English/Spanish Exchange

Podcasts as an aid to learning Spanish

Listening to podcasts is an extremely useful way to supplement your language learning studies. When it comes to Spanish, there is a huge choice of freely available audio resources that you can download. These range from lessons aimed at absolute beginners through to more advanced learners. Also for the more advanced, another great way to practise your listening skills is to download Spanish language podcasts produced for native speakers. Choosing one of these dealing with a topic that especially interests you will help to keep you motivated.

The list below provides an initial selection to get you started. All of the resources mentioned below are free. Additional material, such as transcripts and supplementary premium-content podcasts, can also be purchased for some of these.

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Seseo, ceceo and yeísmo (or, some major variations in Spanish pronunciation)

As with any language, Spanish is subject to variations across geographic areas and social strata. These variations include differences in accent, vocabulary and grammatical structures. In this article we will have a look at some of the major differences in its pronunciation. A number of audio clips of native speakers from around the Spanish-speaking world all reading the same piece of text are included for comparison.

Vocal apparatus

The diagram below illustrates the major components of the human vocal apparatus. This will be useful to refer to when the production of various sounds is described below.

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