Seasonal lessons, samples of our courses, "Real Spanish Trocitos", and more. Your journey to advanced Spanish starts here!
Have you been studying Spanish, and you've got a decent level of vocabulary, but you find yourself freezing up in real conversations with native speakers?
Do you feel stuck somewhere between intermediate and advanced levels and want to push through to the next level?
Real Spanish can help. Just try out these free resources to see whether you fancy jumping into a full course. Go on — you've got nothing to lose.
Learn Spanish through festivals and seasons. We've got themed lessons on Christmas, Carnival, May Day, and other cultural topics, all ready to download. Each lesson comes with PDFs: one for students with the transcript, grammar notes, and links to online activities. And two for teachers with ideas for using ithe video lessonin class. For students aiming to go beyond intermediate and leap forward to C1 level.
Click any of the buttons below to sign up and access the lesson directly. Enjoy!
What do grapes have to do with New Year's Eve? And what happens on Three Kings' Day six days later? You'll pick up the expression "pasarlo pipa" and loads more. In the grammar notes we cover the different meanings and uses of the verb "pasar."
Enjoy all the fun of Carnival while picking up phrases like "¡Es una pasada!" and much more. In the grammar notes we walk through some examples of the subjunctive — usually a bit of a headache for Spanish learners.
El Día del Libro is celebrated in style in Barcelona. Are you a bookworm? In this video we give you tips for improving your Spanish through extensive reading. Not sure what that means? Then this video is for you! You'll also pick up loads of vocabulary and expressions to do with books, stories, and reading.
Semana Santa is one of the most important celebrations in the Catholic calendar across the Spanish-speaking world. You'll learn vocabulary and expressions for talking about this event, and in the grammar notes we explain how some adjectives change meaning depending on whether they're used with "ser" or "estar."
Labour Day falls on 1 May in Europe. Do you know what "partirse el lomo" means? Take a look at the image — you'll probably guess! Learn this and more expressions for talking about work and the kind of people who "no dan palo al agua." We also focus on time connectors to express sequence, duration, frequency, and more.
To celebrate Noche de San Juan, many people across the Spanish-speaking world build huge bonfires to welcome the summer solstice. You'll discover the traditions and origins of this magical night, plus vocabulary and expressions linked to fire — like "poner la mano en el fuego" for someone.
This video lesson is the second part of a two-part lesson about Noche de San Juan. You'll learn some popular sayings connected to the celebration. And on the grammar side: do you know what "lo" is doing in phrases like "lo pasamos en grande" or "lo sé"? Is it masculine? Is it a pronoun? It might not be what you think — we'll explain all.
Coming Soon
Do you know how Christmas is celebrated in Spain and Latin America? Learn the expression "ponerse las botas" and other words and phrases that'll help you talk about Christmas with native speakers. Explore festive traditions from the Spanish-speaking world — because understanding the culture is a key part of mastering the language. In the grammar section we cover some important uses of the all-purpose verbs "poner" and "ponerse."
The title says it all: if you're a perfectionist, you really want to master Spanish. This series of ebooks and videos will help you leave the intermediate plateau behind for good. Click on the image to get a free sample lesson, plus the User Guide that'll help you become a better language learner. This series might just be a perfect fit. Try the sample lesson to find out — go for it!
A variety of interesting topics, as shown in the images below.
First of all: Do you know the expression !Qué va!? We explain it in this video, along with other great ways to give a firm "No!" If you want to push yourself a bit, try reading this intro in the Spanish version first. You can always come back here if
“El mar” or “la mar”? Well, that depends! First of all: This video is one of our “Trocitos de Real Spanish” (Little Bits of Real Spanish). A trocito is a small amount of something — usually something to eat, like a trocito of chocolate! This particular one is a
First of all: This is the English version of the transcript of one of our "Trocitos de Real Spanish". Un trocito is a little bit of something (usually something to eat). This Trocito is a preview of our online Spanish course “Español con noticias y documentales 2: La historia de
First of all: This video is one of our “Trocitos de Real Spanish” — short clips from our Spanish lessons to help you get used to real, everyday Spanish. A trocito literally means “a little piece” of something — usually something you can eat, like un trocito de queso (“a
The video above explains some uses of «fin» and «final». The English transcription is below. If you just want to listen to the audio, you can find it on Soundcloud. ¡Hi, and welcome to Real Spanish! Do you still have trouble with «fin» and«final»? Do we say «el fin»
This lottery takes place in the Teatro Real or the Palacio de Congresos in Madrid and crowds of people attend. Children from San Ildefonso school, one of the oldest in Madrid with more than 400 years of history, practise singing out the winning numbers. One child takes out a numbered
"I really enjoyed the seasonal video lesson about World Book Day and learned many new expressions. I enjoyed improving my Spanish while learning about the culture."
Alison
If you feel stuck at B2 level, or find it hard to move beyond it, we know exactly how that feels, and our resources are ideal for you. And even if you're between B1–B2 and are keen to push yourself, try the Real Spanish Trocitos.
We hope so! And if you and your students enjoy them, please send us a review. Teacher recommendations are our best endorsement.
Yes, really! There's no catch. We offer them for free because we hope that, after trying them, you'll want to buy a full course or one of the Spanish for Perfectionists ebooks, but there's absolutely no obligation.
Elizabeth Coelho is a language and pedagogy teacher, but she is also a passionate student of Spanish, so she knows exactly how students feel when they're looking for a way out of the intermediate plateau. Real Spanish is her creation, but as she is not a native Spanish speaker, she works with Gema Sánchez Benítez, a native Spanish teacher with many years of experience. Together they write the scripts for the videos and the other teaching materials. To find out more and meet the Real Spanish team, visit the About Real Spanish page.
