Other verbs you'd like to know?

For class on January 9th, please look over the list of verbs in Lesson 11. Choose 6-10 that would be most useful to you, and focus on those in your pre-class studying. Also, think about what verbs that would be helpful in your specific role at KDL - what verbs do you find yourself saying all the time in English while at work? If any of those verbs are not on the lists in Lesson 11, please hit comment and list them here. I'll respond with how to say it in Spanish, and we'll discuss it in class on the 9th to see if those verbs would be helpful to anyone else as well!

More Family Words - Más palabras de la familia

When we were looking at the Family vocabulary, we noticed that a lot of family members were missing. This is because the list was already really long, and there was a TON of vocab to learn in that lesson. However, some of you may be curious about how to say some other family members. So here's a list - probably not complete by any means, but a good reference for you. If you are curous about others that are not listed below or on our vocabulary list, or you know of others that I left out, please post a comment. :-)

parientes - relatives
abuelo - grandfather
abuela - grandmother
nieto - grandson
nieta - granddaughter
tío - uncle
tía - aunt
sobrino - nephew
sobrina - niece
primo - male cousin
prima - female cousin
suegro - father-in-law
suegra - mother-in-law
cuñado - brother-in-law
cuñada - sister-in-law
padrastro - stepfather
madrastra - stepmother
hermanastro - stepbrother
hermanastra - stepsister
hijastro - stepson
hijastra - stepdaughter
bisabuelo - great-grandfather
bisabuela - great-grandmother
bisnieto - great-grandson
bisnieta - great-granddaughter
padrino - godfather
madrina - godmother
ahijado - godson
ahijada - goddaughter

Some of my favorite Spanish-language movies!

One way to practice listening to Spanish (and understanding what you're listening to - eventually :-P) is to watch and listen to Spanish-language media.

You could find a Spanish-language television station to watch. These opportunities depend on your cable plan. I personally get very basic cable and haven't been able to find any channels in Spanish. But when I used to use just the antennae without cable, I somehow picked up on a station broadcasting from Mexico... weird, I know...

You could listen to Spanish-language music! I know off the top of my head that artists like Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Luis Miguel, Gloria Estefan, and others have songs in Spanish along with the songs in English on their CD's. I'm sure you can find plenty of these artists in our catalogue. It's also helpful to read the words as you're listening to them. If you google a song title, you will most likely be able to find the lyrics fairly easily. Or you could try sites like this one which provide the lyrics to many Spanish-language songs all in one place.

And finally, Spanish-language movies! Look through our LakeNet catalog for more, or check out the "International Film" areas of movie rental places. If they don't have an "International" section, you might check the "Independent Films" section, or just ask where they might be located. Keep in mind that in most Spanish-speaking cultures (I know this was definitely true when I lived in Spain), movies are often much more sexually explicit than they are here. Many hispanic cultures, as well as most of Europe, have the opposite viewpoint of American media - that violence is inappropriate to show in movies, while sex is beautiful and celebrated.

So here are a few of my favorites:

Spanglish starring Paz Vega, Téa Leoni, and Adam Sandler. Flor (Vega) is hired as the maid in the Clasky family, and cultural differences (including language barriers) cause all sorts of emotional action! A good one to start with, as most of the movie is actually in English. However, there's plenty of Spanish for you to listen to! Also an interesting fact: Paz Vega is super famous in Spain, but this was her first movie in America. She actually learned English while filming this movie - as the character is learning English, so is the actress!

Volver starring Penelope Cruz and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Raimunda, her sister Sole, and her daughter Paula cover up all sorts of secrets until the ghost of Raimunda & Sole's mother returns.

Mar Adentro/The Sea Inside starring Javier Bardem and directed by Alejandro Amenábar (also super famous in Spain). An absolutely beautiful film with some of the most gorgeous cinematography I've ever seen. Based on the true story of Ramón Sampedro, a quadriplegic who wanted to end his life on his own terms and die with what remained of his dignity - but who also gave much to the world through his writing and his relationships. Watch this one with a box of kleenex handy!

There are many more, but these three are my top favorites.

What are your favorite Spanish-language TV shows/channels, music, and/or movies? Please comment with any other suggestions!! :-D

Helpful multi-lingual resources from Secretary of State

Most of you probably saw the e-mail that just went around about Spanish-language resources for a patron taking his driving test. The Secretary of State website actually has information about obtaining both driver licenses and state ID's in Spanish (and some ID information is also available in Arabic!). If you visit the Driver License and State ID part of the SOS website, there will be links to various resources along the right side of the site. These are free to print off, or you can direct patrons right to the website if they are comfortable with computers.

Here are a couple of direct links to some useful information in Spanish:

Michigan ID requirements - what documents are necessary to obtain a state ID.

What Every Driver Must Know - information brochure about driving laws to study before taking the driving test.

Spanish Word of the Day

Patrice just passed along another wonderful resource! You can have a Spanish word e-mailed to you everyday!
Visit this website and enter your e-mail where it says "Subscribe to our Popular Word of the Day E-mail" and click the "Subscribe" button. Then you should receive a new word daily!
Enjoy!

Translation resources

When you're coming up with all those things you want to know how to say, here are some resources you can check out:

Babel Fish: An online translator. Just type in what you want translated, and then select from the scroll-down box what language you want it translated from and to. (Please keep in mind that this won't be a perfectly accurate translation. Instant, computer-run translators merely translate word-for-word and, as we've already begun to learn, word orders usually change between languages. However, this site seems to do a better job than most at using the correct word order.)

Yahoo Dictionary: If you just want to translate a specific word, try this site. It does a really good job of giving you a variety of meanings so you can pick the best word for the specific context you're looking for.

Keep checking back - I may as more as I find wonderful resources! Enjoy!

What would you like to learn?

In our second class (Wed, Nov. 7), I mentioned that I'd like you to post on this blog with any words or phrases that you think would be especially useful to your specific position! Then I can respond (or we can discuss in class, if there's time), with how to say that word or phrase in Spanish!

For example, someone in our class today discussed children running wild at her branch and wanted to know how to ask "Where is your mother?." In Spanish, you would ask: "¿Dónde está tu madre?" (Please note: we will always be learning "usted" as you and "su" as your in our class, because it's the form that demonstrates respect. With young children, however, it is appropriate to use the informal "tu").

What would you like to know how to say?!

You've found it! The KDL Spanish Class Blog!

¡Bienvenidos! Welcome!

Here it is, our Spanish Class blog! Check back here as often as you'd like for practice ideas, fun stuff, and more!

Sometimes, during class, I'll give you activities to do on your own, and then I'll post the answers here for you to check your work. Sometimes, the activity I give you will actually be posting something to this blog. While I'm not super knowledgable yet about blogging, I think the easiest way for you to post here is to respond with a comment. We'll explore the best ways to utilize this blog together as we go along.

And remember, the only way you'll get any better at speaking and understanding Spanish is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

So happy practicing, and happy blogging!