Learning Tasks: Lectura, escuchar, y cultura

A white soccer ball with a multi-colored pattern strikes the back of the net in the goal

In this lesson, you will encounter different ways of working with the content we've been learning.

Lectura

The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the members of Féderation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930.

Are you a fútbol fan? Soccer is extremely popular and watched religiously by fans known as aficionados. La Copa Mundial (The World Cup) takes place every four years. FIFA publishes its website in Spanish - you can view it by typing fifa.com/es in your browser.

Escuchar y lectura

During the opening ceremonies of the World Cup, performers entertain the crowd in the stadium. Ricky Martin, a singer from Puerto Rico, performed "La Copa de La Vida" in 1998. The song is still quite popular. Find a copy of the song to listen to. Additionally, search for the Spanish lyrics to the song in a search engine to answer the following questions in your notebook.

First, simply listen to the song while you read along.
Try to underline words you recognize that are in the present tense.
Try to circle the words you recognize that are in their infinitive forms.
Do you recognize any other words that you have learned in Spanish?

Cultura: Pelé

Would you like to learn more about sports? Pelé, a soccer player, brought global attention to the sport throughout his career. He is considered one of the best and greatest soccer player of all time. He was born in Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken rather than Spanish. Do a websearch on Pelé to learn more about this iconic soccer player.

Cultura: Formal vs. Informal You

Have you thought about when to use the pronoun usted instead of tú in Spanish?

The pronoun usted is an abbreviation of an ancient Spanish phrase: Vuestra Merced (meaning: Your Grace). This phrase was used to address royalty (kings, queens, etc.).

Formal vs. Familiar Tone

Spanish uses a formal tone. The 2nd person pronouns usted (singular - abbreviated Ud.) and ustedes (plural - abbreviated Uds.) are used to address individuals as a sign of respect. It is close to English’s sir or madam.

On the other hand, using tú (you - singular) and vosotros/as (you - plural, mainly used in Spain), indicates an informal or familiar tone.

Let's compare the situations in which you should use these two forms.

**Formal vs. Familiar Tone - Situations**
Use Formal Tone	Use Familiar Tone
You should use the formal tone using usted to address: a stranger a person to whom you wish to show respect an older person for example, your friend’s grandfather an honorable figure of authority a public audience in this case, you would use the plural ustedes	You should use the familiar tone using tú to address: an individual you know on a first-name basis friends children classmates family members pets anyone who addresses you using the informal tone

How to Choose

If you are not sure which tone to use, start with the formal tone and use usted. If you become more comfortable, you might switch to the informal tone and use tú. Also, the person you are talking to might say one of the following phrases:

Tutéame por favor. - Please speak with me informally.
Me puedes tutuear. - You can address me informally.

Both of these expressions mean you can switch to the informal tone and use tú. The verb tutear means "to address using the familiar tú form."

Cultura: Mesoamerica and Mesoamerican Ballgame

Would you like to learn more about the Mesoamerican cultures? They have impacted our culture more than you might think. Have you ever heard of the Maya or the Aztecs? These civilizations of Central America had sports as well. Learn about Mesoamerican Cultures and the Mesoamerican Ballgame by doing a websearch on each of the following topics:

Mesoamerican Geography and History
Mesoamerican Civilizations
The Mesoamerican Ballgame

Take notes on each topic in your notebook as these topics may come up again later in the course.

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