Posted on

Learning Numbers – Spanish Exercises

If you want to improve your fluency, as well as sounding like a local, you need to be learning numbers in Spanish! This exercise is really useful for shopping, giving quantities, and expressing dates, as it teaches you how to structure large numbers in Spanish. For example, to find out how much something costs in a shop, or to ask for a weight of food at a market, you need to be confident expressing large numbers. Repeat the phrases over and over and soon they will be easy! You will be surprised how useful this activity is, and how often you find yourself reciting these numbers…

You will soon be singing these number tongue-twisters in your sleep… Also, here’s an idea! Once you have learnt how to say all the numbers with 3’s, it is easy to pick up other numbers. The structure is the same, you just have to tweak it slightly!

Learning numbers has never been so easy! If you want more infographics like this to improve your Spanish speaking skills, head to our website, where you will find activities for every ability!

To learn more great hints and tricks to sounding like a local, why not read this article next: Health Vocabulary – Spanish Exercises

Posted on

Madrid of Los Austrias Walking Tour- After-class Activities

Being the capital city of Spain guarantees that Madrid is full of history. Therefore, there are many different sightseeing opportunities that allow you to learn more about this magical city. At AIL, we host a variety of activities for our students, to teach them more about where they are studying! Here, we opted for a walk through the Madrid of Los Austrias. This taught us more about the history of this beautiful area.

Where we walked: Madrid of Los Austrias

During the 16th century, King Philip II began constructing the House of Austria’s imperial court in Madrid. Despite being so many centuries later, the historic centre of Madrid still conserves the architectural highlights of that time. The Austrias neighboroughood that we explored is famous for being historically significant for this era. We began our walk in the Plaza Mayor, a timeless square that has hosted all kinds of events throughout history. It’s been known to house markets, bullfights, and auto-da-fés, amongst many more. In the middle of the square you’ll see the equestrian statue of Philip III, who ordered the reconstruction of this now-famous plaza. However its current architecture is thanks to Juan de Villanueva’s, following a fire in 1790.

We then walked through the old narrow streets of the time, to the Plaza de la Villa. Our students loved it here because of its range of architectural styles, and its prime location. In this picturesque square you can find: the Lujanes’ House and Tower (15th century), built with a Gothic-Mudejar style, the Cisneros’ House (16th century), a Plateresque palace, and the Casa de la Villa (17th century), which features a Baroque style.

Thanks to this walking tour, our students gained a great insight into the history and culture of Madrid. If you fancy joining us on our next adventure round the city, check out our after-class activities page. All activities are completely free and there are over 80 on offer to all students of AIL. To get involved just sign up for a class today!

Need more persuading? Read about another one of our activities: Madrid’s Centennial Taverns. You won’t want to miss our next activity!

Posted on

Health Vocabulary – Spanish Exercises

Are you away from home and not feeling yourself? Don’t let an illness ruin your travels! We understand it can be daunting to feel unwell in a foreign country. We’re aware that getting help may seem like a big challenge. This is especially the case if the medical staff you approach can’t speak English. However, the most important thing is that you can accurately describe your symptoms. This will ensure you receive the appropriate medical assistance. Therefore, if you know the right health vocabulary, it’s easy to get the care that you need!

In Spanish, the structures for expressing illnesses and cures are relatively straightforward and similar to in English. If you can remember the health vocabulary we have listed below, you will be confident visiting Spanish medical services. Remember, the medical staff are wanting to understand you and willing help you!

Has this health vocabulary made you feel more confident communicating with Spanish locals? Similarly, why not check out this article next on how to express portion sizes. That way, you can shop and eat hassle-free too!

If you want to continue improving your Spanish skills, take a look at the infographics of different levels that we have on our Language Resources page.

Posted on

Uses of Before and After – Spanish Exercises

When telling a story it is always important to explain when things happened. Often we use the phrases ‘before…’ and ‘after…’ to help give an idea of a timeline of events. In english it is a relatively straightforward structure, however in spanish it gets a little more complicated. Follow the examples used below to learn how to use the subjunctive to make your stories even better!

before and after

Now that you have learnt about the rules for ‘before’ and ‘after’, you should head to our website to find more infographics to help your spanish language!

And now that you have learnt about ‘before’ and ‘after’, check out this article about Flamenco vocabulary and how to use it, you will love it!