Brian is a young man living in London who is very unhappy with his life and has made quite a few resolutions for the New Year, which is about to he wants to lose weight, give up smoking, learn Spanish, change his job... but, above all, he wants to forget María, his Spanish ex-girlfriend.
Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva is a short story specially written for students at pre-intermediate level of Spanish (A2).
LEARN SPANISH BY READING This book is carefully designed to help learners revise and consolidate key vocabulary and key grammar structures of the pre-intermediate level of Spanish (A2) by reading a naturally flowing text. Reading short stories like Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva is one of the most effective and pleasant ways to learn a Foreign Language. By reading, you can learn vocabulary and grammar structures in context, without memorising lists of isolated words or studying endless grammar rules.
A STORY THAT YOU WILL ACTUALLY WANT TO READ Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva is not just a book to learn it's also a good story. It is not always easy to create a good story with the limited vocabulary and not-too-complex grammar learners of a Foreign Language require. That is the main reason Foreign Language Graded Stories are sometimes disappointing. The stories told are just too bland, fail to capture the attention of the learners, and do not keep their motivation until the end of the book because authors are constricted to using quite a narrow range of grammar points and vocabulary topics. However, I don't think Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva will disappoint you. I believe it is an interesting story that will catch your attention from the beginning and will keep you motivated till the end. I wrote this story based on my experience living in London and teaching Spanish for 20 years. The events and the characters I describe here are only the result of my imagination, but their fears, sadness, anger, frustrations, hopes, joys, and dreams are real; they reflect some people I have met and some situations I have encountered during my teaching career in London. If you have ever dreamed of learning Spanish, you will enjoy reading this book.
Juan Fernández is a Spanish teacher at University College London. He was born in the south of Spain, in Granada, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In 1997 he moved to the UK, where he has been teaching Spanish for more than 15 years. He is also the creator of 1001 Reasons To Learn Spanish, a website with games, videos, podcasts and many activities to help you learn Spanish in a pleasant way.
Wow! I stumbled across Juan's sites this year 2019... The book was mentioned in his currently private Facebook group. I was gifted a Kindle unlimited subscription for Christmas and have found it challenging to find books I'm interested in available through Kindle unlimited, this book was available so I read it. I really enjoyed the flow of the book, the brevity of the chapters followed by the grammar, chapter summary then questions and answers regarding the chapter. The format is the best I've had the good fortune to read particularly for adult language learners, I rank this book at an intermediate level. I plan on reading more from Juan if the other books follow the same format with a story that keeps me interested, I can't wait. I've already chosen my next book. I was able to start and finish this book during the day while caring for my toddler grandchildren. Juan, thank you. I do realize all the time and effort involved for all that you do for us. I'm in the USA and I think anyone is blessed to have you as their instructor and I'm really glad I've connected with you via Facebook, YouTube and your website. Outstanding job!
Another funny & informative story from Juan. (My third) It was well-paced contemporary & attainable, making it a pleasure to learn Spanish. I'm looking forward to the next one.
The chapters are short, breaking the story into manageable portions and reducing the need to scroll through pages in order to access the vocabulary.
The "true or false" bits at the end of each chapter I find irrelevant, otherwise, no complaints. ( But you won't believe what the Spanish do with grapes on New Year's Eve!)
Perhaps five stars is a bit high but I really enjoyed the story. When you come to the end of a book, novels, or story and you want to know more, it tells you the author has done his/her job well.
But the important thing here is learning Spanish. When you read one of Juan Fernandez’s books you can feel yourself learning the language. He uses repetition and situations to help you understand the vocabulary and the grammar.
This is written at the B1 level so you should have read at least some works at level A2 before trying this one.
Good learning material for intermediate Spanish students
I found this book useful as teaching material to improve my intermediate Spanish. The story definitely isn’t going to win any Booker prizes but that’s not the point. Spanish students will just enjoy following the story and learning new grammar and vocabulary.
Juan Luis Fernández is a truly great writer and his stories are designed to help teach you Spanish. IF you are at the level of this book, you´ll do yourself a favor by buying it and reading. Be sure and visit his website, 1001reasonstolearnspanish.com and listen to his YouTube channel Español con Juan. I highly recommend this book for those at the level.
Another fun book for students of the Spanish language. The format of this book is somewhat like a one year diary of a man who has incredibly tough luck and is very down on himself. He derives his sense of happiness solely from what other people say and do which, of course, is a recipe for disaster. The text includes a lot of repetition to help the reader retain vocabulary.
I enjoyed the story and it was well written. The only thing l found a bit confusing were the references to Argentinian Spanish, but otherwise good language learning material.
Según yo, este es un libro muy util para los estudiantes de español. Cada capitulo tiene ejercicios y vocabulario y el texto es bastante sencillo a comprender. Lo recomendaría a estudiantes de nivel A2 y B1.
A bit short, but I really enjoyed the story. The vocabulary used throughout the book was spot on. I currently have a B2 level in Spanish, but I decided to read it anyway. Gracias, Juan. Eres la leche!
Los libros por Juan Fernández son perfecto para mi. Este libro usa los verbos en el presenté. La repetición y el contexto de las palabras nuevas son una buena manera para comprender la historia.
Another enjoyable read from Juan. I would rate the book higher if it had a proper ending or an epilogue…or even a sequel to find out what happens next?
The story was real short but I learnt some new phrases. I like the questions at the end of each chapter and tips at the beginning. I'm grateful for books like these. Keep it up.
Really enjoy these simple stories in Spanish by Juan Fernandez. This is the second one I've read and I plan to read all of them. Have recommended to others in my Spanish class.