Books, Tapes & CD's
By Dee McMath
The choice of educational books, tapes and CD's available is vast. While the styles vary from publisher to publisher, the general format nowadays is much more interesting than the sort of schoolbooks you may remember.
There is likely to be a workbook and often an audio tape or CD to accompany it a foreigners' Spanish language text. Obviously the title will give you some guidance as to the level and if you're just starting out, then look for a beginner's book first.
The advantages of using books and audio material is that you can always carry the book with you and at spare moments on the bus, train or in a waiting room, you can always make good use of the time with some revision. Listening with a headset to audio Spanish and being able to go over phrases many times is invaluable when learning the language. A long lonely drive can also be broken up and made more interesting if you use tapes or CD's, making the journey seem shorter, while you improve your Spanish.
Although you can buy excellent books on-line, you may prefer to browse in a bookshop to check out the format, etc. If you are in the UK, ask for advice at your bookseller. If you are already living in Andalucia, there are many good Spanish bookshops that stock a wide range of Spanish learning material for foreigners.
Many foreign students come to University cities in Andalucia to learn Spanish language, culture and history.
In Granada, for example, during term time, one in six of the population is a student. Near University faculties in Granada, Seville and Malaga there are bookshops with a special educational and language learning section. In the historic centre of Malaga, in the Plaza de la Merced, 17 (just along from the birthplace (Fundación) of Picasso), is a bookshop called Rayuela-Idiomas.
This shop specialises in language books.
Tel: + (0034) 952 2224810
Fax: + (0034) 952 210636.
Alternatively, you may like to call into one of the English Bookshop, Bookworld España and ask for advice on what to buy. To find out more about the shop and what Spanish, you could ring first:
Bookworld España Shops on the Costa del Sol
Fuengirola +(0034) 952 664 837
San Pedro +(0034) 952 786 366
Puerto Banus +(0034)52 816 084
Whether you want a little knowledge to get more out of a holiday or want the essentials at hand to help you in a new life in Spain, 'Liz Parry's Spanish Phrase Book' (Santana Books - 10 Euros) comes highly recommended. Liz Parry is Editor of the weekly newspaper 'SUR' in English (Free on Fridays at most newsagents along the Costa del Sol). The book is based on her weekly column on local customs and language. Topics covered in the book include, socializing, family life, shopping, eating out, buying a home and visiting the bank, and a lot more. Both the book and the weekly newspaper column provide quite an insight into local customs, as well as the language.
