66 - Season 5 - How Joe Keenan came to write a breakout book on learning Spanish

America the Bilingual

As a native English speaker who became smitten with Spanish, the American journalist Joe Keenan decided that nobody else had written how to break out of beginniner’s Spanish, so he would have to do it himself. That’s just how he titled his first book, back in 1995. It became a bestseller, one that continues to sell more than 20 years later, and in an updated edition. In this exclusive interview, hear some of the author’s best tips for giving your Spanish a turbo boost, plus other tips that apply to learning any language. Along the way, learn some Mexican Spanish dichos, or sayings crafted from popular wisdom. You’ll get to know what false cognates are and how to avoid them on your own journey to intermediate and advanced levels of Spanish. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Fernando Hernández, who wrote and directed this episode, and his Mexican production house Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music artists and selections, in order of listening: Loyalty Freak Music - One cool minute https://bit.ly/42WvMlk Kevin Macleod -Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Koi Discovery - Beer blues https://bit.ly/3pIQxmi Komiku - In the restaurant https://bit.ly/3OfJTOs The new mystikal troubadours - NMT_the lonely hunter pt. 1_11.21.20 https://bit.ly/3pKr6AL Wax Lyricist - A bad death https://bit.ly/3WbFwG7 HoliznaCC0 - Endless Grind https://bit.ly/3MxdT7r Pictures of the floating world - Cycles https://bit.ly/41L8uxT