Dear language students,
You all know the feeling of returning to school in the fall with summer brain. How do I conjugate a verb? What is the subjunctive? Why can't I construct a full sentence?
While the following resources are not mandatory, they are a great way to explore the language(s) you study. Train your ear, practice verbs, listen to the news, review what you know or learn something new! Here is a list of some possible ways to keep it all fresh and maybe even fun.
Sincerely,
The Modern Language Department
Movies and Television:
Day and Night: This mystery series is available with Chinese or English subtitles.
American Factory: This documentary was the winner of the 2020 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The Wandering Earth: This 2019 science fiction movie is based on a novella by the famous Chinese author Liu Cixin. It is available with Chinese or English subtitles.
Available on YouTube:
Movies and Television:
La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) : A group of criminals plan and implement an ambitious heist of the National Royal Mint.
Gran Hotel: This series is set at an early 20th-century aristocratic hotel in Spain. Think "Downton Abbey" but in Spanish and about Spain!
Podcasts:
Duolingo Podcast: Fascinating stories in easy-to-understand Spanish. (Beginner)
News in Slow Spanish: Two hosts discuss this week's top stories from Spain and around the world. (Intermediate/Advanced)
Coffee Break Spanish: Free podcast for all levels with 15 to 20-minute Spanish mini-lessons. (All levels)
Radio Ambulante: This Podcast tells tories about Latin America and the Latin American experience. It's similar to "This American Life". You can use the Lupa app to listen to the podcasts broken down to help Spanish language learners.
Websites and Other Resources:
Duolingo: This app helps language learners of all levels practice their Spanish. (All levels)
Conjugemos: Practice verb conjugations with fun activities and games. (Beginner/Intermediate)
Short readers from TPRS Books: Practice with these fun, easy to read Spanish books. (Beginner)
Señor Wooly: Fun songs and videos for practicing your Spanish. (Intermediate/Advanced)
Zachary Jones: Memes, music and short films in Spanish. (Intermediate/Advanced)
Se
Spanishlistening.org: This website has short videos (sorted by level, topic, location) from native Spanish speakers. It is a great tool to work on your listening skills and explore different cultures (and accents) of the Spanish-speaking world. (All levels)
AJ+ Español: This site from Al Jazeera covers stories from Latin America that are not traditionally reported by mainstream media. This is their YouTube Channel.
Community Service Opportunity:
Volunteer with the IFSI (Immigrant Family Service Institute) this summer. Here is the volunteer application form.
Movies and Television:
Watch French TV: Channels like TV5Monde, France 24 and TV5 Cinema are a great place to see French news, television shows and more. (Available via Sling TV.)
To use any movie or TV show to practice your French: watch it first with French audio and English subtitles, then with French audio and subtitles.
Podcasts:
Coffee Break French - Podcast for all levels with 15- to 20-minute French mini-lessons. (Beginner)
Journal en français facile - A daily news and current events podcast. (Intermediate/Advanced)
Le monde devant soi - A weekly deep dive into French and international politics from Slate. (Intermediate/Advanced)
Pourquoi tu t’appelles? - From Slate, this podcast on the topic of identity tells the stories behind first names chosen and given. (Intermediate/Advanced)
Les aventures de Tintin - Serial podcast of the adventures of Tintin, the famous cartoon character. (Intermediate/Advanced)
Websites:
Apprendre le français: Provides French exercises for all levels.
BBC News Afrique: African news from the BBC.
Franceculture.fr: Podcasts, news and videos about French culture.
TV5 Monde: French and international news.
Websites and Other Resources:
News Web Easy: やさしい日本語でかいたニュース (News written in easy Japanese).
NHK for school: Cultural topics in English. Japanese clips are also available.
Japanology: Cultural study with Peter Barakan!
