101 Conversations in Mexican Spanish: Short, Natural Dialogues to Learn the Slang, Soul & Style of Real Mexican Spanish

by Olly Richards

Improve your spoken Spanish from home with 101 real-world conversations in intermediate Mexican Spanish. Real Mexicans don’t speak like your textbook… so it’s no wonder you struggle with the slang and expressions of spoken Mexican Spanish! This book fixes that. For the first time, you’ll learn to move beyond beginner level, and speak Spanish in the real world! With 101 authentic conversations in intermediate Mexican Spanish, and a brand-new story in this edition, you’ll become confident in the words, phrases and expressions you need to communicate like a local. 101 Conversations in Mexican Spanish transports you into a real-world, brand-new story that unfolds between eight Mexican characters, told by the people themselves. Over 15,000 words of real Mexican Spanish, you’ll immerse yourself in a gripping Mexican drama and get an education in natural Spanish in the process.

In this story, you will read about Tavo, an everyday simple man living in the city of Guadalajara. He is an office worker in TechnoLine and the sole financial support for his elderly parents. One day, a new man takes over managing Tavo’s office. He is Abram, the CEO’s nephew, and he does not like Tavo…

Here’s what you’ll get: Created by Olly Richards, internationally-renowned language teacher and author, 101 Conversations in Mexican Spanish gives you an experience in real Spanish that you won’t find anywhere else. You’ll be better prepared for using Spanish in the real world, speak with more confidence, and take a giant leap towards fluency in Spanish! SCROLL UP AND GRAB YOUR COPY NOW

Genres: Spanish Literature, Fiction, Language, Education

242 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2020

Reviews

[KJ Boyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good listening practice, I would say I understood 67-72%.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story. Easy to follow and with kindle I could translate when I was stumped with ease.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good listening practice. Even when I couldn’t understand some words, I was able to comprehend the overall story.

[Brian Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fue una lectura rápida. Nunca he leído un libro con diálogo como este libro. Honestamente fue un poco aburrido. La trama es una oficina y un jefe malcriado (es el sobrino del dueño de la empresa). Pero reconocí y aprendí muchos mexicanismos. Cuatro estrellas porque el libro sirvió su propósito.

[Sara Lawson]

Olly makes learning Spanish fun

I have always struggled with language learning, but have had the most success with Olly's programs. So when I saw that he had a new Spanish conversation book, I jumped at it. It's a little past my current level, but it's set up in a way that actually feels attainable - there are enough words that I know that I was immediately understanding the jist of the conversations. This is also more practical than the typical Spanish reader, since it focuses on both informal speech and what is spoken by Mexicans (vs. Spaniards). I'm excited to dig in and use this book to quicken my language learning.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sad to say that this book was the worst book I have read by Olly Richards and I have read many of his. The dialogue was short. Sometimes it was just one line. The characters were flat and undeveloped and the story was not interesting at all. Very disappointed

[Ben Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it

I really enjoyed reading this book. The story was easy to follow even when I didn’t fully understand what they were saying. I liked the main characters. It was nice to see Tavo do whatever he could to help his family and their business. Speaking of which, most of the slang they used was interesting (though I’m a little curious as to how often some of it’s still used by natives). I find the anglicisms funny. Shows how much influence the US has left on them.

It would be cool if there was a series of conversations from other Spanish speaking countries such as Honduras, Nicaragua, Argentina, etc. The point is you can do so much with this idea: Different slang from different countries to help not just learners but also natives too. Bottom line, I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. If you’re learning Spanish, this’s a must read.

[Emma Eiram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my god. Nearly 10 months later I finally worked my way through this book!

To be fair, I got distracted at the beginning of reading it because my Spanish wasn’t strong enough yet. It wasn’t until the last few months that I took it very seriously. Still, having started it understanding so little, and finished it understanding almost every word feels like an immense accomplishment.

My own journey aside, this book was not only helpful, but genuinely had an interesting plot. The characters have a surprising amount of depth for it being a book of language learning purposes. By the end I was cheering for the workers of TechnoLine, and the romance subplot was the icing on the cake. Tentatively I would like to read one of the author’s other books… I just hope it doesn’t take me 10 months again!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the title, this is actually one story broken down into 101 short chunks, each with an introduction followed by a dialogue. The intro suggests that it's meant for those at B1 to B2 level and I'm barely at B1 level, but the audio version was slow enough and simple enough that I understood most of it anyway. I'd say it's a little simpler than the level of Charlas Hispanas.

The story itself was pretty basic and predictable...which made it easier to understand. Just gripping enough to keep me listening for the full two hours.

[C. Y. Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

good story for enjoyable learning experience

It’s easy to follow the text, especially listen to the audio at the same time. It helps to expand vocabulary and learning the rhythm of spanish in a relaxing way.

[Patrice Georges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful in gaining vocabulary & understanding everyday Spanish language

I enjoyed this book. It is an interesting story. It improved my Spanish vocabulary and I was able to understand everyday Spanish expressions and idioms.

[Liisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My expectations were low after reading a short stories book from Olly Richard, but I genuinely loved this one. The story was engaging, and the simple dialogue format is great for improving conversation skills. I will read it once more and take notes.

[Vi Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished book

Story dragged out a bit in the middle, but good ending. Easy to follow and repetitive phrases to help sink in memory.

[William Otremba · Rating 4 out of 5]

very helpful dialogues in mexican spanish with small word lists at the end of each chapter. Story is very generic but more important for extensive reading exercise.

[Linda Kordas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, fast paced story.

I really like this because the scenes were short and you could understand almost everything that they said. Me gusta mucho.

[Julian Parayno-Stoll]

experienced as audiobook only

[Kayla Schrage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook for me.

[Madelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listening to this a few times was great practice. I will definitely borrow it again.

[Leslie Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Great way to practice your Spanish.

[Eni · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was quite an enjoyable read to practice Spanish and include it in the daily habits.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad way to improve intermediate Spanish, but tediously repetitive. There are some interesting expressions, but also some basic vocabulary, like edificio that really shouldn't need defining.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for practicing listening skills, this is a pretty cool idea.

[Israel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy and interesting conversations

[Susan Shankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great help learning Spanish

[madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok listening was way better

[Elaine Tronic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook listened at 1x

Word for word comprehension 80-90%

Simple plot, but definitely a cohesive story. My favorite character was the restaurant owner.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fun to comprehend in Spanish

Really boosted my confidence. It was a fun book that kept me interested. Would recommend to anyone who is interested in learning Spanish.

[Angel Keiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning with this story and dialogue. I wish the end had a glossary or categorized list of the formal and informal words and phrases used.

[Anika · Rating 4 out of 5]

first book of 2025 🥳 good listening practice, the story was not very interesting tbh but i learned a lot