Aprendiendo Español

Take advantage of the ¡Aventura! Internet Resource Center and other websites like About.com to learn Spanish. Check the links on the right. I need you to listen to the mp3's on the section "Textbook Audio Program" in the ¡Aventura! site - just click on them (you can also download them in your computer, if you wish, pressing Download Chapter 1A and Download Chapter 1B). You can start with El Alfabeto (página 2). Then move to Vocabulario 1 (página 2), Activity 1 (página 3), and Diálogo (página 4). Also watch Basic Conversation 1 and Basic Conversation 2 (You Tube Videos with Señor Jordan) - under Favorite Links.

We have learned the following from Capítulo 1:
¡Hola! (Hi!) ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas? Me llamo… (your name). Also, ¿Cómo estás? Bien gracias, ¿y tú? Other responses: Muy bien (very well), gracias; or muy mal (if you’re not feeling well); or regular (you can also say más o menos). If asking a person you don’t know, or a teacher or older person, you want to use “usted” instead of “tú.” ¿Cómo te llamas? Is when you ask a younger person, or another classmate, or someone your same age: What’s your name? or ¿Cómo estás? - How are you? (also using the second person “tú”). If using “usted” - use ¿Cómo se llama usted?

Conjugation of "Estar" - an irregular verb
Present indicative (presente del indicativo): 

Yo estoy, tú estás, usted/él/ella está, nosotros/as estamos, vosotros estáis, ustedes/ellos/ellas están. Check: http://spanish.about.com/od/specificverbs/a/conjugation_estar.htm and watch the Present Tense of "Estar" link with Señor Jordan - under Favorite Links.

Uses of "Estar": 
Estar is used to talk about location (location of a person or an object): Example: María está en la Biblioteca. Another example: El libro está debajo de la mesa. It's also used to express conditions and opinions (including impressions, feelings or emotions). Examples using conditions: Marcos y Elena están nerviosos or Marisa está siempre contenta. Examples of opinions: El pescado está muy bueno.

Quiz: Thursday, September 13. Including whatever we cover to this date and "Greetings!" Handout - all the words except jaló, al (under ways of answering the phone, second bullet) and ¿Qué onda? next to ¿Qué hubo?

VOCABULARY (Words and Expressions):
Libro, cuaderno, página(s), abre, abran, mayúscula, minúscula, el acento, ¿Cómo se escribe? Se escribe con, nombre, ¿Cuántos años tienes? Tengo (to use in "tengo 15 años" - I'm fifteen years old), muchacha(s), muchacho(s), chica(s), ¿Cómo están? (plural of ¿Cómo estás?) señora, señorita(s) ¿De dónde eres? (where are you from?) Soy de... (mention here your city or country), sí, no, cognados.

Any questions, please feel free to ask Señora Feld. Advice: write all these words and expressions on index cards (3" x 5" index cards cut in half) with the definition on the back and study them, memorize them, understand them! You should also write the information regarding Capítulo 1 above in your notebook. Feel free to review Capítulo 1 in your textbook, pages 1 - 7. Try to understand. It's up to you to become proficient in speaking and writing Spanish!