Contents
1. Spanish Language & Accents
2. Visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning styles
3. A new word and cartoon for you. 4. Get your self invented memory triggers published.

1. Spanish Language & Accents

Spanish is essentially a form of Modern Latin!

Most Spanish words orginate from the Latin, further enriched by words from many other languages, including Arabic, French and Italian. On the American continent, Spanish has also been influenced on a regional basis by the various indigenous languages.

Castellano Castilian originated from Castilla (Castile), an important region in the north-central part of Spain, with Madrid being the capital. It is widely the accepted standard Spanish language, and has long considered to be the ‘correct’ form of Spanish, a little like the ‘Queen’s English’ in Britain.

Although castellano is the official language of Spain, many Spanish people do not speak it, or only speak it as a second language to their regional language.

Catalán Catalán is the language spoken in Barcelona and the region of Catalonia. It is a Romance language related to Spanish, French, Italian and Portugese. It is not a dialect of Spanish, and therefore quite different and not automatically understood by Spanish speakers.

Valencian The regional dialect spoken in Valencia, a large and important province in the Spanish south. It is distinctive from Catalán, but not as widely-spoken.

Galician Known locally as gallego, it is spoken in the northwest of Spain, and has similarities to Portuguese. Galician is a language favoured by writers and poets.

Basque The Basque language of the northern Basque terrorities bears little relation to Latin and is very difficult to learn. It is also know as vascuence or éuscaro. The Basque people are exceptionally proud of their individuality and reluctant to be part of the country of Spain.

Caló Spain’s Gypsy minority speak Caló. This language is related to Sanskrit, and has a mixture of pure gypsy ‘gitano puro’ and Latin vocabulary. Many words are used in the bullfighting and flamenco professions, and also in Spanish slang.

The are also several regional dialects, as you will find throughout the United States and in the United Kingdom. For example, the dialects of León, Murcia, Andalucía, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.

Latin American Spanish

Castellano is generally the Spanish spoken throughout the South American continent, but with many regional differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and use.

Influences from the native Indian civilizations also affect the local dialects.

Generally, the differences in vocab, pronunciation and grammar between the Castilian dialect and those of Latin America are relatively minor.

However, a couple of the main differences in pronunciation to note are:

Castilian: Ce / ci / za / zo / zu are pronounced ‘th’ /

Latin American Spanish pronounced like ‘s’

Castilian: ll prounounced ‘lli’ (like in million) / Latin American Spanish, pronounced ‘y’ (you) or ‘j’ (jeans)

Visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning styles

Research has established that there are three main styles of learning – visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. Although not exclusive, most of us prefer one over another.

- the visual learner likes to watch and visualise.

- the auditory learner likes to listen and hear.

- the kinaesthetic learner learns best by doing, by being actively involved.

Most people prefer one mode over another, and they are all important when learning. The processing information is most effective when all of the styles are combined.

One of the most exciting features of the 200 Words a Day! courses is that all three of these modes are incorporated into the programme – and you can choose which ones to switch on or off at your convenience.

Visual Every foreign word has a picture and these are of principle importance on every page. They are all original drawings, specifically designed to complement the memory trigger which links the Spanish word to the English. Many of the pictures are animated. Many are humorous! As you go through the course, you will find you have favorites – some that work better for you and lock into your mind the easiest - most probably they are the words you will never forget.

The characters in the pictures are designed to help you remember the genders of the words, in particular, the nouns. A male character will feature in the masculine words, while a female character will feature in feminine words. Of course, in the case of verbs, adjectives and other groups of words, this is not vital.

Auditory The authentic voices of native Spanish speakers, together with the sound files of the English word and English memory triggers, are designed to give an aural depth to learning the language.

Again, we have distinguished masculine and feminine genders of nouns by using male and female voices, where appropriate. Verbs and adjectives, etc, are read by either male or female speakers. On occasion we have also tried to incorporate additional sounds, such as some lines of a song or gunshot.

Kinaesthetic – movement, active, action-oriented The kinesthetic option is primarily for those people who learn best by being active and doing.

As a new word appears on the screen, you will be asked to type in the word when the memory trigger has finished.

Typing the word helps to reinforce the spelling of the word, and helps to give you a ‘feel’ of the word.

If you type the word incorrectly, you will be given two options: either to RETRY spelling it correctly, or IGNORE to leave it and carry on to the next page.

We believe that a combination of all three of the above to be most effective in helping to lock a new foreign word into your memory.

3. Here's another word for you to enjoy.

The bottom is el fondo.

So we have a man who is FOND OF eating cheese FONDUE at the bottom of the swimming pool where he cannot hear the PHONE.

The character in the pic is a man, so we know the word is masculine. Makes life easy.

Additionally, the text is blue for male (female is red), and the voice that reads the masculine texts is male also. Three gender triggers in one.

Easy.

When you do the 200 Words a Day! course, every time you encounter a new foreign word outside the course, (i.e one that you have not already learned) you start to automatically develop memory triggers…..

…and this extends into all areas of your learning. It just becomes a natural thing to start dreaming up memory triggers, because they can be used anywhere.

Maybe you might be good at dreaming up new triggers. If you do think of some great new triggers for new words, not covered in current courses, drop us an email to triggers@200words-a-day.com and you could . . .

. . . 4 . . . . Get your self invented memory triggers published.

Our team is constantly beavering away putting together more courses, and we are busy putting together new words, memory triggers, recordings and pictures, cartoons and animations.

[Spanish Course #2, French Course #2 and German Course #2 are all under way and ready for release in coming months.]

5. Tell us about your story and your learning rates.

We welcome feedback on the software and any suggestions for improvement. Tell us about your experience, and which lessons you find most useful. We are most interested in any personal stories.

Your next newzine will be emailed in around 10 days -14 days time.

Well, that's it for this newzine. If you have any questions at all do not hesitate to get in touch at Kevin@200words-a-day.com.

Kind regards,

Kevin Crocombe
Editor

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200 Words a Day!
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Tel: (+44) 1908 676 873