Contemporary Life

You'll learn how school works in different Spanish-speaking countries, what students study, and how young people choose and prepare for a career. Practice talking about your own plans, describing jobs, and discussing challenges like access to good schools.

This topic covers the series, movies, music and news you consume and the media that deliver them. You'll practice judging whether a source is trustworthy, spotting fake news (noticias falsas), and explaining how the media shape people's opinions.

You'll explore food traditions across the Spanish-speaking world, healthy eating, and how diet connects to health. Expect readings on topics like the Mediterranean diet, typical family meals and campaigns for healthier habits.

Pop culture is the music, comics, stars and trends that people share. You'll look at how music in Spanish became popular around the world, at classic characters like Mafalda, the Argentine comic-strip girl created by Quino, and at why trends spread so fast.

This topic is about sports and how people spend their free time, from soccer to hobbies with friends. You'll see how sports and leisure bring communities together, like Bogotá's Ciclovía, where main streets close to cars on Sundays and holidays so people can bike, walk and skate.

You'll read about travel and tourism and their effects on the places people visit. Practice comparing the benefits of tourism, such as jobs and cultural exchange, with problems like overtourism (crowds of visitors overwhelming a city), and explain what makes tourism sustainable.