In May 1954 Life published a report about illiteracy among school children. It said children were having trouble learning to read because kid’s books were boring.
The story in Life inspired a publisher to challenge a moderately successful children’s author, Theodor Geisel’s to write a different kind of book.
Could he create a book using just 250 words? Those were the essential words for children learning to read.
Nine months later Theodor presented the publisher with a book using 220 of the 250 words. There were also 13 extra words that he needed to complete the story.
And what a book it was. You can find it in just about any bookstore in the world.
The book he created is now world famous, The Cat in the Hat.
Theodor went on to become Dr. Seuss, the best selling children’s book artist of all time.
The Cat in The Hat has humor. It has drama. It has conflict and resolution. And most importantly it was anything but boring.
It has only 220 words but the story is engaging, captivating and funny.
It’s even easier to communicate in Spanish with a small amount of words. In fact with just 138 words, you can make as many as 88, 000 Spanish phrases.
We often think the missing piece to getting by in a language is more vocabulary but that’s not the case in Spanish. Choosing the right words and learning the patterns to combine them into many useful phrases is the best way to get by in Spanish quickly.
Like the Cat in the Hat you can express humor, drama, and fun with just a small vocabulary.
Synergy Spanish gives you those 138 words in an easy, step-by-step system to command the most powerful patterns in Spanish. You’ll speak a lot of Spanish with a small vocabulary that anyone at any age can put to use.
“You’re off to great places
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So get on your way.”
Dr. Seuss
Dear Marcus, Thank you very much for your emails. I enjoy reading them immensely, wherever on earth I may be at the time. Please keep them coming. However, as a self-proclaimed protector of the English Language, may I draw your attention to a minor misuse of an English expression in your current email as copied here: “It’s even easier to communicate in Spanish with a small AMOUNT of words”. Not a small AMOUNT of words, please, but a small NUMBER of words. The word amount should only be used in the context money. This is only one corruption of the English Language which has crept into it either from your part of the world, or from the so-called Down Under. Adam Khan
Hello Marcus,
My name is Wei from Beijing China. I live in Barcelona but I still can’t speak Spanish well. thank you for your sharing.. muchas gracias.
Wei
i believe your method of teaching to be the easiest way to learn spanish. I have a daughter who has passed exams in Spanish studied in Granada still takes weekly 2 hr sessions with a south american teacher but she has no confidence to speak Spanish
because she has to be word and grammar perfect.
I also have a grandaughter Cambridge student and now a teacher in one of the best schools in GB.
I have lived in Spain for 30 yrs and am so dreadful at Spanish. If I was in London and met someone who had lived there for some years an d did not speak English I would assume they were stupid. Here in Spain I met a Rumanian man who speaks Polish, English and Soanish and is a builder. I feel ashamed porque yo no entiender la lengua.
Hi Marcus you are a wonderful, creative, inspiring Ausi. Many thanks
Kami
Hi Marcus.
Very impressed with your teaching method. I live in the Canary Islands, still saving my euros to purchase one of your courses.
Regards, D. Murrell
It’s amazing and outstanding what Marcus has done! Hotdiggetydog!
What an apt comparison of Synergy Vs Cat in the Hat!
Saludos
Saleem
Well that is a comparison ‘any’body can relate to. The Cat In The Hat is a fabulous example of learning made easy.
Thank you for the relationship of adding humour into the equation of loving to learn.
Best, Wild
Hi I have begun using the informal Spanish before completing the other lessons, I got to lesson 9 and decided let’s look at informal. I don’t learn languages easily but this is great because I get to talk every few seconds which means I am communicating in Spanish…..
I do well on the lessons, still mix up the and a and el and la pronouns!!!…however still faster than in past conventional lessons.
I’m off to Madrid to use it in May and will get more learning in with victory I think.
Nothong like GREEN EGGS AND HAM.
You stirred a tender chord
by mentioning Dr Seuss!
The Lorax and the Sneetches
and all those other peaches
of mixed fantasy and education
have brightened kid´s minds
in many a nation!
ALSO:
We now know it is the source
of Marcus´ enjoyable Spanish Course!!
I kindred spirit, gracias!
Thank you for the story about Theodor Geisel and his Dr. Seuss books. I enjoy your free lessons and plan to start a course in April. Your method of teaching is brilliant!!
What a wonderful comparison. For the past several years, I’ve been familiar with your use of a small number of absolutely essential words in Spanish as building blocks in learning the language. But, I had not known that Dr Seuss had used the same principle – years earlier – with essential words in English! Congratulations on a job well done.
Dr. Seuss = Amazing Talented, Caring Man – people who love his books would find so much of value to learn more about his upbringing and his life.
I’m pleased to see that you are showing such appreciation to him on his birthday.
The messages in his delightful stories are powerful and inspiring for young to old.
Our world is even more in need of his wisdom and insight.
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss – you gave the world the best of gifts !!
Marcus, my husband bought me your Shortcut to Spanish course and I love it! I had tried learning Spanish before, using a similar technique by Michael Thomas, he is also good, but I find listening to both you and Elena so much better. It is fantastic to be able to listening to a native speaker, as it is so much easier to get the correct pronunciation. I still find it very difficult to understand people when they are speaking, but I suppose this will only happen, if I spend more time listening to Spanish television programs. I love all the free email lessons you send and find them so useful and also a great reminder to keep on top of my Spanish lessons. I visit Spain quite regularly and I have found that I can speak a little all thanks to your fantastic course. Muchas Gracias!
hey marcus you’re the best , shortcut to Spanish make speaking Spanish so easy a cave man can do it
My Shortcut to Spanish class is going fantastic I’m just taking my time have had some other obstacles get in the way Thank You Marcus very much
I tried to accept an offer you made for $59 but your site refused to accept my payment.
Hasta
Russ
you are the best.
Hola
muchas gracias
I have enjoyed your classes.
Mona
hola
muchas gracias.
I have enjoyed your classes
Mona
I don’t have a web site
I could not find Spanish and Dr suess
Marcus, I hve enjoyed your classes. I will eventually download and get started for myself. Thanks.
Thanks for this. I have found it very interesting, though I will not use it as a first attempt. What I usually do is transfer the lesson content to my MP3 and then I can listen to it at any time when I am doing something that does not require much mental effort. Since starting your course I have made more progress with my spoken Spanish than I thought possible, but I still find it difficult to understand native Spanish speakers and television. Still that will come.
How many starts am I allowed?????A PARTIAL LIST: community college1 & 2 & 3 & 4, THEN MEXICO CITY FAMILY 1, cuernavaca familia2 , mexican boy friend #1, and #2–areta es mi esposo, 2012 Habla in merida, 2007synergia, 2012ear training—& books & tapes & DVD’s and the listo goes on and on- conversations–with contractors#1 and contractor#2— at mi casa—so where do we start??? and again???? and now my kids Dr. Suess—WOW and Dr. Marcus–si!!!
Ciau
Pati Mishler, concerning free courses, they are available if you have internet access. Busuu.com and LiveMocha.com both have some free content. There are others too, but they don’t give you everything you need, but are a good start.
I love Dr. Seuss! I have been using him to teach my younger students English…and even have one of his books (Green Eggs and Ham) in French to teach beginning French students. Dr. Seuss is a classic. I love Seussville.com too. Thanks for the reminder, Marcus! 🙂
I dont have extra money, i have to be very careful where i spend my money. As much as i would like to get your course, it would help very much, i cant spend that much money. I am being honest here. Its too bad there isnt a course that is free for those that CANT buy. Oh well, come see, come saw, what will be will be.
thanks so much of what u have to shall to us i have enjoy it alot may the lord god guide you an reward you family once more gracias por todas..
Muchas Gracias. I always enjoy your articles and lessons. I’m going to overcome my procrastination one of these days, but there is always so much to do…
Cat in the Hat is El Gato Ensombrerado
Hi Marcus,
Thanks for all of the excellent materials you provide free. I have only ordered one of you products since I start and quit before I actually learn to speak Spanish.
I am trying once again since our church is teaching a Spanish course.
The articles you provide are both educational and very interesting. Thanks again.
Janice
I had to put my Spanish on hold last winter because of my summer work schedule. I will be back in the saddle this winter. I often thought how great it would be to read all the main vocabulary words in a story format (like your Cat in the Hat); or having little short stories, using only the basic vocabulary words that you would hear over and over in everday life. It would be, I think, easier to learn (and remember) the vocabulary by continually reading them in different circumstances. Not only would it be great to read the stories, but listen to someone reading it at a normal pace (well, almost normal 🙂 I did this in German with two and three page short stories with adult enough themes to keep the interest. I didn’t have the audio though, I had someone read the stories for me and I put it on tape.
I highly recommend reading in Spanish. It helped me tremendously.
i live in TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO so spanish is my second language i need to know how to talk spanish
I have Synergy Spanish. I am very satisfied with it.
So if Cat in the Hat is translated into Spanish ( and I would imagine it is), it would be a great Spanish primer.
Reading about Dr. Seuss was very interesting Marcus.
Thanks Marcus, I enjoy reading all your emails. I use the Michel Thomas course which I find great but I also enjoy listening to your free lessons, they are great. Gracias Marcus,
Your emails make my day. Such fun to read and so much information. You don’t scare me with the challenge of having to get to grip with Spanish at the grand old age of 73.
Love from a Spanish mountain top