Even for the person who already understands grammar and has a reasonable vocabulary, improving one's ability to understand spoken Spanish can be a frustrating experience. Many software and videotape or audiotape programs are aimed aimed at a beginner's level, and watching Spanish-language TV or films often isn't a very efficient way to learn, in part because you usually can't go back and get the details on the parts you didn't understand.

Fortunately, there's a way to fill in that gap quite well — and you'll end up learning more than the language in the process. It's Puerta del Sol, a six-times-a-year Spanish-language audiomagazine designed specifically for learners.

Here's how it works: Every other six months you receive your choice of an audiocassette or an audio CD. (They're identical in content, although using the CD would probably be easier to use for most people because you can more easily find the tracks you want.) Each cassette or CD includes an informative program entirely in Spanish. The program, which sounds something like what you'd hear on public radio in the United States or on networks such as the BBC or the CBC in Canada, includes features on interesting people, background pieces on the news, a few traditional and/or currently popular Spanish-language songs, and features of interest to the traveler. The content focuses on Spain, although stories on Latin America or interviews with Latin Americans frequently are included.

Accompanying the audio is a small magazine with word-for-word transcription of the entire tape or CD. Additional notes, in English, tell you more about the cultural background, definitions of uncommon words, unusual grammatical constructions, and slang or colloquialisms that might not be listed in a dictionary. Also included are some exercises you can use, especially when listening to a particular program for the first few times, to improve your listening ability.

Listening to the programs while reading along in the booklet can be a surprisingly effective to improve your ability to understand. Listen to them enough times, and you'll begin to understand without reading the accompanying text. One advantage of this program over many software packages available is that each program includes a variety of speakers with different accents and speaking rates. This is Spanish as it really is spoken — in some interviews, occasionally including even the mistakes that people commonly make in speech — not Spanish that is artificially made easy to understand.

The programs also benefit from an interesting selection of topics. You'll hear everyone from Nobel Prize winners to political and business leaders to artists and poets. The programs are hosted by Iñaki Gabilondo, a well-known Spanish broadcaster.

These programs definitely aren't meant for beginners. There's no translation accompanying the transcript, and the notes and audio format assume you know the language well enough to read a magazine and to get at least the gist of what's being said on the radio or TV. But for those who are past the basics of the language and want to become effective listeners, Puerto del Sol is the next best thing to conversation in Spanish.