Coffee Break Spanish · Free podcast

Coffee Break Spanish Level 4

This is Season 4 of our free Spanish podcast, for upper intermediate learners. The 40 lessons follow María, Rory and Alejandro through a summer in Mallorca, told in diary entries, emails, letters and phone calls.

Level 4B2–C140 lessonsWith teachers Mark and Carmen

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Part 1 · Lessons 1 to 10

Summer on the island

María is home in Mallorca after a year in Edinburgh, Rory comes to work at her aunt Consuelo’s hotel, and they learn about the family’s diving past.

  1. 1De vuelta en MallorcaHome after a year in Edinburgh, María tells her diary about Rory
  2. 2Una oferta de trabajoMaría suggests Rory spends the summer working at her aunt Consuelo’s hotel
  3. 3Un vuelo para el viernesOn the phone, Rory tells María he has found a cheap flight for Friday
  4. 4Una multa, una comida y una puesta de solMaría collects Rory from the airport, takes him to lunch with her parents and watches the sunset in Andratx
  5. 5Un error en la centralitaRory’s first days at the hotel, a mix-up on the phones and news of his friend Alejandro
  6. 6Una historia que no conocíaMaría sees Vertigo at an open-air cinema, and Consuelo tells her about her late husband’s diving days
  7. 7Un fin de semana de mar y montañaMaría and Rory plan a weekend of beaches, Valldemossa and the tower at Canyamel
  8. 8El secreto del abuelo JesúsMaría’s father tells her how a storm changed the family’s life
  9. 9Alejandro al teléfonoAlejandro calls from mainland Spain and plans a trip to Mallorca
  10. 10¿Y después del verano?María and Rory talk about what they’ll do when the summer is over

Part 2 · Lessons 11 to 18

Letters from 1949

Clearing the hotel attic, María and Rory find her grandparents’ love letters, and with them the story of a shipwreck off the coast.

  1. 11Una habitación olvidadaRory has to get the hotel attic ready for Alejandro, and María decides to try diving
  2. 12Un mal día en el áticoMaría gives up her day off to help Rory clear the attic
  3. 13Cartas en el áticoRory and María find old letters from María’s grandparents, Jesús and Carmen
  4. 14Querida CarmencitaJesús, a young fisherman, writes to his fiancée Carmen in April 1949
  5. 15Estimadísimo JesúsCarmen writes back with news of the wedding plans
  6. 16Un naufragio en PortalsJesús tells Carmen about a shipwreck he saw from the cliffs
  7. 17El misterio de los cuatro baúlesCarmen tells Jesús what her father has heard about the ship and its cargo
  8. 18¿Un tesoro en el fondo del mar?María and Rory talk about the letters, and Rory has an idea

Part 3 · Lessons 19 to 27

The search

Alejandro arrives from Argentina, María offers to skipper the boat, and the three of them go diving at the site of the wreck.

  1. 19Alejandro llega a la islaRory meets Alejandro at Palma airport and tells him his plan
  2. 20Tal para cualDinner with Alejandro, and María’s mixed feelings about the treasure hunt
  3. 21Una propuesta de MaríaMaría asks to be part of the adventure and offers to skipper the boat
  4. 22Tu novia es una joyaRory tells Alejandro that María will take them out in her father’s boat
  5. 23Todo listo para la aventuraThe plan for the dive, and how María’s parents react to the letters
  6. 24Un pequeño problema con el martesRory calls María late at night: the forecast means the dive may have to wait
  7. 25Empieza la búsquedaThe first day of diving at the site of the wreck
  8. 26Té, café y mateBreakfast on the boat on the morning of the second day
  9. 27Un día emocionanteThe second day of diving brings a surprise

Part 4 · Lessons 28 to 40

What comes next

The find makes the news, Rory is offered a scholarship for his doctorate, and María and Rory decide where to go after the summer.

  1. 28¿Qué hacemos ahora?Rory, María and Alejandro decide what to do with what they’ve found
  2. 29Hay que avisar a la policíaMaría’s professor explains what the law says, and Rory has an idea for his doctorate
  3. 30Salimos en el periódicoMaría reads Rory the local newspaper’s report
  4. 31Una entrevista y una becaA television interview, a reward and a scholarship for Rory
  5. 32Una cena de despedidaA farewell dinner in Andratx before Alejandro leaves
  6. 33Una invitación oficialRory tells Alejandro about an official event, and a present he has in mind for María
  7. 34Saludos desde LondresAlejandro writes from London and hopes they’ll come to Argentina
  8. 35Helados en ValldemossaOver an ice cream in Valldemossa, María and Rory start to plan their future
  9. 36¿Argentina, Costa Rica o Brasil?The summer is ending, and María weighs up where they could go next
  10. 37Una medalla y un vestidoRory tells Alejandro about the ceremony in Palma, and a big decision
  11. 38Nos vamos a vivir a ArgentinaMaría’s plans for the move to Buenos Aires
  12. 39Papeleo en EscociaRory writes from Scotland about his visa and seeing his family again
  13. 40Empieza la cuenta atrásMaría packs, and they arrange to meet at Madrid’s Barajas airport

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