Ayuda: How to use this program
How to start practicing with Wespañol
You can start from any Wespañol page: Protagonistas, Escenas o Temas de Estudio. Each page can stand on its own, and also can connect you to other pages, each one with its own activities, so you can be in control of the order in which you want to study and practice. That said, we recommend you start with the Protagonistas page–the text contains very basic structures and a high number of cognates with English, and it offers a good model for descriptions of people and places.
Protagonistas entry page
- Learn about the protagonists of the video scenes.
- Select a protagonista and click on image to start practicing.
Protagonistas pages
- Each page contains an annotated audiovisual description, a comprehension check, and suggestions for study topics you may want to review.
Escenas entry page
- Choose among 19 escenas, which take place in four different environments: the teaching assistants’ house (En casa de los asistentes), a professor’s house (En casa de la profesora), in the city of Middletown (En la ciudad), and on campus (En el campus).
- The icons under each image indicate the resources you can find in each escena. (See section Icons below for more information.)
- Or choose the scene directly from the menu bar:
Escenas pages
- Each escena page is centered around a video scene, annotated by Spanish captions and English translation that can be viewed or hidden.
- Escenas are also supported by a comprehension check, cultural notes related to some relevant detail present in the video, and in most cases, by an authentic reading and a following comprehension activity.
Temas de estudio entry pages
- Select a tema de estudio from the Temas entry page or directly from the menu bar:
Temas pages
- Each tema de estudio includes text and visual explanations, with visual alerts to salient peculiarities, examples in Spanish with English translation, video clips from the escenas that illustrate the grammar or vocabulary, and several activities with automatic correction.
- When obviously relevant, there are suggested links to other study topics.
Wespañol Icons
In Escenas and Protagonistas |
In Temas de estudio |
To start watching an escena. Click on CC (close captions) and choose es (español) to see Spanish captions. |
To start watching a full scene or clip from the escenas that illustrates the grammar or vocabulary presented. |
To open and close English translation of the video captions. |
To call attention about an important feature of the Spanish language, and/or a major difference with English. |
Comprensión de la escena is an activity to check for general understanding of information in the escena above. |
It opens the Actividades section of each tema de estudio. After a grammar or vocabulary presentation it includes a link to a matching practice activity. |
To go to a tema de estudio that is relevant to the presentation or activity. | To go to a tema de estudio that is relevant to the presentation or activity. |
One or more notas culturales to highlight a cultural issue that appears in the escena. |
To start listening to an audio recording. |
Lectura auténtica (auhtentic reading) that is somewhat related to a topic from the escena. It is followed by a comprehension activity. |