Native Speaker Blog – Spanish Listening Comprehension – Opinions

Spanish Listening Comprehension

Going forward we will be adding various audio and video blogs of Native Spanish Speakers so that you can practice your Spanish listening comprehension. It’s so important to become accustomed to hearing many different kinds of voices and styles of talking.  If you have been listening to our podcasts it’s likely that you will be familiar with the sound of our voice and the way we speak Spanish. The next step is to listen to as many other people as possible. For that reason we are going to keep adding blogs of the people we have done interviews with. And what’s more we will be having the same people talking in various interviews.

Why?

Just listening to one interview will not allow you to really capture the speaking style of that person. However, if you can hear them speaking in various different situations on different subjects, then you will be able to get accustomed to their voice. In this audio blog, we have Elena again, Cynthia’s sister in an interview made in Spain outside the family villa, our future home!

What is she talking about?

I did a range of interviews about Spanish people’s opinions of the British. I wanted to understand what perceptions they had of the British and whether they were real or simply founded ideas taken from films or antiquated stories. Before you listen, it’s worth knowing that the opinion of many British people is that Spanish people are lazy, that they always put things off until “mañana” and that they all have a siesta every day. This is an old idea that still exists today and has very little bearing on the truth.

Some real perceptions.

One thing that did come out of all the interviews was the idea the Spanish have that British people drink a lot! Who can blame them when their only frame of reference is having seen the millions of tourists that go to the coast of Spain each year to drink themselves into a stupor whilst burning themselves to oblivion. Thankfully, not all British people are into that kind of thing.

They can be critical of themselves.

In this Spanish listening comprehension you will also hear Elena talking about what she doesn’t like about her own country. Spanish people love their country and are very proud of their cultural heritage. However, their love isn’t blind and they are aware of the faults within their own society. Listen in as Elena talk you through her own opinions of both the Spanish and the British.   Gordon 🙂

Video for This Spanish Lesson

Audio for This Spanish Lesson