Apart from enjoying time with your loved ones, a shed load of presents and delicious food, you can do a bit of Spanish during the festivities. If you wonder how, here are five ideas:
1. Watch a film in Spanish.
There are plenty of options. Fopp has many titles at a very good price but you can also enjoy Y tu mamá también on Netflix or Blancanieves on Amazon Prime. Just pour yourself a glass of wine, take a thick blanket to fight against the winter and enjoy two hours learning and practising Spanish from the comfort of your sofa.
2. Read a piece of news in Spanish
El País has a fantastic English edition that will keep you posted about current affairs in our country. Much of its news is in English and Spanish. We suggest you read both versions. This way, you’ll learn a lot by comparing the texts.
3. Review your grammar by doing some exercises
Are you one of those homeworkbuffs? As you know, our online student area has plenty of exercises with answers and there are many resources if you want to surf the internet and look for new self-study materials.
4. Listen to a Spanish song while you read the lyrics
This is the funniest way to increase your vocabulary and learn about pronunciation. If you’re tipsy enough, you can even try to find a karaoke version and cover it in a sing-along. Don’t worry, all of us had one of those Bridget Jones’ moments at some point.
5. Drink a glass of Spanish wine
We cannot find a way to link the development of a new language with this but we always encourage our students to learn about culture. Is there anything more representative of the Spanish culture beyond wine? Do you need more excuses to pour yourself a glass of good Rioja? Do you need to be reminded that one of the purposes of this time of the year is relaxing and having fun?
In the meantime, as well as you practise your Spanish or not, feliz Navidad y próspero año nuevo (merry Christmas and a happy new year).