Hi! Miguel from Spanish Input here.

If you're learning Spanish you need to do active, intensive listening. The best way to do this is The Transcription Technique: You grab pen and paper and write down every single word you hear. When you do this, you're forced to pay attention to every single word and every single sound. This opens your eyes to how Spanish is really spoken. For example, the first time a student tries this technique, they often ask me:

"Why does the D sound like a TH?"

"Why does the V sound like a B?"

"Why does the B sound like a V?"

"Why are there three A's in the text but only one is pronounced?"

"Are you sure there's a D in there? I don't hear it!" (This is the most common question, and yes, the D is there. It's just very different from the English D.)

It makes me really happy to hear and read these questions from my students and viewers on YouTube, because it means they're starting to notice things they had never noticed before. And these questions often come from people who have been learning Spanish for months, or longer! The first time you try the Transcription Technique it's going to be a revelation. Paying close attention to every word and every sound will help you figure out why you have trouble understanding native speakers, and will help you improve your accent.

You can transcribe any audio or video with pen and paper or with a document on your computer. However, I've noticed some students are not very good at spotting their own mistakes when comparing their transcript to the original text. So I decided to create Anki flashcards that automatically highlight your mistakes. Here's how they work:

You'll listen to a short audio clip many times and you'll type what you hear.
Anki will automatically highlight all your mistakes in yellow.
Optionally, you can check an English translation.
You'll rate your performance as "Good" or "Again". This way Anki knows what your weakest cards are and will show them to you more frequently.

Unlike other Anki cards you can find, these are not for memorization. You're not expected to memorize anything. These are ear-training flashcards. And they do not contain random sentences without any context. Instead, they're story-based. Each deck contains a short story I've published on my channel. You can always listen to the whole story on YouTube and see how every phrase fits into the whole. So far I've released three decks for three stories. You might already have one or two of these:

The White Cat, a comedy about a cat who learns to talk and treats humans as inferior

The Selfish Giant, a Spanish adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic fairy tale

The Mysterious Woman, a Spanish adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic story "The Sphinx Without a Secret"

Here are a couple of the reviews learners have left for these flashcards:

"I have been using Anki flashcards for one week. Already, my ability to hear connected words (words that run together) has improved. Amazing. I now believe that listening skills should come first so that my brain (the human hard-drive) is filled with correct representations of Spanish words as they really sound. TY"

"It has been painful to go through the transcription process but it has help me immensely. My understanding of Spanish has improved significantly Muchas gracias"

And this is an email I received from another learner:

"My comprehension has increased in ways I can't explain. I had the television playing on the Spanish station and words, phrases, sentences were jumping at my ears without me even, actively trying to understand them. I believe if I had been doing this type of Spanish training months ago I'd have a strong command of the language by now. But I'm on my way."

You can get my latest Anki deck. "The Mysterious Woman", for 20% off until tonight, 8 pm EDT, 5 pm PDT.

Use code LISTEN20 during checkout to get the discount:

Get the deck "The Mysterious Woman"

If you already have this deck, why not get the other two? If you don't have them already, today you can use the code LISTEN20 for any of these decks to get 20% off:

"The White Cat"

"The Selfish Giant"

The offer ends tonight, 8 pm EDT, 5 pm PDT.

Happy listening and if you have any questions just reply to this email.

-Miguel

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