Use these Spanish stories with limited vocabulary with beginners.

Spanish learners need to hear language in context, and everyone loves an entertaining story. With that in mind, we created a series of short Spanish video stories for beginners and intermediate learners. These stories give learners the opportunity to hear verb forms and other common vocabulary.

We wrote these Spanish stories so learners could focus on a few key structures. We also built in repetition to provide repeated exposure to the vocabulary and verbs. Next, we filmed them, so learners could hear native speakers tell the stories. We filmed each story in the present tense and then with a past tense narration.

Using the Spanish Video Stories

There are lots of ways to use these stories to learn Spanish. Here are a few activities to consider.

  • Do a sequencing activity where students put events in order.
  • Try listening practice where students fill in key words.
  • Have students answer comprehension questions about the story.
  • Give students a paragraph with a written version of the story and have them answer comprehension questions.
  • Students can practice retelling the story to a partner.
  • Ask students to illustrate the story.
  • If students are at a higher level, you can ask them to change one element in the story or change the ending.

Spanish Video Stories on YouTube

We have a number of Spanish stories for beginners and intermediate learners in the present tense and past tenses. They are lighthearted narrations about a range of topics. The videos are available on the Spanish Playground YouTube channel in these playlists:

Learn Spanish Present Tense Stories

Learn Spanish Past Tense Stories

Activities for Spanish Story Videos

Get activities for these present tense stories:

El caballo y la manzana

El niño triste

El celular

La sobrina

Get activities for these past tense stories:

La vecina

El caballo y la manzana

These are examples of the kinds of activities you’ll find for these stories. You can easily make your own for the other story videos.

I. Enumera los eventos en orden cronológico del 1 al 6.

______ Pamela ve un caballo.

______ Pamela corre a casa.

______ Pamela camina en el parque y come una manzana.

______ El caballo ve la manzana de Pamela.

______ Pamela toma la manzana.

______ El caballo come la manzana.

II. Contesta las preguntas.

1. ¿Qué hace Pamela en el parque?

2. ¿Qué ve Pamela en el parque?

3. ¿Qué ve el caballo?

4. ¿Qué hace el caballo?

III. Completa el párrafo.

Pamela está en el  ______________. Camina y come una ______________.

Entonces, Pamela ve un______________. El caballo ve la ______________.

El caballo camina y camina. ¡El  ______________ come la manzana de Pamela!

Pamela toma la______________. Corre a la______________.  En la casa, Pamela come la ______________.

More Spanish Stories for Beginners and Intermediate Learners

We add new videos to our channel every week, and will continue to publish more of these Spanish stories. They all have a limited number of target structures and built-in repetition. We film them with native speakers and add gestures and expressions to make them comprehensible for novice learners.

Your feedback helps us decide what materials to create, so we would love to hear how these stories work for you or your students.

Day of the Dead Readings for Spanish Students
Comprehensible Input Strategies

8 Comments