New format lessons on Span¡shd!ct

Question

Paralee has been working hard on a new Lesson format and...we finally got it on our Reference Section!!

Lessons are more user-friendly and they are explained in a video apart from the usual grammar section.

We hope you like them, please let us know what you think of them

This topic is one of the most difficult ones

Por y para

Great! - jtt96, May 24, 2011

Love the old picture, Heidi. Maybe I should update my profile picture to something new :) - Paralee, May 24, 2011

we love you as we see you! - pacofinkler, May 24, 2011

I second that, we love you Paralee :) - EL_MAG0, May 31, 2011

Hmmmm. . . Paralee with long hair in the new videos. Nice. Great job on the teaching videos. - redrivermonkey, Aug 19, 2011

Answer 1

It is awesome that Paralee is still improving this site, which is already at the top of the list!

Thanks, Paralee!

Answer 2

This is a great addition to the site!!

I just watched the por vs. para (something that I definitely still need help with) - and the lesson was great!!

Once again, thanks to SD!!

Answer 3

Muy bien! Excelente!

Answer 4

Thank You Paralee!!

Answer 5

I miss the photos that were in the original video. I think the visual pictures were very helpful as compared to the written script. There are also corners of what appears to be a chair behind Paralee's shoulders. Not a big deal though.

it is however nice to see Paralee again. Love the hair too

Answer 6

Paralee.. this is fantastic! I like what I see so far.. wonderful! Gracias!!

Answer 7

Hello everybody,

To answer your questions. I like the pace of the lessons. I find they are clear and consise. I really did not notice much difference between the por vs. para video and the past participle video. Ifyou are talking about short pauses, I don't think they are necessary given the fact that the videos are not that long and can be easily reviewed. The written examples and notes are plentiful.

As far as the quizes go, I like the fact that their are several questions. That gives plenty of opportunity for practice. For example, I scored 38 of 40 on the first two lessons.

If you find a way to give a certificate of completion upon getting 10 correct in a row, it would be nice if you can give an option to continue the quiz or accept certificate now.

I think I may have spotted a couple errors in the relative pronouns quiz. I have described them on another thread:

Please give us feedback on the N E W Format Lessons , thanks!

Thanks for everything.

          Amor y paz 

Answer 8

I know this isn't important but I love Paralee's hair Anyway, this is great! I dreamed of something like this! Thank you!

First thing I noticed too, rabbit! - galsally, Jun 2, 2011

Same here, love it - Yeser007, Jun 5, 2011

Answer 9

I watched the por and para one just now. I thought it was excellently paced and very well thought out. You can tell Paralee writes a mean lesson plan! Not a wasted moment. The written "white board" style is very good and moves at the right speed embedding a diagrammatic image as well as the written text.

Great work well thought out! Thanks very much.

Answer 10

Great video, clear and to the point!

Answer 11

Well, late as usual, I've just seen this thread so I'm going to check out "por vs. para" as soon as I get home tonight. God knows I need it badly. Thanks Paralee.

Answer 12

Hola Paralee,

Heidi asked me to post this message about the use of POR / PARA on your thread, but by mistake I posted it on her thread. So, I better put it here as well.

First of all, I want to thank you for all the work you have done. SD has helped me a lot already in learning Spanish! I think the new format is great. Your explanation is very clear, especially pointing out that the difference is mainly based on indicating a "final" or a "on the way" situation. That really helps a lot. What I like best is the feedback you get when you made a mistake in the quiz.

However, in the quiz there are two sentences of which I would like to ask you to check again the feedback:

Mi hermano trabaja POR / PARA Microsoft. Para is marked wrong here as it should be POR because of exchange according to the feedback. But you could also consider Microsoft to be the final recipient of the work, and then PARA would be correct. Or am I wrong here?

Tuve que limpiar la cocina POR / PARA mi hermana porque ella es perezosa. Por is marked wrong here as it should be PARA because of exchange according to the feedback. However, from Paralee's earlier lesson on POR & PARA I learned that in case of "instead of " one should use "POR". In your reference section that is confirmed because the following sentence is mentioned:

•Fui al supermercado por mi madre porque ella estuvo enferma. (I went to the grocery store instead of my mother because she was sick.)

Isn't this the same kind of phrase?

Please, don't take me wrong. I don't think I know things better than you do. After all, I am only at intermediate level, but I do want to help to make SpanishDict even better than it already is.

Answer 13

Note: I just did the Past Participle Quiz. Halfway through I received this message

Error establishing a database connection! Are you sure you have the correct user/password? Are you sure that you have typed the correct hostname? Are you sure that the database server is running?

However, on 'going back' a page it had saved my answers and I carried on successfully.

Question 17 gives an incorrect correct answer though -

For 'demandar' it gives the correct answer as 'damandado'.

I hope it's easily rectified.

thanks sally, I have jsut sent this to paralee, I am sure she is watching the thread...but anyway - 00494d19, Jun 2, 2011

Answer 14

I almost missed this thread! thank you so much for all the effort!!!!!!!!

Paralee, I just wanted to tell you that you looked great in that lesson

Answer 15

I really like them, thanks Paralee!