How-to videos in Spanish

Practicopedia.com is chocked-full of videos about how to do everything from packing a suitcase to touring El Prado, from how to transport a pet in your car to how to speak in public.

From the site:

Practicopedia.com es el líder del How-To audiovisual en España con más de un millón de usuarios mensuales. Practicopedia intenta dar solución a los problemas de la vida cotidiana creando contenidos originales, gracias a su equipo de redacción. Practicopedia.com también vigila por la calidad de los contenidos que envían los usuarios y sólo publica aquellos que pasan el filtro por tener los estándares de calidad periodista exigible.

You can also hover your mouse over any word and get the definition – in Spanish, of course. There is also a free iPhone app, so that you can watch the videos wherever you are.

To view more categories: http://categorias.practicopedia.com/

How would you use this site in your classroom?

Actualidades Revista

One of my favorite blogs now will be publishing a downloadable magazine which will feature printable versions of some of the articles from Actualidades: Blogueando Para Aprender as well as exercises including crossword puzzles, reading comprehension questions and more geared toward high school Spanish language students.

Take a look at the magazine’s masthead:

 
I think this is brilliant. What a wonderful resource this will be for high school/college teachers!

Where to go:
Actualidades Revista – first issue
Actualidades: Blogueando Para Aprender

Authentic material on Facebook

Become a fan! Recently I’ve become a fan of several Spanish organizations on Facebook. I’ve discovered that this is probably one of the easiest ways to access authentic Spanish-language material online.

Here are some of my favorites:

RTVE - http://www.facebook.com/rtve
Muy Interesante - http://www.facebook.com/pages/MUY-Interesante-GJ/50689135867
BBC Mundo - http://www.facebook.com/pages/BBC-Mundo/81395234664?ref=mf

What I have found interesting and sometimes even entertaining are the comments left by the fans – especially on the RTVE page.

If you have any suggestions, please post them in the comments.

Oh, one more thing. I have to give a big shout-out to the Mis Cositas Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/MisCositascom/190662591830

Become a fan! She’s always posting resources, helpful links and much more.
________________________________

Let’s go shopping

Okay, not really, but how about we do some window-shopping online. I think it’s a fantastic way to learn new vocabulary and it’s pretty fun at the same time.

El Corte Inglés is a very large department store chain in Spain. When I studied abroad in Zaragoza, I shopped there a couple of times. From juguetes (toys) to zapatos (shoes), they have just about everything—including a supermercado (grocery store). Just have fun browsing around. Oh, and if you look carefully, you’ll find a free online magazine full of beautiful photographs, interesting articles and recetas (recipes).

Speaking of food, grocery store sites are fun to browse. One of my favorites is HEB Mexico. And guess what? You’ll find another free online magazine. Did you find it? I could see this being used in class when talking about food, shopping and even cooking. Maybe even use one of the recipes in class or have students make a dish and bring it in for extra credit.

Did someone mention hardware? How about we visit a ferretería? I didn’t know this, but there are Home Depots in Mexico. You can even thumb through the folleto electrónico. Here’s a hardware store in Spain – Ferretería Esmas. Can you find a martillo?

Well, I think that is enough window-shopping for now. Hasta luego.
_____________________________________________________