Languages > Castilian Spanish > Castilian Spanish Phase 1, Units 1-30

Includes 30 lessons and reading instruction (16 hours) as MP3 download, plus PDF user's guide and reading booklet

Castilian Spanish

• In the United States, the term “Castilian” or “Castilian Spanish” usually refers to the dialect that is the official language of Spain, where it’s used in television and radio broadcasts. It is understood throughout the country, although there are marked regional differences.
• The difference between Castilian Spanish as spoken in Spain and Spanish as spoken in the Americas (now called Latin American Spanish) is due to the diminishing contact between Spain and the Americas over the centuries and to the influence of local languages in the Americas. These two main variants of Spanish are mutually intelligible; the difference between them is comparable to that between British English and American English.
• Pimsleur’s “Castilian Spanish” teaches the official dialect as spoken by the majority of Spanish-speakers in Spain.
• Spanish is the official language of twenty-one countries and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Spanish is the first language of more than 350 million people, more than any other language except Mandarin Chinese.
• Furthermore, Spanish is a common second language --- the most studied after English, and the third most commonly used on the Internet after English and Mandarin.

The Pimsleur® Method: the easiest, fastest way to learn a new language. Completely portable, easily downloadable, and lots of fun. You’ll be speaking and understanding in no time flat! Castilian Spanish Phase 1, Lessons 1-30 includes 15 hours of spoken language practice and one hour of reading instruction in thirty, 30-minute lessons.

• In the first 10 lessons, you’ll cover the basics: saying hello, asking for or giving information, scheduling a meal or a meeting, asking for or giving basic directions, and much more. You’ll be able to handle minimum courtesy requirements, understand much of what you hear, and be understood at a beginning level, but with near-native pronunciation skills.
• In the next 10 lessons, you’ll build on what you’ve learned. Expand your menu, increase your scheduling abilities from general to specific, start to deal with currency and exchanging money, refine your conversations and add over a hundred new vocabulary items. You’ll understand more of what you hear, and be able to participate with speech that is smoother and more confident.
• In the final 10 lessons of Phase 1, you’ll be speaking and understanding at an intermediate level. In this phase, more directions are given in the target language, which moves your learning to a whole new plane. Lessons include shopping, visiting friends, going to a restaurant, plans for the evening, car trips, and talking about family. You’ll be able to speak comfortably about things that happened in the past and make plans for the future.

Reading Lessons begin in Unit 11 and provide you with an introduction to reading Castilian Spanish. These lessons are designed to teach you to sound out words with correct pronunciation and accent. In addition, combined Reading Lessons from all the units are included at the end. A Reading Booklet to be used with the audio lessons is also included in PDF format.