Web links
Free teacher resources
Linguanet is a multilingual resources centre to support language
teaching and training. It provides an impressive amount of
information and links on language matters, including a section
devoted to the use of the Internet in language teaching. Also
includes many links to a huge variety of external websites
dedicated to teaching and learning materials and reference
resources in the target language.
The Teacher Resource Exchange (TRE) is a moderated, up-to-date
database of resources and activities created by teachers. All
resources on the TRE are checked by subject specialists to ensure
they are of the highest possible quality. Resources are free to use
and teachers can add their own resources to share with other
teachers. The TRE contains a wide selection of MFL lessons for ages
11-18, clearly marked for the relevant age group and Key Stage.
¡OYE! provides interactive activities for Spanish teachers
and learners, and features more than 500 exercises, including audio
samples of native Spanish speakers. It also offers exercises for
the interactive whiteboard. Although best done online, a lot of the
exercises can be printed out and used in the classroom. This site
will provide help for teachers trying to motivate their pupils, for
pupils looking for ways to revise for tests or exams, and for
anybody wanting to have some fun playing Spanish games.
An easy-to-navigate site about Spanish Language and culture.
Students can use the ‘Talk Spanish’ and
‘Sueños’ online courses to improve their language
skills or familiarize themselves with Spanish news and society.
Separate sections for beginners and intermediate learners; a
section for tutors; games and quizzes; TV and radio programmes, and
special features on Spanish life.
A very useful site containing free resources, online tests,
paid-for tuition, listings of TV and radio stations, museums,
useful dictionaries, and more. Realplayer required.
This site is primarily intended for teachers in England,
Scotland and Wales and their students. It aims to bring the global
dimension to the classroom using the concept of Global Citizenship.
Clicking through ‘Countries and Continents’,
‘Europe’ and then ‘Spain’, students can
take a virtual journey through Spain and learn about its history,
geography, education system and more. Also includes an online guide
book and a Spanish quiz.
The Association for Language Learning (ALL) is the major subject
association for those involved in teaching foreign languages at all
levels. An invaluable first-stop portal for all teachers of
MFL.
The website of the only dedicated television channel for
teachers. MFL teachers can access a variety of video clips of real
MFL lessons. The Spanish section includes the television series
‘Aventuras Vascas’ which is aimed at students from
14-17 and tracks the progress, problems and adventures of two
British students, Sophie and Richard, during a fortnight spent with
host families in and around Bilbao.
Paid-for teacher resources
Linguatique has been established to promote the teaching and
learning of languages by introducing a range of interactive
resources that can be used independently by young people in play.
Primarily a site selling language games that could be used in a
number of ways in language lessons.
Awarded a ‘European Award for Languages’ by the
British Government and the EU, this site provides a huge amount of
material about Spanish courses – including free and paid-for
online resources, tests, La Palabra del Día, and a large
number of links to relevant websites.
Teach languages with Talking Dice. An innovative site which
claims to make language teaching easier and more fun, especially in
mixed-ability classes. Talking Dice was the brainchild of language
teacher Emily Daly, who initially created them as a novel way of
teaching her students German & French. Using pictures only,
they are suitable for teaching in any target language.
This is a subscription-only website created and maintained by a
practising modern languages teacher in the UK for teachers and
learners of Spanish at all levels. The site has been conceived to
respond to the demands of teachers and learners by providing good
quality interactive or printable resources appropriate to the
curriculum needs of all. It’s also updated several times a
week.
Revision sites
The BBC’s GCSE revision site with sections dedicated to
revision and homework; sample topics testing all four skills at
foundation and higher level; a teachers’ forum; games, video,
and more.
A no-nonsense site for learning about Spanish Language and
culture. There’s an audio guide to the slang section,
‘Cool Spanish’, a brand new interactive crossword and
much more. Students can use the online courses to improve their
language skills or familiarize themselves with Spanish news and
society.
Although not MFL-specific, this site is a study portal offering
revision-based live chat, daily chatrooms, interactive quizzes, and
study tips/advice pieces.
Offering homework help, revision websites, and educational sites
for use in the classroom from a variety of sources. Also includes a
link to Coursework.info, the UK’s largest Coursework
Library.
A formal introduction to Spanish with excellent material on all
aspects of learning the language. Very useful for GCSE
revision.
Business Spanish websites
14–16
16–19
The official website for the European Central Bank supplying all
the data required for business in the European Union.
Easy to navigate, this is the official Spanish Stock
exchange’s website. English version available.
The media
Suitable for ages 14–16 and above
TV
Serving the Spanish-speaking population of the Americas, the
site’s broad coverage successfully highlights the linguistic
variations of the Spanish language.
Newspapers and magazines
In addition to the news headlines El Mundo includes sections on
travel, health, books, finance, horoscopes, festivals, sport and
much more. Suitable for KS4 and A level students for reading
practice and research.
Sport, international news, society, economy, leisure, games,
advertising and readers’ letters. Able GCSE students and
above should find it useful for language practice and for finding
out more about Spanish life and culture.
Spain’s equivalent of UK’s Hello! Magazine
online.
Daily Spanish newspaper available online.
This is the website of one of the best economic newspapers in
Spain. There’s a section in English, Business News, and users
can even follow the fast-moving stock exchanges live.
Chile’s major broadsheet online.
Online edition of the second-highest selling Spanish daily.
Access 1296 newspapers from 192 countries around the globe.
Radio
Popular site from the Spanish TV and radio network.
Lists all Spanish radio stations and their frequencies and
provides the chance to listen to some live.
Museums and science
An illuminating site with encyclopaedic information about the
building, its history and its collections.
Comprehensive site with further links to other cultural
websites.
Located in Figueres, the Dali Theatre-Museum houses the broadest
collection of Dali’s work in the world tracing his first
artistic forays, the surrealist period and even including some of
the last works painted before his death.
Spain’s major museum of Natural Sciences. No English
version of the site available.
Travel and public transport
A US site with a wealth of information for travellers and travel
agents.
The tourism institute of Spain promoting Spanish tourism
abroad.
Useful information about Spain’s public transport
system.
Comprehensive travel guide to Spain’s capital city.
Food
The best of Spain in America. Good Spanish food site with option
to browse Spanish recipes, plus free catalogue.
Spanish food and recipes from Torrevieja.
History, culture, and tourism
14–16+
The Instituto Cervantes is a government-funded organization
based in Madrid with branches throughout the world. It aims to
encourage the study and appreciation of Spanish language and
culture abroad. There are online Spanish courses available at the
Instituto’s Aula Virtual de Español.
Comprehensive site about all aspects of Spain including a
detailed overview of its economic and environmental infrastructure.
The site promotes free exchange of information on Spanish current
affairs and its historical, linguistic and cultural
development.
The main aim of this site is to promote greater mutual knowledge
among Spanish-speaking countries, especially in the fields of
language and literary research, cultural and artistic activities,
and economic and political cooperation. Visitors to the site can
take a virtual tour of the Casa’s headquarters at the Palacio
de Linares, Madrid.
This academic society promotes Spanish language and culture
through its journal, exhibitions, and its museum in New York.
Visitors to the website can get a taste of these treasures and see
some of the photographs from the photo-archive of Spain and Latin
America, which date from 1850 onwards.
Language and cultural links to teaching and learning resources,
Spanish cities, photographs and much more.
Latin American Spanish Sites
Information about business, government, culture and more in
Mexico.
Sololiteratura is a Latin American literary magazine. The site
contains articles and reviews on the work of major Latin American
writers, as well as many interesting links.
El Comercio is the oldest quality daily newspaper in Peru. As
well as seeing international affairs presented from a Peruvian
viewpoint, visitors to the site can obtain an insight into the
problems and challenges in the daily life of a country whose
affairs are not widely reported internationally.
A Colombian daily with in-depth coverage of national and
international affairs. Visitors to the site are presented with a
round-up of the social, economic, and political problems facing
Latin America in general, and Colombia in particular.
El Mercurio is the most important Chilean quality newspaper with
detailed coverage of national and international affairs, and
spirited reporting of local issues.
La Jornada is one of the major quality Mexican dailies. Sections
are devoted to regional news and one to Migración. Back issues
to 1996 can be searched in the archive.
A quality daily from Argentina providing comprehensive coverage
of national and international news.
The Spanish Language
14–16+
The Spanish Royal Academy is the foremost language academy
promoting and defending the Spanish language, and giving guidelines
on good usage. It has compiled and published the 'Diccionario de la
Real Academia Española' since the 18th century. Visitors can
look words up in the dictionary and find out how it was compiled,
read the acceptance speeches of the members of the academy, and
much more.
This academic association provides a forum for researchers
working in a wide range of disciplines including politics,
economics, geography, and cultural studies. Its focus is
contemporary Spain and Portugal. As well as providing details of
the Association's activities, the website has a section on Spanish
language media - Medios de comunicación, with many useful
links.
Avión de Papel is a literary website with a wide range of
articles on literary and language matters relating to the whole of
the Hispanic world. Includes the section 'Cajas negras' which
explains problem words and expressions in Spanish.
Cervantina Digital is the electronic version of the literary
magazine published by Acción Cultural Miguel de Cervantes,
Barcelona, Spain. Its main aim is to foster the Spanish language
and its literature. The website contains information on literary
issues from all over the Spanish-speaking world.
Multi-award winning literary quarterly published by the Facultad
de Ciencias de la Información, Universidad Complutense, Spain.
A wide-ranging site offering excellent help on the problems of
Spanish usage: spellings of new words, correct use of prepositions,
feminine forms of words denoting professions and occupations, etc.
in the section 'Cajetín de la lengua'.
Libraries
A very useful site listing all the major libraries in Spain.
This is the most important library in Spain, preserving all of
Spain's publications. It holds special collections of rare books,
the fine arts and cartography, as well as manuscripts, drawings,
photographs and video, and sound recordings. The website includes a
very useful Spanish Libraries Directory.
Poetry
14–16+
México Volitivo is a bi-monthly poetry magazine accessible
to more able GCSE students and above.
Poesía is an Argentinian poetry magazine publishing the
work of Latin American poets. Poems which are otherwise difficult
to obtain can be found on its website. Visitors can sign up for
online poetry workshops and to the 'Poema del día' (Monday to
Friday), as well as read discussions of poets' works.
