To be Honest...

Honestly, there isn't much that can be done for listening at the last minute. It's more of a long-term endeavor. Improving your listening skills requires time, and quite a bit of it.

The most effective way to enhance your Spanish listening abilities is to immerse yourself in the language. This can be achieved through various methods. For instance, watch a Spanish movie, or "película", switch your music playlist to include Spanish songs instead of your usual tunes, tune into Spanish podcasts, or even make a Spanish-speaking friend online to chat with. Last-minute cramming isn't really viable for listening. Given the variety of accents, dialects, and the vast vocabulary, it's nearly impossible to prepare adequately in a short time frame.

Despite this, we've compiled a list of resources below to aid in your listening practice and help acclimate your ears, ranging from movies and podcasts to IB Past Papers. Feel free to explore them.

For practice, we recommend visiting the Dele website for audio files and questions, along with mark schemes. These are resources we personally use for practice. See resources below.

Immerse Yourself in Spanish

To truly master Spanish, immersing yourself in the language and culture is key. Here are some engaging and enjoyable ways to enhance your Spanish skills.

Movies: Watching Spanish movies is an excellent way to improve your listening skills and cultural understanding. Check out films like "El laberinto del fauno" (Pan's Labyrinth) or "Mar adentro" (The Sea Inside) for a start.

Songs: Listening to popular Spanish songs can make learning fun. Artists like Shakira or Ricky Martin offer catchy tunes that can help with language retention. Try creating a playlist of Spanish hits on Spotify.

Books: Reading books in Spanish is great for improving vocabulary and grammar. Start with simpler reads like "Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal" (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) and progress to more advanced literature as you improve.

Series: Spanish TV series offer both entertainment and language practice. "La casa de papel" (Money Heist) and "Narcos" are highly recommended.

Podcasts: For audio learning, podcasts are invaluable. Tune into "Radio Ambulante" by NPR for stories from across Latin America or "Duolingo Spanish Podcast" for a mix of Spanish and English narratives.

Other Creative Ways: Joining Spanish-speaking forums, attending local Spanish events or festivals, and using language exchange apps like Tandem or HelloTalk to converse with native speakers can also be incredibly beneficial.

Remember, consistent exposure to the language is the key to fluency. Explore these resources and find what works best for you!