Archive for December, 2011

The Brazilian song “Ai se eu te pego” is a big success in Spain

Friday, December 30th, 2011

What started as a dance between two Real Madrid football players, Marcelo and Cristino Ronaldo after scoring a goal, ended up becoming very successful in our country. The song “Ai se eu te pego” from the Brazilian Michel Teló became the most viewed video on Youtube in 2011 inSpain, you can also listen to it on all radio stations and in all clubs, and you have probably already heard it at least once if you are studying Spanish in Spain.

This singer started being famous in Brazil in 2010 after he participated in a television programme, but he achieved international fame only this year (2011). His song “Ai se eu te pego” is already known all over the world. We leave the words of the song and its translation in Spanish for all of you studying Spanish in Spain:

Aprende español en España y disfruta de la música

Michel Teló

►…sigue leyendo sobre la canción brasileña

The I International Spanish Exhibition is celebrated in May 2012

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

Fundación de la Lengua Española

The Spanish Language Foundation is preparing the city of Valladolid for the I Expo Internacional del Español (I International Spanish Exhibition), which is celebrated from the 10th until the 13th of May 2012. This event turns around Spanish as foreign language teaching and integrates all involved activity sectors in the exhibition.

There will be a space for all sectors and fields involved in Spanish teaching in the Expo, such as materials, learning methods, teachers or new technology, all of them being very important to spread Spanish in the world. Also, there will be a special focus on the little ones, as they are the future of Spanish and they will promote it as years pass by.

►…continue reading about I Expo Internacional del Español

Live the beginning of 2012 and learn Spanish in Spain

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Twelve strokes, twelve grapes and a lot of joy, this is how you welcome the new year in Spain. Less than a week is left before we leave 2011 behind and start 2012, the celebration is very stylish in Spain, so if you are undertaking Spanish classes in a Spanish city, you should get ready to enjoy this big night.

It is a tradition to eat 12 grapes in Spain, one for each month, at the sound of every stroke that sounds at midnight on the 31st of December. It is common to celebrate this moment on the town house square or some other central square in the city, the most famous New Year’s Eve in Spain is the one celebrated in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, an ideal destination to go to and spend a night if you are undertaking Spanish classes in Spain.

Enjoy the end of the year and attend classes in Spanish in Spain

Puerta del Sol in Madrid

►…continue reading about live the beginning of 2012 and learn Spanish in Spain

Spanish schools and gastronomy: The turrón, the Christmas sweet

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

Polvorones, mazapanes, mantecados, peladillas…many typical sweets for Christmas, but only one stands out, the turrón. It is one of the sweets from the Spanish gastronomy that is never missing in a house around these dates and all Spanish students staying in Spain to learn Spanish have probably already tried it.

This food is made from almond and honey, a mixture that was already used by the Arabs in the ancient Al-Andalus. Nevertheless, the turrón as we know it now started to be made in the XV century in Jijona, a town near the city of Alicante. The two most famous turrones in Spainare made there, the Turrón de Jijona (soft, the almonds are ground to form a dough) and the Turrón de Alicante (hard, it has whole almonds). If you are staying in our country to learn Spanish in Alicante, you cannot miss out on trying some of these turrones.

Learn Spanish in Spain and enjoy the turrón

Turrón de Alicante y Turrón de Jijona

►…continue reading about the turrón, the Christmas sweet

The best things Spanish students can do in Spain during winter

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Next 22nd of December the winter season starts, a time when great numbers of students usually come toSpain to learn Spanish in a Spanish school. We would therefore like to give you a series of advices to make the most of your time in Spain this season:

- If you like winter sports, our country has many ski resorts where you can practice skiing or snowboarding. The Sierra Nevada station in Granadaor the Astún-Candanchú in Jaca, are ideal to enjoy the snow with your classmates from the Spanish school in Spain.

- If you don’t like cold, you can always spend some days in theCanary Islandsand enjoy the amazing temperature… you can even bathe in the water.

Spain in winter for Spanish students

Ski resort of Sierra Nevada

►…continue reading about the best things Spanish students can do in Spain during winter

Christmas lives in Spain and learn Spanish in an intensive course

Friday, December 16th, 2011

The colourful lights light the streets, snow covers the mountains, shops fill with people… they are obvious signs that show Christmas is here. This time of year is one of the most waited for for many people, and they make most of it travelling, visiting family and friends or, why not, undertaking an intensive Spanish course in Spain.

Our country is an ideal destination to spend holidays while studying Spanish, as there is a variety of activities and traditions you can combine with your learning time. To walk in the town centre and see its decorated streets, to buy the Christmas presents, to watch the live nativity scenes or skate on the ice tracks of the city, these are most things an intensive Spanish course student can do in Spain.

Christmas, one of the best times to study Spanish

City Council of Valencia at Christmas

►…continue reading about Christmas in Spain

The “Danza Kuduro”, best Spanish language international song

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Don Omar, a Puerto Rican singer who made many students from the Spanish courses in Spain dance reggaeton, was awarded last week, on the 9th of December, the prize for best international Spanish Language song with his theme “Danza Kuduro” at the Premios 40 Principales 2011 in Madrid.

Many of you have probably already heard this song, on the radio, the internet or on a night out with your classmates from the Spanish courses. If its name does not sound familiar to you, if we say “La mano arriba, cintura sola. Da media vuelta, Danza Kuduro” you will probably remember.

►…continue reading about the best Spanish language international song

The origin of the Spanish language

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Spanish, the second most important language in the world and the third most spoken language with more than 450 million speakers, has its origin in the centuries of Roman occupation, when the Iberian Peninsula was part of the Roman empire (Spainand Portugal).

After the collapse of the Roman empire, the evolution of lain produced this Romance language after barbarian invasions (V century) and Muslim invasions (VIII century) of the Iberian Peninsula. Nevertheless, I am sure most people learning Spanish in Spain already know about it.

Learn Spanish, a Romance language

Dialects of Castilian in Spain by 1950

►…continue reading about the origin of the Spanish language

The 10 best things Spanish students can do in Madrid

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

The city of Madrid is a place that offers different activities for students staying in it to undertake a course in a Spanish school. Here we give you some advice:

  • • To go for a walk in the El Retiro park, one of the most significant places in the city and an ideal place to spend some time with the classmates from the Spanish school. Also, do not forget to rent a rowing boat and row for a while on the park’s pond.
  • • To walk down the Gran Vía in Madrid, admiring its incredible buildings, such as the Metrópolis, the Madrid París, the Cinemas Callao and the Torre de Madrid.
Study Spanish in Madrid and tour the city

Gran Vía of Madrid

►…continúa leyendo sobre las mejores cosas que los estudiantes de español puede hacer en Madrid