Generally I’m asked what is my fascination with Spanish.  My foreign language experience began with two years of high school Spanish.  I learned Spanish prior to the World Wide Web.  At the time it seemed difficult but I’m glad I started when I did.  Years later I took two years of Spanish in college.  While enrolled in college I studied three months in Costa Rica.  That experience allowed me to speak Spanish more than I ever did and I enjoyed it.

Since middle school I’ve enjoyed music and talk radio. During the early years of my Spanish learning journey I was able to include music as part of my language learning toolkit.  For me, having the lyrics and the music together was great for learning idioms, recognizing verb tenses and learning vocabulary.  Today the Web is part of my continuing education.  I try to regularly listen to talk radio in Spanish.  I enjoy sitcoms, movies and an occasional “novela” all in Spanish.  What I do to practice speaking is attend Meetups when I can and speak to whomever will listen.

Below is a Chicagoland radio station and access to global radio stations.  I like the global radio stations because I learn a lot about other cultures and their local events.  I find it fascinating to hear what other countries think of the United States.  Hopefully you too will find a radio station you enjoy.

What have you done or continue to do to keep your level of fluency?  Please share your experiences in the comments.