Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish: A Creative and Proven Approach

In the preface to this book, the author, Margarita Madrigal, promises that if you complete this book, you will then be able to go to a Spanish speaking country and understand them. I will now go that far and agree with the author because I believe that in order to speak and understand Spanish with confidence, you will need a learning-Spanish audio program to supplement this book. But as the author promises, I honestly believe that this book will help you to do the following: 1. Speak Spanish 2. Read Spanish 3. Write in Spanish 4. Think in Spanish There are so many things that I like about this book. For starters, the author of this book uses a very interesting method to help you quickly learn Spanish. What she does is teach the reader how to add hundreds and hundreds of Spanish words to his or her vocabulary by simply using the English words that you already know. For example, did you already know that the following words are both Spanish and English words: Actor Popular Animal Capital hotel Radio Conductor Probable Cable Ideal Flexible The only difference is the pronunciation is different in Spanish. But the words are spelled the same way and have the same meaning in both Spanish and English. In addition to showing the reader that he or she already knows many Spanish words because there are so many English words that are spelled the same and that have the same meaning, the author also shows how the reader can take many English words that he or she already knows and convert them into Spanish words just by making small changes in the words. For example, the author shows how we can convert many English words that end in “ist” into Spanish words by adding the letter “a” to them: Pianist – el pianista Violinist – el violinista Dentist – el dentista Oculist – el oculista Capital – el capitalista Communist – el comunista Novelist – el novelista Optimist – el optimista I also found it beneficial that there is a helpful pronunciation key at the beginning of the book. Another thing that I really like about this book is that after every 9 or 10 lessons, there are a series of tests that help you test your progress and see how far you have come. Near the end of the book, there is also a section called “Common Spanish Expressions” where you’ll find five pages packed with helpful Spanish expressions, such as: Acabar de (plus infinitive) - to have just A pesar de – in spite of Buena suerte – good luck Claro – of course Dar la mano – to shake hands Echar la culpa – to blame Esta vez – this time Me alegro de verlo – I am happy to see you No lo haga – don’t do it No es justo – it isn’t fair Otra vez – again Poco a poco – little by little Ya lo creo – now I believe it At the very end of this book, there is a handy 35-page “Vocabulary” section that is organized like a dictionary. You will find Spanish words from “a” (to, at) all the way to “zoologia” (zoology). Out of the 45 chapters covered in this book, my favorites were Chapter 41 and Chapter 42. In chapter 41, the author teaches The Present Subjunctive and breaks down how to express hope, fear, doubt and desire in Spanish. In chapter 42, the author teaches The Past Subjunctive and breaks down how to express past hopes, fears, doubts and desires in Spanish. She even explains how to use the conditional and past subjunctive together. In other words, you will learn how to express the following in Spanish: I would write a letter if I had the time. She would buy an airplane if it were possible. They would watch the movie if were interesting. In chapter 42, Madrigal also covers the Past Perfect Subjunctive which enable you to express the following in Spanish: I would have known the lesson if I had studied. We would have spoken Spanish if we had studied. If they had had time, they would have traveled to Spain. The reason why Chapters 41 and 42 are my favorite chapters is because these are the chapters that teach the Spanish subjunctive. I, like many native English speakers, find that the Spanish subjunctive is one of the most difficult areas of Spanish. In Chapters 41 and 42, Madrigal does a fantastic job breaking-down the complex topic of the Spanish subjunctive. The only thing that I did not like about this book is that the vocabulary does not cover modern technology. The first edition of this book was written in 1951. This book seriously needs to be updated. You will learn how to say the Spanish words for telephone, newspaper and telegram. But don’t expect to learn how to say cellphone, website or email in Spanish. Although this book does not teach you any Spanish words related to modern technology, I still recommend that buy this book because it will allow you to quickly learn hundreds of Spanish words quite easily – just by using the English words that you already know. By the way, this same author, Margarita Madrigal, has another helpful book that you will find available here at Amazon: In closing, I’ll leave you with a list of my current favorite learning-Spanish resources. (My list of favorites changes from time to time so you may want to check my list periodically. Updated 07-13-2023): 1. 501 Spanish Verbs If you think you can accomplish fluency in Spanish as an adult without mastering conjugating Spanish verbs, you are only fooling yourself. This book is an absolute essential resource for learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs. It will show you how to conjugate every Spanish verb tense imaginable. This is my NUMERO UNO resource for learning Spanish. 2. How To Speak Spanish Like a MF This is Patrick Jackson's newest learning-Spanish program. Despite the unusual name of this audiobook, it's the best program I have found for learning how to do both, speak and comprehend Spanish just like a native. From my experience, it's much better than any free or paid mobile app for learning Spanish. You will not hear any of that old, obsolete Spanish that sounds like something from 19th Century Spain. Instead, you'll learn to not only understand but actually partake in Spanish conversations discussing technology, veganism, ride-sharing apps, life as a digital nomad, using social media apps, etc. There are also two bonus lessons covering what many would consider "woke" Spanish – which involve a woman and two gay content creators who work on an adults-only online platform. Another plus about this program is that all the voice actors are native Spanish speakers to make sure you develop a true Latin American Spanish accent and proper pronunciation. Make sure you download the free Audible mobile app to get the most out of this audio program. 3. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses This is another resource that you truly need if you are serious about mastering conjugating Spanish verbs. Conjugating Spanish verbs is by far the most challenging area of learning-Spanish for native English speakers. After studying with "Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses" you will find that you can confidently conjugate Spanish verbs in any verb tense, from easier tenses such as the present tense ("I run") and the preterit ("I ran) all the way to the most challenging Spanish tenses, such as the pluperfect subjunctive - which is known in Spanish as "pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo" (I would have run). 4. Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level 1 - NEW & Improved Version or Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level 1 - ORIGINAL Version At one time, these two were my favorite learning-Spanish audio programs. There's a "NEW & Improved Version" and an "Original Version". Although I found the "NEW" version a bit more interactive and engaging, I have a slight preference for the "Original" version because the narrator's voice was more interesting and entertaining. Both the narrators are native Spanish speakers as well as the voice actors - which really helped me to develop an authentic Latin American accent. But what appeals to me most is that there is a major emphasis on everyday, conversational Spanish unlike the Spanish taught in most audio programs which teach more academic or formal Spanish. Besides the two beginner programs (NEW & Improved Version vs. Original Version), there is also an Intermediate version and an Advanced version available. Regardless of which program you invest in, you’ll need to download the free Audible mobile app to get the most out of it. 5. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions This little-known book is the go-to guide for mastering Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions. Most Spanish-language learners have no idea that mastery of Spanish pronouns and prepositions is an area of Spanish grammar that is essential for effective communication with Spanish-speakers. Another major advantage of this book is that it is accompanied by flashcards and audio recordings (available online and via app) which will further help master the Spanish language.

You can learn by rote. You can memorize phrases for travel. But when you want to learn a language late in life, it’s annoying to parrot phrases without knowing the why and how it’s being framed. It’s even more frustrating when you can’t ply words into sentences. This book teaches you the structure of the language and each rule is reinforced by multiple sentence forming exercises. I like this approach as it’s giving me the confidence to assemble words into sentences. Learning techniques are subjective and I am no linguistic. But I will not go to any other book or material before finishing this book.

I have given away so many of these books - I always keep an extra copy on hand when someone tells me they are "trying" to learn Spanish. It is BY FAR the easiest, most efficient and most effective way to learn Spanish that I have ever used. I started using this book while in Mexico years ago and within a few weeks of daily practice and study people were astounded at my Spanish - really! The best thing about this book is how it teaches you how many Spanish words you already know - English words that can easily be converted into Spanish using simple language patterns. I have tried MULTIPLE books on language learning - I also speak Dutch, Italian and German - and I wish I could find a book like this for them. Neat factoid: This book was first published in the mid-50's and the drawings were done by Andy Warhol! It also shows you how it has beautifully stood the test of time - that it is still so popular and useful! I just gave away my last extra copy recently - and now need to buy more..!

Okay, I will jump into this right away and say that she takes an unorthodox approach from the vast majority of Spanish learning texts (and she states this early on), but I use her book much more than the other 5-6 books I have on learning Spanish. I am somewhat of an old fart and do not believe that everyone can learn in the same way (and certainly not like we did as a child). Madrigal takes a different approach and to me it make sense when you consider what made me at least (and perhaps a lot of Spanish learners stumble so much when first trying to converse with others. I will state what her approach was and why I think she did so. 1. First she starts out with 2-3 chapters illustrating how familiar we are with hundreds (if not thousands) of Spanish words and how they can be constructed following a few simple techniques. This builds one's confidence that they literally already know or can easily guess at hundreds of words in Spanish. 2. Then she goes into the simple past tense first, a quite different approach from almost all other teaching guides who first jump into the present tense in chapter one. Why does she do this?? I think for several good reasons. First, we generally converse with others using two tenses, the past and the future. Secondly, the present tense conjugations are where the vast majority of conjugation irregularities occur with Spanish. I think students often get overwhelmed with these irregular conjugations in the present tense. Thirdly, at least in my case, it was the change in accents that caused me to stumble the most when trying to converse with others. One can concentrate on learning the verb infinitives and they are always accented on the final syllable. Our ear and mind get used to this pattern with all the verbs. But when we conjugate the verb in the present tense, the penultimate syllable gets the accent...and often the verb will sound different to our ears So in a sense, you have to train your tongue to say each verb in two different ways or patterns. The simple past tense, for the most part, uses the same accent patterns as the present tense and of course there are far far fewer conjugation irregularities in the past tenses, so the student can rely more on the verb infinitive to know how to say conjugate the verbs. The untrained tongue stumbles less. To me, this gives the average student of the Spanish language a boost in confidence and shortens the learning curve. Obviously, sooner or later, one will have to tackle the present tense with all its learning problems, but at least it is not so immediately overwhelming to the beginner. Finally, Madrigal is one of the few authors who explains why some irregular endings are the way they are, which was helpful for me in learning patterns of irregular verbs, etc. Also, it was important for me to see how she used many exercises to form many sentences using 3 groups of words. The Spanish Learning Institute first course software also uses this approach for forming sentences from groups of words and it worked for me in the same way. My only complaint about the book is that it is/was a little hard to figure out where it goes from topic to topic (chapter to chapter)...but I felt it was more akin to a teacher standing in front of a class and often going into a new topic or maybe just reviewing a topic from a couple of days ago. All in all, I would highly recommend this book.

This is a GREAT book & necessary if you are trying to learn Spanish. Makes it easier than other methods I have tried (two semesters of college & two online programs). I am finally getting somewhere.

I am about 85% of the way through Madrigal's Magic Key and have to say that I am very impressed with Madrigal's approach. Her approach is different from the conventional lesson plans with which I have been familiar since language training in high school. One person posted the comment that it matters HOW one learns and perhaps Madrigal's approach isn't the right approach for everyone, but it is certainly the right approach for me. A number of years ago I tried to learn Spanish using, "Spanish Made Simple". Essentially, I got nowhere. This time around, using Madrigal, I'm making very rapid progress. Another person commented that the best thing about Madrigal's approach is that it engenders confidence. This is totally true. Her teaching approach is brilliant, really. She starts off by showing the student all the Spanish words that he already knows and quickly builds other basic language skills on that starting foundation. From there, she presents lessons in terms of basic "blocks" of concept areas in ascending order of difficulty. Interestingly, one of the first starting concepts is how to use past tense. After that she presents the next big "block" (most common) verb forms; the "ar", "er" and "ir" verb groups. I can't say enough good things about this approach. It serves to give the student a basic orientation to major concept areas very quickly starting with the easiest to understand concept areas first. This works very well for me. The usual language approach is to start with "useful phrases". This invariably turns out to be useless for me because providing me with details that I cannot assemble into anything bigger is just totally confusing. I need the opposite approach. Give me the "big picture", then show me how to break it down into smaller useable bits, and then I'm off and running. The details can be ground finer and finer as necessary. Another thing in Madrigal's text which makes perfect sense is that she saves discussion of familiar forms of address until the last lesson. I can remember being confused early on in my high school French class because of the "need" to learn the familiar (It also added unnecessary complexity to my German language studies). But think about this just one minute. One only needs to use the familiar form of address with family and close friends. If one lives in an environment where there are significant numbers of Spanish speaking family members and intimate friends with whom one needs to communicate, then how is it remotely possible that one doesn't already know how to speak Spanish!!! Obviously, for the non-native speaker, the familiar form of address can safely be left for the last lesson. In an earlier edition of this review I mentioned a couple of criticisms which, as I have progressed through my "Madrigal course work", have proven unfounded. Margarita's lesson plan is idiosyncratic and would benefit from an appendix with a little bit more detail to help the student to better navigate questions as they arise. I recommend the Mirriam-Webster Spanish/English dictionary as a basic study aid. Additionally, I have found very helpful the guide to conjugating the 254 most often used Spanish verbs, and 501 Spanish Verbs is another text worth considering. These books are very useful because the Madrigal Method approaches teaching the verb forms piecemeal and, depending upon the student, he or she may be better served if he can just forge ahead with some of the conjugations. I highly recommend Madrigal's Magic Key as the cornerstone of a beginning Spanish course with the understanding that at some point, one will need to add additional course materials.

This book does really well with strengthening the foundational portion of learning Spanish. I like that you are in control of how you use it. I took Spanish courses in middle school and high school but none of that experience resulted in me being confidently conversational. For me, this book is super helpful with reinforcing concepts that I'm struggling with. It's helping me understand when and why certain sentence structures / words/ conjugations are used. Memorizing the tips and tricks has been more efficient than trying to memorize a lot of words. I use this as a supplemental resource in conjunction with following content creators who teach Spanish, joining language learning communities online, Quizlet, and engaging with Spanish media. Also, most of the popular streaming services allow you to watch shows and movies in Spanish with English subtitles, and vice versa. In addition to improving my conversational skills, the concepts in this book have also improved my listening abilities. I definitely recommend this book for learners for beginner and intermediate level learners. Even as you progress in your language journey, it's nice to have handy to use as a quick reference.

There is very little I can say about this book that has not already been said. It is an outstanding resource, and lives up to its claims to ground the committed reader in the basics of Spanish conversation and grammar. If there is any problem with this book, it is that it’s overdue for a revision, so the focus of my review will be in making the case for an update. 1. The method is sound, and Miss Madrigal’s personality shines through in every chapter – this should be preserved, and can be without losing anything. Consider a book like Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People”, which has been revised over the years with updated language and anecdotes, yet which remains fundamentally unchanged at its core. 2. Many advances have been made in printing since the book’s first publication, and the method would benefit from them. Examples would be boldface type instead of all caps, sidebars, multiple fonts, and containing charts within a page instead of running over to the next. 3. The Andy Warhol illustrations are simplistic and even childish, but they have become thoroughly connected to the identity of this book, and should be retained. 4. More exercises would be welcome. Sometimes important concepts are introduced and then dropped with no chance to practice. 5. Face it, society and technology have changed a lot since 1950, but this book continues to teach words and phrases which will never be used in the 2000’s, while omitting some which today would be very common and useful. We do not live in a world of cables, telegrams, and typewriters, but we do need to know how to talk about computers, e-mail, cell phones, and the Internet. Smoking activities are prohibited rather than described in detail. Socks and pants are no longer “only for men”. 6. Comments about regional differences in vocabulary and accent would be helpful. The reader is left wondering where the words for certain fruits and vegetables, for example, would be understood. 7. Madrigal’s preferred vocabulary is promoted, when other terms might be more common today (for example, “oficina” instead of “despacho” for “office”). This limits the book’s compatibility with other resources. 8. The formal second person is advanced throughout the book, with the informal use only being introduced in the final chapter. This is a weakness that definitely needs to be addressed. 9. There is currently no audio component for the course, which leaves the reader to look for additional resources on their own. That places this course at a disadvantage to others. Apparently, there were recordings produced at one time, but they are long out of print, and existing copies are expensive and unobtainable (due to the Warhol illustrations on the jacket, no doubt). These recordings should be revived and digitized if they have special significance (Madrigal’s own voice, perhaps?), or a new program produced. 10. Finally, this is not the only “Magic Key” out there. Given that this is such a beloved resource, with proven results, Madrigal’s Magic Keys to French and German really need to come back into print, in editions edited and revised to address such concerns as mentioned above. Though this review may seem critical, I still give this book five stars. Until the desired revision is made, this book, even with its minor shortcomings, is one of the best resources available for the aspiring Spanish learner.