Too many audio blog?

[watermen]

Why the lessons nowadays are all audio blogs?

[Joseph]

Watermen,

Thanks for the comment. We're publishing Audio Blogs Tuesday and Thursday for the month of January, and at the end of the month, we'll announce next month's schedule. We're also trying to keep everyone up to date, by including some News blogs here and there, especially in relation to Regional Series, which seems to be provoking discussion.

One of the advantages of the Audio Blogs is that it gives the student a chance to hear Spanish spoken at length. For students who are just starting out, I know that this may seem overwhelming, but in actuality, I think that it is a unique and beneficial opportunity. This is what immersion courses are all about. Now, we obviously offer more than just this, but, if a student were to just sit back and listen to the Spanish and follow along in the transcript (even if the vocabulary and grammar be unintelligible), I'm willing to bet that this student could fine tune his or her listening skills and could learn something about how words and phrases are uttered together, in different combinations, and in different regional accents.

I don't speak French, but sometimes I like to tune in to the French news and just listen for something that might stand out to me, be it a phrase that catches my ear, be it a sound that seem rather odd, or be it simply the rhythm and fluidity with which a phrase is spoken, it's enough to convince me to tune in again and listen for more.

Don't worry, there are plenty of lessons coming your way.

Saludos,

Joseph

[watermen]

Watermen,

Thanks for the comment. We're publishing Audio Blogs Tuesday and Thursday for the month of January, and at the end of the month, we'll announce next month's schedule. We're also trying to keep everyone up to date, by including some News blogs here and there, especially in relation to Regional Series, which seems to be provoking discussion.

One of the advantages of the Audio Blogs is that it gives the student a chance to hear Spanish spoken at length. For students who are just starting out, I know that this may seem overwhelming, but in actuality, I think that it is a unique and beneficial opportunity. This is what immersion courses are all about. Now, we obviously offer more than just this, but, if a student were to just sit back and listen to the Spanish and follow along in the transcript (even if the vocabulary and grammar be unintelligible), I'm willing to bet that this student could fine tune his or her listening skills and could learn something about how words and phrases are uttered together, in different combinations, and in different regional accents.

I don't speak French, but sometimes I like to tune in to the French news and just listen for something that might stand out to me, be it a phrase that catches my ear, be it a sound that seem rather odd, or be it simply the rhythm and fluidity with which a phrase is spoken, it's enough to convince me to tune in again and listen for more.

Don't worry, there are plenty of lessons coming your way.

Saludos,

Joseph

Thanks a lot.

Not to pour cold water on Spod101, I really kind of give up on checking and listening to Spod101, for already one month, there are only 5 newbie and beginner...I know the regional one is also beginner level..but I really want to learn spanish as fast as I can, learning those regional nuances is NOT my priority, it is only my interest, besides that those regional nuances actually confuses me more than helping me to learn, why do i need to learn those nuances when i can't even speak standard spanish? ...If I have to wait for 1 year to listen to 50 newbie and beginner to be able to appreciate reasonable Spanish, I rather subscribe to other available Spanish course online...I really think you all should follow Jpod101 method by having newbie and beginner lesson everyday in the beginning, so that we can learn Spanish in a progressive manner....1 week 1 lesson is just painfully slow...if I were to subscribe, the amount of money I spend for 1 year is not justified.

I understand where are you coming from by listening to the audio...but honestly speaking, I just couldn't appreciate much at my level, on the other end, I feel intimidated because I couldn't understand at all...instead of encouraging me to learn Spanish, I am being driven away because I find all these audio lessons tough..

Please have newbie or beginner lessons everyday like the way Jpod101 used to have. Until you all have a substantial amount of these lessons, you all should not try to diversify into different category...just concentrate on 1 or 2 catergory...

Sorry for my frustration, I was full of hope when Spod101 first started, because I believe in Jpod101 method, but I am so disappointed now because most of the lessons here are pretty useless to me, I don't find myself knowing more Spanish after 1 month, in comparison, I reached a lower intermediate level by studying Jpod101 for 1 full month. of cos, one can argue that because Jpod101 have tons of lessons when I subscribed...but that is actually not really true too, if you follow every lesson in the first month of Jpod101, you can still learn a great deal of it, because they have progressive beginner lessons and survival phrases which were so helpful. In fact, at this time I am much better off learning Spanish from Mango Languages...the only downside of it is that they have little grammar explanation.

Please revise your strategy ....I am still hoping to listen to Spod101 to learn and improve my Spanish, because i really believe in Jpod101 method...please give your beginner listeners more priority...I believe if Spod101 want to expand, the majority of your listeners will be like me, not knowing much Spanish...

[Joseph]

Waterman,

Thanks very much for your comment. I can appreciate your frustration, as I've been in your position before, and there was nothing that frustrated me more than hearing that foreign language being spoken without being able to understand it. Ugh!

So, it sounds like the Audio Blogs are not for you. (Maybe that's an understatement.) But that's OK. "A cada quién el suyo" (to each their own). I would like to point out a couple of things about our Regional Lessons. First, we are releasing two per week. This means that we're releasing three Newbie level lessons and one Beginner level lesson per week. So, that makes four lessons for new students. Seems reasonable. No? Second, learning Spanish via the Regional Series will not limit one's Spanish. I would argue just the opposite: by listening to the numerous nuances of Spanish as it's actually spoken, the student is going to increase his or her field of knowledge on the topic. It's also important to remember that certain phrases taught in, say, the Iberian Spanish Series, will be applicable elsewhere. Just like in English, expressions are borrowed from all over the place, so the same goes for Spanish. Let me quote Quique who has posted an interesting and pertinent comment on the Regional Series:

"It's not important what particular "variant" of spanish you learn. For example: It's ok if you learn spanish used in Mexico and then you have the opportunity to travel to Perú. I guarantee that people will understand you. But of course, you must read these regional series because ... well , they're very funny and there's nothing better than having fun learning a language, just keep in mind that it's ok if you don't fully understand them or you don't know how or when you can or can't use them ... no problem at all."

Now, that being said, I also understand if you are more inclined to devote your efforts to the study of grammar. And, as it were, I would strongly support you in this effort. So, please let me direct you to our ReferenceMaterial which is available in the Learning Center (http://www.spanishpod101.com/learningcenter/). Among the valuable tools there, I would point to the Verb Conjugation tables, in which you will find conjugations of verbs from the three conjugations, plus irregular and defective verbs as well. So, should you like, you might devote some of your time to learning those, in order to compliment the content covered in the podcasts.

Moreover, as you will notice in the comments on our lessons, many of our students ask grammar-related questions in this space, and, in my opinion, it provides an interesting and stimulating atmosphere for those interesting in learning the language. Maxiewawa is one of our most attentive students whose daily participation in the comments section is as guaranteed as my morning coffee. Sometimes, the topics in these sections becomes so in depth that we even open up a thread in the forum. I have Bridget to thank for that. So, I invite you to participate in our discussions, and hopefully, by means of dialectic, you'll become more proficient in Spanish and less frustrated.

In any case, I hope that you reconsider your decision to study elsewhere. Here at SpanishPod101, we believe that it is through collaboration that our course will become an increasing useful language resource, and, from my point of view, we would be at a loss without your sharp and insightful comments which continue to encourage us to rethink our pedagogical methods.

Thanks for your consideration.

Le saluda atentamente,

Joseph

[mariposita]

Hi watermen--
I'm the female voice in the Iberian dialogs. I understand what you are saying. I think what is probably most difficult about the regional lessons is that they are much closer to the way that people actually speak in the real world than the regular lessons. And that can be pretty inscrutable at times, can't it? I think at the newbie level you should just probably just view them as ways of fine tuning your ears a bit to the rhythm and short cuts that people take when speaking Spanish in the real world. And the ways that these very basic conversations might actually sound. As you go along, keep going back to these lessons and I think you'll get more and more out of them. And we'll make a special effort to keep the newbies in mind when we are doing the future lessons.

If there is anything in particular that is giving you trouble or that you don't understand, please don't hesitate to post a comment. Both David and I check in.

And, no matter what, keep at it. I think the great thing about Spanish is that it opens so many doors. No matter which version you learn, you will be able to communicate with people from amazingly diverse cultures and backgrounds.

un saludo,

Megan

[Joseph]

Megan,

I think you've really hit the nail on the head when you say " I think what is probably most difficult about the regional lessons is that they are much closer to the way that people actually speak in the real world than the regular lessons". The Regional Series, in my opinion, offers a unique opportunity to compare the structure of the Spanish language in theory and practice.

The Newbie and Beginner lessons provide the basic tools to build a foundation for future study. What I find so remarkable about the Regional Series is that one can study how the concepts taught in the Newbie and Beginner Series actually apply in different linguistic communities.

As one of the authors of the Peruvian Regional Series, it has been very interesting for me and Beatriz alike to think about the particularities of Spanish as it's spoken in Peru and to compare these localisms to those which you and David introduce. What makes these comparisons so valuable is that they are all grounded in concrete examples.

One concept which I find is a little hard to grasp for many students is that these "Regional" forms of speech are not "pigeon languages". I mean, when I learn form your lessons that in Spain "colega" is used to address a friend, I can use it when I'm speaking to someone in Peru, even though this would not be the most common expression. Or when I learn from your lessons about the Iberian pronunciation of the "z" and "c", again, I can apply this when I speak in Peru, and people who don't know me, either think that I'm Spanish or that one of my teachers was Iberian.

The point is that these Regional forms of speech are not exclusive. By studying them, the student can gain a very unique perspective on language; mainly, that it is what it is because people speak it in different ways. While most courses pretend to offer "The Way", the SpanishPod101 method recognizes that this is a poor reduction and attempts to show the diversity of the Spanish language in its actual manifestations.

Thanks for making the Iberian Series so interesting.

Muchos saludos,

Joseph

[mariposa]

Hi,
I just want to encourage you to continue with the Regional Series. As I already told in one of the comments to the lessons, I speak Portuguese fluently and occupationally I have a lot to do with learners of the Portuguese language both the European Portuguese and the Brazilian Portuguese. There are nearly no methods which teach both of the variants that I find it's a pity, because you can learn so much from the differences. Maybe it's a little bit confusing in the beginning, but once you get used to it, it's a great benefit.

For me the audioblogs are not too complicated, I can follow them without any problem, maybe you could include some more grammatical explanation in them, so that they become a kind of intermediate lessons.


saludos
Petra

[watermen]

Thanks for all the reply.

I understand the idea behind to listening to audio blog to get your ears used to Spanish. But there are already so much of these kind of material free on the web. Just go to youtube, and you can find tons of them.

I am not objecting the regional series, it is a very good learning resource. What I am trying to get at is Spod101 should emphasize on newbie or beginner series. Not the regional series. If you all don't have enough man power to create tons of newbie lessons, why not just cut down on the other series first?

The biggest problem in Spod101 now is that, there is no one series that able to let a serious learner learn Spanish progressively in a short period of time. And I can't see this in the foreseeable future too. You can't expect a serious learner to jump from one series to another without even completing one or have a strong foundation in one of them. It is the linear progression that I am trying to get at. I sincerely hope Spod101 team member can create a linear progressive course.

Regardless of how much value the audio blogs have, the very fact is, as a beginner, it is not useful to me at all...if I want to get used to Spanish sound..I will just to go youtube and watch those Spanish drama...in fact, it is better than listening to audio blog, because it is more entertaining...

What I really don't understand is, Spod101 has 5 teams in 5 countries...yet, these 5 teams can only come out with 1 newbie, 1 beginner per week, 2 regional per week...but has the time for 2 audio per week...this is just so not right to me. Instead of spending time creating so many audio blog where most people don't understand, why not just create more newbie, beginner lessons to teach beginner Spanish so we can understand Spanish faster and we will be able to listen the audio blogs?

Why can't you all just combine all your effort together on one of the fundamental series first? Once you have that fundamental series completed, it will be so easy for you all to promote SPod101 and also so easy for listener to learn Spanish.

[Joseph]

Waterman,

Thanks very much for your continued participation. We highly value your collaboration with our course and hope that we can provide you with the tools you need to learn Spanish. Please, let me address the points you've raised:

1) Audio Blogs: Your suggestion to search on YouTube for Spanish language video is a great one! I second this, especially for anyone who's enjoying the Audio Blogs! In fact, as you'll find in another Forum thread, a few of us have posted some links to music videos and lyrics: http://www.spanishpod101.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26 Two key features, however, which can be found at SpanishPod101 though not at YouTube are the Spanish transcripts/English translations and the Vocabulary Explanations. Also, as you've acutely pointed out, these Audio Bogs can be frustrating for newcomers, especially if they're not very interested in learning the phonetic aspects of the language. However, for those newcomers who are, the Audio Blogs provide the perfect opportunity to listen and follow along on the Lesson Guide to see exactly how Spanish is pronounced. Moreover, for intermediate students, the Audio Blogs provide a challenging atmosphere in which students' listening comprehension can only be enhanced by the exposure to native pronunciation in this fashion.

2) Newbie & Beginner Lessons: It's very clear, Waterman, that you would be happy as a clam were we to publish nothing but Newbie and Beginner Lessons every day for the first six months. Yet, I wonder if it would be feasible to listen to these podcasts, study the PDF, study the line-by-line audio transcripts and vocabulary lists with audio in the Learning Center, do the vocabulary, content and grammar exercises in the Learning Center and still have time to study the Grammar Bank item introduced in each lesson? Do you take advantage of all these features?

3) Linear Learning: I agree with you on this point. It's very important to study language in such a way that concepts are constantly being linked with each other. Language is all about putting things together. However, there seems to be plenty of content, between the podcasts and the Learning Center, for any student to build the foundations for more advanced studies in the future. It is clear that you're frustrated with our methods. So, maybe it would be easier for me to help you rid yourself of this frustration if you would answer some questions:

a) How do you use SpanishPod101.com? Which features do you make use of?
b) Are you reluctant to post comments and/or questions related to grammar? If so, why?
c) Do you use the Review section of the Learning Center? If not, why?
d) Do you use the Practice section also in the Learning Center? If not, why?
e) Aside from your dislike of the Audio Blogs, your need for more Newbie/Beginner lessons and your desire for a more linear study method, what else can we do at SpanishPod101 to improve our course and more adequately accommodate you?

Any information you can provide about your study habits would help me to consider ways in which you could learn Spanish quicker and more effectively. And when it comes down to it, that is really our ultimate goal. I'm not sure if you've read many of the comment sections of the lessons, but you'll see that there are many ambitious students, just like you, who regularly post grammar-related questions, sparking living discussions, which often get transferred to the forum, due to the complex topics which the conversation ends up addressing.

I look forward to your response and to your participation in some of those content-related discussion. I really think you could get something out of it!

Saludos,

Joseph

[watermen]

Hi Joseph,

First and foremost, really thanks for your patient to reply.

I was so excited when Spod101 first started, because I always wanted to learn Spanish. I tried the 7-day trial and really liked it at that time, as I feel that you all are so enthusiastic and I was so glad to see that you all make lessons everyday, right after the 7 day trial I immediately wanted to subscribe. Unfortunately, for some technical reason, I was not able to subscribe, I started a thread here regarding that technical issue, however no one reply me or help me out, I was pretty disappointed. It was until sometime later I received a reply regarding that issue. However, at that time I have almost lost my passion for Spod101, I started to think whether it is worth subscribing. The main reason that let me to that thinking was not only the website technical issue that I encountered, but I have to wait for 1 week for a new newbie and beginner lessons. This was the main reason I decided not to subscribe first. As 1 week 1 lesson just doesn't fit into my studying habit. I need to study everyday to keep up my momentum. If I were to wait for 1 week for the next lessons it is only a matter of time before I lost my momentum, and I really did lost my momentum for Spod101 after the 4th week...

After the 4th week, I don't feel like checking on Spod101 everyday anymore, because every time when I get into this site, all I see is tons of audio blogs in front of me...that really turn me off immediately. I tried the first audio blog lessons, but I couldn't understand at all...so there is really no point for me to try the others.

I thought I will like Spod101 a lot because I love Jpod101 a lot, I which to apply the same study habit here on Spod101 too. Unfortunately, I realized that I couldn't apply it because I have to wait for 1 week everytime I finished a lesson. Unlike Jpod101, I listen to them everyday when I first started, I listen to all their newbie and beginner lessons until I reached a certain level, then I started to try to listen to their latest lessons. I found this very exciting. On the other hand, I don't find the same kind of excitement here. Not only because of the audio blogs, may be because I don't have a strong foundation like I have for Japanese, and the reason I don't have a strong foundation because there isn't enough lessons to bring me to that level. Therefore, I decided to try other resources. The one I am using now is Mango Languages, which I find it very effective, they already have 100 lessons there and you learn it in a linear way, the only downside is they don't have much grammar explanation.

To answer some of your questions:
a) How do you use SpanishPod101.com? Which features do you make use of?
I like to listen to the audio and read the PDF file. The PDF file is the most important thing to me, in fact more important than the audio itself. As in the long run I will rely on it for quick revision.

b) Are you reluctant to post comments and/or questions related to grammar? If so, why?
I am happy to post comments or questions related to grammar, reason I have not do that here so far because I have only used Spod101 for the first 3 weeks, which I don't have much questions at that time.

c) Do you use the Review section of the Learning Center? If not, why?
I used it before, but I don't really like it. This is just my personal habit, the Learning Center is awesome, but I just don't like to sit in front of the computer spending time on that, it is just not my habit. I don't use the Learning Center in Jpod101 too. That is why I say the PDF is the most important thing to me, because I need to rely on the PDF to study grammar, I would rather pay more for a better PDF than those features in the Learning Center. Since I don't think I will want to use it.

d) Do you use the Practice section also in the Learning Center? If not, why?
Same as above.

e) Aside from your dislike of the Audio Blogs, your need for more Newbie/Beginner lessons and your desire for a more linear study method, what else can we do at SpanishPod101 to improve our course and more adequately accommodate you?
Actually I just hope to have a decent level of Spanish fast, I really don't want to wait for 1 year to listen to Newbie Lesson #50...that is just painfully slow. I don't dislike the audio blogs, but I couldn't understand it, what can I do? I will be happy to listen to audio blogs everyday if I have a decent level of Spanish.

By the way, just out of curiosity, I thought Spod101 has lesson everyday, but why there is no lesson sometime?

[Peter]

Watermen,

As always, thank you for your valuable feedback! A couple of points I'd like to make.
1) SPod101 is a work in progress. Remember when you found JPod101, there were tons of lessons there already. SPod101 will contain the same amount of in 2 years. So we just need a bit of time.
2) Regional flavor is key to our vision. Remember when you meet Spanish speakers, or go to Spanish speaking countries, they do speak a dialect and have their own culture and customs. That is the goal with this series. Reinforcement of basics and introduction of regional flavor. Again, in a years time we'll have 40+ lessons is lots of dialects. When you meet people from the regions we cover, I am confident they'll be very impressed you speak not only Spanish but the local lingo.
3) 5 teams giving their best. Everyone on the team is working hard and doing a great job. It takes time to put together a professional program. And we appreciate your patience. Remember we're not ABC, so everyone does have to supplement their incomes.
4) Pioneering is not simple or easy. You are correct when you say we could focus everything on one series, but how would that differentiate us from all the others out there? We are aiming to develop a course that covers the Spanish speaking world. Is our approach the best way? We don't know. But we have a game plan, and we plan to execute.
5) Incorporating feedback. Much like JapanesePod101, we want to incorporate feedback from the listeners. JapanesePod101 was molded by active listeners, and we wanted to do the same for SpanishPod101. That is why we are giving everyone a sample of all our levels. We are taking advice and modifying accordingly.

To some up, I think it is just a timing issue. In 1 year will have all the content you can handle, with your input incorporated.

We invite you to help us create the best series out there. So please keep the feedback coming, but please remember these points, when providing it.
Thank you!

[watermen]

Watermen,

As always, thank you for your valuable feedback! A couple of points I'd like to make.
1) SPod101 is a work in progress. Remember when you found JPod101, there were tons of lessons there already. SPod101 will contain the same amount of in 2 years. So we just need a bit of time.
2) Regional flavor is key to our vision. Remember when you meet Spanish speakers, or go to Spanish speaking countries, they do speak a dialect and have their own culture and customs. That is the goal with this series. Reinforcement of basics and introduction of regional flavor. Again, in a years time we'll have 40+ lessons is lots of dialects. When you meet people from the regions we cover, I am confident they'll be very impressed you speak not only Spanish but the local lingo.
3) 5 teams giving their best. Everyone on the team is working hard and doing a great job. It takes time to put together a professional program. And we appreciate your patience. Remember we're not ABC, so everyone does have to supplement their incomes.
4) Pioneering is not simple or easy. You are correct when you say we could focus everything on one series, but how would that differentiate us from all the others out there? We are aiming to develop a course that covers the Spanish speaking world. Is our approach the best way? We don't know. But we have a game plan, and we plan to execute.
5) Incorporating feedback. Much like JapanesePod101, we want to incorporate feedback from the listeners. JapanesePod101 was molded by active listeners, and we wanted to do the same for SpanishPod101. That is why we are giving everyone a sample of all our levels. We are taking advice and modifying accordingly.

To some up, I think it is just a timing issue. In 1 year will have all the content you can handle, with your input incorporated.

We invite you to help us create the best series out there. So please keep the feedback coming, but please remember these points, when providing it.
Thank you!

Actually I think the regional series is a good idea and I love it. It is something that can make Spod101 stand out. What I am really concern is the tons of audio blogs.....instead of spending time writing blogs...I rather see more newbie lessons...this is the main point of my post. Moreover, I really don't think the audio blog will make Spod101 stand out compare to other Spanish course.