Friday 26 May 2017

FeSTeLón

Spanish Theatre Festival in London

Quinta edición anual (5th)

Del 12 al 25 de junio

Cuatro obras excepcionales en español, con subtítulos en inglés, excepto ´Encerrona´, que es de mimo y es una  reflexión sobre la vida cotidiana y la importancia de aceptar el fracaso (failure) como parte de nuestra existencia.

FeSTeLón


Saturday 20 May 2017

3 Ways Learning a Language Helps Your Brain

Give your brain a healthy exercise

Not just for the obvious communicative reasons. Think of problem solving, creativity, empathy, new perspectives, resilience, mental agility and many more.


Tuesday 9 May 2017

OU Open Learn Free Language Courses

OU Open Learn Free Language Courses


Gary Lineker y el Partido del Día

El Partido del Día


BBC Languages clip with Gary Lineker sharing some of his experiences and phrases learnt while playing in Spain, as well as the odd comical literal translation of idioms.

El Partido del Día

BBC Languages Spanish

BBC Languages
Spanish


Excellent website with lots of advice, guides, games, clips and links to other resources.

BBC Languages - Spanish

A1. Personal information. Introductions

A1. Personal Information. Introductions


1. Open Learn Formal or Informal


Open Learn Track 1


2. Open Learn Introducing yourself


Open Learn Track 2


3. Introductions clip by NEEM


Introductions


4. Introductions by Lingua TV


Meeting for the first time at a salsa club

A1. De compras / Shopping

A1. De compras


1. Quizlet flashcards

Vegetables

quisco

meat and fish

fruit

supermercado

farmacia


2. Shopping for fruit at the market

The Open University has some free short courses on its Open Learn platform.
You can print the transcript.

Open Learn Track 11

In this clip, a woman buys some fruit at a market stall.
The seller speaks very fast and it is very hard to hear him but the woman repeats the prices each time.

Note the different ways in which she asks for things:

-Quería                        (just slightly more polite than ´quiero´)
-¿Me puede poner...?   (can you give me...? Literally: can you put me...?)
-Póngame                     (Could you give me?)

Also, check out the other structures and expressions used:

¿Cuánto cuestan los plátanos?                       How much do bananas cost?
2.95 el Kg                                                    
Tienes Fuyi, Royal Gala, Granny Smith...    You have Fuyi, Royal Gala, Granny Smith...
¿Cuánto cuestan las Golden?                         How much do the Golden ones cost?
Son iguales, el mismo precio                         They are the same, the same price
Son emormes                                                  They are huge
Está bien, no hay problema                            That´s fine, no problem
Eso es todo, nada más                                    That´s all, nothing else
¿Cuánto es?                                                    How much is it?
11 con 29, nada más                                       Just 11.29 (literally: nothing more)
Aquí tiene                                                        Here you are
Pues, muy bien                                                Very well (´pues´ here is just a filler word)


Please, note that the shop keeper´s question ´¿Más cositas?´ is very unusual. It sounds overfamiliar. You are more likely to hear the most common ´¿Algo más?´: Anything else?

3. Shopping for shoes


Open Learn Track 13


4. BBC Mi Vida Loca



Buying a present

Pointing at things with ´this´ and ´that´:


5. BBC Mi Vida Loca



Shopping at the supermarket, the market and the bakery


6. BBC Mi Vida Loca


Episodio 17

Shopping for clothes


7. Open Learn Beginners Spanish course on Food and Drink


Free course with lots of listening activities.

Beginners Spanish - Food and Drink


8. Quizlet flashcards on Recipes


Recetas de Cocina

To give instructions for a recipe use the infinitive (-ar, -er, -ir ending)

Pelar los calabacines y cortar.
Freir en una sartén.
etc...


9. Quizlet flashcards on clothes


La ropa


10. Quizlet flashcards on colours


Colores


11. Listening activity on clothes descriptions


Scroll down to find the listening activity with a photo of five people. All are described except one, who is it?

profedele la ropa