Coffee Break Spanish

Coming up in this lesson: Episode 25 of Show Time Spanish features the fifth instalment of our ‘telenovela’, Verano Español. At the end of the previous episode, Laura discovered that the boy who has been chatting her up on a daily basis in the panadería is none other than Ángel, her next-door neighbour. In episode 5 of the soap, Estela – Ángel’s sister – warns her about Ángel and his aventuras de verano, and Antonio plans his surprise arrival in Spain for Iona’s birthday, only to discover things are not quite what he expected! Please note that lesson 25 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 325 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your...

Coming up in this lesson: Following our recent musical episodes, listeners have been asking us for some suggestions of Spanish-language singers and groups. In episode 24 we’ve provided some suggestions, talking about Spanish groups Amaral and Ojos de Brujo, and we’ve also mentioned Colombian Juanes and the renowned Panamanian salsa performer Ruben Blades. Language points include more subjunctive talk, the use of al + infinitive, and in addition to introducing some phrases meaning “to keep up to date”, José sings! Please note that lesson 24 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 324 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The premium...

Coming up in this lesson: This week Mark and Alba bring you a special musical episode: combining the Eurovision Song Contest with a performance from Mark of Tango by Spanish composer Albéniz. In the intermedio, José introduces the idea of ’embarrassment’ – vergüenza – and gives listeners some examples of how to use this concept in interesting expressions. Language points covered include llevar + time in the negative to talk about what you haven’t done for a while, the imperative in the vosotros form, and what happens when the imperative is combined with object and reflexive pronouns. Please note that lesson 23 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 323 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional...

Coming up in this lesson: In this week’s lesson, Mark and Alba talk about music. Their discussion includes talk of playing musical instruments and how listening to music is changing because of technology. In the intermedio, José provides a couple of interesting phrases which can be used to say that you find something difficult. Language points covered include comparitives such as tan … como and tanto … como, avoiding the subjunctive and a particular use of verbs which differs from English, based on the phrase from the conversation, espero que no seas tú. Please note that lesson 22 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 322 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move...

Coming up in this lesson: In this first episode of Season 2, Mark and Alba chat about what they were doing during the vacaciones de Semana Santa. Both Mark and Alba have been travelling, and Mark has some buenas noticias. In the intermedio José provides us with some interesting phrases to talk about things in the past, and language points covered include the combination of indirect and direct object pronouns when combined with an imperative, when to use sólo and when to use solo, and the tricky verb cundir.  Please note that lesson 21 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 321 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your...

Coming up in this lesson: Episode 20 features the fourth installment of our ‘telenovela’, Verano Español. Find out the latest about the life of Laura and her mother as they spend the summer in Spain en la casa de tía Julia. Will Laura find out a little more about the mystery customer in the panadería? Please note that lesson 20 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 320 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The premium version includes the following elements: Full transcript: a complete transcript of all the Spanish used in the episodes; Explanations and examples: detailed...

Coming up in this lesson: In this week’s episode, Mark and Alba discuss some useful techniques for learning languages and share their ideas and advice with listeners. In the intermedio Alba talks about the northern Spanish city of Bilbao, and José introduces a construction which involves lo + adjective. Grammar points covered include the construction siempre que and the use of the subjunctive after para que.  Please note that lesson 19 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 319 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The premium version includes the following elements: Full transcript: a...

Coming up in this lesson: In episode 18 of Show Time Spanish, Mark and Alba talk about the advantages and disadvantages of buying things online, and share their experiences both positive and negative. In this week’s intermedio, Alba presents the city of Granada in the south of Spain, and José talks about ways to describe someone whose head is always in the clouds. Grammar points covered include the personal a, present subjunctive, double negatives, and the expression dar ganas a alguien. Please note that lesson 18 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 318 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The premium version includes...

Coming up in this lesson: This episode is dedicated to all fans of the imperfect subjunctive… and to those of you who are terrified of it! After listening to Mark and Alba’s discussion about all things hypothetical, you’ll be 100% confident in using the Spanish imperfect subjunctive. In addition, Alba talks about her favourite parts of Madrid, and José introduces some ways to express surprise in the intermedio. Please note that lesson 17 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 317 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The premium version includes the following elements: Full transcript: a complete transcript...

Coming up in this lesson: Episode 16 features a conversation between Alba and Mark about what they’ve been doing since they last saw each other. Grammar points covered include possessive pronouns, and uses of the subjunctive. This week’s intermedio features a presentation of Barcelona from Alba, and José looks at some more interesting ways of talking about going out for a drink or for something to eat. Please note that lesson 16 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 316 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The premium version includes the following elements: Full transcript: a complete transcript of all the...

Coming up in this lesson: Episode 15 features the third installment of our ‘telenovela’, Verano Español. Find out the latest about the life of Laura and her mother as they spend the summer in Spain en la casa de tía Julia. How will Laura cope on her first day in her new job at the panadería?  Please note that lesson 15 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 315 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The premium version includes the following elements: Full transcript: a complete transcript of all the Spanish used in the episodes; Explanations and examples: detailed explanations of...

Coming up in this lesson: In episode 14, Mark and Alba are joined by David, el novio de Alba. Topics discussed include Galicia, the region of Spain where David is from, St Valentine’s day, romantic Spanish and the imperfect subjunctive. In this week’s intermedio, Alba talks about the film Diarios de Motocicleta, and José introduces some different ways to express disbelief. Please note that lesson 14 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 314 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The premium version includes the following...

Coming up in this lesson: In episode 13, Mark and Alba discuss social networks including Facebook and Twitter and their value for language-learning. In addition, in this week’s intermedio, José discusses effective ways to say you’ve had enough of something, and Alba talks about the film Habana Blues. Grammar points discussed inlude subjunctive after el hecho de que, preferir que and the imperative in the vosotros form. Please note that lesson 13 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 313 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Spanish studies. The...

Coming up in this lesson: In episode 12, Mark and Alba get all poetic as they celebrate the 250th anniversary of el poeta nacional de Escocia, Robert Burns. Alba learns some Scots and in return she teaches Mark a poem by Spanish poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. The intermedio includes a review of the film Secretos del Corazón, and José introduces some interesting ways to convey the concept of “to fancy doing something”. Language points covered include how to translate “to realise” and the construction estar a punto de + infinitive, meaning “to be about to do something”. Please note that lesson 12 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 312 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version...

Coming up in this lesson: In episode 11, the first episode of 2009, Mark and Alba talk about the holidays and about their New Year’s Resolutions. Alba presents a review of the film La Lengua de las Mariposas in the intermedio, and José’s topic of the week is paying compliments to people. Grammar points covered include the use of sí que for emphasis, and talking about how long you did things for in the past using both durante and a more simple preterite tense. Please note that lesson 11 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 311 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners. Accessing the Premium Version The premium version of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3 provides additional materials which will help you move forward more...