First and foremost I've been using Busuu.com, which I spoke about before at some length. But I've also been using two podcasts which I've really been enjoying.
The first is SpanishPod, which is part of Praxis Language Ltd. They broadcast out of Shanghai, China, but the podcast is done by an American Spanish teacher from Seattle, JP, and two native speakers from Mexico, Leo and Liliana. The podcast is funny, it's professionally done, and they produce a LOT of content. They have different channels available on their website, Newbie, Elementary, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, Advanced, Advanced Media, two video podcasts, including one on grammar, and a cultural podcast that is done in both Spanish and English, and a question and answer podcast done in both Spanish and English to expand on the vocabulary. They even run a Mexican radio soap opera that's very funny and campy voiced by the hosts themselves. But it doesn't end there. They have a large community of listeners who lurk on the forums and help people out and the hosts go on the forums to answer questions from listeners as well. They also provide extension vocabulary and quizzes to help you remember what you've studied. You can access portions of the site for free, but have to pay for the rest. It's been valuable enough that I am going to pay for the basic membership.
The other is Coffee Break Spanish. Coffee Break Spanish is part of the Radio Lingua Network and broadcasts out of Scotland. Like a lot of things Scottish, Belle and Sebastian, the Vaselines, etc, it is a touch twee, but not overly so. Where SpanishPod is more flashy and lively and vibrant, Coffee Break Spanish is more gentle and quiet. Neither one is necessarily better, at least in this case. Coffee Break Spanish has two hosts, Mark and Kara, who are both Scottish. Marc is a Spanish teacher, and Kara is a beginner (or was when the podcast started last year) and learns along with the listener. It is sometimes amusing to listen to because their Scottish accents are awesome, and do occasionally sneak through, but Mark is a clearly a patient teacher and will repeat the pronounciations a few times until Kara gets it right, which helps me get it right as well. Coffee Break Spanish also offers a set of additional materials, extended vocabulary, and extra podcasts to reinforce the language. They also offer downloadable flashcards of the language you can put on your iPod to use while listening to the podcasts, something SpanishPod does not offer. It's offered differently however: in an ala carté fashion where you buy the additional materials you want instead of a monthly subscription. Part of the problem here is it can quickly add up to buy what you want, especially because the prices are in British Pounds, which at the current exchange rate means that the £20 you'd spend for the additional materials on lessons 1-10 would cost you more than $36. Still, the basic podcast for Coffee Break Spanish will always be free on iTunes, and that's good enough for me now.
I'm planning to stick with this for a while. I haven't given up on maintaining my Hindi or my German, but as an addition to those skills. I think it's good to be multilingual, and I hope that it will encourage my kids to learn multiple languages. I also hope that it will insulate me from any possible instability in the market. I'm seeking any advantage I can get.
