Do you dread having conversations in Spanish? You’re hardly alone. Even those who have been learning Spanish for a long time still feel a wave of panic each time they have to speak to someone in Spanish--especially if that person is a native speaker.
Imagine trying to understand exactly what the person is saying, then having to respond to it by connecting your words into the right reply, stringing those words in the proper sequence, and then verbalizing them out loud with the correct pronunciation. Ahhh, what a hair-raising ordeal it can be.
But conversations can never be avoided, and sooner or later you will have to conquer those fears and eventually start talking to somebody in Spanish. When that happens, you don’t need to go through the stomach-churning scenario described above. You simply need to practice, practice, and then practice some more.
Easier said than done, right? Practicing your conversation skills in Spanish can be tough if you don’t have access to Spanish-speaking conversation partners or if you are not in a Spanish-speaking country. And even when you’re in a Spanish-speaking country, you still need prior practice before going out and interacting with the locals.
No need to worry though. With the right learning materials that cater for what a learner truly needs, you will be able to master Spanish conversations, too!
In order to boost your fluency in speaking Spanish, you need listening practice. Lots of listening practice. You need to train your ears to listen to actual authentic Spanish as it’s spoken nowadays. You need to be very well-versed with Spanish pronunciation and intonation. You can achieve that by listening to Spanish dialogues.
« Spanish Conversations » contains more than 100 practical Spanish dialogues between two speakers---a male and female native Spanish speaker. You can follow the dialogues in the course while listening to the audio, then you can challenge yourself later by simply listening to the audio without reading the dialogue.
The conversations are about realistic daily interactions and day-to-day events that you could use to model your conversations. You can find themes such as asking for a favor, having drinks in a bar, introducing someone, buying a train ticket, going to the airport, talking about art, transacting at the bank, going on a first date, a job interview, and so many more additional useful scenarios.
More than just listening practice, through constant listening and repeating the Spanish conversations, you will also be able to pick up the correct pronunciation and enhance your speaking skills to a level that will make you confident enough to practice with a conversation partner.
One of the ways you could improve your conversational skills in Spanish is by expanding your vocabulary. Here in this book, you’ll find thousands of Spanish words and phrases that you can readily use in your day-to-day conversations. Since the dialogues are sorted by theme, you will be able to learn the vocabulary by topic, plus, with the audio accompaniment, you can compare how the words appear versus how they sound.
The dialogues are also written in parallel text format with their English translation, so on your first reading of the conversation, you will be able to understand it immediately. Once you are feeling more confident about your listening skills, you can challenge yourself by listening to the conversations without the book in front of you.
If you are currently living in (or planning to move to) a Spanish-speaking country, this book can also be of great help to you. Spanning a wide range of day-to-day topics and scenarios, you can practice the conversations at home before you go out to interact with the locals.
To become a fluent Spanish conversationalist, not only should you arm yourself with a wide vocabulary and correct grammar, but you also need to be able to hold interesting discussions about a variety of topics. This book will expose you to different flows of dialogue that you can use as a model in your real-life conversations--with topics ranging from art, movie recommendations, fashion, cooking, TV programs, football, and even what to say on your first date.
With practice and persistence, you too can be an amazing conversationalist in Spanish. This book and its audio accompaniment will ensure you reach that goal.
Best of luck to you.
Frederic Bibard