A level Languages Resources

After completing 2 A levels in languages (French and Spanish),  I think that I can safely say that I have found numerous resources for these subjects, and I thought that it would be useful to share them with you to help you. Whether you are studying French and/or Spanish at A level, or another language at A level, I hope that these links and resources will save you a bit of time, be beneficial and can be tailored to the language(s) that you are learning. These are all resources that I wish I had known about in year 12, or that I have used extensively throughout my studies.

Vocabulary

• Quizlet– flashcard site for learning vocabulary with ‘learn’ mode and tests, tracks which words you commonly mistake and tailors the session to focus on those words
• Memrise/ Decks- another vocabulary site which I find helps me to recap terms on a longer term scale

Listening

• Radio
  • Listening to the radio in your target language can be really useful in helping you to discover new music and listen to the news.

• TV and Film
  • Immersing yourself in Tv and Film can drastically aid your listening, comprehension and speaking skills. I intend to create a whole follow up post about French and Spanish series and films to watch.

• Listening exercises/ videos (miscellaneous)
  • Spanish-
    • ‘Spanish listening’exercises from Spanish speakers across the Spanish speaking world.
    • ‘Spanish language and culture more listening exercises.
  • French:
    • 1 jour 1 actu: listening videos aimed for French children and useful for year 12 French and cultural understanding .

• Podcasts
  • One of my favourite ways to practice listening because they often cover interesting cultural elements and current affairs. If you look in the podcast section of your music app (eg Spotify, Deezer, etc.) you can explore podcasts and find some relevant for you, but here are my favourites.
    • Coffee break languages,  Easy French and Easy Spanish
    • French: InnerFrench , One Thing in French A Day, 
    • Spanish: HoyHablamos, SBS Spanish , Espanol Automatico 

• Music
  • Making a playlist with all of your favourite French/Spanish/ etc tunes can be a great way to practice listening and pick up new vocabulary without too much effort, and whilst having a bop. Check the ‘top 40’ charts’ over the years, try Youtube playlists, start listening and find your taste. Music can be very personal, and subject to taste, but here are some ideas to give you inspiration.
    • Francophone artists: Mika, Stromae, Angèle, Vianney, Joyce Jonathan, Videoclub, Christine and the Queens, Louane, Bigflo & Oli
    • Spanish speaking artists: Alvaro Soler, Tatiana Hazel, Sebastian Yatra, Rosalía, Shakira,La Oreja de Van Gogh, Enrique Igelsias, Maluma

Reading

• News websites
  • A good way to stay up to date with the latest events in your target language. You can also look for articles relevant to your A level themes to learn new topic-specific vocabulary, improve your understanding of the theme and learn some facts for the oral exam. 
    • French: Le Monde , Le Figaro , Liberation 
    • Spanish: El Mundo , El pais, BBC Mundo

Grammar

• Languages online
  • Grammar drills with explanations, gap fills and other exercises. Good practice for all of those grammar rules.
• Conjuguemos 
  • An actual life-saver for tense conjugation practice. Quickfire questions to conjugate verbs in all tenses, really helped me to learn my irregular verbs.

Miscellaneous

-General

• Website with links to useful resources for many languages
  • http://www.ilovelanguages.com/index.php?category=Languages%7CBy+Language

-Spanish

• Blog with very useful exercises for A level Spanish
  • https://neiljones.org/
• Useful translation exercises
  • http://spanishandumbrellas.com/mflresources/#A-levelHEADER