Last-Minute Gift Idea

One of the methods I've recommended for improving your Spanish vocabulary and understanding of grammar is to find a Spanish-language newspaper or magazine on something that interests you. Reading Spanish-language articles (they're less overwhelming than a novel) give you the opportunity to learn how to understand words in context, and figuring out what things mean over the long term can help you understand unconsciously how Spanish sentence structure and word groupings differ from those of English.

Unfortunately, this method can get cumbersome if you have to look up very many words. That's where a magazine such as Think Spanish, which I reviewed recently, comes in. The magazine has interesting articles, and glossary on each page gives translations the not-for-absolute-beginners words in each article. If you're looking for a last-minute holiday gift for your favorite Spanish student — or, of course, if you looking for some good supplementary material yourself — you won't go wrong with a subscription.