Have you ever had to teach Spanish to native Spanish speakers? If you answered yes, then you have probably experienced the need for us to differentiate and teach them spelling rules the old-fashioned way. This year I have three native Spanish-speaking students. They are all fluent in the language, but their writing needs work, especially when using the accent marks. Here is an activity I designed for them, but that your students can also benefit from, especially your native speakers. I created a video and three self-graded activities to practice the three basic rules to help your students decide whether an accent mark is necessary or not.

http://www.fluencyprof.com/how-to-use-spanish-accents.html

There is also an activity to help students practice telling time in Spanish. I posted a video and three self-graded activities.

http://www.fluencyprof.com/telling-time-in-spanish.html

Your comments to this blog post are welcome, as well as your suggestions for other activities. Enjoy!

Ricardo.

I just added a new activity to the Free Spanish Audio section. With the festivities approaching for the Mexican Independence Day on September 16, I recorded this audio clip featuring a little bit of history and traditions around this holiday. I also recorded another audio about Columbus Day. Enjoy!

I recently added a new activity on the Free Spanish Audio section that features 501 of the most commonly used Spanish verbs. This is a great activity to challenge your upper-intermediate students. You can choose from three different types of activities to practice this vocabulary set by changing the study mode on the bottom-right corner. You can also listen to each term by clicking on the audio icon on the top-left corner. Have fun!

Cinco de Mayo is a celebration that American students commonly believe commemorates the Mexican independence. This is completely understandable since Cinco de Mayo is more celebrated by the Hispanic community in the United States than September 16th, which is the actual anniversary of Mexican independence. It is important to help students understand the difference between these two days. 

It is quite interesting to realize that Cinco de Mayo is more largely celebrated in the United States than in Mexico, where the festivities occur mainly in the state of Puebla.  According to some sources, this difference can be explained by the fact that the events of the original Cinco de Mayo served as inspiration for the activists in the Chicano Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated all over the United States, but it continues to be a day in which Chicanos celebrate their rich ethnic heritage. 

There are two activities ready to use with your students in the "Free Spanish Audio" section of the website, or you can also select the option that best fits your lesson below. Good luck!

1. Cinco de Mayo Comic with Audio
2. Cinco de Mayo Activity with Script

I recently added a collection of myths and legends to the collection of free Spanish audio for more listening practice. I added some music and voice effects to enhance the experience of listening to a story. Telling and listening to legends and myths is an oral  tradition that is kept alive from generation to generation. In fact, I remember growing up in the Yucatan Península and listening to my parents and my grand parents telling me some Mayan legends like the ones featured on this website. My all time favorite is the one about the aluxes, which believe it or not, many locals from the Mayan villages in the Yucatan Peninsula would swear is true.

I will keep this post short, and let you enjoy some of the legends and myths I recently recorded. More will be added soon, so if you have not subscribed yet, do so on the top right corner to stay tuned! If you are ready to enjoy a myth or a legend in Spanish, go to the "Free Spanish Audio" section and scroll down. Enjoy.