Description of Published Audio

[Joseph]

Description of Published Audio

We are currently in the process of developing a comprehensive SpanishPod101 User Guide, which will be able to help you all get your questions answered in a fast and easy way. I thought I would give you a sneak peak, while at the same time help you to understand a little better what each audio track published at Spod101 actually consists of. Here's the breakdown. All comments/suggestions/critiques are very welcome:

Entire Lesson Audio

This refers to the "main audio" podcast, published on our Public RSS Reed, and is available to members with a Free, Basic or Premium subscription. This is the episode, hosted by at least one Native Spanish speaker, which, to put plainly, contains a lesson conversation, which the hosts proceed to examine in terms of its vocabulary, grammar and cultural context. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Dialogue

We use this term synonymously with "Lesson Conversation". It refers to the conversation which our hosts examine in the Entire Lesson Audio. They are like little skits, in which our voice actors recreate common and practical situations. We welcome suggestions for Lesson Conversation topics in this thread of our Forum. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Dialogue – Bilingual

In each Entire Lesson Audio track, you will hear the Dialogue at normal speed. Then you will hear it again slower. After that you will hear the "Dialogue – Bilingual" track. This track is a line by line transcript and translation of the Lesson Conversation. We began releasing this in Season 2 Series. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Vocabulary

In each Entire Lesson Audio track, after the complete lesson conversation section, then comes the Vocabulary. Here, we break down the lesson vocabulary list syllable by syllable and offer the word class as well as the English translation. We began releasing this in Season 2 Series. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Review

This Premium Audio track is an exercise in real time translation. In each Review Track, our hosts will give you a word in English, give you three seconds to pronounce it in Spanish, and then they'll give it in Spanish a couple of times to help you memorize it. Then, after going through 5-10 words or phrases, they'll switch it up, now giving you the Spanish word first, three seconds to translate it to English, then the English word and finally the Spanish word one more time. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Tarea

The word "tarea" means "homework" in Spanish. This Premium Audio track tests you on the content covered in the grammar section of each Entire Lesson Audio. In each lesson, after the grammar has been taught, the hosts give our listeners an assignment. In the "Tarea" track, this assignment is reiterated, and then answers and comments on the answers are provided. We started implementing this Premium Audio Track in Season 2 Series. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Paradigms

This is a Premium Audio Track, which we generally publish with lessons from the Verb Conjugation Series. A "paradigm" is just a simple way of organizing verb forms so that they are easy to understand and remember. Paradigm tracks typically contain the conjugation of three verbs in one tense. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Dialogue – Iberian

This Regional Spanish Conversation is based off of the "Dialogue" or "Lesson Conversation". It only ever occurs in lesson from the Regional Spanish Series. It forms part of the Entire Lesson Audio and is also available on its own as a Premium Audio Track. The "Dialogue – Iberian" takes the standard Spanish conversation from a given Core Curriculum Lesson and adapts it to an Iberian context and the language that is spoken there. Given that there are several regional forms of speech within Spain itself, many of these adaptations select one in particular and explain the particularities. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Dialogue – Peruvian

Like the "Dialogue – Iberian", the "Dialogue – Peruvian" is based off of the Lesson Conversation from a given Core Curriculum Lesson. It emphasizes the Peruvian speech as a typical form of South America. However, within Perú, there are many differences as well, and the indigenous language, Quechua, sometimes appears and is contextualized in the lesson. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Dialogue – Costa Rican

Again, like the last two tracks, the "Dialogue – Costa Rican" track is an adaptation of the Lesson Conversation from a given Core Curriculum Lesson. It takes the standard conversation and shows us how it would take place in Costa Rica and what kind of Spanish would be used. It serves as a typical case of Central American Spanish, and helps us understand more clearly the distinction between regional forms of Spanish. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Quiz

This Premium Audio Track is typically offered in Verb Conjugation Lessons. It provides the student with a group of questions, based off of the grammar content (usually that of verbs), which was taught in the Main Audio File of a given lesson. You can find textual accompaniments for this track in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.

Bonus

Every once in a while, there comes a moment in one of our recording sessions when the hosts improvise a bit that we feel merits its own track. For example, on a couple of occasions, one of our hostesses, while trying to explain the the importance of the rhythm of Spanish, began to sing a song that she felt was demonstrative of the metrical rules applied to Spanish. Such tracks are made available to Premium Members and textual accompaniments can be located in the Lyrics section of the file in iTunes.