This masterpiece by Roberto Bolaño centers around a group of radical poets and their hungry, crazy, and romantic lives in Mexico City. It’s got lesbians, mystery suicides, schizophrenics, and a lot of jaw-dropping stories. It’s worth to struggle with the Spanish because Bolaño is a masterful wordsmith, but this book will be most enjoyable for advanced Spanish readers.
French exercise practice: ELFE and Trésor
ELFE
Elementary French Exercises (or, ELFE) are French language drills to practice grammar and vocabulary. They are organized by subject, so you can easily focus in on your areas of difficulty.
The interface is sensitive so make sure to add accents and punctuation exactly as needed. Although it’s a bit old-school, the exercises are well-designed. They give corrections immediately. And it’s all free!
ELFE is accessible through Moodle.
Trésor
Trésor is a detailed online French language resource with several important applications. First, search your desired word, then toggle between tabs to see:
Morphologie – all morphologies of your word, including conjugations.
Lexicographie – traces your word to its root word and definitions, as well as common cultural usage and example sentences.
Etymologie – etymology and history of your word.
Synonymie – synonyms.
Antonymie – antonyms
Proxemie – installs an extension for your web browser.
Concordance – finds examples of your word in common books or texts
This is an extremely powerful resource, and if you install their toolbar or extension, you won’t need to navigate to the site each time.
Trésor is tout en français.
Tips for BonPatron, Antidote, LanguageTool, Reverso
- Antidote: Antidote is powerful spelling and grammar correction software built specifically for French. It integrates with MS Word but can also be used alone. Antidote works with built-in grammar and vocabulary reference resources, providing users with comprehensive explanations of errors and possible corrections. Because Antidote is made for French speakers, the interface and reference works are entirely in French, making Antidote an especially good choice for advanced students.
- Languages supported: French only.
- Strengths: Along with grammar correction, Antidote offers more comprehensive stylistic and diction guidance, which makes it a great resource for improving the quality of written work beyond simple error checking.
- Weaknesses: Antidote is available only on the Language Lab computers.
- Reverso: Reverso is another online grammar and spelling correction tool. Explanation for corrections are in the language itself, so this tool might be best for advanced learners.
- Languages supported: French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, and Japanese.
- Strengths: Several tools, and many languages to choose from.
- Weaknesses: Reverso has a limit of 2,000 characters (about 250 words). It also lacks the linguistic references available in both Antidote and Bon Patron.
- BonPatron: BonPatron is an online grammar and spelling correction tool similar to Antidote. Because it’s available anywhere, it’s a handy alternative to Antidote, but it lacks the comprehensive resources available in Antidote. Suggestions and guides are available in English as well as French, making this a good choice for students just beginning French composition as well as intermediate learners.
- Languages supported: French only.
- Strengths: Bon Patron is very user friendly, making it a good choice for beginners. It also doesn’t provide the correct answer, but rather tells you what about the current construction is incorrect, so that you become better at identifying your own errors rather than simply replacing them with the correct answer.
- Weaknesses: The free version of the site has a limit of 2,000 characters (about 250 words). Only available for French.
- LanguageTool: LanguageTool is another web-based grammar tool, useful for correcting texts in French or for checking your spelling, etc.
- Languages supported: Asturian, Belarusian, Breton, Catalan, Dutch, Esperanto, French, Galician, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Ukranian.
- Strengths: LanguageTool is much more powerful than BonPatron and Reverso, allowing 20,000 characters (about 2,500 words). It also allows for correction of different dialects/regions, e.g., Swiss and Austrian German, or Brazilian vs Portugal Portuguese.
- Weaknesses: Grammatical explanations are only provided in the target language, for example French or German.
- Tips/tricks: LanguageTool also has a useful Google Chrome extension and a Google Docs add-on, which allow the user to correct text while typing online or in a Doc.
German.net
German.net is a language-learning website with numerous exercises. Levels range from approximately A1 (beginner) to B2 (advanced). This could be a very helpful tool for those looking to brush up on German skills or trying to advance their language.
German.net has a number of grammatical exercises, including ones on verb tenses, case and declension, nouns, adjective endings, prepositions, and the passive voice. These exercises are neatly categorised and are easy to find on the website.
These textbook-like exercises require the user to fill in missing information, and the solutions give the correct answer. 
It also has “vocabulary builder,” which quizzes the user on words which grow progressively more difficult. 
Perhaps most unique to German.net, and also most useful, is the “reading” tool, which presents short texts and then quizzes the user on the content. 
German.net also features a verb conjugation tool, which is especially useful when reviewing for a test or trying to learn more irregular conjugations. 
The Diamond Arm/Бриллиантовая рука/Brilliantovaya ruka (available at the IMC)
The Diamond Arm is likely one of the most classic — and popular — Soviet comedies of all time. Starring an array of Soviet top talent, like comedian and actor Yuri Nikulin, the movie follows of a story involving jewel heists, mistaken identities, and international travel. Great for beginning speakers. Available in the IMC.
Radio Ambulante
Radio Ambulante is an award-winning podcast series which tells Latin American stories, covering a range of issues from immigration to bee-keeping. They have thousands of episodes to choose from, allowing listeners to filter by country, topic, and length. Most episodes are both in Spanish and English, which makes Radio Ambulante suitable for both beginners and advanced Spanish students.
LightSpeed Spanish – Podcast
With sections ranging from beginner to advanced, this podcast covers a wide variety of topics, most of which center around using Spanish in everyday life. The episodes are mostly 10-15 minutes long and gradually move from using some English to explain ideas to speaking exclusively in Spanish. The hosts do a great job of explaining their ideas and topics for every level learner.
La Casa de las Flores, Netflix Series
This brand-new Netflix telenovela, already critically and popularly acclaimed, revolves around a powerful family in Mexico City, attempting to preserve its image after the father’s mistress hangs herself from the family’s house, uncovering the family’s dirty secrets. While inhabiting the best tradition of hyperbolic and postmodern Mexican telenovelas, this series offers an original dark comedy twist. The spoken Spanish is clear yet abundant in colloquialisms.
Têtes à claques, French Youtube channel
Têtes à claques
https://www.youtube.com/user/salamboproductions/featured
This is a channel (and a website) of humorous short videos in French that has been producing animated videos since forever. Some of them are easier to understand than others, but most have an option for English subtitles just in case. The sense of humor may not be to everyone’s taste, but there are a lot of real gems! Some recommendations from your Langlabbies include:
the Will Waller 2006: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJgQCbRsq-I and
Le Body Toner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdKjpvnrhkU
Easy Videos for French vocab + speech
Get ready to learn some French vocab the fun and easy way!
Easy French Vocab and Phrases 5min: https://youtu.be/fq_4V-Ia1z0.
This video is in French with French and English subtitles. The video covers basic French nouns and phrases, describing them by walking around the town and pointing to objects. Also helpful for pronunciation.
Days of the Week Song 2min: https://youtu.be/Lpwf5N0rfVE.
This video uses a mnemonic device to help you learn the days of the week in French. The song is catchy and easy to remember.
Months of the Year Song 2min: https://youtu.be/KxTsMctlfTY.
This video uses a song as a mnemonic device to help learn the months of the year in French.
Weather and Seasons in French 12min: https://youtu.be/Kq4Luegns8c.
This is a detailed video in English, introducing basic weather expressions, how to describe the weather, and the names of the seasons.
What Not to Pronounce in French 6min: https://youtu.be/NTU-2zvJ92U.
This video is in English and some basic French, and helps with the pronunciation of final syllables in French, including dropping the -d, -p, -t, -s, and -e at the ends of words.
How to Pronounce the French “R” 2min: https://youtu.be/YCw_lEb1qXk.
This is a slightly silly pronunciation guide given in English on when and how to pronounce the “r” in French. Cognates like ‘horrible’ and ‘métro’ are compared in both languages, demonstrating the throat constriction present in French.
Uses of “Faire” 2min: https://youtu.be/kjni-2B9d4w.
This video introduces the verb ‘faire’ and different phrases in which it is used. A number of French speakers pronounce a variety of phrases in French with English subtitles.
Uses of “Avoir” 2min: https://youtu.be/SaIxCyfowrA.
This video introduces the verb ‘avoir’ and a variety of phrases in which it appears. French and English subtitles are included.