Free Spanish Courses

Guest post by Mister Drunkems

Do you love penguins? What about Chilean Penguins? There are some there, you know! Me too! No, I haven’t lost my mind…my girlfriend just got ‘Happy Feet’, a movie about, you guessed it, penguins! Penguins are all the rage these days. What’s not to love about them? Fuzzy and cuddly. Sure, they regurgitate fish but other than there’s nothing gross about them. So where am I going with this? Well, you can learn Spanish and watch movies at the same time. How? By choosing the Spanish language option on the DVD. Especially if you’re familiar with the movie, this can be a great way to add to your Spanish vocabulary. So, the next time you feel like learning some Spanish, why not watch a movie?

Another way to learn Spanish, believe it or not, is to play soccer! Not only is a good way to work off the holiday cheer and get you fit, but you might well make some new friends who speak Spanish. It’s not just a stereotype — soccer really is a very popular sport in Spanish speaking countries. The rules of soccer are very basic, so don’t worry about having a lot to learn. Basically there are two goals, and the object is to put the ball into the opponent’s goal. You may use any part of your body to do this, most notably your feet and head. The use of hands is strictly prohibited of course, unless you are the goalie. The goalie is placed in front of the goal and can use any means to keep the ball from going into the net. So get off the internet and go play!

Valencia were confirmed to have verbally agreed an €18million fee with Boca Juniors for Banega on Sunday, but doubt was cast over the move when it emerged that Real Madrid hold first refusal on the young midfielder, as part of the deal that took Fernando Gago to the Bernabéu.

However, Banega himself seems unperturbed by this development and is keen to move to Ronald Koeman’s side as soon as possible.

“It would be a great opportunity and a challenge,” Banega told Radio Punto.

“Valencia are a great team that I like. So far I am happy at Boca, but if something plausible for me and the club arrives, then I shall go.”

He also spoke of the previous interest of Atletico Madrid in securing his signature.

“I want to play in a great team over there [Spain]. Atletico Madrid were interested in the beginning, and I like them but did not feel compelled to move. Soon Valencia appeared, and the sound of that interests me just a little bit more.”

Banega was unaware of the current stage of negotiations between Boca, Valencia and Real Madrid, stating that his agent was dealing with this. He did say that he hopes there is progress over the next few days, as he is keen to sort out his future as soon as possible.

“Hopefully I will soon be in Spain, but so far I do not wish to confirm things that are not complete.”

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=531686

This is a great article from Gerald Erichsen about not trusting every company that offers Spanish Lessons for a price. Some of the more well known ones like Rosetta Stone and Spanish for Mastery are fine, but don’t feel like you have to spend money. If you do decide to buy a program, ask around and check out the reviews on sites like Amazon to make sure you’re getting a good one.

Tuesday January 1, 2008

Your mistakes aren’t so bad by Gerald Erichsen

One of the most popular blog posts I had here during the past year was one in which readers were invited to share their most embarrassing moments while learning Spanish. But even the worst mistakes the readers of this site have made aren’t as bad as one made by a certain language instructional company based in Siusun City, Calif. (Because I’ve read the company’s Better Business Bureau report, I’m not going to provide a link to the company and give it free publicity.)One would think that a company that specializes in teaching people Spanish (and other languages) would have someone on staff who speaks the language. But apparently not: Read the rest of this entry »

This might be a bit advanced for some of you, but another fun way to learn Spanish is through the use of puzzles and games to get you thinking in Spanish. They say the sign of true fluency is when one can thing in another language. They also say if you dream in another language, that’s a good sign too. But back to the issue at hand, here are some crossword puzzles via the BBC website. The BBC site is a great resource for learning Spanish. Check it out at:

BBC Spanish Crossword

LONDON, Dec. 31, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) — Pliva DD said it has divested its Spanish commercial operations to Biomedica Foscama Industria Chimico-Farmaceutica SpA, in line with its intention to streamline European operations and to focus on specific key markets.

Financial details were not disclosed.

As part of the agreement, Biomedica will acquire Pliva’ three Spanish units — PLIVA Pharma Iberia SA, Laboratorios Edigen SA and Uso Racional SL — as well as the right to use the trademark ‘PLIVA’ in Spain for a transitional period of up to 18 months.

Pliva, the European generic pharmaceutical unit of Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSE:BRL) , said the transaction will have a positive impact, and successfully completes the divestment process of its non-core operations.

On Oct 1, Pliva had announced that it had sold its Italian commercial operations to Biomedica describing this as the first step in divesting non-core operations.

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

If you are interested in learning Spanish, the best way to do it to practice speaking it. Depending on where you live, this could be difficult. So, what can you do? Well, a lot of things actually. Take a cooking class that specializes in Spanish food, or Mexican food, or any kind of food that comes from a Spanish speaking country. Conversely, look into local classes through community education, continuing education, adult education, or community college courses. Almost all of them offer free or low cost introductory Spanish classes. Another idea once you make a little bit of progress is to join a Spanish book club. While you will still have to do some work on you own, you will find the experience of practicing with friends invaluable.

There are millions of Spanish speakers all over the globe. It’s important to learn Spanish in most basic terms to communicate with them. Without the common language, how will you be able to interact with the foreigners? And even though we all live in different parts of the world, we really aren’t that different at all are we? So it’s important to remember that when we all come together to share our lives. Spanish is a language of romance, of joy, of passion, of LIFE. Journey along with us as we go explore the wonder that is the Spanish language.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Santander >, which owns British building society Abbey National, was in talks to buy another UK mortgage lender until the price derailed talks, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing people close to the bank.

The euro zone’s biggest bank, Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) also turned down the assets of Britain’s Northern Rock, which ran into trouble with the credit crunch, the newspaper reported after an interview with Santander Chairman Emilio Botin.

Botin told the newspaper Santander wants to grow in size in the UK and United States and is looking for buying opportunities during current turmoil in financial markets,

“We are very close to our ideal size now,” Botin told the Financial Times.

Santander wants to be a big player in a few key countries, Botin said. “We want to be in important countries with sizeable stakes and always in retail banking,” he said.

The group has ruled out any significant acquisition in Asia.

In the absence of an acquistion in the UK, Santander plans to begin expanding its branch network in 2009 after the integration of its IT platform is completed, the FT reported.

In the United States, Santander has an option to make an offer in 2008 for 100 percent of Sovereign Bancorp (SOV.N: Quote, Profile, Research), a small lender in which it currently holds a 24.9 percent stake.

Botin gave no indication whether Santander was planning to exercise the option.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Rory Channing)

A group of Borehamwood teenagers claimed they were assaulted and robbed by Spanish police when holidaying in Majorca.

Police armed with guns and batons forced their way into a hotel room in Magaluf and stole £2,000 in cash and jewelery, according to the teens.