It’s five years since we launched the first lesson of Coffee Break Spanish, and since then we’ve served up millions of language lessons to learners around the world through our podcasts, our enhanced lessons and our ebooks. We’re delighted today to announce five new courses, and we’ll also be letting you know about a few exciting projects which are due to be launched early in 2012.

Spanish

¡Empecemos con el español! On the 18th October 2006 we began with Spanish, and we’re doing the same today. Today we’re delighted to launch a brand new Spanish show. When you’re learning a language on your own, or if you don’t have access to a teacher or a native speaker, it’s difficult to get the answers you need to help you make progress. We receive questions almost every day from learners through posts on the website, emails, voicemails, tweets and Facebook, and we decided that the best way to deal with all of these questions would be to launch Q&A Spanish: you ask the questions and we provide the answers. Q&A Spanish will be hosted by teacher and languages expert JP Villanueva and native Spanish speaker Nahyeli Mendivil, so you have the best of both worlds! Each week they’ll help you develop your confidence in Spanish further by providing tips and examples of Spanish vocabulary, usage and grammar. Q&A Spanish starts today, so you can already subscribe to the podcast. Click here to find out more about how you can take part in the show.

French

We’re also delighted to be announcing a brand new French video show. In On Location French you can join Sophie who is a UK student currently studying in Paris. She’s there for a year and she’s agreed to be our “correspondent”, bringing us weekly reports on interesting expressions she learns as she interacts with native speakers every day. Sophie will also be providing some cultural input as she gets to know the city, and we’re really looking forward to finding out more about her experiences in Paris in her weekly videoblog. Find out more and watch the episodes at the On Location French page.

Dutch, Flemish and Arabic

We’re delighted to be launching three new courses in our ever-popular One Minute Languages series. One of the most requested languages over the past few years has been Dutch, and we’ve decided to produce a Dutch and Flemish version of the course. Both languages are very similar – Flemish is the variety of Dutch spoken in Belgium, and of course Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands and in other countries around the world such as Suriname and Aruba. One Minute Dutch launches on Thursday 20th October and One Minute Flemish will be published on Fridays from 21st October. We’ve also been asked many times to produce an Arabic version of our One Minute Languages course. One Minute Arabic will run for ten weeks from tomorrow, Wednesday 19th October. We’re concentrating on Modern Standard Arabic which will ensure that as a learner you’ll be understood across the Arab world, from Casablanca to Kuwait. With these latest additions to the One Minute Languages series, we now cover 26 languages, from Arabic to Zulu making Radio Lingua your first stop for language-learning on the go, literally from A to Z!

What’s coming down the line?

There may be some of you who are looking forward to a third season of Coffee Break Spanish. We’re working on this at the moment and by the time the reruns of Show Time Spanish end in January we should be ready to go with Coffee Break Spanish Season 3. French learners will be very pleased to know that Pierre-Benoît has been wandering about in the streets of Paris again and a second series of Walk, Talk and Learn French is in production. We’re also very excited about the January launch of our new children’s French video course, High Five French. We’ll be releasing more information about all of these projects over the next few months, so stay tuned!

And finally…

Finally, a personal note. Five years ago today, as I uploaded the first lesson of Coffee Break Spanish to the internet I had no idea how things would develop. At the time it was really just a personal project – something to keep me involved in Spanish as my “day job” had changed and I was no longer as closely involved in languages. Since then we’ve seen Radio Lingua grow into a successful company, delivering language lessons to millions of learners from all corners of the globe. I’d like to say a personal thank you to all of the brilliant people involved in the production of our courses, and to everyone involved in the day-to-day running of Radio Lingua. Most of all, I’d like to thank you, the listeners, who find our lessons on iTunes, or who come across our videos on YouTube, or who download our ebooks on your iPhones or iPads. Thank you for continuing to use our lessons, and a special thank you to all of our loyal members. Please continue to enjoy our lessons, and we hope you’re as excited as we are about the new shows we’re launching today.

We love doing what we’re doing and we look forward to the next five years, and hopefully many more!

Mark Pentleton
Director, Radio Lingua Ltd

It’s been a busy term for Radio Lingua: in the past three months we’ve published over 90 language lessons, we’ve introduced ebook versions of our courses in our premium memberships and on the iBookstore and we’ve had three of our podcasts listed in the iTunes Rewind best of 2010. We thought we’d take this opportunity to update you on a few important news items.

Festive greetings

Firstly, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish all our listeners a very happy festive season. We have listeners all around the world and wherever you are, whatever celebrations you’re having as we head towards 2011, we hope that you have a peaceful, restful and happy holiday. All through December we’ve been running our Festive Phrases podcast which has featured daily festive phrases from around the world with the hosts of our various shows. This series has been particularly aimed at schools and we’ve been delighted that so many young language learners around the world have used our daily podcasts to learn some festive greetings in 24 languages. Each day we’ve added the number of speakers of the language featured to a map and by the end of the series listeners were able to send festive greetings to over 2.6 billion people around the world. If you’re a teacher and you’ve been using Festive Phrases with your classes, please send us your feedback.

Coffee Break French Season 3 news

We introduced season 3 of Coffee Break French in October and this week we’ll release episode 10. Since we began season 3 we’ve offered a special introductory price for the premium version of the course which provided 3A (lessons 301-320) and 3B (lessons 321-340) together for a one-off payment of £47 GBP. As of 10th January 2011, season 3A and 3B will cost £37 each, or the complete season 3 will cost £64. This is therefore your last chance to purchase season 3 at the introductory price. Please note that all existing customers who have bought season 3 complete will receive the premium materials for the full season.

UK VAT charges

On 4th January 2011, the UK VAT rate increases from 17.5% to 20%. As a result our prices for EU customers will increase. For example, the current price of Coffee Break French Seasons 1 and 2 complete is £89 + VAT. This equates to £104.57. From 4th January 2011 the price will be £106.80 for EU customers. For Coffee Break Spanish Season 1 the current price is £47 + VAT. This equates to £55.23, but from 4th January the price will be £56.40 for EU customers. These changes do not affect the base prices of our products, so non-EU customers will not be affected. We’ve decided to extend our winter sale until 10th January to help make this transition. This means our sale will now end at midnight GMT on 10th January: continue to use coupon code WINTER2010 until 10th January.

Plans for 2011

We’re looking forward to a new year of language learning with Radio Lingua, and we hope you are too! We’ve been working on lots of new content and we’ll be adding to our range of materials in Spanish, French, German and Italian with new materials for learners. We’ll be extending our One Minute Languages series with Arabic, Dutch, Galician and Hungarian to name but a few, and we’ll be introducing more video content in the coming year. Make sure you visit our site regularly, that you’re a friend of Radio Lingua on Facebook, and that you follow us on Twitter to be the first to hear of all our new content. There’s some very exciting news coming in the next couple of months, so stay tuned!

Finally, we’d like to wish you once again a very happy holiday season, and best wishes for 2011.

In our final episode of this season of News Time Spanish our stories include:

• The cost of Christmas in Spain and the famous pre-Christmas lottery draws
• A housing crisis in Argentina
• New smoking laws in Spain
• Cuba creates its own Wikipedia
• Electric cars for hire in Paris

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

Apologies for the late arrival of this week’s News Time Spanish. On this week’s show:

• The Wikileaks controversy continues with a fear of censorship on the Internet
• The SNCF admits transferring Jews to concentration camps during WWII
• Student protests in the UK following sharp increases in tuition fees
• News from the Climate Change summit in Cancún
• Why French hair salons have turned off their music

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

This week on News Time Spanish :

• The UN reiterates its aims in the battle against HIV/AIDS in Africa on the occasion of World AIDS day
• A wall collapses in the Italian historical centre of Pompeii
• State of emergency declared in Spain following a strike by air traffic controllers
• Russia succeeds in its bid to host the 2018 football World Cup
• Picasso treasures discovered in an unlikely private collection

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

This week on News Time Spanish :

• Tension between North and South Korea
• UK Immigration restrictions as a result of the financial crisis
• Scottish football referees take industrial action
• Developments in the former British colony of Guyana
• A possible link between wifi radiation and damage to trees in urban areas of the Netherlands

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

This week on News Time Spanish :

• Violence in the former Spanish colony Western Sahara
• Rivalry between the candidate countries for the football World Cup in 2018
• Prince William announces his engagement to Kate Middleton
• New announcements regarding UNESCO World Heritage treasures

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

This week on News Time Spanish :

• Mixed reactions to the Pope’s visit to Spains
• Controversial admissions from George Bush
• Protest turns violent in London
• Land dispute in Nicaragua resulting from a Google error
• Spelling changes from the Real Academia Española

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

Purchase Season Pass | iTunes | RSS

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

In this week’s edition of News Time Spanish stories include:

• Qantas grounds Airbus A380s following problem in Singapore
• New voting rights for prisoners in the UK
• Changes to drugs laws in the US
• News of elections in Brazil
• Developments in Spain involving paternal and maternal surnames

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

Episode 3 of our second season of News Time Spanish includes the following stores:

• Attempted terrorism aboard cargo planes
• Cholera outbreak in Haiti
• Animals in danger of extinction
• Difficulties between Spain and Venezuela
• Technological developments in Nepal

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

Episode 2 of our second season of News Time Spanish includes the following stores:

• Strikes and demonstrations in France
• Changes in arrangements for applications to join the Armed Forces in the USA
• Arrests in Spain of members of the terrorist group SEGI
• A new historical alliance between Venezuela and Iran
• Interesting developments for basketball players

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

Purchase Season Pass | iTunes | RSS

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

In this first edition of our new season of News Time Spanish we feature the following stores:

• Jubliation as the Chilean miners return
• Space tourism is a step closer
• Advances in stem cell research
• Political apologies in Ecuador
• The national Siesta championships in Madrid

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode, and for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users there is an ePub version compatible with the iBooks application. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 20 October 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

Purchase Season Pass | iTunes | RSS

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 2 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

This week’s News Time Spanish is the final episode in our pilot series. Featured this week:

• Argentina legalises same-sex marriage
• Jellyfish invasion in Spanish beaches
• Ingrid Betancourt demands compensation from the Colombian Ministry of Defence
• Singer Enrique Iglesias and his promise following the Spanish World Cup win

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. The entire season of News Time Spanish is available in a premium format which provides lesson notes, vocabulary and exercises for each episode. Our pilot season finishes this week  but all ten episodes are still available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

Coming up in this week’s edition of News Time Spanish:

• Spain win the Football World Cup
• a Spanish heatwave causes problems across the country
• a report from the San Fermín bull-running festival in Pamplona
• important events in the policital history of Cuba involving Guillermo Fariñas
• news from India about a new health drink

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

Coming up in this week’s edition of News Time Spanish:

• problems with the Constitution of Catalunya
• arrests following an FBI investigation into suspected espionage activities
• a triumphant weekend for Spanish sport
• the assassination of a Mexican politician
• a new daily news broadcast for deaf people

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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Members’ links

This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

Coming up in this week’s edition of News Time Spanish:

• the rail accident in Catalunya which resulted in 12 deaths
• new anti-smoking laws in Spain
• World Cup roundup
• news from the Colombian elections
• the interesting events at El Cigala’s concert in Santo Domingo

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

In this week’s edition of News Time Spanish we’ll be discussing new religious freedom laws in Spain. Other stories include:

• gang violence problems in Spain
• World Cup news from the Spanish-speaking countries
• The battle agains drug-trafficking in Colombia
• An interesting story about America investor Warren Buffet

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

In this week’s edition of News Time Spanish we’ll be looking at the preparations of the Spanish national team for the World Cup which has just started in South Africa. Other stories include:

• strikes in Spain
• exams in Spanish high schools
• news from Argentina and Uruguay about a demonstration
• traffic problems in Aragón

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

In this week’s edition of News Time Spanish we’ll be looking at the Israeli attack on the aid flotilla bound for Gaza. Other stories include:

• the consumption of genetically modified foods in Spain
• support of homeless people in Madrid
• tropical storms wreaking havoc in Central America
• an unusual use for a military helicopter on the Balearic island of Mallorca

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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Members’ links

This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

The News Time Spanish season pass provides access to lesson guides, transcripts, vocabulary, exercises and a special digitally slowed down version of the audio file to give you a little extra support in understanding the stories featured each week. The current season pass provides access to ten shows, starting with our first show on 17 May 2010.

We’ve added some samples of the premium materials to the feed. You can download the lesson guide for the 17th May episode here. Note that the season pass also provides an answer key for the exercises.

You can listen to the slow version of the episode using the Flash player below, or by downloading it here. Remember that this slow version has been digitally slowed down and is not intended as the ‘main listening experience’: we would suggest you listen to the normal speed version, then have a listen to the slow version if you find the normal speed too fast, before returning to the normal speed version for a third listen.

In this week’s edition of News Time Spanish we’ll be looking at the new Abortion Law recently introduced in Spain. Other stories include:

• the final episode of the popular series ‘Lost’
• cultural reports from the Cannes Film Festival and the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo
• an interesting environmental project in Central America
• the international launch of the iPad

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

In this week’s edition of News Time Spanish we’ll be looking at the the apprehension of ETA terrorist ringleaders in the French town of Bayonne. Other stories include:

• violence in Thailand
• ownership of the Falkland Islands and the towns of Ceuta and Melilla
• the oil slick threatens the Mexican coastline
• the first cloned fighting bull is born in Spain.

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

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This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.

In this week’s edition of News Time Spanish we’ll be looking at the major financial reform in Spain as a result of the ongoing issues around Europe. Other stories include:

• UK elections news
• Spanish sporting successes
• Mexican/US immigration issues
• Health problems in Spain

Use the player below to listen to the episode. You can also subscribe in iTunes to get all future shows delivered automatically as soon as they become available. If you would like to benefit further from these materials, you can purchase a season pass for this season of News Time Spanish: 10 weekly episodes beginning 17 May 2010. Premium materials include transcripts, vocabulary guides, exercises and a slow version of the audio. More information can be found on the News Time Spanish product page.

Purchase Season Pass | iTunes | RSS

Members’ links

This content is part of the News Time Spanish Season 1 membership. Please login or register to view this content.