I think people need a basic understanding of Spanish before they start this podcast. I consider myself intermediate and as I was listening, I thought to myself that there would be no way I could understand their conversation if I was just starting out. As an intermediate learner, I already understood most of what they were saying but I found this podcast very helpful since I do not know a lot of slang. I want to point out that this is Spain Spanish, and not Latin American Spanish, and different Spanish-speaking regions use different vocabulary. All-in-all, I liked this podcast and think we can all learn a lot from them, especially with the worksheets they provide from their website. If they taught a more advanced module, I would listen to that podcast as well.

An enjoyable way to learn Spanish.

When I first started listening to this show I wasn’t a fan. Felt a bit overwhelmed and had a hard time understanding them. But I have to say out of all the ways I consume Spanish, for some reason I always remember the words and phrases from this show. I think the cheesiness of their conversations always sticks with me. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve been traveling, I’m tired, struggling to think of what to say in a Spanish speaking country, and for some reason their cheesy Spanish phrases and stories will pop out for me to use.

You speak to fast, even in English.

I have tried many Spanish learning podcasts and apps and have found this podcast to be the most enjoyable as well as the best to learn from. Ben and Marina have a fun chemistry and discuss interesting topics in a really authentic way. I bought all the transcripts and love following along. Truly vale la pena!

I’m an intermediate Spanish speaker. I have been learning on and off for years and this is not for beginners. The lady speaks too fast and they move too quickly through the conversations so by the 3rd podcast it seems way ahead. It’s certainly not something someone who is just learning will get easily.

The “beginner” section goes from 0-100 really quick. They go from saying “hello, what’s your name” to describing really detailed conversations like 3 episodes later. It’s super hard to follow along and stay motivated. I feel like there are much better ways of saying something to keep them simple, but they give 5 variations at once, which is hard to digest as a beginning language speaker.

The information in this podcast is very informative and the examples are great! Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long to get almost annoyed with the male host, Ben. He makes the dynamic with the female host seem strained, and he himself sounds like an intermediate Spanish speaker. It would be much better if someone more personable, likable and just plain better at Spanish were hosting this podcast. :/

I really wanted to love this because I like the dynamic between the two of them. But I felt like this got hard really fast and is more intermediate level

...it is the first time that the conversations were slow enough to understand the key words. I have had no practice listening to others. More later....

To be honest, the Spanish is Spain drives me nuts BUT even more so is poor pronunciation. I find it rather difficult understanding Ben Sometimes. His pronunciation is really bad. Thank goodness for marina. I’d rather have just her and another native speaker to be frank. I understand it’s their business but he really needs to practice pronunciation.

I truly love all that you guys are teaching and putting into this podcast. My Spanish teacher recommended this podcast to me and I am so glad she did. I really hope that one day I can go to a Spanish-speaking country and use all that you have taught me. Thank you so much for creating this podcast!!!

I love the chemistry between the speakers. I found this and the intermediate level podcast recently and I feel like using them together has done a lot to improve my Spanish listening skills already.

Love the voices, context, subjects , the pace. Makes learning Spanish even more enjoyable

Pass this one by. Martina’s accent is so heavy and she speaks so quickly you will not get it. Estoy aprendiendo espanol, solo. Discover Spanish es muy mejor. Adios

Yetgrrerrerrr Erin did you do yyedderws day d

A lot of podcasts seem to have short clips, mostly made up of large intro and exit music parts...I enjoy listening to Ben and Marina. They are clear, easy to understand and listen to for long periods of time. And I also love Radiohead...so there was a hidden bonus!

I have been learning Spanish for four years and it started with Ben and Marina. They have such a pleasant way of speaking to each other and they give you great insight into real Spanish used in Spain. I hope they’re still out there today sharing their gift!

This is not a beginners class. I’m not sure what they’re going for but I gave it till the third lesson thinking I was missing something. I wasn’t. Not good

I really enjoy these podcasts. They do an excellent job of explaining the conversations and language and I can follow the conversations and understand them very well. The new vocabulary they introduce is great as well. My one gripe is the speed they take at. In both English and Spanish (especially) they speak exceptionally fast, like they just downed a 12 cups of coffee and did a couple lines of cocaine. I've never encountered people that speak as fast as they do conversationally. Relax. Slow down a tad.

I tried listening to other Podcasts geared towards learning Spanish but I naturally just return to listening to Ben and Marina's Podcasts. This series just has a nice and natural flow that is really enjoyable to listen to and learn from. I wanted to let Marina and Ben know that their website and Podcasts series is fantastic and I really appreciate the time and work they placed into it.

This instruction is wonderful. I can't believe it's free. I have learned so much. Real world Spanish and ec=xcellent teaching style.

Really appreciate this podcast. Helped so much during my year in Madrid

I'm a more seasoned beginner that has a solid foundation, but I've found this podcast to be an excellent supplement to my learning. I wouldn't recommend this podcast to absolute beginners because you need to have a foundation in the language to be able to understand and dissect what is being said. I take good notes while listening to this podcast, and I have the benefit of daily practice with friends and colleagues - so I base my daily conversations around what I learn in this podcast, some textbooks, and my everyday life. I appreciate how the two hosts break things down quickly, focus on a conversational aspect, and explain what they are talking about prior to engaging in a conversation. Listening to this podcast has elevated my knowledge, skills, and conversational fluency tremendously. Although as an American, my primary focus is to speak with a more Latin-American tongue - this podcast is still incredibly helpful. There's a few words that are used in Spain differently than in Latin America, but it's not significant. If your goal is the same as mine, just be mindful of some of the pronunciation. Overall, excellent and I look forward to continuing through the series.

If you are looking for the best way to improve your Spanish conversational skills, this is it. While I have taken Spanish in school for many years and may have a relatively strong grasp of vocab and grammar rules, when it came to just speaking Spanish and understanding native speakers I was always lost and frustrated. This podcast has already been a great help and I plan to eventually listen to the intermediate and advanced ones as well.

They are great teachers and their chemistry is very evident, making them fun to listen to. They share cool words and phrases that you’d encounter talking to friends, so it’s much more natural sounding than a textbook. I am a 100% COMPLETE beginner but I love how they jump right into real conversation. Rather than memorizing from a textbook, I’m learning naturally and almost effortlessly. I’m addicted to this podcast!

Ben and Marina are great instructors. Thanks for the podcast!

Listening to these podcasts feels like listening to two bilingual friends talking about their lives. It's amazing how much you pick up just listening to these!

I'm a beginner and I find Ben and Marina a joy to listen to because they're enjoying themselves. As a previous commenter related, it's one of the few podcasts I've found that respects your intelligence level (not gimmicky - just straight up and educational.) The pace is also perfect for me - slightly challenging and all the more inspiring to learn more. It's also fun to catch them charming each other ever so subtly :)

These podcasts have been absolutely phenomenal, the dialogue, their personalities, everything. I listen to them on the way to work which helps me to always be up-to-date on all the newest slag and idioms of the Spanish language.

my spanish teacher was right, this rocks!

Great way to practice listening and to learn genuine Spanish speakers' vocabulary. Plus Marina's wonderful accent is an enjoyable way to hear a true Madridlena!

I subscribed to this podcast because I wanted a refresher before I took spanish III at University. It had been 2 years since I had taken a spanish course and I wanted to be immersed in the language a little bit. While this is a great podcast, it doesn't meet my needs. This program teaches spanish like Spaniards speak it, and I was looking for a program that taught Mexican/South American spanish. Probably a good podcast for you if you live in Europe or are planning on traveling to Spain, or just want to learn Spain spanish. If you're looking to speak spanish in the Americas, I recommend you look for another program.

The conversational tone, the current topics and the chemistry between Ben, the Brit and Marina, la madrilena makes this podcast succeed. Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced Levels are offered. This podcast is best subscribed to by a language learner who has studied the basic fundamentals of Spanish through listening, speaking, reading & writing activities. The castilian Spanish is beautiful and the clearly enunciated delivery of Marina is music to my ears. Ben's British accent disappears and his ability to express himself in his second language is the perfect foil opposite Marina. Me mola este podcast! (Disculpe la falta de acentos).

most helpful in conversational spanish than any program i have ever come across. uses idioms with their conversations and explanations their meanings in english uses enough review and repetition -very helpfull!!!!

I enjoyed this podcast. The voices aren't annoying, and I believe it's taught in the right format. The only problem is is that it's Spanish Spain, and not Spanish Latin America. Spanish Latin America is what I'm trying to learn, which is the type of Spanish that is spoken in the America's, and taught in High School. Spanish Spain is only spoken in Spain.

The Inspired Beginners Podcasts by Ben and Marina have put my quest to be a real speaker and user of the spanish language in a re-energized mode. I had stalled out after going through 3 levels of Pimsleur method which gave me a really good foundation. But since then I struggled finding anything that I could consistently grow with. Unlike so many things offered out there, Ben and Marinas podcasts are interesting and fun to listen to. You can try out what you've learned by posting on their forum, and they have someone who actually corrects it! You can do all this for free which is amazing. I went ahead and purchased some of their supporting audio and written materials which are great and a bargain. I look forward to moving on to their intermediate podcasts soon, as I've began to listen to one of them now and then. If you have a very basic foundation in spanish, then jump on board with these podcasts.

I've listened to many Spanish podcasts and can honestly say that this one has been the most helpful in my studies. You'll benefit from it whether you've had a year or two of Spanish or are a total newbie. It's a welcome change from the mechanical feel of most language instructional material. I'm on to the Intermediate podcasts now but i still go back to these to brush up on things. I love Ben and Marina!

Thanks so much guys!! I love the fact that this podcast includes a native speaker and a speaker who is still learning, like many of the listeners. Marina and Ben are awesome! This is REAL spanish! Gracias!! Pura vida maes!

Este audio me ha ayudado a aprender espanol en un divertido y facil. Permite que me rodean a mi mismo con el idioma espanol dentre de una apretada agenda.

This is an excellent podcast. Ben & Marina do an excellent job of presenting a well put together lesson: most new terms are repeated several times, and the dialogues for each lesson always reflect new vocab. I especially like that they begin each podcast with a quick review of the last lesson (this is really helpful for me). I've gotten the accompaning worksheets for Inspired Beginners and think it's a great bang for the buck. I really can't say how pleased I am with their work. It's important to consider two things. One, this podcast is not for those who've never had Spanish--it's more of a refresher course with the addition of current (non-textbook vocab). Two, while Ben is from England, Marina is from Madrid--so they lessons deal soley with Castillian Spanish in pronounciation and vocab (i.e., NOT Latin American Spanish); I, for one am glad that they help to make up for the dearth of Spanish Spanish available in podcasts.

I thought this podcast was really informative on some of the things you would wanna know in if you were going to visit a spanish country. It is full of useful phrases that are presented in a manner which makes them easier to remember. The improvised conversations in spanish are also great for listening practice. I would recommend that the listener have taken a formal spanish class beforehand and make this podcast more like a refresher course and as a way to learn some new phrases. Very useful.

It's incredibly useful, fun to listen to, and progresses at a steady pace that allows for maximal absorbtion of material. Best of all, the conversational examples are very realistic. Good Job Ben and Mariner!

I knew just a little Spanish before beginning and have found this podcast series to be PERFECT. I listen to it each episode 2-3 times and absorb a lot. I would recommend it to all who want to learn spoken Spanish.

These podcasts are invaluable towards expanding and maintaning the Spanish language. Thet are so fun and yet so effective. Ben and Marina definitely have a great chemistry which comes across in their podcasts. They provide the best language podcasts in iTunes! They are contemporary, hip minded intelligent folks who are so meant for this! I highly recommend their podcasts to anyone serious about learning not just Spanish, but intelligent and cool Spanish as spoken in conversation by Spaniards today. University language departments and other language educators take heed in what Ben and Marina have to offer!

This series, along with the NIS intermediate has been amazingly helpful in allowing me to follow along with natural spanish conversation. The "real" spanish angle that Ben and Marina use is far and away better than the canned conversations that I have encountered in other language courses. I used this program as preparation for a visit to Spain last year, and I have continued with it , as I enjoy listening to another perspective on the world as I learn.

Love it! I can feel the interest, humor and care that that Ben and Marina use in their podcasts. (and for each other) I haven't studied in years. I am an inspired re-beginner!

Love it. I'm a total newbie at Spanish and this is the only true way to learn, is to be exposed to it in everyday conversation, as we were as babies learning our native tongues. Great to learn because it's very explanatory, not like other Spanish podcasts. Great job, and fun accents to listen to! :D Love all your podcasts, don't stop!

In response to the last reviewer who admitted that they are an intermediate level student, I wanted to say that if you are Intermediate you should really be listening to Ben and Marina's Notes in Spanish Intermediate podcast, not this one. This one is good for people who are pretty new to Spanish and want something a little more substantive than textbooks generally offer. I personally didn't find the Spanish to be too fast when I listened, but if someone wanted to be able to be more sure of themselves when listening, the website they run in relation to the podcast offers detailed PDFs with exercises for a small fee. All around a good podcast with a strong website standing behind it for the more serious listeners.

I was really glad to find this podcast. I have a basic knowledge of Spanish from classes and whatnot, but the problem with academic study is that it moves slowly and, eventually, the class is over and you don't get to continue your work. Most audio material about spanish always involved going over and over the stuff I already knew, but nothing seemed to cover just learning by conversation. I know how to say where I'm from or what I want to eat, but I don't know the more complex phrases or tenses...and for that matter, I don't know how to keep up in a conversation! Classroom conversation isn't the same at all, so I'm really glad this podcast exists, because it forces me to keep up and learn what I'm hearing without stopping to translate every word or check a book. So thank you for this podcast! It's really helping me.