Free resources for B2–C1 learners (and their teachers): Try them out!

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.

Free Seasonal Lessons

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!

Nochevieja y los Reyes Magos

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."

Carnaval en el mundo hispánico

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.

Día del Libro

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.

Solemne y alegre

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."

Día del Trabajador

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.

La Noche de San Juan

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.

La Noche de San Juan 2

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

La Navidad en España y Latinoamérica

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."

Spanish for Perfectionists

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!

Spanish through Film, TV and Radio Drama

Do you struggle to follow films and TV shows because people speak so fast and use expressions you've never heard? We help you understand scenes from films, TV programmes, and radio drama, where the actors and narrators speak "a toda máquina" — that is, at the natural pace of a native speaker. With these intensive but fun courses you can improve your listening, enrich your vocabulary, pick up loads of expressions, and even fine-tune your pronunciation. Go on, take the challenge!

Trocitos de Real Spanish

A variety of interesting topics, as shown in the images below.

¡Ojalá me toque El Gordo! La lotería de Navidad en España

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

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Me importa un huevo

  This is a preview of our mini-lesson about colloquial Spanish expressions with the word «huevo». Some expressions with «huevos» are quite vulgar, because the word can also refer to "testicles" or "balls". If you only want to listen to the audio, you can find it on Soundcloud.  Hi! Today

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«¡Se acabo!» and other uses of «acabar»

The video above explains some uses of the verb «acabar». The English transcription is below. If you just want to listen to the audio, you can find it on Soundcloud.  Hello and welcome to Real Spanish! Today we bring you some uses of the verb «acabar». I'm sure you already

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Falsos amigos 2: some Spanish and English words you should never mix up

This is the English  transcription of our second video about some “false friends” that can cause problems for English speakers.  False friends (falso amigos) are words that look and sound very similar in English and Spanish because they are derived from the same Latin roots, but nowadays they have different

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"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

FAQ

What level do I need to get the most out of these resources?

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.