Entrepreneur/oenophile/FOGA (i.e. friend of GoodAirs) David Garrett wrote us recently (okay, not so recently--we're just slow to respond) to suggest that we check out and plug Bueno, Entonces..., a series of Spanish language teaching videos from his mobile app company Miniature Studios. Think Rosetta Stone, but cheaper and with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Normally we'd shy away from anything that gave the appearance of blatant logrolling. But after checking out the videos--which tell the amusing story of an English prat learning Spanish from, and hitting on, a pretty Argentine tutor--I have to say that I laughed, I cried, I learned (okay, I exaggerate; but I did learn). Bueno, Entonces... immediately reminded of the most awesome pioneer of the "sexy language lab" genre, French in Action, a Yale Prof's video series I used during an intensive French course in college. Similar to Bueno, Entonces..., that series followed an American dimwit hitting on a lovely local, the famously bra-less Valérie Allain*. The big difference between the two series, I would like to note, is that although I developed a longstanding crush on Valérie Allain, my French remained miserable. On the other hand, even though I think I can honestly say I speak Spanish quite well, I immediately learned from Bueno, Entonces... (for example, I really should be saying "Me gusta la cerveza" instead of " Me gusta cerveza"; duh). The videos manage to be simple while expressing complicated linguistic ideas, the patter is snarkily amusing, and the pacing is fast enough to make it not feel like work. Good stuff.

* Who, BTW, appeared in Playboy's "Stars of the Cinema in 1988" for her French language teaching efforts.