LKL’s Blog

So many people tell me that they want to learn Spanish but that they don’t have time, or they’re too old, or there’s just too much to learn… everyone has an excuse. The trick is to start small - begin with the basics and then go from there. Here are some lessons (with sound files) to get you started.
Spanish alphabet
Spanish greetings
Spanish numbers

If you’re ready to get more serious, then my checklist of lessons is for you: Learn Spanish

Here are some links to help you celebrate with your beloved.

French love language
French terms of endearment
Spanish love language
Vegetarian aphrodisiacs

I hope you and your families are happy, safe, and warm this holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

Vegetarian Christmas Menu
Christmas in France
French Christmas Vocabulary
Spanish Christmas Vocabulary

Check out my Spanish verb conjugator, with 1,200 Spanish verbs conjugated into all the simple tenses: Spanish verb conjugator

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American celebration, but you still might want to talk about it in French or Spanish. Here’s some vocabulary related to American Thanksgiving:

French Thanksgiving Vocabulary
Spanish Thanksgiving Vocabulary

From one of my faithful blog readers: I would like you to share with us how you started learning Spanish (I have read your Spanish vs French page), how much time it took you to master the language, why you chose Spanish and not Italian, etc.

I’d been studying French in high school for two years and loved it, so I decided it would be fun to learn another language. The only languages offered at my school were French and Spanish, so that made that decision easy. As for how long it took me to master it, quite frankly I haven’t. I studied Spanish for two years in high school and maybe 2 in college, and I did some Spanish translation/interpretation classes at MIIS. My level is about intermediate - I know a lot of grammar, and can often correct my husband* but when I speak my tongue gets very tied and usually wants French to come out instead. I can understand a lot more than I can say.

*He speaks Spanish fluently thanks to having worked and lived with Mexicans for more than 10 years, but he never really studied it, so does not ever know why he says anything a particular way.

I became fascinated by Costa Rica many years ago - I don’t know exactly when, but long before my first visit. There were essentially two things that made me want to see it for myself. The first is that Costa Rica has no army, and the second is that it has a lot of rainforests. I don’t know which I learned first, but the two together equalled a strong desire to see it for myself.

Then when I finally did go, for two weeks at the end of December 1998/beginning of January 1999, I fell in love. We visited both coasts, went white water rafting through the rainforest (one of most amazing things I’ve ever done), hiked in the cloud forest, took an aerial tram over the rainforest, and just generally had a blast. The people we met were nice and the beaches are gorgeous.

There were a few hiccups. The Spanish is different than anything I’d ever heard before - a lot of the vowels get swallowed, making it harder to understand (though I’m sure I’ll get used to it before long). The capital, San José, isn’t really anything to write home about. And we learned that the best way to travel in the country is with the domestic airlines, rather than the buses, at least in the western half of the country. We once got on a bus that for some reason we thought would take a couple of hours, but turned out to take nearly 12, due to horribly potholed roads and numerous stops.

When we went again in 2005, we concentrated on what we’d liked the most: rafting and the beach. It was, again, phenomenal.

My new Spanish books for kids are out:

• The Everything Kids’ Learning Spanish Book
• The Everything Kids’ First Spanish Puzzle and Activity Book

They’re both aimed at ages 6-9 and can be used separately or together, though they really are a set. If you’d like to buy an autographed copy, please click here: Everything Kids’ Spanish books

According to a Mexican friend of mine, murciélago (bat) is the only Spanish word with all five vowels.

In English, we have facetiously, which has all 5½ vowels (y is the half) in alphabetical order. I also like the words vacuum and aardvark for the unusual double vowels.

The coolest may be the French word jouaient (third person plural imperfect of jouer - to play), which has all five vowels in a row! And créée (the feminine past participle of créer - to create) with its triple E.

Any other vowel-laden words?

The Spanish language has contributed numerous terms to English. Spanish is a Latin language, so some of these terms come ultimately from Latin, while others are from various Native American or African languages: Spanish in English