Video Archive of Oral Histories in Spanish

Authentic Spanish Language and Cultures is a site for all who love the Spanish language and culture in all its amazing variety. It contains access to spontaneous, unscripted narratives shared in a broad range of social and regional oral speech. This includes speakers from Latin America and Spain in a range of age groups. 

Beginning and intermediate Spanish language students will find short clips alongside transcriptions to aid in their comprehension. Included are vocabulary guides to help learn unknown words or phrases. These clips are taken from a variety of speakers with differing backgrounds, accents, vocabulary, and experiences.

Authentic Spanish Language and Cultures was developed in order to help students gain access to spontaneous, unscripted narratives in the Spanish language. Dr. Karen Schairer started the project due to a lack of materials and tools to learn authentic spanish the way it is spoken throughout the world. These narratives expose students to a wide range of cultures within Spanish, as well as help students develop language proficiency. This vast library is available to anyone who is looking to improve their knowledge of the Spanish language and cultures.

Spanish is the native language of more than 460 million people worldwide. These people come from very culturally diverse places that range from small villages to booming metropolises. While they may share the same language, their customs, food, art, architecture, and histories are distinct.

In studying Spanish it is important to understand the sounds associated with each letter or combination of letters. In order to better understand and speak Spanish, it is vital that a student has sufficient phonetic understanding of the language.  

In the Spanish speaking world just as with any other country, region, or place many important events have been lived by its inhabitants. Here students will find video interviews by those who lived through those experiences. Topics such as the Savadoran civil war are discussed.