Easy Spanish

Reading is a good way to improve your vocabulary and comprehension in another language. Reading helps you identify word roots and new usages and learn new words from context and allows you to see how grammar and punctuation are used in the target language. Short stories are especially good for this.

It's important to select stories that are appropriate for beginners. A study by Etsuo Taguchi of Daito Bunka University, Greta J. Gorsuch of Texas Tech University and Evelyn Sasamoto of Daito Bunka University found that readers of a second language who are given materials too difficult for them quickly become frustrated and lose interest. Readers who are given reading material that uses vocabulary they already know along with a small percentage of new words and usages, however, are able to read quickly and pick up on the new material rather than struggle with a lot of difficult concepts.
Foreign language teacher Megan B. Wyatt suggests starting with short nonfiction stories, such as journalism articles. In most countries, print journalism is written for a sixth-grade education level, with fairly common vocabulary and basic grammar structures. She advises that when you are comfortable with news and magazine articles, it's time to move on to children's literature, poems and websites.

Foreign language teacher Ignatius Graham suggests several tips for reading in a foreign language, applicable for reading short stories in Spanish. He recommends taking your time, reading in a quiet atmosphere away from distractions, breaking up the text into chunks and working on one chunk at a time, such as a single paragraph, using a dictionary, and rereading the same material at least twice.
He also writes that you shouldn't translate from Spanish to English in your head as you go, but practice reading and comprehending in Spanish. Continuously trying to translate will slow you down and prevent you from gaining real fluency in a language, which includes thinking in the language. Finally, he notes that you won't understand every word or grammatical construction every time. In cases like this, try to pick up the meaning from context and by parsing the sentence.

There is a wealth of Spanish material online perfect for beginning readers of the language. ClubCultura offers short journal articles on Spanish and other literature and writers. The Bibliotheca Cervantes is a virtual library of Spanish literature ranging from the simple to the complex.
Spanish News Bites states that "our motto is "Spanish Language News for Spanish Language Learners"; it is an online resource offering regularly updated, up-to-the-minute news stories from Spain and Latin America, specially adapted for language learners at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. It features selected mouse rollover glossary and grammar, audio, exercises and useful links. Finally, English-Spanish Link offers short stories for beginning Spanish learners with bilingual side-by-side translations and Spanish-only readings.

Several published series offer short stories in Spanish, often with a side-by-side English translation, which allows readers to check on the meanings of new words or constructions. These series include the Side-By-Side series and the English and Spanish Foundations Series. Suggested works include "Stories from Spain / Historias de España," by Genevieve Barlow and William Stivers, "Historias De Latinoamerica/Stories from Latin America," by Genevieve Barlow, and "Jorge el curioso" ("Curious George") and "Spiritual Sonnets," by Gabrielle de Coignard and Melanie E. Gregg. You also can subscribe to many popular magazines in Spanish to practice reading short stories.

The short story is a traditional form among many South American writers writing in Spanish. In her collection "Short Stories by Latin American Women: The Magic and the Real," editor and author Isabelle Allende recommends short stories by Luisa Valenzuela, Elena Poniatowska, Clarice Lispector, Ana Lydia Vega and Dora Alonso. English-Spanish Link suggests readings by Hermanos Quintero, Cervantes, Jesus Ferrer and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5104691_short-stories-spanish-beginners.html

PABLO NERUDA...PAZ PARA LOS CREPÚSCULOS...

2011-10-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

Poesía.Paz para los crepúsculos...Manuel con fondo La partida Inti Illimani, por Radio Educacion del Mayab. 8054

Producción: Radio Educación del Mayab | Pais: México
Idioma: Español | Formato: Poemas
Fecha Producción: 09/2009

Tema: CULTURA
Subtema: Poemas / Pensamientos

PAZ PARA LOS CREPÚSCULOS...

PAZ para los crepúsculos que vienen,
paz para el puente, paz para el vino,
paz para las letras que me buscan
y que en mi sangre suben enredando
el viejo canto con tierra y amores,
paz para la ciudad en la mañana
cuando despierta el pan, paz para el río
Mississippi, río de las raíces:
paz para la camisa de mi hermano,
paz en el libro como un sello de aire,
paz para el gran koljós de Kíev,
paz para las cenizas de estos muertos
y de estos otros muertos, paz para el hierro
negro de Brooklyn, paz para el cartero
de casa en casa como el dia,
paz para el coreógrafo que grita
con un embudo a las enredaderas,
paz para mi mano derecha,
que sólo quiere escribir Rosario:
paz para el boliviano secreto
como una piedra de estaño, paz
para que tú te cases, paz para todos
los aserraderos de Bío Bío,
paz para el corazón desgarrado
de España guerrillera:
paz para el pequeño Museo de Wyoming
en donde lo más dulce
es una almohada con un corazón bordado,
paz para el panadero y sus amores
y paz para la harina: paz
para todo el trigo que debe nacer,
para todo el amor que buscará follaje,
paz para todos los que viven: paz
para todas las tierras y las aguas.
Yo aquí me despido, vuelvo
a mi casa, en mis sueños,
vuelvo a la Patagonia en donde
el viento golpea los establos
y salpica hielo el Océano.
Soy nada más que un poeta: os amo a todos,
ando errante por el mundo que amo:
en mi patria encarcelan mineros
y los soldados mandan a los jueces.
Pero yo amo hasta las raíces
de mi pequeño país frío.
Si tuviera que morir mil veces
allí quiero morir:
si tuviera que nacer mil veces
allí quiero nacer,
cerca de la araucaria salvaje,
del vendaval del viento sur,
de las campanas recién compradas.
Que nadie piense en mí.
Pensemos en toda la tierra,
golpeando con amor en la mesa.
No quiero que vuelva la sangre
a empapar el pan, los frijoles,
la música: quiero que venga
conmigo el minero, la niña,
el abogado, el marinero,
el fabricante de muñecas,
que entremos al cine y salgamos
a beber el vino más rojo.
Yo no vengo a resolver nada.
Yo vine aquí para cantar
y para que cantes conmigo.

Pablo Neruda

Vocabulario

crepúscúlos: Twilight
raíces: roots
cenizas: ashes
enredando(enredar): to entangle
sello(sellar): to seal
hierro: iron
cartero: mailman
embudo: funnel
estaño: tin
aserraderos: sawmill
desgarrador: heartbreaking
almohada: pillow
bordado: embroidery
harina: flour
trigo: wheat
follaje: foliaje
salpica(salpicar): to splash
araucaria: type of plant
vendaval: strong wind
campanas: bells
empapar: to soak

Recomendación:
Para complementar este sencillo ejercicio, puedes ir al diccionario de audio que se encuentra en la esquina superior derecha de este blog. Sólo tienes que dar un click y te llevará a la página. Una vez allí, introduces en la casilla la palabra que quieres para que puedas escuchar la pronunciación correcta, luego le das clik en el reproductor de mp3 y listo. Podrás practicar la pronunciación de dicha palabra tantas veces como desees.

http://www.radioteca.net/result.php?id=05130207

Easy Spanish

1,000 Most Common Spanish Words

Short Stories for Spanish Beginners

Level of Reading Material

Tips

Readings Online

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PABLO NERUDA...PAZ PARA LOS CREPÚSCULOS...