1.3: Language + Cultural Notes

In this episode we're going to go over some basic language and cultural notes for the Spanish language. When you're learning another language, one of the most important things to understand is that it's not just about learning the words and vocabulary. I know this from personal experience when I was learning Spanish — it's about learning about the culture. There are certain things that make sense to English speakers that aren't done in the same way when you're speaking Spanish. An anecdotal story for me is that when I was first learning Spanish in Mexico, I would attempt to tell jokes. Even when I knew the words for the jokes, the jokes made absolutely no sense to the Mexicans. While I thought I was being hilarious, I was usually greeted with crickets. Sadly, this hasn't improved that much 10 years down the road, but I'm still working on it. But that's why it's so important to listen to the sections and understand what we say. because that will make this unit and all future units in the Live Lingua Spanish Podcasts make sense. After listening to the episode, click here for practice exercises. Don't forget to subscribe here, rate 5 stars, and leave a review!