Are there plans for any new series?

[acmendenhall7207]

I just signed up for basic membership, and I'm wondering how active this site actually is.
Are any new series planned in the near future? Is there an active series being recorded/posted now? If so, which is it?

What is the plan for future recordings? I just read an old post from 2009 that was asking some of the same questions, but it doesn't look like much has been done since then.

Is there anybody out there?

[pgbowman]

Hi acmendenhall7207,

Thanks so much for your question. The site is indeed very active, with new lessons coming out every Monday and Wednesday, with a video series that will begin soon on Fridays. In addition to this, on Thursday we have our Throwback day, when one classic lesson is selected from the archive and published.

This season, we are publishing our Survival Phrases series on Mondays. This series covers all the important phrases and expressions that you will need to make any trip to a Spanish-speaking country a success.

On Wednesdays, we alternate between an Absolute Beginner Series lesson, a Beginner series lesson, a Lower Intermediate Series lesson, and our Refresher series for advanced learners. So, no matter your level of Spanish you can find something new this year that will suit you.

And don't forget that if you have a Basic membership you can take advantage of our whole back catalogue of lessons, where you will find material that can help you whether you are advanced or just starting out.

In 2011, we have some great lessons planned. Is there any thing you would be particularly interested in learning about? We always welcome listener suggestions.

Thanks again for your comments. And if you should ever have any other questions or requests, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Peyton

[acmendenhall7207]

Thanks for the response.
Another question - Are the Wednesday lessons new, or lessons that are already in the backlog?

As far as future lessons I'd like to see, I'm in agreement with some of the others here:
I'd like to see some Mexico specific lessons in the regional series. Especially since 35% of the world's Spanish speakers live in Mexico and the U.S.
http://www.spanishseo.org/resources/wor ... population

I know that most regional variations of Spanish are understood throughout the Spanish-speaking world, but the major variations should be represented in an appropriate manner.
Just something to consider.

I'm enjoying the lesson backlog so far, and have already learned a lot that I either missed or forgot in the 4 semesters of college Spanish that I've taken.

[pgbowman]

Hi acmendenhall7207,

The Wednesday lessons are brand new, while the Thursday Lessons are selected from the archive.

Thanks for your suggestion about increasing the amount of Mexican-specific Spanish. We are always looking for ways to make our lessons as useful as possible to our listeners.

We are very happy to hear you are learning/remembering so much from your college classes. Keep up the good work, and best wishes in your studies.

Peyton

[rodney]

I've been around this place since it opened it's doors, and there's a few improvements I'd love to see.

(1) I'd love to see the forum monitored on a regular basis.

Overall, the forum here is not monitored very well by SP101 staff. I stopped posting and even reading the forums because so many posts went answered. JP and Fernando were the first hosts to do a good job of actively monitoring the forums and lesson comments in a loooong time.

(2) Continuity and longevity with instructors.

I've never seen a podcast site that changes instructors so frequently. I've enjoyed listening to several instructors over the years, but I have no idea if they're going to be around from one season to the next. I know for a fact JP will not even be around for the next season. Another good instructor gone.

(3) The return of the regional series.

When this site first opened it was unique because it offered lessons based on the different "kinds" of Spanish spoken all over the world, like Spain, Argentina and Costa Rica. It was great because we learned not only how Spanish was spoken in those places, but we were exposed to several different accents and speakers and taught a little about the culture of those regions. At the very least it would be nice to have regional lessons from Mexico and Spain.

On the positive side, I've always thought you all produced great lessons and I really like the PDF format.

I think you guys have a good site, but with a few changes I think this place could be a great site.

[pgbowman]

Hi Rodney,

Thanks for your feedback. We're really glad to have had you as part of the SpanishPod101.com community since the beginning, and we especially welcome feedback from our site veterans.

Please know that the forums and comments are constantly being monitored, though more, probably, can be done to respond to comments and field questions about Spanish. These are definitely things we are looking to improve.

We are also looking into new ways to help our learners grasp the major points as well as the subtleties of regional usage. Stay tuned--

Thanks again,

Peyton