Intermediate Spanish: Heritage and Popular Culture

Uncover what gives Spanish-speaking communities their cultural identity

On this course you’ll develop your knowledge of popular cultural expressions in Spanish-speaking worlds, from traditions and customs, to popular music and TV, learning vital vocabulary and structures along the way.

Learn about cultural heritage, customs, traditions, and celebrations

You’ll discover the importance of tradition and customs in Spanish-speaking worlds within local, national, and international dimensions, including symbols and rituals in well-known festivals.

You’ll also learn about more personal celebrations including birthdays, marriages, and other family occasions. Practical activities will help you talk and write about these using the past tense.

Putting your new skills into action, you’ll practice giving short written or oral presentations on cultural subject matters such as celebrations. This will help you develop listening strategies to engage in authentic conversations.

Explore Latin music and rhythms

You’ll gain new skills to talk about music, including naming instruments, types of music, and places where it can be heard. You’ll broaden your knowledge of Latin music, unravelling its roots and socio-political links.

You’ll investigate how influences from native America, Africa, and Europe have evolved to create distinctive Latin rhythms, such as tango, merengue, salsa, bachata, or flamenco.

Discover popular TV shows in Latin American countries and Spain

You’ll examine some well-known television programmes including comedies, telenovelas (serial dramas) and TV series in Latin American countries and Spain, and use your new language skills to reflect on the impact of these on modern Spanish-speaking societies.

You’ll end this course with an exciting opportunity to apply your new language skills in the creation and narration of your own short story.

This course is designed for those who are at Level A2, working towards Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Learners should feel confident to use the language in most situations likely to arise while travelling in the worlds of Spanish.

The OU’s language ExpertTracks are designed to help you progress with each one you study. It’s suggested you work through them in order to effectively develop your language skills.

Learners would benefit from having completed Intermediate Spanish: People and Places before taking this ExpertTrack.

• Cultural Heritage and Popular Culture
• Bienvenidos
• Fiestas locales y nacionales
• La herencia intangible
• Objetos tradicionales de festivales
• Una fiesta en España de dimensiones internacionals
• Repaso
• Customs, traditions and celebrations
• Celebrándolo con la familia
• La fiesta de la quinceañera
• Una boda en Perú
• Rituales del Día de Todos los Santos
• Repaso
• Exploring Latin rhythms
• Explorando vocabulario musical
• Explicar la tradición musical
• La tradición y la innovación musical
• El arte de cantar
• Repaso música
• Telenovelas and popular TV series in Latin American countries and Spain
• Programas en la televisión que atraen
• El fervor de los años 70 en Colombia
• Los temas y la trama
• ¿Estás de acuerdo?
• Repaso : comedias, series y telenovelas