1.3: Language + Cultural Notes

1.3: Language + Cultural Notes

Author: Live Lingua April 12, 2024 Duration: 5:44
In this episode we're going to go over some basic language and cultural notes for the Spanish language. When you're learning another language, one of the most important things to understand is that it's not just about learning the words and vocabulary.

I know this from personal experience when I was learning Spanish — it's about learning about the culture. There are certain things that make sense to English speakers that aren't done in the same way when you're speaking Spanish.

An anecdotal story for me is that when I was first learning Spanish in Mexico, I would attempt to tell jokes. Even when I knew the words for the jokes, the jokes made absolutely no sense to the Mexicans. While I thought I was being hilarious, I was usually greeted with crickets.

Sadly, this hasn't improved that much 10 years down the road, but I'm still working on it.

But that's why it's so important to listen to the sections and understand what we say. because that will make this unit and all future units in the Live Lingua Spanish Podcasts make sense.

After listening to the episode, click here for practice exercises. Don't forget to subscribe here, rate 5 stars, and leave a review!


Join Ray as he navigates the practical side of picking up a new language in Learn Spanish with Live Lingua. This isn't about dry grammar drills; it's built around the actual phrases and exchanges you'd encounter while traveling or engaging with different cultures. Each mini-episode focuses on breaking down a real-world conversation, making the structure and nuance of Spanish more accessible and less intimidating. You'll hear the dialogue at pace, then get a slowed-down, piece-by-piece explanation that clarifies why things are said a certain way. The goal is to build comprehension and confidence for everyday situations, whether you're ordering in a restaurant, asking for directions, or having a simple chat with a neighbor. Produced by Live Lingua, this podcast turns short, focused listening sessions into tangible progress, connecting language learning directly to the places and societies where it's spoken. It’s a straightforward companion for fitting practice into a busy day, emphasizing useful, immediate understanding over perfection.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 1000

Learn Spanish with Live Lingua
Podcast Episodes
5.5-1: Objective - Taking a taxi or an Uber [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15
¡Hola! Welcome to m-episode 5.5.1 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. ¿Ready to learn Spanish? Welcome to Unit 5.5 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. This unit covers taking a taxi or an Uber in Latin America. In this u…
5.14: Unit 5 review [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01
¡Hola! Welcome to m-episode 5.14 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. ¿Ready to learn Spanish? This m-episode is a quick recap of Unit 5 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. It offers a congratulations on your hard work so…
5.12: Conversation: Buying tickets for public transportation (Review) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:57
¡Hola! Welcome to m-episode 5.12 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. ¿Ready to learn Spanish? This m-episode revisits the conversation that you heard in Unit 5.1 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. By now, you should be…
5.10: Buying a bus, plane, train ticket [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:55
¡Hola! Welcome to m-episode 5.10 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. ¿Ready to learn Spanish? This m-episode covers how to ask what time a train, bus, or airplane arrives at its destination, and how to understand the rep…
5.9: Ask: "When does the bus, train, plane arrive?" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29
¡Hola! Welcome to m-episode 5.9 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. ¿Ready to learn Spanish? This m-episode covers how to ask what time a train, bus, or airplane arrives at its destination, and how to understand the repl…
5.8: Ask: "When does the bus, train, plane leave?" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:14
¡Hola! Welcome to m-episode 5.8 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. ¿Ready to learn Spanish? This m-episode covers how to ask what time a train, bus, or airplane departs from the terminal, and how to understand the reply…
5.7: Telling time in Spanish (Part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:11
¡Hola! Welcome to m-episode 5.7 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. ¿Ready to learn Spanish? Now that you know how to say and understand the hours, let's focus a bit on the minutes. In Spanish, you can say the minutes af…
5.6: Telling time in Spanish (Part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:42
¡Hola! Welcome to m-episode 5.6 of the Live Lingua Spanish Podcast. ¿Ready to learn Spanish? Now let's combine the numbers you learned in the previous m-episode so you can tell the time. When telling time in Spanish all…