In this new edition of Coffee Break French we’ll be starting our farewells for Katie. We’ll cover the first part of her text in this lesson and then complete it in lesson 332. Please note that lesson 31 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 331 of Coffee Break French. We have renumbered the
In lesson 32 we’re still concentrating on Colombian Spanish, and Mark and Carolina discuss the music and literature of Colombia, and typical Colombian expressions including the word paila. In the second act of this episode, Mark discusses impersonal verbs such as apetecer, gustar and faltar. Please note that lesson 32 of Season 3 was originally known
It’s destination Colombia for lesson 31 as Mark is joined by Carolina from Bogotá. Carolina introduces Mark to the geography and traditions of Colombia, and Mark learns a few useful expresiones colombianas. In episodes 31-40 of Coffee Break Spanish, Mark will be joined by various speakers of Spanish from different parts of Latin America, providing
It’s time to return to our telenovela, Verano Español. In this sixth instalment, we’ll find out the latest about what’s happening in the Laura – Ángel – Ramón love triangle, and we’ll also hear if things are still ok between Antonio and Iona after Antonio’s the plumber’s visit! In Act II, Mark will help listeners
In this week’s episode, Alba and Mark are en la cocina, making a Spanish tortilla. The episode is slightly different from our usual episodes as the audio was recorded live in the kitchen rather than in the studio. There’s no “Act II” this week as the conversation follows the entire process of making the tortilla.
The topic for this week’s episode of Coffee Break Spanish is food, or tapas in particular. Alba has recently had a bad experience in a tapas restaurant in Scotland, compared with her normal experiences of tapas in Spain. Mark and Alba talk about different tapas and their experience of eating Spanish food in Spain and
This week we return to a topic we covered previously – in response to listeners’ requests. It’s time to look at your tricks and tips for language learning. Mark and Alba talk about the suggestion of one of our listeners which involves printing out internet texts and cutting out the words. Listen to the episode
It’s time for another lesson of Coffee Break French and this week we join Alf in his final text. He has been writing a diary over eight weeks while he has been renovating his new house in the south of France and attending daily French lessons with Veronica and Katie, the two other protagonists of
This week’s topic is low-cost airlines and the advantages and disadvantages of low-cost travel. Mark and Alba discuss their experiences of flying with low-cost airlines (and indeed with other airlines!) and José introduces two phrases which you can use when you manage to find a real bargain! Language points covered include the use of quedarse,
This episode of Coffee Break Spanish features the fifth instalment of our ‘telenovela’, Verano Español. At the end of the previous episode, Laura discovered that the boy who has been chatting her up on a daily basis in the panadería is none other than Ángel, her next-door neighbour. In episode 5 of the soap, Estela
Following our recent musical episodes, listeners have been asking us for some suggestions of Spanish-language singers and groups. In episode 24 we’ve provided some suggestions, talking about Spanish groups Amaral and Ojos de Brujo, and we’ve also mentioned Colombian Juanes and the renowned Panamanian salsa performer Ruben Blades. Language points include more subjunctive talk, the
This week Mark and Alba bring you a special musical episode: combining the Eurovision Song Contest with a performance from Mark of Tango by Spanish composer Albéniz. In the intermedio, José introduces the idea of ’embarrassment’ – vergüenza – and gives listeners some examples of how to use this concept in interesting expressions. Language points covered
In this latest lesson of Coffee Break French we’ll be joining Veronica and listening to her final text. She has been learning French in Nice along with Katie and Alf and in this final text she updates us on what she has been doing and tells us of some important decisions she has taken. Please
In this week’s lesson, Mark and Alba talk about music. Their discussion includes talk of playing musical instruments and how listening to music is changing because of technology. In the intermedio, José provides a couple of interesting phrases which can be used to say that you find something difficult. Language points covered include comparitives such
In this episode of Season 3, Mark and Alba chat about what they were doing during the vacaciones de Semana Santa. Both Mark and Alba have been travelling, and Mark has some buenas noticias. In the intermedio José provides us with some interesting phrases to talk about things in the past, and language points covered include the
This week’s lesson offers an analysis of the second part of Katie’s latest text. As usual, we’ll be covering a range of expressions and grammar points. The free version of this lesson includes the recording of Katie’s text along with explanations of the language she uses to help you understand the text. Please note that
In this week’s episode we’re looking at the first part of Katie’s latest text in which she updates us on what’s she’s been getting up to in Nice. In this episode we’ll be looking at a variety of grammatical topics including the relative pronouns ce que and ce qui , and we’ll also consider some
Episode 20 features the fourth installment of our telenovela, Verano Español. Find out the latest about the life of Laura and her mother as they spend the summer in Spain en la casa de tía Julia. Will Laura find out a little more about the mystery customer in the panadería? Please note that lesson 20
In this week’s episode, Mark and Alba discuss some useful techniques for learning languages and share their ideas and advice with listeners. In the intermedio Alba talks about the northern Spanish city of Bilbao, and José introduces a construction which involves lo + adjective. Grammar points covered include the construction siempre que and the use of
In episode 18 of Coffee Break Spanish Season 3, Mark and Alba talk about the advantages and disadvantages of buying things online, and share their experiences both positive and negative. In this week’s intermedio, Alba presents the city of Granada in the south of Spain, and José talks about ways to describe someone whose head
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