Prior to moving to Argentina, I spent several years working at an investment firm in Los Angeles. After the financial market collapse, I decided that it was time for me to try something different and accepted a consulting job in Buenos Aires. I set off for this new experience knowing only basic Spanish.

The first few weeks were very frustrating. This was the first time that I was living and working in a city where I did not speak the native language. I was not prepared for how difficult it was going to be to learn Spanish! My biggest hindrance in learning the language was finding the time. With a full work week and the time required to adjust to a new city, I just didn’t have the time to take classes.

I found out about “Bueno, entonces” through a friend who heard they were organizing a focus group to test the product. I joined so that I could try the program in exchange for writing a review.

I was very pleasantly surprised with how great the program was and how quickly my Spanish improved. While some of the beginning classes were below my skill level, I still found it helpful to have them reinforce basic grammar and conversational vocabulary. As the classes continued, I found myself getting pulled into the story line of David and his teacher Jimena, and also learning more and more Spanish.

For me, the best thing about the program was its portability. I was able to put all the episodes on my ipod and watch a different one each day on my commute to work. Because I could take it with me anywhere, it was easier for me to stay motivated and keep up with the program.

I’m already feeling more confident with my Spanish and am excited to keep improving my skills!

- Carla, Los Angeles

Ya no querí­a nada, mi alma estaba herida
Ya no sentí­a nada que no fuera dolor. Salí­ a buscar
Problemas porque no creí­a, no creí­a en nada ni siquiera
En el amor.

(…) Hasta que apareciste con tu fantasí­a,
Y me pediste que cantara esa cancií³n que tanto te sabí­as y yo te dije:
Pasa la noche conmigo, bonita. Yo te harí© canciones
Y versos de amores. Pasa la noche conmigo bonita
O múdate cerca y así­ me visitas
y no quedarí¡n dudas ni dolores,
en nuestros corazones. Pasa la noche
Y quí©date mañana todo el dí­a*

——

I didn’t want anything, my soul was hurt;
I didn’t feel anything besides pain. I went out
seeking for trouble, because I didn’t believe, didn’t believe in anything
Not even love.

Until you came with your fantasies
And asked me to sing you that song that you knew so well and I told you:
Stay for the night with me, pretty gilr. I’ll write you songs
And love verses. Stay for the night with me, pretty girl.
Or move in nearby and then you can come visit
And there won’t be any doubts, nor pain,
in our hearts. Stay for the night
and tomorrow, all day long.

Created by linguists, teachers and students from a half-dozen countries, General Linguistics developed Bueno, entonces… to incorporate all the best elements of the software and audiobook language learning methods like Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone that have been around for decades.

We mixed the comprehensive learning material of the audiobook courses with the addictive, fun and universally beloved format of a television show to create the Bueno, entonces… series. Each of the 30classes is 30-40 minutes long, proven as the perfect length for a language course – long enough to cover vocabulary and grammar topics but short enough to keep you interested the whole time. The challenging fast pace and edgy, entertaining style of Bueno, entonces… will keep you coming back for more.

Learning Spanish doesn’t have to be boring and monotonous. Bueno, entonces… infuses a witty, engaging storyline into the learning process – and by following along you absorb more Spanish, morequickly than you ever thought possible. By the end of the 5-week, 30-class series, you
will be speaking and understanding native conversational Spanish!

Bueno, entonces… incorporates the following 5 principles to make learning Spanish fun, painless and effective:

1. Make The Classes Interesting & Engaging With Wit and Charm.

If you are not engaged, you are not going to learn or remember anything. Learning doesn’t have to be boring — remember your favorite teachers? Well, wait until you meet David & Jimena…

2. See The Words On The Screen.

Some people are audio learners, some people are video learners – most people are both, and learn different things in one way or the other. With Bueno, entonces… every word in Spanish is written on the screen so you can see how it is spelled while you hear it being pronounced. Old-fashioned audiobooks only get your half-way there.

3. Color-Coding.

Everything on the screen is color-coded in Spanish and English to help you understand word usage and sentence structure. You’ll start to quickly see and understand which words in Spanish correspond with similar words in English, and how those words are used in a sentence.

4. Symbols & Illustrations.

The symbols will help you learn and remember verb tenses and grammar concepts. The illustrations will burn iconic images into your brain so you remember vocabulary easily and instantly.

5. REPETITION Is The Key To Learning Languages.

Any teacher will tell you that, and it’s one of the big problems with traditional audiobooks and software programs – they are mind-numbingly boring. Bueno, entonces… is engaging and fast-paced and fun. You can use these classes over and over and get something new every time.

I’ve been looking for a way to brush up on my spanish since I finished school. I Found “Bueno, Entonces” easy to use and just what I was looking for. I can use it for just a few minutes at a time and easily pickup where I left off. Highly reccomended!

-alanwells

I’ve only taken 8 weeks worth of Spanish lessons while in my life. At that is was mostly because the teacher was hot and my pubescent mind hadn’t figured out that hot 30something Spanish teachers are never gonna fall in love with a pimply teenagers. It’s kind of ironic that Bueno Entonces offered a bunch of expats a free ride on their series of Spanish learning videos in return for a review. I say ironic because they have cunningly figured out that the horny teenager in us all never really goes away and using sex to distract you from the fact you are learning a language is a winning strategy.

The series comes in a variety of formats but I went through the lessons on my ipod. This was pretty easy to do – I just dragged them into my iTunes and low and behold 30 odd innuendo filled episodes were ready to roll. I had in my mind that I’d zip through them over a spare weekend but as it turns out they are fairly hard work. Thankfully, the protagonists, an English bloke and his hot Argentine professor manage to keep your interest with a selection of vaguely titillating topics while still covering the basics. You could in fact be excused for thinking it was a primer on how to deploy pigeon-Spanish chat up lines to the fine art of getting you leg over.

Each video consists of a ‘magic white board’ which offer a kind of subtitling system on steroids. The teach, Jimena, speaks only in Spanish and her words are displayed on screen with English subtitles underneath. I really don’t have much Spanish at all and from the get go it was tricky to keep up.

Between the ‘magic whiteboard’ and the questions asked in English by the English bloke I managed to figure most of it out. Having said that, it takes a while to get used to reading the Spanish and listening at the same time. It’s bloody tricky to read the Spanish and English and still pay attention to what is going on at the same time.

I guess this is how the Argentines speak in the wild so it is probably no harm to just push yourself and try to keep up with the lessons. By the time you get to lesson 9 or so you can pretty much get everything that is being said. The magic whiteboard also colour codes the text so that you can easily see which are verbs, nounes etc. Again, you don’t really get the hang of this at the start but eventually it becomes kind of handy.

I would certainly recommend the series to anyone seeking to improve their aural understanding of Spanish while covering basic concepts. It is a lot less boring than a text book, probably more fun than your own interactions with a Spanish tutor and at the very least you’ll brush up on your pickup techniques.

- James, Dublin, Ireland

This application not only helps you learn spanish, its fun and entertaining.  I caught myself constantly laughing at the jokes and witty humor.  It really makes a stressful process like language learning fun

-c a c h o

I’ve been living in Buenos Aires for over a year now. I’m studying here working on my MBA and getting married in a few months. So needless to say Spanish is pretty necessary! I didn’t really speak much Spanish before coming here and tried some group and private lessons from different places. They actually have worked quite well but you can always use more help, practice, and different ways to learn.

Recently a friend of mine here forwarded an invite from Facebook about this new way of learning Spanish.

So I checked out a few episodes, and it’s really quite entertaining for language courses. The truth is that it is great for slang and everyday speaking. Even after a year, I’m still learning different slang down here. I could see that it may move a bit fast if you are just starting out, but it’s seems to be a great way to learn. I also checked out Rosetta Stone and noticed that it was more interactive but WAY more boring!! I wish there was a way to make Bueno Entonces a bit more interactive, but Rosetta Stone put me to sleep faster than taking a Valium and a couple shots.

Therefore, I think Bueno Entonces is a great way to learn some helpful conversation and get some great slang. It’s perfect when you have a few minutes to kill and want to be entertained while watching and learning. Gracias!

- Tommy, Wichita Falls, Texas

I downloaded this app because I need to learn some basic Spanish because I travel to alot of Latin American countries for work. This app rocks! So easy to use and fun because you feel like you are watching a show and learning at the same time. I have Rosetta Stone and although it is also good, this application makes you want to watch the next one like a TV show. The graphic art is great and very visual for people like me that like this format for learning.

If you are trying to learn Spanish, get this app! You will not regret it and the entertainment valuse alone will be worth the price. I bought one of the apps and will be dowloading the whole series.

Nos vemos mí¡s tarde en la clase Bueno Entonces español!

-VinLane

Here’s another funny one from Argentina: