Breaking Español

Breaking Español

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Breaking Español episodes

  • Ep. 5 - Interview with Lalo Vega

    This week we interviewed the man that has helped us immensely in our journey and taught us practically all the Spanish we know, our Spanish teacher, or guide as he likes to call himself, Lalo Vega!

    Lalo runs the Culture and Language Center (link) in San Diego where he has a unique approach to teaching. His students start learning how to converse from Day 1 while also beginning to understand the reasons why certain things are the way they are.

    He focuses on becoming functional and being able to communicate rather than being able to pass a fluency test. Lalo has a great story about how he got to this point and in this episode we get a glimpse of his story and what you can do to start learning today.

    Tips (consejos)
    • Most language learning schools focus on passing a fluency test (ex. TOEFL)
    • Duolingo is the best/first resource to get started
    • Duolingo won’t help you become conversational but it is good at building vocab
    • Combine Duolingo with a workbook and class for a great foundation to start learning
    • Keep it simple, speak like a caveman (Lalo’s term)
    • Embrace the language for what it is
    • Language learning is a skill that takes time, there is no “language learning gene”
    • Consistency is key
    • Spanish Words (Palabras Españolas)
      • Cosa = thing
      • Utilizo = I use
      • Para = for
      • Hablar = to talk
      • Pelo = hair
      • Ojo = eye
      • Pestañas = Eyelashes
      • Cargadora = Charger
      • Celular = Cell Phone
      • Solamente = Solely / Just / Only
      • Espero que si = I hope that…
      • Posiblemente = Possibly
      • Quizás = Perhaps
      • Posible hablamos mas tarder = Possibly we’ll talk later
      • Buen Provecho = Enjoy the food
      • Provechito = Enjoy the food (cute version)
      • Aprovechar = To take advantage of
      • Buena Onda = Good Vibes (Mexican slang)
      • Onda = Wave (eg. Sound Wave)
      • Ola(s) = Wave(s) like in the ocean
      • Nuestros vecinos = Our neighbors
      • Crema de cacahuate = Peanut Butter
      • Nos Veemos = We’ll see you later
      • Resources
        • Add 1 Challenge to build a routine and be able to hold a 15min conversation in 90 days
        • Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive: Phuc Tran at TEDxDirigo
        • Culture and Language Center Weekly Email
        • 46 min
        • Ep. 4 - Making Friends in Español

          The past week proved to be full of exciting times meeting new friends in Español! Both Jennie and Ben met several people that are first language Spanish speakers and engaged in some interesting conversations. This episode introduces a new format where they talk about experiences like these along with other things they learned like new Spanish words and phrases. Enjoy!

          Ben’s Week
          • Almost finished with Duolingo!
          • Presented at SD Startup Week
          • In Spain they speak with a Lisp and using Vosotros (ref)
          • Barcelona is not like the rest of Spain (ref)
          • Ben met a guy from Mexico City (DF) at a conference and now has a tour guide for his upcoming trip
          • Jennie’s Week
            • Jennie met someone from Colombia at Gymboree
            • They had a connection because our Spanish teacher is from Colombia
            • While talking with her the Colombian woman mentioned not to learn from her because she spoke very informal.
            • This Week We Learned
              • Buen Provecho = Enjoy the food
              • Agua Fria = Cold Water
              • Sink = Lavabo (in TJ we say Sink)
              • Haber = To have
              • Has visto la peli = Have you seen the movie?
              • Has ido a Tijuana = Have you been to Tijuana?
              • Ayer habia una mujer aqui = Yesterday there was a woman here
              • Habias llegado = You will have arrived
              • Notes
                • There is a new bridge from San Diego to the Tijuana airport to make travel to Mexico easier. More info at the Cross Border Express website. The bridge costs $18 to cross and saves tons of time when traveling to/from Mexico.
                • Anthony Bordain’s Parts Uknown episode on Mexico is great to watch
                • Bob Zoom en Español
                • Animal sounds in other languages
                • Spanish Words (Palabras Españolas)
                  • Dichos = Slang type phrases
                  • Bola = Ball
                  • Pelota = Ball
                  • Cifras = Numbers
                  • Numeros = Numbers
                  • Granja = Farm
                  • Tio = Uncle
                  • Gafas = Glasses
                  • Antes = Before
                  • Vivi = I lived (past tense)
                  • 35 min
                  • Ep. 3 - Why We Decided to Raise Our Son Bilingual

                    We have a 10 month old son, Jack. He has been the light of our life since he’s joined us here on planet Earth. Naturally, since we want everyone to gain a greater compassion for others by learning a new language, we decided to raise him bilingual.

                    We have no doubt Jack will grow up being able to better communicate with other kids as a result of these efforts. In this episode we share the steps we’re taking to help our son learn both Spanish and English at the same time. Enjoy!

                    Tips (Consejos)
                    • We decided while pregnant since we were already learning Spanish
                    • Bilingual Types: Coordinate vs Compound
                    • Our son will have no dividing line between English and Spanish in his brain since he’s learning them both at the same time
                    • Our goal is to help our son have compassion for other cultures
                    • Through our research we’ve found very little downsides to teaching him two languages at once
                    • Don’t worry about using Spanglish, but try to separate your languages as much as possible
                    • If a noun ends in “a” it is generally feminine, which you would use “la” as the pronoun
                    • Having a nanny has been incredibly helpful in teaching our son Spanish and us!
                    • Asking for Spanish books for our baby shower has helped us a lot
                    • Seek out places to speak Spanish
                    • Host a Spanish night with friends
                    • Spanish Words (Palabras Españolas)
                      • Quires = You form of Want = Do you want?
                      • Cansado = Tired
                      • Casado = Married
                      • Estoy Cansado/a = I am tired
                      • La mesa = The table
                      • El programa = The program
                      • Arriba = Up
                      • Abajo = Down
                      • Zapeta = Diaper
                      • El Sofa = The sofa / couch
                      • Resources
                        • care.com
                        • Cri Cri Radio on Pandora.com (Spanish children’s music)
                        • Bob Zoom en Español (children’s nursery rhymes in Spanish)
                        • 31 min
                        • Ep. 2 - How We Got to This Point

                          We started our journey nearly 2 years ago to learn Spanish and immerse ourselves into Latin culture. Along the way we’ve been able to fine tune our method and what works for us including taking classes, using duolingo, and challenging ourselves to engage with others in public.

                          While not easy, but hilarious at times, this episode is about how we arrived at this point and what we’ve learned so far along the way. Check out the link below for more tips, spanish words we use, and resources to help you in your journey.

                          Tips (Consejos)
                          • We try to use Spanish every day, especially in the morning
                          • For us, the most efficient way to learn is by taking in-person lessons (group or individual)
                          • Translation apps are helpful for vocab, but don’t really help you learn
                          • Learning together has been really helpful for us
                          • It’s natural to be nervous when trying to speak with people that are first language Spanish speakers
                          • Ask people to speak slowly when you’re trying to communicate
                          • If trying to have a conversation with someone, let them know you’re learning beforehand
                          • Try to understand the meaning of the words rather than translating word for word
                          • The goal is to “think in Spanish”
                          • Make duolingo a routine
                          • Join an online group and look for people you come across regularly that speak spanish
                          • Spanish Words (Palabras Españolas)
                            • Mijo = my son (mi hijo)
                            • Hola a Todos = Hello everyone
                            • Mucho Gusto = Nice to meet you
                            • Igualmente or Igual (eee-wall) = Likewise
                            • Despacio por favor = Slower please
                            • Estoy aprendiendo = I am learning
                            • ¿Puedes ayudarme? = Can you help me?
                            • Sucio = dirty
                            • Resources
                              • Duolingo.com – Fun game to keep the learning going
                                • Ben’s Profile
                                • Jennie’s Profile
                                • WordReference.com
                                • Facebook Groups for Learning Spanish
                                • The Benefits of the Bilingual Brain TED Ed
                                • TV Shows / Movies
                                  • Jane the Virgin = Jennie’s favorite
                                  • Narcos on Netflix = About Pabo Escobar, a bit tough to understand, but great for learning the slang/pronunciations
                                  • 36 min
                                  • Ep. 1 - It Starts with Why

                                    We are Jennie and Ben Sullins hosts of Breaking Español the Podcast. Recording after our young son Jack goes to sleep. We started this journey because we believe having compassion for other cultures starts with speaking their language. After a few trips to Europe and Latin America, we decided it was time to commit and actually learn a second language. Living in Southern California Spanish was an obvious choice.

                                    Now we are in a race to learn Spanish faster than our son as he is starting so young. We love the food, the tequila, and traveling to latin countries as often as we can to try and immerse ourselves in the culture and gain that compassion.

                                    On the show, we chat about

                                    • The ups and downs of learning a new language
                                    • Finding the time to learn
                                    • What has and hasn’t worked
                                    • How we stay inspired to keep going
                                    • Our experiences raising our child bilingual
                                    • How to get past the timidness of speaking
                                    • Traveling through Latin America
                                    • and much more…
                                    • Join us on this journey, and hopefully, together we can learn to have greater compassion for each other, one incorrectly conjugated verb at a time.

                                      23 min

                                    About Breaking Español

                                    From the publisher's feed

                                    One family's journey learning Spanish