HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

LEAR SPANISH AND SALSA IN COLOMBIA

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS


You probably spend more time using your listening skills than any other kind of skill. Like other skills, listening takes practice.
What does it mean to really listen?
Real listening is an active proce...

ss that has three basic steps.
Hearing. Hearing just means listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying. For example, say you were listening to a report on zebras, and the speaker mentioned that no two are alike. If you can repeat the fact, then you have heard what has been said.
Understanding. The next part of listening happens when you take what you have heard and understand it in your own way. Let's go back to that report on zebras. When you hear that no two are alike, think about what that might mean. You might think, "Maybe this means that the pattern of stripes is different for each zebra."
Judging. After you are sure you understand what the speaker has said, think about whether it makes sense. Do you believe what you have heard? You might think, "How could the stripes to be different for every zebra? But then again, the fingerprints are different for every person. I think this seems believable."
Tips for being a good listener
Give your full attention on the person who is speaking. Don't look out the window or at what else is going on in the room.
Make sure your mind is focused, too. It can be easy to let your mind wander if you think you know what the person is going to say next, but you might be wrong! If you feel your mind wandering, change the position of your body and try to concentrate on the speaker's words.
Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance to say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When you interrupt, it looks like you aren't listening, even if you really are.
Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak! You can't really listen if you are busy thinking about what you want say next.
Listen for main ideas. The main ideas are the most important points the speaker wants to get across. They may be mentioned at the start or end of a talk, and repeated a number of times. Pay special attention to statements that begin with phrases such as "My point is..." or "The thing to remember is..."
Ask questions. If you are not sure you understand what the speaker has said, just ask. It is a good idea to repeat in your own words what the speaker said so that you can be sure your understanding is correct. For example, you might say, "When you said that no two zebras are alike, did you mean that the stripes are different on each one?"
Give feedback. Sit up straight and look directly at the speaker. Now and then, nod to show that you understand. At appropriate points you may also smile, frown, laugh, or be silent. These are all ways to let the speaker know that you are really listening. Remember, you listen with your face as well as your ears!
Thinking fast
Remember: time is on your side! Thoughts move about four times as fast as speech. With practice, while you are listening you will also be able to think about what you are hearing, really understand it, and give feedback to the speaker.
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LEAR SPANISH AND SALSA IN CALI-COLOMBIA

Cali Salsa Festival 2012

The Cali World Salsa Dance Festival (Festival MundIal de Salsa, Cali) is one of the most exciting Salsa competitions in the world, where hundreds of Salsa dancers from the Cali Salsa schools and other cities in Colombia, plus international participants from other countries compete for the prized trophy.

With thousands of Salsa dancers from the 60 plus Salsa schools from Cali, this event has become almost an entirely Cali affair, with the winners also winning the right to represent Colombia in theWorld Salsa Championships later in the year.

Past winners include, 5 times Team world champions Swing Latino, world Runners-up Pioneros del Ritmo, previous Cabaret world champions Jhon Genner Vasquez & Yudy Aguilar and reigning Cabaret World Champions Jonathan Landazuri and J Lorena Rodriguez Tangarife. The winners of the Cali World Salsa Dance Festival, have gone on to win the World Salsa Championships in the Cabaret and Teams competitions in the last two years, establishing Cali Salsa dancers and their amazing dance style in the world stage.

Are you traveling to Colombia?
Don’t forget to always take your laptop with you. You can learn more Spanish if you take notes every day and save them on your desktop. Then you can easily look at it again in the evenings and review the words and phrases. 

1)  Colombian Slang: abrirse

     English: (to split up) to leave

2) Spanish Slang: aporrear

    English: to accidentally fall

3)  Colombian Slang: sardino-sardina

     English: young girl-guy

4) Spanish Slang: arrecho

    English: Horny

5)  Spanish Slang: bacán, bacano, bacana

     English: Someone or something cool, kind, friendly

6) Spanish Slang: barra 

    English: One thousand Colombian pesos

7)  Spanish Slang: berraco, berraca

     English: this is the Colombian slang par excellence, it is embraced by all regardless of social status and interestingly understood and used in every region of the country) Es un/a berraco/a (Someone hardcore,awesome, worthy of admiration, the “man”) “eres una berraca”

 Spanish Slang:caliente

    English: dangerous

9)  Spanish Slang: camello

     English: job

10) Spanish Slang: caspa/calilla

    English: a badly-behaved person

11)  Spanish Slang:  un catorce- un dos 

     English: a favor

12) Spanish Slang: cojo

    English: Something weak or lack of sense

13) Colombian Slang: corroncho

    English: Something really tacky or ordinary, derogatory of people from the Caribbean area of Colombia.

-Cachaco: people from Bogotá

-Paisa. people from Coffee Area or Medellin

14)  Spanish Slang: chévere

     English: cool

15) Spanish Slang: chicharrón

    English: A problem, something to deal with

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Spanish Survival Phrases

Learn Spanish survival phrases like you're welcome in Spanish and sorry in Spanish so you will survive speaking Spanish.

English	Spanish
I am lost.	Estoy perdido.
Where is the restroom?	¿Dónde está el baño?
the hotel	el hotel
the restaurant	el restaurante
the airport	el aeropuerto
the American embassy	la embajada americana
Excuse me.	Con permiso
Pardon me.	Perdóname
Please.	Por favor
Thank you.	Gracías
I'm sorry.	Lo siento
Bless you (sneeze).	Salud
You are welcome (it was nothing).	De nada
How much does it cost?	¿Cuánto cuesta?
How many are there?	¿Cuántos hay?
There are many.	Hay muchos.
Will you buy this?	¿Quiere comprarlo usted?
How do you say it in Spanish?	¿Cómo se dice en Español?
Yes.	Sí
No.	No
I don’t understand.	Yo no entiendo
Slower please	más despacio por favor
Who?	¿Quién?
Why?	¿Por qué?

LEAR SPANISH AND SALSA IN CALI-COLOMBIA Do you understand this Spanish riddle? ¿Cómo, cómo como? ¡Como como como!

 It’s a common Spanish expression that you hear all the time in the markets, plazas and cafes... But you won't find it in your Spanish dictionary.

 Let's break this Spanish riddle down into simple steps.

 Firstly como = I eat Como also means as/like. ¡Como como como! ¡I eat as I eat!

 If we tweak the translation it makes even more sense. ¡Como como como! I eat the way I eat! Now you understand the answer to the riddle, como como como (I eat the way I eat).

Let's figure out what the question means. ¿Cómo, como como? Cómo with an accent above the ó = how? ¿Cómo como? How do I eat?

 You can use como five times and make a completely correct question and answer in Spanish. ¿Cómo como? ¡Como como como! ¿How do I eat? ¡I eat the way I eat!

 All we are missing is the first use of Cómo?

 Unfortunately, the dictionary sometimes fails us when real everyday Spanish kicks in.

 Spanish speakers also use ¿cómo? to ask a question that implies, what do you mean?
 And so the riddle is complete. ¿Cómo, cómo como? ¡Como como como! What do you mean, how (do) I eat? ¡I eat the way I eat! Now that you know this expression it won't take long for you to notice ¿Cómo?. It's a very common way of speaking.

 Another way to think of it is like the English turn of phase, come again?

 Try it out with your Spanish speaking amigos. If you don't understand what they say just use a polite intonation and ask, ¿Cómo? Make sure you say it politely though because if you say it sternly it can sound like you are saying, "what the heck are you talking about?”

 However, if you use a gentle polite intonation you'll fit in well. It's more authentic than saying "más despacio por favor" (more slowly please).

 As you integrate into the Spanish-speaking world you'll find the way people speak to you becomes more natural.

 They'll talk to you the same way as they do with their other friends, the ones who speak Spanish as a first language.

 LEARN SPANISH IN CALI-COLOMBIA

LEARN SPANISH AND SALSA IN COLOMBIA LEARN SPANISH WHILE YOU LEARN HOW TO DANCE SALSA OR HOW TO COOK TYPICAL DISHES..LIVE SPANISH IN CALI, COLOMBIA! Some people think learning has to be a hard and complex, yet you can learn so much more when it's simple and engaging. As Ben Franklin said, dime y lo olvido. Enséname y lo recuerdo. Involúcrame y lo aprendo. (Tell me and I forget it. Show me and I remember it. Involve me and I learn it.) You really can't learn any skill without being involved. Can you imagine learning to swim without getting wet? That's why you can never learn Spanish just by reading a textbook. Getting involved in Spanish accelerates your success and can change you from feeling like a slowpoke to Speedy Gonzalez.