk with people on skype we allocate a specific time for each language. Usually 30 minutes. The site doesn’t matter as I only use it to find like minded students to practice with. We always go to skype to talk. It can be painful, especially if one persons ability isn’t quite there yet, but I have found my contacts to be very patient. I actually have the opposite problem. The people I talk with often drop back into Spanish because it is easier for them. I just say no entiendo espanol and let them continue working it out. As was mentioned in one of the videos it can be exhausting, so maybe 15 minutes would be better on each language if you or the other person is at a level where you have to do a lot of thinking.

I can share some of the members I talk with if you want to add me to your skype account. I am not sure what your level is, but I have one person in Colombia that speaks almost no English. That will take care of any reversions to English.

Thanks for the sites. I couldn’t remeber their names. I have a account with Livemocha, but not the other one. I find though, when I want to speak Spanish, it always gets turned around and I end up speaking English. Maybe the lenguajero will work for me.

About having a transcripts with the video, it may work for but not for me. I like it when I have to listen and listen for the vowels to jump out at me and then when Luis starts to have the rhythm of the phrase, like voy a…….
the words start to make sense. Like I said in one of my other emails, I have dictionnaries in every room of my house. I also go to sleep listening to spanish in my ear and I know some people can’t do that, as it would keep them awake. I want to saturate my head with spanish as much as I can. This is a dream for me to learn how to speak fluently and to be able to be understood.

This is just how I feel about learning this beautifiul language.

Thanks again for the sites

Cathrine

There are many ways to learn music, and they are all good if they get you to your goal. I am basically a play by ear player, but also read and have a very strong command of theory. Some musicians play only by ear, just as some of our Hispanic population here in Houston can only speak English, not write it or read it. Some read it very well and I am often asked to write out what I said because they don’t understand spoken English very well. This pertains to music also. My daughter sang in her college choir. I went to hear one of her performances and was stunned to hear the most amazing accompanist ever. She played piano, and the piece was so complicated I would have to spend a couple years to learn it. She just read it, just like that, sat down and whipped it out. She is the first call pianist for the Houston Symphony. Well, I was blown away and ran up after the concert and said, “Hey, we gotta play!” You know what? We couldn’t. She can only read, can’t play a note by ear. She was also kind of a purist. If you didn’t play classical music you couldn’t play. Well, she has achieved her goals and I have achieved mine. So, it is all good. The big difference is she can’t have a spontaneous conversation in music. No question and answer, no improvising, no reaching out with her own thoughts and ideas. She was a technical monster with tremendous ability, but has never written a song. By the way, I would kill for her technique and ability and have total admiration for her musical accomplishments.

So, my goal in Spanish is to have conversations, l want to learn about the culture, interact etc. Perfect grammar and total literacy are my ultimate goal. However, if I can’t understand the other person, I can’t communicate. So, for me, listening without crutches is very important. I need to “train my ears”. Listen to that difficult phrase over and over. That being said, I love the magazine because it is great to read the translation and pick out every word.

When I began learning music I would listen to a phrase or lick that I really liked. I would pick up the needle on the record player, yes I am kind of old , and replay that phrase until I could pull every note out of it and make it mine. I had books with transcriptions, but every time I used them the lick didn’t stick with me. I could play it right away, and suddenly it didn’t seem so cool and I would move on. I have found with Spanish that if I listen to a difficult phrase over and over, repeat it out load until I sound like the speaker, I have solidly learned it. That being said, I couldn’t have learned any Spanish without being able to read it. Necesito los dos.

http://www.lenguajero.com/

http://www.livemocha.com/