Coffee Break Spanish – All You Need To Know

Podcast: Coffee Break Spanish
Host: Coffee Break Languages (Marc and Pablo)
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This special episode serves as a comprehensive guide to the Coffee Break Spanish series. Hosts Marc and Pablo walk listeners through every level and resource offered, from absolute beginner to advanced, explaining how to choose the right starting point and what to expect at each stage. The episode is friendly, encouraging, and filled with both personal anecdotes and practical advice for learners.

Main Discussion & Key Insights

Choosing the Right Level

• Common Question: Where do I start? Which level is right for me?
  • Marc: "It's completely normal, absolutely normal... we're going to explain everything that you need to know, all of the courses and the resources that we have available, and we'll explain exactly where you should start." (01:34)

The Origins of Coffee Break Spanish

• Marc's Story: The podcast began in 2006 as a pioneering language learning project, inspired by the practical needs of a colleague’s daughter, Kara, who wanted to communicate meaningfully, not just repeat phrases.
  • Marc: "She wanted to be able to use Spanish on holidays to Spain and other Spanish speaking places. And she wanted to be able to communicate with people, but not just learn a series of phrases." (02:27)
• Emphasis: Practical, useful language for travelers and beginners.

Levels and Courses Explained

Level 1 – Absolute Beginners

For those with little or no Spanish experience

• Topics: Travel, ordering food/drinks, basic social interactions.
• Approach: Focuses on understanding the structure of Spanish, not just memorizing phrases.
  • Pablo: "Once you understand how the language works, you can try yourself and start building longer sentences." (04:20)
  • Marc: "That little spark and joy of learning a language comes when you make up your own sentence and someone understands you." (04:36)

Level 2 – Upper Beginners to Lower Intermediate (A2/B1)

• Advancement: Goes deeper into grammar, especially past tenses (preterite, imperfect).
• Supporting Materials: Exercises, vocabulary lists, lesson notes.
  • Marc: "With our level one and level two courses, that kind of takes you to an A2, B1 level." (05:38)
• Framework Reference: Based on the European Framework (A1–C2 scale).

Navigating the Intermediate Plateau

• Marc likens learning to walking through a forest path that then opens into a wide meadow:
  • "You get to a certain point and you can't keep going forward. So you need to go wider." (07:42)
• Solution: Coffee Break offers a variety of smaller, specialized courses to help learners build breadth and confidence at this stage.

Intermediate Plus Courses (Level 2+ Options)

• Travel Diaries:
  • Learners follow real/travel-inspired journeys and practice both cultural and linguistic skills. (10:04)
• Magazine:
  • Explores culture from across the Spanish-speaking world with grammar points integrated into context. (11:50)
• Scenes (from the Coffee Break Spanish Café):
  • Story-driven episodes set in a Spanish café, introducing characters and slice-of-life situations. (13:30)
  • Pablo: “When we are doing it, it feels like I could totally see myself in that bar café... it's great.” (14:08)
• Coffee Break TV:
  • Bite-sized video lessons (5/10/15 min), translation and comprehension challenges, and the “Talk and Learn” series, where Marc explores real-life Spanish signs and phrases. (16:49)
  • Interactive and varied content for all learning styles.

Levels 3 & 4 – Intermediate to Advanced (Upper B1 to C1)

• Level 3:
  • Fully in-Spanish conversations between Marc and Alba, with grammatical explanations and cultural content.
  • Includes radio play ("Verano Español") every fifth episode to reinforce learned material in a story context. (27:07)
• Level 4:
  • Story-based around “Rory” and a sunken treasure off Mallorca, featuring advanced grammar, translation challenges, transcripts, and substantial native content.
    • Marc: “We cover lots of different types of texts to give you experience of all of those different types, which you will expect at that level.” (33:06)
• La Última/La Penúltima Voluntad:
  • Advanced, novel-based course (C1), focused on in-depth language, idioms, and complex grammar.
    • “The course is all based around a novel and the novel is something that... get the experience of reading a novel, the kind of novel you'd pick off the shelf, but with all the support Coffee Break is famous for.” (36:05)

Supplemental Materials

• Books:
  • “50 Spanish Coffee Breaks” (A2–B1): 50 activities for practice with grammar, vocabulary, and culture.
    • “Lines in it so you can write your answers in the book itself... all good bookshops or online and hundreds, literally hundreds of five-star reviews.” (37:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Real Language Use:
  • Marc: "What you've said, you've never actually seen in your course or your podcast or your textbook or whatever, you've made that sentence up yourself. And guess what? Somebody's understood." (04:37)
• On Motivation and Culture:
  • Pablo: “When I'm learning a new language, I always try to have that motivation. And I think the magazine and the travel diaries are just perfect for it.” (11:50)
• On Different Types of Spanish:
  • Marc: “No matter what type of Spanish you are taught, you are going to be understood everywhere in the Spanish speaking world... ultimately, what we try to do in all our courses is mention where there's a particular word.” (23:38)
  • “Latin American Spanish doesn’t exist. Each country has their own variety.” (24:00)
• On Advanced Learning:
  • Marc: “You’ll be working around that level rather than you will have a B2 or whatever if you do this level… You would need to be B2 in all aspects of the language before you can say, yeah, I’m B2.” (28:44)
• Personal Anecdotes:
  • Pablo: “I was 12 at the time.” (04:58, reflecting on the launch of the podcast)
  • Marc: “I've just enjoyed reminiscing. It's been great fun.” (39:30)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Content | |---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:02 | Marc and Pablo introduce the episode and main listener questions | | 02:16 | The founding story of Coffee Break Spanish | | 03:33 | Overview of Level 1 content and approach | | 05:06 | Progression to Level 2, grammar focus, and the European Framework explained | | 07:39 | Discussion about the “plateau” stage in language learning | | 09:49 | Introduction to Travel Diaries and other intermediate courses | | 13:30 | “Scenes” course explained – cultural immersion via stories | | 16:49 | Explanation of Coffee Break TV and its different video content styles | | 23:08 | Quick recap: levels, course options, and supporting materials | | 23:38 | Addressing Spain vs. Latin American Spanish; ensuring comprehension everywhere | | 25:37 | Transition to Level 3 courses and advanced content | | 27:07 | "Verano Español" radio play explained | | 29:40 | Introduction to "En Marcha" and authentic conversations at intermediate/upper-intermediate | | 32:01 | Level 4 – Advanced courses and story-based learning | | 36:05 | “La Última/La Penúltima Voluntad” novel-based advanced course | | 37:29 | “50 Spanish Coffee Breaks” practice book description | | 39:30 | Closing remarks and where to find further information and discounts |

Tone and Host Style

• Conversational, supportive, and authentic.
• Frequent use of humor, anecdotes, and relatable learning frustrations.
• Encourages personalized learning paths and cultural curiosity.
• Cohesive rapport—Pablo and Marc gently tease each other and share genuine excitement for the subject.

Summary

This episode is the definitive guide to Coffee Break Spanish, laying out every course and resource available for learners from their very first word of Spanish to an advanced, story-rich understanding. Marc and Pablo not only explain the structure but also share personal experiences and practical motivations for continuing the journey at each stage. The episode demystifies terms like “Spain Spanish” vs. “Latin American Spanish” and proposes a flexible, culture-focused, and enjoyable route through Spanish. With clear descriptions and engaging anecdotes, the hosts offer a welcoming roadmap for anyone looking to learn Spanish, whatever their starting point.

For more information, time-coded course lists, and possible discount codes, check the description in the podcast episode.

Hasta la próxima y happy coffee breaking!