Spanish Cafezine

Get to know Spain, its language and its culture on your coffee break

Inspired by the conversations in Spanish cafeterias, Spanish Cafezine is a free online magazine for people interested in Spain, its language and its culture. The pages of the site are set out as any Spanish café or tapas bar, so you can read the latest news in Spanish in the Cafezine section, or browse through the bookshelf, try out some music at the jukebox, or chat to other regulars.

It is easily accessible even if you don’t speak any Spanish at all. Each article is written with the learner in mind and each comes with a Spanish to English glossary and a level indicator so it is a great place to get you started. Also, the advanced learner will benefit from its pages as they stumble across set expressions, advanced grammar practice and vocabulary expansion possibilities at each level.

The news, reviews and profiles deal with the subjects that Spanish people are talking about, the books they are reading, the music they are listening and so on. The site shows a real passion for Spanish culture, that it is hard not to want to jump on board, for updates you can sign up on the website or follow them on twitter or facebook.

But that’s not all. A quick visit to the bar and for the price of a coffee, you can download the latest edition of El Mensual, the monthly printable PDF supplement to the online edition. Averaging 15 pages each month, the supplement is packed with exercises, games, puzzles, verb drills and comprehensions that challenge the learner to apply the Spanish picked up from the articles whilst providing a whole new bunch of words and expressions for you to learn.

Unlike other languages courses found online, Spanish Cafezine doesn’t claim that it will get you speaking Spanish in 3 months, 3 weeks or even 3 days. Learning a language is a long process that requires some dedication on your part. Its intention is to make learning and practicing the language fun and interesting and hopes that you will follow the book, film and music recommendations and surround yourself with the language. Only then you will find yourself understanding and speaking Spanish with little or no effort. – So grab a coffee and improve your Spanish at www.spanishcafezine.com

Photo kindly supplied by Keith Nicol