In this Spanish lesson we will practice the Spanish alphabet and spelling in Spanish. As usual, first we will review some relevant grammar and vocabulary and then see if you can follow a short listening.

This lesson is part of a Spanish course that practices the grammar and vocabulary first introduced in my beginner Spanish course posted here on the Transparent Language blog. Let’s test your listening comprehension and see if you can understand a short audio in Spanish. The transcript to the audio will be given at the end of the post but please try not to look at it until you have tried playing and understanding the audio a few times.

Use the following link to watch the corresponding video lesson of the original course:

Beginner Spanish Lesson 5 Alphabet and spelling

Please familiarise yourself with the following words and phrases before listening to the audio below:

A: a, B: be, C: ce, CH: che, D: de, E: e, F: efe, G: ge, H: hache, I: i, J: jota, K: ka, L: ele, LL: elle, M: eme, N: ene, Ñ: eñe, O: o, P: pe, Q: cu, R: erre, S: ese, T: te, U: u, V: uve, W: uve doble, X: equis, Y: i griega, Z: zeta.

¿Cómo se escribe/deletrea tu nombre? How do you write/spell your name? (informal)
¿Cómo se escribe/deletrea su nombre? How do you write/spell your name? (formal)
¿Cómo se escribe/deletrea tu apellido? How do you write/spell your surname? (informal)
¿Cómo se escribe/deletrea su apellido? How do you write/spell your name? (formal)
Habitación reservada: Booked room
Una reserva: a booking
Tengo: I have
Tiene: You have (formal)

Now, play the audio below to listen to a conversation between a receptionist and someone checking into a hotel. Can you understand what they are saying? Play the audio a few times before you look at the transcript. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every single thing the two people are saying. Try to catch whichever words you can and then try to piece things together to work out what is being said.

 
(Play the audio a few times before you scroll down and look at the transcript)

Transcript:

Guest: Hola
Receptionist: Buenos días señor.
Guest: Buenos días. Tengo una habitación reservada.
Receptionist: Muy bien. ¿Su nombre por favor?
Guest: Alaistair Stevens
Receptionist: Mmm, un momento… Tengo un problema. ¿Cómo se deletrea su nombre por favor?
Guest: ALISTAIR
Receptionist: ALISTAIR
Guest: Sí eso es.
Receptionist: Vale. ¿Y cómo se escribe su apellido?
Guest: STEVENS
Receptionist: STEVENS
Guest: Sí.
Receptionist: Vale, muy bien. Oh! Pues lo siento Sr Stevens, pero no tiene una reserva en este hotel.
Guest: ¿Qué? ¡Eso es imposible! ¡Aquí tengo mi reserva, mire!
Receptionist: A ver… Mmmm. Mire, Señor Stevens. Este es el Hotel Mar Azul y usted tiene una reserva en el Hotel Costa Azul.
Guest: ¿Qué? ¡Ooohh! Es verdad, lo siento. Adiós y muchas gracias.
Receptionist: Adiós Señor Stevens, adiós.

So, how did you get on? How much did you understand of the listening? Please let me know in the comments section below…

Don’t worry if you didn’t understand that much, keep reviewing the vocabulary and phrases and you will soon be up to speed and ready for the next lesson in this course. See you next time!