Track 4

1. -ion words are the same, with the stress on the end Rule

The teacher's favourite rule for convertible words, and an extremely useful one. English words ending in -ion are the same in Spanish, except the accent lands on the final syllable. Pronounce syllable by syllable, keeping every vowel exactly as written.

In pasión the s is a real s, not /sh/. In cooperación both o's are pronounced, which just makes the word sound slightly longer.

2. -ación minus -ción plus -r gives you the verb Rule

This is why the rule is the teacher's favourite. Of the -ion words, take the ones ending -ation, drop the -tion, and add an r. You get the verb. That is around a thousand Spanish verbs you now know.

And from the inside of confirmar: firmar, to sign.

3. The c in -ción, and the /s/ or /th/ choice Pronunciation

Where English has -tion (t-i-o-n), Spanish has -ción (c-i-o-n). That c is pronounced like an s in most of the Spanish-speaking world, or as /th/ in most of Spain. You can choose.

The z in a word like organización follows the same choice, sounding like an s or a /th/.

4. quiero, and te for you Vocabulary

I love you is te quiero, literally I want you. Take away the te and you are left with quiero, I want. Negate it by putting no in front.

Quiero preparar · Quiero cooperar · Quiero cancelar · No quiero cancelar · Quiero explorar · Quiero prepararme

Quiero prepararme is I want to prepare myself, and it is used to mean I want to get ready.

5. Positive and negative language transfer Method

The name of the project. Things carried over from English that are not part of Spanish, such as being tempted to say "confermación", are negative language transfer. What is genuinely useful from English, like these convertible words, is positive language transfer.

Learning Spanish also makes English more interesting, because you start to see where words come from and the wisdom sitting inside the vocabulary.

• confirmación: "with signing", from con (with) and firma (signature).
• conversación: "with verses".
• confrontación: "with the forehead", from frente (forehead). To confront is to go forward with the forehead.
• complicación: "with folding", from Latin plicare, to fold. Here con- becomes com- because of the p, exactly as in English.

6. Latin words sound formal in English, not in Spanish Concept

I want to prepare myself sounds formal in English, but the Spanish does not. In English we usually have two words of similar meaning, one Latin and one Germanic, and the Latin one carries the formal, literary or flowery feeling: to encounter against to find, where find is the same word as German finden and sounds everyday and colloquial.

Not always, though: cancel does not sound formal, because it is the only word English has for it.