The Real Fast Spanish Tips Podcast

How much do you notice? Actually notice? Did you know that the ability to notice is a skill that can be improved? And that you can use that ability to improve your language learning capacity?  This week’s mindset podcast is inspired by the book: Alexandra Horowitz — On Looking: 11 Walks with Expert Eyes This book […] The post Tips 112: The Power of Noticing appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

Can you explain when you use “to end” and “to finish” in English? If so, you can apply the idea to the Spanish verbs “acabar” and “terminar”.  This week’s Spanish theory episode is dedicated to the common spanish verb “acabar”. In many of the examples in today’s podcast the Spanish verb “terminar” and “acabar” are […] The post Tips 111: Common Spanish Verbs – 6 Uses for the Verb “Acabar” appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

In today’s mindset podcast you will hear part 2 of the two part interview with John Fotheringham. In the second part of the interview we discuss how to manage frustration due to a lack of progress. We talk about what separates a good language learner from a great language learner. And we debate the merits of […] The post Tips 110: How to Set Yourself for Language Learning Success with John Fotheringham (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

“Hay” is a unique Spanish verb. It is related to the verb “haber” or commonly referred to as the impersonal form of “haber”. In today’s podcast, you will learn how to use the verb “hay” in the past, present and future. You will also learn how to use the impersonal phrase with the verb “hay” to express obligation.  […] The post Tips 109: How to Use the Spanish Verb “Hay” appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

In this week’s mindset podcast we welcome John Fotheringham to talk about habit forming, how to set goals for success and one aspect of language learning that rarely gets discussed. John is a passionate language learner and is running Langauge Mastery—a language learning blog and podcast dedicated to helping language learners. The focus of his website is […] The post Tips 108: How to Set Yourself for Language Learning Success with John Fotheringham (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

The uses of Ser and Estar are an important part of Spanish that you should always be revising. In today’s podcast, you will learn about one specific part: the uses of ser and estar with adjectives. As a reminder, ‘ser’ tends to imply a permanent feature and ‘estar’ tends to imply a temporary feature. Keep this in […] The post Tips 107: 8 Uses of Ser and Estar with Adjectives appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

This podcast episode is part 2 of a two part interview with Shayna Oliveira. In this second part of the interview we cover language learning expectations, creating good study habits, getting over making mistakes and living in Brazil. Shayna’s website on teaching English is http://www.espressoenglish.net/. If you missed part 1 of the interview you go back and listen […] The post Tips 106: Language Learning, Teaching English, Capoeira and Living in Brazil with Shayna Oliveira (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

How well can you make do in Spanish? This week, for the theoretical Spanish podcast, you will learn about the uses of the verb ‘hacer’. Of course, ‘hacer’ doesn’t just mean ‘to make’ or ‘to do’, there are 8 other ways that you can use this common Spanish verb.  Check out today’s podcast for all of […] The post Tips 105: Common Spanish Verbs – 9 Uses for the Word “Hacer” appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

In this week’s mindset podcast we welcome Shayna Oliveira to talk about language exchanges, building friendships and teaching English. Shayna is teaching English over at http://www.espressoenglish.net/. For a number of weeks I have wanted to get Shayna onto the podcast to talk about improving your ability to teach english. Why? Because one of the best ways to improve your […] The post Tips 104: Language Learning, Teaching English, Capoeira and Living in Brazil with Shayna Oliveira (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

The verb ‘pasar‘ is in the top 10 most common regular Spanish verbs. It occurs frequently, it is useful and easy to conjugate. But, it is used in a lot of different situations and contexts, which means we still need to set aside some time to take a closer look at this important Spanish verb. […] The post Tips 103: Common Spanish Verbs – 7 Uses for the Word “Pasar” appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

It’s hard to imagine the feeling of being in a space shuttle when it is taking off. But I could imagine the experience may involve a lot fear. It’s a funny comparison but speaking Spanish in public and taking off in a rocket ship aren’t vastly different when it comes to our fears. Both can […] The post Tips 102: What an Astronaut can Teach Us about Learning Spanish appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

Is forgetting in Spanish as simple as forgetting in English? If you want to forget in Spanish or at least express the idea, there are three ways you can do it. This week explore how the verb ‘olvidar’ is used and how the idea of something forgotten in Spanish differs from how we are used […] The post Tips 101: Olvidar vs Olvidarse – How to Forget in Spanish appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

Last year, when I was living in Madrid, I was chatting to a friend about a very addictive chocolate biscuit we have in Australia. She said she would love to try them. Immediately after uttering those words, we both thought—Madrid is a big city, we could find them here, right? What else was I going […] The post Tips 100: How to Diversify your Spanish Skills by Solving Problems appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

The good thing about transitive and intransitive verbs in Spanish is most English students tend to get them right when guessing. The bad thing is we don’t really learn about this idea in school. But, it helps if you want to understand certain phrases and grammar structures in Spanish. And of course, there is the […] The post Tips 099: Transitive vs Intransitive Verbs In Spanish appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.

Memory is important for language learning. That’s pretty obvious. But how can you improve your memory? It turns out there are a number of simple tactics to can use to boost your memory. But underlying all tactics for an improved memory is one very important principle.  The defining principle for all memory tactics is … […] The post Tips 098: How to Improve Your Memory – The Most Important Principle appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.