The Verb Gustar in Spanish

Anyone who’s just beginning to feel comfortable with Spanish grammar and conjugation will certainly feel confused when finding out how we say “I like” in Spanish. The verb gustar works in a way that can seem puzzling, to say the least. I’m sorry to tell you that, if you were thinking of avoiding the hard work of learning how to use this verb by finding a different way of expressing your likes by saying things like “El nuevo álbum de Coldplay está bueno” or “La última película de Tarantino está mala”, let me tell you that this strategy won’t last long, because gustar is only the first of many other verbs that use this particular structure. That’s why it’s so important that you start learning how it works, or – better yet – start using it.

That’s what I’d like to help you do with this course. For this, I’ve carefully designed each lesson. In each section, we’ll first focus on learning new vocabulary. You’ll have access to printable flashcards and you’ll find each vocabulary list on Quizlet, with all its great features. Then, we’ll put into practice this vocabulary by doing exercises that require creating complete sentences, orally. We’ll constantly focus on listening and pronunciation. Later, we’ll have a conversation exercise, which is both a speaking and a listening practice. And finally, we’ll watch an interview to listen to how native speakers use what we just learned, as well as new and authentic ways of expressing your own interests. You’ll have access to the transcripts and translations.

Lastly, this course was created entirely in Spanish for learning purposes. The subtitles, available in English and in Spanish, will allow you to understand everything that is said while, if listening actively, still enabling you to practice your listening skills, which is one of the main goals of this course. With this characteristic, this course meets the requirement of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages of using the target language 90%+ of the time. “Second Language Acquisition research – this institution remarks – has shown that learners need as much exposure as possible to the target language for acquisition to occur… Just like learning to ride a bike or any other important skill, learning is best achieved by doing.”

If you’d like to be able to actually talk about your likes and dislikes while expanding your vocabulary and improving your speaking and listening skills, join me on this course, and let’s meet your goals together.

Who this course is for:

• Beginners who haven’t studied this topic before.
• Students who have studied this topic before, but haven’t mastered it.
• Students who are seeking to develop their speaking and listening skills.