secure payments on all products

Product name: Puerta del Sol - Spanish Audio Magazine

Prices: click here to see the price list

Free samples: click here for audio and text samples

Click here to: buy this product

Why do we recommend it? Because we've used the French and German versions ourselves, and they work. We've also used the Spanish version (the one reviewed here) with our students, and they've liked it.

The recordings are fun and the study supplements are very useful, but the strongest point of this audio magazine is that it can be used wherever you are. You can listen to it while commuting, cooking, walking, bathing, walking, fishing, travelling, waiting, etc.

You can listen to a few minutes at a time, or the entire audio magazine in one go. What's more, you can listen to each issue over and over and discover new things every time.

It's a bimonthly publication on cd or cassette which comes with a small printed magazine with the transcript.

The audio material is one hour long. The printed magazine has the full transcript and a Spanish-English glossary with the new words (over 500 per issue). It also has several pages of relevant cultural notes.

Every issue comes with optional study supplements too.

It's aimed at intermediate and advanced students.

It's ideal for those wanting to widen their knowledge of the Spanish language and culture.

It's excellent for those wanting to maintain their level.

It will help you improve your speaking and listening skills.

It will allow you to expand your vocabulary quite dramatically, fast and efficiently, while entertaining you.

It will introduce you to a large variety of Spanish accents from Spain and Latin America.

It will keep you informed and up-to-date with issues related to Latin America and Spain.

Each issue contains:

• An hour-long cd or tape (you choose which)
• A magazine with the full transcript and +500 word glossary
• Optional printed study supplements
• Optional cd with 100 audio flashcards

Audio material: every issue is one hour long. The material is recorded exclusively by native speakers from Spain and Latin America. The style resembles that of radio programs. It has interviews, film and book reviews, songs, and information about food, wine, sports, politics, the arts, travel, current affairs, music, religion, biographies, etc.

Each section lasts several minutes. The vocabulary used is very extensive, ranging from the very colloquial to the formal.

Printed magazine: around 30 pages long, with the full Spanish transcript of the audio material on the left, and a + 500 word glossary on the right.

It also contains cultural notes related to the topics covered, as well as a list of websites where you can get further information on those topics.

Two optional study supplements: you can get those for a small additional fee. One is a cd with audio flashcards. These consist of the most useful 100 Spanish words and phrases from the main cd, plus their English translations. They're a very efficient tool for learning new vocabulary fast, and for reviewing it when needed.

The second study supplement provides no less than three hours of extra work. It has listening exercises, multiple choice drills, fill in the blank and true/false exercises. This supplement will help you with both vocabulary and grammar.

Free samples: click here for audio and text samples