Spanish resources
We have a host of Spanish, listening, reading and phonetics resources available for advanced learners. They have been specially designed for students of GCE AS-level, but the texts and exercises may be used at higher or lower levels, depending on the ability of the learner.
Spanish exercises and topics
Listening
1. Leo describe a su familia
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
2. Leticia y Leo: los parecidos de familia
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
3. La hermana menor de Leticia
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
4. Lo que estudian los hermanos de Leo
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
5. David y Bea: los parecidos de familia
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
6. Leo describe su casa en Fuenterrabía
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
7. Lo bueno de vivir en Fuenterrabía
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
8. Daniel habla de su casa y su barrio
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
9. Lo bueno de vivir en Barcelona
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
10. Bea habla de su familia
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
11. David habla de las relaciones con sus hermanos
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
12. Bea y David comentan las relaciones con los amigos de la infancia
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
13. Leticia va de excursión el fin de semana
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
14. A Bea le gusta la natación
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
15. A David le gusta el baloncesto
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
16. La rutina diaria en los colegios españoles: (1)
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
17. La rutina diaria en los colegios españoles: (2)
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
18. La cocina típica española: Madrid y Canarias
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
19. Dos platos típicos
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
20. Leo y Leticia hablan de dónde hacer compras en España
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
21. Minerva va de compras
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
22. Leo habla de la costumbre de beber sidra en San Sebastián
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
23. Bea describe los carnavales en Canarias
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
24. Leo describe la fiesta del día de San Sebastián
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
25. El Festival de Cine de San Sebastián
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
26. Las Navidades en España
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
27. La fiesta de la Nochevieja en España
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
28. Bea describe cómo viajar a Canarias y los medios de transporte entre las islas
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
29. La medicina alternativa en España
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
30. El funcionamiento de la seguridad social en España
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
31. La dieta mediterránea
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
32. David se encuentra en baja forma
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
33. El trabajo de verano: David
- Exercise (PDF)
- Audio (MP3)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
34. El trabajo de verano: Minerva
- Exercise (PDF)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
35. Daniel describe el trabajo de repartidor de pizzas
- Exercise (PDF)
- Solution (PDF)
- Transcript (PDF)
Leticia Jiménez-Buil, Leo Diez, David Fernández Jiménez, Minerva Lanau, Daniel Rodríguez, Beatriz Llorens.
Reading
1. Y además
2. Dos delincuentes toman rehenes en una escuela de Enfermería
3. Agredidos dos agentes que pidieron bajar la música
4. La mujer en huelga no podrá ver a sus hijos
5. Detenidos en Madrid 13 cabezas rapadas acusados de provocar incidentes callejeros
6. Un hombre tirotea a unos chicos con un arma vieja
7. La Guardia Civil decomisa casi tres toneladas de cocaína en el puerto de Santurtzi
8. Familias gitanas ocupan casas a punto de derribo
9. Una explosión en un astillero de Vigo causa un muerto y 13 heridos
10. Los bomberos sacan la ropa de las 16 familias desalojadas
11. Las fiestas originaron 85.000 kilos de basura
12. Dos atracadores desvalijan una famosa joyería de Marbella
13. La Policía atrapa a cuatro menores tras un tiroteo y una larga persecución
14. Motín a bordo
15. Un robo imperdonable
16. ¿Por qué tomamos uvas en Nochevieja?
17. Vecinos de Cardos hacen pagar para ir a los lagos
18. Música callejera
19. Los restaurantes se mantienen
20. Un concierto de U2
21. Tráfico anuncia que la lluvia complicará el regreso masivo de la Semana Santa
22. ¿Qué hacen nuestros hijos cuando salen?
23. ¿Con quién prefieres pasar tus vacaciones?
24. Querida amiga
25. Diferencias por sexo
26. Cuidemos el Montseny
27. Agujeros en la capa de ozono
28. Un vial sin acera
29. Collserola arde
30. Vecinos de Sant Cugat llevarán el parque Divèrsia a los tribunales
31. Un incendio forestal obliga a desalojar 70 chalets en Mallorca
32. Los 200.000 rayos de julio
33. Personal
34. Su vida en las líneas de la mano: Maribel Verdú
35. "Volvía a ser el muchacho alegre, pelotero de béisbol, cantante de rumbas, Gabo"
36. Alejandro Trigo: novillero
37. Ana Quintana: los hombres de mi vida
38. Ana Quintana: mi estilo
39. Joaquín Aragón: obrero con contratos temporales
40. Paula Vázquez: la disciplina
45. Rocío Martínez: ejecutiva en una multinacional
46. Natividad Casas: guardia civil
47. Voto de ‘okupación’
48. Aumentan en España los robos con violencia entre las menores delincuentes
49. Maria Jesús Prieto: Presidenta del colectivo de ingenieros de España
50. Descubiertos los cadáveres de dos polizones africanos en La Coruña
51. Marruecos y la inmigración
52. Blanca Rosa Maldonado: inmigrante ecuatoriana
53. Sandra Pérez
54. ‘Samaritanos’ en el Estrecho
With thanks to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material:
- El Correo: 1, 33
- El País: Extracts 10, 14, 21, 27, 32, 35, 36, 39, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54
- El Periódico: Extracts: 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 17, 20, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 41
- El Mundo: Extracts 2, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19, 40, 44, 50,51
- El Semanal: Extracts 37, 38, 42
- Mia: Extracts 16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 34
Spanish phonetics
This is an introductory listening course aimed at practising recognition of the sounds and main accents of Spanish. It contains practical exercises alongside a short explanation and is divided into two parts.
- Part 1: basic listening exercises practising the distinction between similar sounds (minimal pairs)
- Part 2: more advanced listening exercises on the main accents of Spanish (northern peninsular Spanish, Spanish of the low/coastal lands and Spanish of the high lands).
The basic exercises are intended for students of Spanish with no previous experience of phonetics. The more advanced exercises on regional accents are more suitable for upper intermediate/advanced students of Spanish (B2-C1 in the Common European Framework of Reference).
These listening exercises have been designed using Hot Potatoes software. They are self-contained units. This means that the students can choose units or exercises independently and do not need to work consecutively from unit 1 to unit 8. The explanation is on the left (or sometimes in a web link), the exercise on the right, and the feedback is automatic.
These exercises have been designed for formative purposes, so the student can do the same exercise as many times as they want. Each exercise consists of a bank of questions, so every time the exercise is loaded the questions may be different and/or in a different order.
The audio and video recordings are of native speakers of Spanish with different accents. The video clips are used in the last unit, summarising regional varieties.
The exercises are a selection of phonetic phenomena, not an exhaustive account of all the aspects of Spanish phonetics. The focus in the basic exercises is the distinction between minimal pairs rather than syntactic phonetics or intonation. The exercises on accents comprise a selection and a generalisation of phonetic markers of each accent.
These exercises are mainly intended for independent use, although they can also be used in a classroom situation, with headphones (and microphones, for pronunciation practice). There is a table of contents on the left-hand side which contains the units for this course. Each unit is self-contained, and where there is a range of different exercises in each unit, the exercises go from easier to more complex. When the units have the same type of exercise the words are different but there is no progression in difficulty.
Instructions and explanations of the basic exercises use English so they can be used by students with different levels of Spanish. Feedback is mainly written in simple Spanish.
In the advanced exercises on regional accents there is a progression in the use of Spanish. The explanations are still in English, so they reach a larger audience, but the instructions and feedback are in Spanish. In the last unit, which consists of a summary of all the phonetic phenomena studied in the course, the explanations are in Spanish.
There is a unit on rules for writing the graphic accent after the exercises on syllables.
The exercises use the phonemic symbols that can be found in dictionaries. It is important for the student to be familiar with the phonemic alphabet in order to use this course and the dictionaries’ pronunciation guides. Therefore a unit on the phonemic alphabet and transcription is included. For practical and pedagogic purposes, /θ/ and /s/ are considered different phonemes, but there is no distinction made between /ʎ/ and /j/.
Yes. Using sound recording software, like Audacity, the student can repeat and record the words that they hear in the exercises and then compare their pronunciation with that of the native speaker.
- Marga Menéndez-López: m.menendez-lopez@surrey.ac.uk
- For technical queries: Rachel O’Callaghan.
University of Surrey 2008. All rights reserved. No part of these exercises may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereinafter invented, without permission in writing from the University of Surrey, with the following exception:
The University of Surrey grants permission to schools, universities or other educational institutions to make copies of this material without fee and without prior permission, for distribution of those copies within the school, university or other educational institution only (subject to the limitations of the Copyright Licensing Agency). In line with UK Copyright regulations, the University of Surrey also grants permission for non-commercial research use and for private study use provided that no commercial gain results from these uses and the appropriate acknowledgement is made for the source of the material.
Please consult the University of Surrey, care of the address below, if there is any doubt regarding the legality of any proposed copy.
University of Surrey, "UniS" and the University Crest are trademarks of the University of Surrey, No use of these trademarks, or representation of association of any type shall be made to the University of Surrey without the prior permission in writing of the University of Surrey.
Basic exercises
Vowels: Listen to the five vowel sounds and then try the 10 exercises to practise differentiating between words that are the same except for one vowel.
Exercises on distinguishing a selection of consonantic minimal pairs:
- Consonantes: /k/ ~ /θ/: Listen to the sounds then try the 14 exercises to practise identifying the consonants
- Consonantes: /θ/ ~ /s/: Listen to the sounds then try the 18 exercises to practise identifying the consonants
- Consonantes: /l/ ~ /r/: Listen to the sounds then try the 20 exercises to practise identifying the consonants
- Consonantes: /l/, /y/: Listen to the sounds then try the 26 exercises to practise identifying the consonants
- Consonantes: ‘h’: Listen to the sounds and try to identify the 10 words
- Consonantes: /g/ ~ /x/: ‘g’, ‘gu’, ‘j’: Listen to the sounds then try the 26 exercises to practise identifying the consonants
- Consonantes: ‘r’ ~ ‘rr’: Listen to the sounds then try the 22 exercises to practise identifying the consonants
- Consonantes: ‘n’ ~ ‘ñ’: Listen to the sounds then try the 20 exercises to practise identifying the consonants
This unit contains exercises on:
Diphthongs in Spanish
- Diptongos "ai" ~ "ia"
- Diptongos "ei" ~ "ie"
- Diptongos "oi" ~ "io"
- Diptongos "au" ~ "ua"
- Diptongos "eu" ~ "ue"
- Diptongos "uo" ~ "ui" ~ "iu"
Differences between diphthongs and hiatus
- ¿Diptongo o hiato? I
- ¿Diptongo o hiato? Divide en sílabas II
- ¿Diptongo o hiato? Divide en sílabas III
- ¿Diptongo o hiato? Divide en sílabas IV
- ¿Diptongo o hiato? Divide en sílabas V
These exercises follow a progression. The first part focuses on stress: identifying stressed and unstressed syllables, followed by a classification of words according to the position of the stressed syllable. The second part deals with the graphic accent, the tilde: graphic accent rules, the tilde in contexts with hiatus and the diacritic tilde, which distinguishes words that are very short and have different meanings. The final exercises are a summary of tildes, with a text to insert the graphic accent.
Stress
The graphic accent, tilde
- Tilde ortográfica 1
- Tilde ortográfica 2
- Tilde ortográfica 3
- Tilde ortográfica 4
- Tilde ortográfica. Vocales en hiato 1
- Tilde ortográfica. Vocales en hiato 2
- Tilde diacrítica 1
- Tilde diacrítica 2
- Tilde ortográfica. Resumen 1
- Tilde ortográfica. Resumen 2
- Tilde ortográfica. Resumen 3
- Tilde ortográfica. Resumen 4
This unit contains exercises to practice the phonemic alphabet i.e. the symbols for transcribing sounds. The first two exercises are about identifying the correct symbol, while the last three are about transcribing words using the phonemic alphabet.
- Identifica la transcripción 1
- Identifica la transcripción 2
- Transcripción fonémica 1
- Transcripción fonémica 2
- Transcripción fonémica 3
Advanced exercises
This unit focuses on the weaker (or more fricative) or stronger pronunciation of the Spanish voiced plosives, depending on the phonetic context. The second exercise studies the correlation between the weaker pronunciation of /-ado/ and informal or colloquial registers.
This unit focuses on the pronunciation of the phoneme /θ/ in the Spanish varieties that distinguish /θ/ and /s/ and those varieties which merge both sounds into a [s]. This pronunciation has been labelled seseo.
- Pronunciación de /θ/: ¿distinción o seseo?
- Pronunciación de /θ/: ¿de dónde son los hablantes?
- Pronunciación de /θ/: transcripción fonética y fonológica
This unit focuses on the pronunciation of end-of-syllable /-s/ in the Spanish varieties that maintain /-s/ and the ones where it is weakened and aspirated, modifying it to a [-h] or [-ʰ].
- Pronunciación de /-s/ final de sílaba: ¿[-s] o [-h]?
- Pronunciación de /-s/ final de sílaba: ¿de dónde son los hablantes?
This unit studies the pronunciation of the letters ‘ll’ and ‘y’ in different varieties of Spanish: those which distinguish [ʎ] for ‘ll’ and [j] for ‘y’; those which favour yeísmo, the merging of ‘ll’ and ‘y’ into a palatal sound (which will be transcribed here as [j]); and lastly those which favour rehilamiento, in which ‘ll’ and ‘y’ merge into a sibilant sound (transcribed here as [š] or [ʒ]).
Varieties of Spanish
We recommend you complete the exercises on phonetic variation before attempting this section.
These exercises constitute an effort to present a variety of Spanish and Latin American accents, including speakers from the following Spanish-speaking areas:
- Asturias
- Canarias
- Madrid
- Galicia
- Colombia (Cali)
- Nicaragua
- Costa Rica
- Mexico (Veracruz)
- Argentina (Buenos Aires)
These exercises can be complemented and extended with Dialectoteca del Español.
Audio exercises
- Diferencias entre el español peninsular norteño y el español americano
- Variedades del español ¿qué acento tienen estos hablantes? 1
- Variedades del español ¿qué acento tienen estos hablantes? 2
- Variedades del español ¿qué fenómenos fonéticos reconoces?
Video exercises
Ab initio
If you are studying the Spanish Ab Initio courses, you will be given access to over 200 online exercises, created by the University of Surrey, to practise your Spanish vocabulary, listening, reading, writing and grammar skills. Here is a sample of some of the exercises you will have access to on the course:
- Alphabet and Quiz
- Numbers Word Search
- Countries
- Identify the words
- Directions
- Match these pictures to the words
- Listen and answer questions about Juana Sanchez
- Hangman game (food)
- Listen and put the activities in order (daily routine)
- Fill in the gaps (Buenos Aires)
- Listen and choose the correct answer (José)
Spanish learning apps
Pigobo has an app available for ipods, ipads, iphones or android operating systems, developed by Maria Eugenia D'Asta-Keating. It is designed to help you learn Spanish from beginners up to intermediate level. There is a free version (Maria's Spanish Class Lite) available on the website to get you started.
uTalk is available for all University of Surrey students for over 25 languages, including Spanish.