Master the Spanish Language Today
The FSI Spanish Fast Course offers intensive, practical training for rapid Spanish acquisition, focusing on everyday communication and essential cultural contexts. Lessons cover greetings, travel, dining, shopping, emergencies, and social customs, with targeted cycles for real-life situations.
Designed for beginners or those needing quick familiarization, the course is ideal for travelers, pro...
Course Contents
| Section/Chapter | Page(s) |
|---|---|
| Cycle 1 - Getting Started: The alphabet and names | 1 |
| Cycle 2 - Getting Started in Class: Greetings and phrases useful for the classroom | 7 |
| Cycle 3 - Getting Started in Country: Signs and phrases useful for the airport. Changing money. Countries and nationalities. | 11 |
| Cycle 4 - Getting Started in Country – At the Hotel: Addressing the bellhop and placing an outside call from your hotel room. The days of the week, months of the year, seasons, weather, and time. | 31 |
| Cycle 5 - Getting Started in Country – At the Restaurant: Ordering a meal and tipping. | 55 |
| Cycle 6 - Getting Started in Country – Giving Instructions to the Baby-Sitter | 69 |
| Cycle 7 - Talking on the Telephone – Managing a Conversation | 83 |
| Cycle 8 - Getting Around Outside – Asking for Directions | 91 |
| Cycle 9 - Talking on the Telephone – Taking a Message | 109 |
| Cycle 10 - Getting Around Inside: Asking for directions involving office numbers, floors, “right” and “left,” and so forth. | 119 |
| Cycle 11 - Talking on the Telephone – Dealing with Wrong Numbers | 135 |
| Cycle 12 - Getting Around – Public Transportation: Introduction to using public transportation and to El Regateo, the bargaining custom. | 145 |
| Cycle 13 - Talking on the Telephone – Leaving a Message | 165 |
| Cycle 14 - Getting Acquainted – The Familiar Form | 175 |
| Cycle 15 - Meeting People: Introduction to social conventions in the Spanish-speaking world | 197 |
| Cycle 16 - Talking on the Telephone – Placing a Long Distance Call | 223 |
| Cycle 17 - Getting Acquainted – Describing Yourself and Your Family | 235 |
| Cycle 18 - Talking on the Telephone – Calling the Physician | 249 |
| Cycle 19 - Getting Acquainted – Social Courtesies | 259 |
| Cycle 20 - Getting Acquainted – Social Courtesies: Small Talk, Expressing Appreciation, etc. | 275 |
| Cycle 21 - Talking on the Telephone – Reserving a Room at a Hotel | 299 |
| Cycle 22 - At the Office – Greeting Visitors | 307 |
| Cycle 23 - Getting Acquainted – Local Holidays: Learning about local holidays and customs | 315 |
| Cycle 24 - Getting Out – The Outing: Where to go on an outing | 327 |
| Cycle 25 - Getting Out – Shopping at a Local Market: Where to go shopping | 341 |
| Cycle 26 - Getting Out – Dining Out: Where to go out to eat | 355 |
| Cycle 27 - Getting Out – Paying at a Restaurant | 369 |
| Cycle 28 - Getting Out – Sight-Seeing: Making arrangements for a sight-seeing tour | 381 |
| Cycle 29 - Getting Out – Sports: Talking about sports such as football, soccer, tennis, and swimming | 395 |
| Cycle 30 - Getting Things – Housing: Looking for a house or an apartment | 409 |
| Cycle 31 - Getting Things – Where to Go Grocery Shopping | 421 |
| Cycle 32 - Getting Things – How to Pay a Maid or Deliveryman | 443 |
| Cycle 33 - Getting Things – At the Gift Shop | 457 |
| Cycle 34 - Getting Things – Entertainment: Buying concert tickets at the box office | 471 |
| Cycle 35 - Getting Things – At the Bank: Opening an account at a local bank | 483 |
| Cycle 36 - At the Office – Directing the Secretary | 495 |
| Cycle 37 - Getting Things – An Emergency: Dealing with an emergency, such as a traffic accident, that requires calling an ambulance | 511 |
| Cycle 38 - Getting Things – Household Repairs | 525 |
| Appendix | 543-563 |
| A. Useful Phrases | 543 |
| I. Instructions on How to Do the Housecleaning | 543 |
| II. Showing the Maid How to Wash Clothes | 544 |
| III. In the Kitchen with the Maid | 545 |
| IV. With the Technician, Plumber, Electrician, or Mechanic | 547 |
| V. At the Service Station | 548 |
| VI. At the Cleaners or Laundry | 549 |
| VII. At the Shoe Repair Shop | 550 |
| VIII. At the Vegetable Vendor's (Greengrocer's) Shop | 550 |
| IX. At the Beauty Parlor or Barber Shop | 551 |
| B. Parts of the Body and Medical Terms | |
| I. The Human Body | 553 |
| II. Medical Terms | 556 |
| C. Important Signs and Signals | 561 |
| D. Useful Food and Kitchen Vocabulary | 563 |
Spanish textbooks
There are around 588 pages of Spanish textbook language instruction.
This is a textbook course only, no audio is available.
What Language Students Say
Michael R.
Diplomat
"The FSI course materials are incredibly comprehensive. The audio lessons and workbooks helped me achieve fluency much faster than I expected."
Sarah L.
Language Enthusiast
"The bundle download made everything so convenient. Having all materials organized and instantly accessible has been fantastic for my learning journey."
James T.
Business Professional
"The quality of these FSI materials is outstanding. The structured approach and thorough explanations have made learning a new language much more manageable."
What are FSI FAST Courses?
The Foreign Service Institute – or FSI for short – is the branch of the US government responsible for providing training courses for diplomatic staff and their families preparing for postings abroad. Their main programs are what are known as Basic courses, which last around six months and leave students with a relatively high level of proficiency in the target language.
However, committing to half a year of learning is not possible for everyone, so FSI also developed FAST courses to provide some grounding in various languages for those with more limited time.
These courses are intended to teach students the basics of the language while also giving them an introduction to the culture and customs of their destination countries to help them adapt more easily to life there when they arrive.
What is FSI Spanish FAST?
FSI Spanish FAST was published in 1983 and consists of 38 short lessons – or “cycles”. It was intended to be completed in 10 weeks of intensive study, but it has also been designed to be suitable for less intensive study.
In each cycle, new language is first presented, usually in the form of a dialog representing a common situation you are likely to experience in a Spanish-speaking country. It is then practiced through repetition and exercises. Each cycle also includes grammar notes that give you a general idea of how the new expressions or grammar work.
The goal of the course is not to give students an in-depth knowledge of Spanish but rather to give them the confidence to use the Spanish they have learned to be able to function confidently in a range of frequently encountered scenarios.
How can you use FSI Spanish FAST?
Unfortunately, the audio recordings that should accompany this FSI Spanish FAST course are currently unavailable, making it less useful than it would otherwise be.
However, if you are learning Spanish with another coursebook or taking Spanish classes with a teacher, you may still find working through the text of this course useful as a way of reviewing and consolidating what you have already learned elsewhere.
Taking it further
However you decide to use this free Spanish course, you will never master the language if you don’t practice. This means that at the earliest opportunity, you should take your Spanish skills out into the real world and try them out.
Since Spanish has so many speakers worldwide, it shouldn’t be difficult to find native speakers to talk to – so everything you can to make using Spanish a part of your daily life. Then, when you do this, you will start to see how much progress you are already making in one of the world’s most useful languages.