a useful site

[Jon Hundt]

here's a site full of useful Spanish phrases and related cultural information. It is from the Malaga newspaper Sur in English:

http://www.surinenglish.com/areas.php?Area=Learn%20Spanish%20with%20SUR%20in%2 0English

[greytop]

Thanks Jon - a useful collection of phrases (although maybe "I can't breathe" suggests you need a new doctor!).
Another English language Spanish paper runs a series of articles taken from this book, Breaking Out Of Beginners Spanish (http://books.google.com/books?id=UPtaNwoeyLoC&dq=breaking+out+of+basic+spanish&pg=PA63&ots=WfZlSbtzIM&sig=lZc_H695qOn-XIY-lomsRPIgOQE&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fsourceid%3Dnavclient-ff%26ie%3DUTF-8%26rlz%3D1B2GGGL_enES177%26q%3Dbreaking%2Bout%2Bo f%2Bbasic%2Bspanish&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1) By Joseph J Keenan. See sample pages in that link.
"Many language books are boring--this one is not. Written by a native English speaker who learned Spanish the hard way--by trying to talk to Spanish-speaking people"

It is quite readable (in English) and explains some of the pitfalls and subtle differences that are hard to find elsewhere. The book is available from usual sources such as Amazon .com or .co.uk

Finally if you like to read about Spain but your Spanish is not up to El Pais then a good list of links to the English press is on the Typically Spanish (http://www.typicallyspanish.com/html/english/news_,038_media/press_,038_magazines/) site. Many are regional but some have news from different parts of Spain.
Beware looking in back issues for immigration/tax advice! Spain's laws are changing quite quickly.

[Jon Hundt]

yes, it makes you wonder, if you can't breathe how, are you gonna say it anyway - in Spanish or whatever! I like the humour in this series. I bought her book Liz Parry's Spanish Phrase Book last time I was down there, it's a lot of fun.

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out tonight.

[Cynthia]

Another English language Spanish paper runs a series of articles taken from this book, Breaking Out Of Beginners Spanish (http://books.google.com/books?id=UPtaNwoeyLoC&dq=breaking+out+of+basic+spanish&pg=PA63&ots=WfZlSbtzIM&sig=lZc_H695qOn-XIY-lomsRPIgOQE&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fsourceid%3Dnavclient-ff%26ie%3DUTF-8%26rlz%3D1B2GGGL_enES177%26q%3Dbreaking%2Bout%2Bo f%2Bbasic%2Bspanish&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1) By Joseph J Keenan. See sample pages in that link.
"Many language books are boring--this one is not. Written by a native English speaker who learned Spanish the hard way--by trying to talk to Spanish-speaking people"

It is quite readable (in English) and explains some of the pitfalls and subtle differences that are hard to find elsewhere. The book is available from usual sources such as Amazon .com or .co.uk




I'm glad that someone had mentioned this book--it's fantastic!! It helped me improve so much. It's excellent at giving you the confidence to start using your Spanish around native-speakers, which is something I always had trouble with. Fantastic book, great read!