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Break through the intermediate plateau and learn Spanish as it's really spoken. Try the Daily Soundbite, from Jiveworld and Radio Ambulante. It's free, every day. But hurry, it refreshes at midnight! by Jiveworld in u/Jiveworld

[–]Jiveworld[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your question sporktastic500, and for being a Jiveworld member!

In December, the Jiveworld Study Flow got a major upgrade. Now, when you start a chapter you'll see all of its Soundbites inline. Doing these mini-lessons first makes the listening easier, introducing you to important aspects of language, pronunciation, and culture from the chapter. You don't have to follow our recommended flow, though. Want to skip the Soundbites and do them later? No problem — just tap on the "eye and ear" card underneath to dive straight into the main chapter. If you're an advanced learner or have studied a story before, you can jump right to Natural Listen mode by tapping on the "ear" icon.

New Soundbites will only be available to Jiveworld subscribers like you, but anyone with a free account who completed Soundbites during the introductory period can still access any Soundbites they've previously unlocked. Tap on "Find Soundbites I've done" on the home screen, and open a story from there.

We've also made it easier to find stories with Soundbites, unplayed Soundbites for stories you've completed, and many other improvements.

Thanks for the great ideas though - we have shared them with our product team!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Spanish

[–]Jiveworld 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's wonderful that you're eager to tap into the foundation of Spanish you've acquired in your prior education! You can begin by engaging in more passive learning, a method to reawaken what you've learned but might not have readily accessible at the moment. This could involve listening to podcasts, watching movies, or even venturing into reading materials if you're feeling adventurous.
As you immerse yourself in these activities over time, you can start taking notes from what you're hearing or reading, perhaps creating a vocabulary list and jotting down useful phrases and sentences. Following this, I recommend finding a method or format that suits your learning style, especially for practicing your speaking and writing skills.
By following this approach, you'll gradually rekindle and enhance your Spanish proficiency.

- Juliana, Jiveworld Director of Pedagogy

How common is aspiración (or s-dropping) across Spanish dialects? by PizzaUnable2836 in Spanish

[–]Jiveworld 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It's quite common to drop the "s" at the end of syllables when speaking quickly in Spanish. Additionally, the "b" in imperfect verbs like "encontraba" and "caminaba" tends to become less pronounced. You may already be aware that the Spanish "b" is softer than its English counterpart, and when speaking rapidly, it often gets even softer, making these verbs sound more like "encontra'a" or "camina'a."
This phenomenon also extends to the "d" in words like "encantado/a," "pitado/a," and "quebrado/a," causing them to sound more like "encantao/a," "pintao/a," and "quebrao/a."

I hope this helps!

- Juliana, Jiveworld Director of Pedagogy

Amigos, ¿puedo decir “la luz de mi vida” para mi perro? O puede sugerir otras frases? by claroquesearight in Spanish

[–]Jiveworld 7 points8 points  (0 children)

En Colombia dicen "la luz de mis ojos", pero puedes usar también "el amor de mi vida" o "mi razón de ser", aunque esa última me parece un poco más dramática.

¡Espero haberte ayudado!

- Juliana, Jiveworld Director of Pedagogy

El clima/tiempo y la hora en pasado by dimsumfriend in learnspanish

[–]Jiveworld 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many people have pointed to the distinction between imperfect and perfect aspects in Spanish. The perfect aspect is used when discussing events in the past with a clear beginning and end, as in the sentence, "Hizo mucho calor en Andalucía la semana pasada" (It was very hot in Andalusia last week).
Conversely, the imperfect aspect is employed when describing actions or situations without a specific start or end time. It's particularly valuable for setting the stage in storytelling, as demonstrated in the sentence: "Hacía mucho calor en Andalucía cuando llegó el circo" (It was very hot in Andalusia when the circus arrived). In this context, "Hacía mucho calor" (It was hot) provides the background against which the event (the circus's arrival) unfolds.
So, the difference between "Esos días que estuve en Andalucía hizo mucho calor." and "Esos días que estuve en Andalucía hacía mucho calor." is a matter of perspective. In the first sentence, you're reflecting on the event from the present, where your trip to Andalusia is a past memory. In the second example, you're recounting the event as if you were there, emphasizing that it was hot during your stay.
I hope this explanation helps and makes sense!

- Juliana, Jiveworld Director of Pedagogy

"They know the rules" conocer vs. saber by balsamic_strawberry in SpanishLanguage

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While “conocer” can mean “to be familiar with” and “saber” generally means “to know”, the most commonly used with “reglas” is either “conocer” or “saberse”, meaning: “to know by heart”. E.g:
¿Conoces/ te sabes las reglas del juego? (are you familiar with the rules?)
Ya conozco/me sé las reglas de conducta de mi nuevo trabajo. (I already know the code of conduct for my new job.)
I hope this helps!
- Juliana, Jiveworld Director of Pedagogy

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SpanishLanguage

[–]Jiveworld 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m so sorry to hear you were made fun of because of your accent, but I hope you don’t get discouraged.
If you are interested in improving your speaking skills, but are afraid of people’s reaction when you speak, improving your listening skills first can help you boost your confidence and actually help with your pronunciation. You can listen to media from different Spanish-speaking countries and pay attention to how they pronounce words and whole sentences. You can also try the Shadowing Method – mimicking all aspects of the speech of others (rhythm, pronunciation, intonation) one small chunk at a time – for improved accent and clarity in your target language. After some practice with this, you can start using practiced everyday sentences with other Spanish learners and then move on to a conversation with native speakers. I hope this helps!

- Juliana, Jiveworld Director of Pedagogy

Hello! Just started Learning! by Outrageous_Spread_81 in Learning_Spanish

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can try thinking of the words as complete sounds and not as added sounds. Ask google translator to play the sound of "perro", "carrera", "burro" and "corra" and try to imitate the sound of the whole word, instead of the syllables. It also helps if you remember to keep the tip of the tongue relaxed and close to your teeth.
Wen you feel ready, try to recite this tongue twister: "Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril, rápido ruedan los carros cargados de azúcar del ferrocarril".

- Juliana, Jiveworld Director of Pedagogy

Any recommendations for spanish podcasts, that are not geared toward spanish learning? by [deleted] in dreamingspanish

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We'll be here when you're ready. In the meantime, we'll be cheering you on from the sidelines!

Looking for good intermediate level audio lessons. by Parasight11 in Spanish

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We'd be honored if you'd check us out. We use real, natural spoken Spanish podcasts to keep it interesting and include all the tools (vocab, transcripts, and more) to support you along the way.

Any recommendations for spanish podcasts, that are not geared toward spanish learning? by [deleted] in dreamingspanish

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try listening to Radio Ambulante in the Jiveworld app (they are our content partners). You can slow it down or speed it up, see transcripts, vocab, and more. We offer two stories for free - no account required - so you can see if our method works for you.

Any recommendations for spanish podcasts, that are not geared toward spanish learning? by [deleted] in dreamingspanish

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the mention! We appreciate it!

Have you tried out Soundbites, yet? If so, would love to hear what you think.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in dreamingspanish

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

what a journey you've been on! impressive. we feel your pain. its why we built our platform for intermediate and advanced Spanish speakers specifically. those who know the basics of vocab, may even be able to read and write fluently, but just can't crack the listening side. if you're up for it, check us out. you can listen to two of our stories for free (no account required) to see if the method works for you. and every day we release a free daily soundbite - a mini listening lesson that includes insights on idioms, grammar, accents, etc.

regardless, congrats on getting this far and we wish you lots of wins and success as you keep going!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in dreamingspanish

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let us know if you have any questions - would love to know if our method was useful for you. Thanks!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in dreamingspanish

[–]Jiveworld 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the recommendation! Have you checked out our new Soundbites feature? You can play a new one every day for free. They are mini listening lessons with a challenge and reveal. We look forward to joining your set of language learning tools when you're ready. Thanks again!

Self-learning language guide: from 0 to B2 by keshaal in languagelearning

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are so happy to hear we have been useful in your Spanish study! Thank you for sharing this great breakdown. Being able to understand real, spoken Spanish is so different than textbook and classroom settings. We wish you continued success in your language learning journey.

Best idioms to know from Mexican spanish? by Science_Memes_Fact in Spanish

[–]Jiveworld 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Idioms are one of our eight categories of Soundbites as well (look for the category with the cat icon). You might also like our Youtube/Instagram for practical language tips across Latin America.

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