Who We Are
Hi! I'm Bella, the creator of Borderlands and the website's primary blogger. As you may have guessed, I'm a major linguaphile and I enjoy writing. I'm currently an undergraduate junior pursuing a Bachelor of Individualized Studies with concentrations in French, Spanish, and Mass Communications.
Borderlands is a French-Spanish blog that provides quality book, YouTube, and film recommendations to foreign language learners of all ages and backgrounds. An important step in mastering a new language is interacting with it, and next to immersion, literature and film are your best options to do so. By recommending cultural materials friendly to a non-fluent audience, Borderlands hopes to provide French and Spanish language learners with the resources to exercise and better their language abilities.
Borderlands is a French-Spanish blog that provides quality book, YouTube, and film recommendations to foreign language learners of all ages and backgrounds. An important step in mastering a new language is interacting with it, and next to immersion, literature and film are your best options to do so. By recommending cultural materials friendly to a non-fluent audience, Borderlands hopes to provide French and Spanish language learners with the resources to exercise and better their language abilities.
how we work
Because we cover two different languages and a range of different media, each post title will include the featured language and medium. The eight different sections will be identified as: French Lit Spanish Lit
French Youtube Spanish Youtube
French Film Spanish Film
French Podcast Spanish Podcast
We also offer difficulty ratings for each book/channel/film/podcast we review. Our rating system is displayed below.
★ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ Piece of Cake - Friendly to all levels. Must know core verbs: être/ser/estar, avoir/tener, marcher/caminar, savoir/saber, connaître/conocer, etc. Must know most core verb tenses: present, preterit, imperfect, and occasionally future. Must know simple vocabulary such as: une chaise, vite, une maison, heureux, etc. Little to no grammar mastery is required.
★ ★ ✩ ✩ ✩ Easygoing - Friendly to most levels. Must know core verbs as well as a few everyday verbs such as: venir, demander/preguntar, etc. Must know all core verb tenses: present, preterit, imperfect, and future. Must know simple vocabulary. Little to no grammar mastery is required.
★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ Intermediate - Friendly to those with semi-extended study (1-2 years of professional or self instruction). Must know all core verbs and everyday verbs. Must know all core verb tenses. Must know simple vocabulary, as well as some everyday vocabulary along the lines of: le peau/la piel, étonnant/sorprendente, etc. Must know general grammar concepts such: preposition use, pronoun use, and comparative/superlative use.
★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Tough Cookie Friendly to those with semi-extended study. Must know all core verbs and everyday verbs, as well as a few advanced verbs such as: bouleverse/trastonar, and se plaindre/lamentarse. Must know core verb tenses, everyday verb tenses, and some modern verb tenses including: (present and past) subjunctive and conditional. Must have mastery of simple and everyday vocabulary, as well as a good amount of advanced vocabulary such as: mondialisation/mundialización, and l'esprit/el espíritu. Must know general grammar concepts.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Say What?! - Very challenging, friendly to those with extended study (2-4 years of professional or self-instruction). Must know all core verbs, everyday verbs, and many advanced verbs. Must know all core verb tenses, everyday verb tenses, and modern verb tenses including: subjunctive, conditional, and future anterior. Must have a mastery of simple and everyday vocabulary, and a relative mastery of advanced vocabulary. Must have near-complete mastery of all general grammar concepts and how they work together.
French Youtube Spanish Youtube
French Film Spanish Film
French Podcast Spanish Podcast
We also offer difficulty ratings for each book/channel/film/podcast we review. Our rating system is displayed below.
★ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ Piece of Cake - Friendly to all levels. Must know core verbs: être/ser/estar, avoir/tener, marcher/caminar, savoir/saber, connaître/conocer, etc. Must know most core verb tenses: present, preterit, imperfect, and occasionally future. Must know simple vocabulary such as: une chaise, vite, une maison, heureux, etc. Little to no grammar mastery is required.
★ ★ ✩ ✩ ✩ Easygoing - Friendly to most levels. Must know core verbs as well as a few everyday verbs such as: venir, demander/preguntar, etc. Must know all core verb tenses: present, preterit, imperfect, and future. Must know simple vocabulary. Little to no grammar mastery is required.
★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ Intermediate - Friendly to those with semi-extended study (1-2 years of professional or self instruction). Must know all core verbs and everyday verbs. Must know all core verb tenses. Must know simple vocabulary, as well as some everyday vocabulary along the lines of: le peau/la piel, étonnant/sorprendente, etc. Must know general grammar concepts such: preposition use, pronoun use, and comparative/superlative use.
★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Tough Cookie Friendly to those with semi-extended study. Must know all core verbs and everyday verbs, as well as a few advanced verbs such as: bouleverse/trastonar, and se plaindre/lamentarse. Must know core verb tenses, everyday verb tenses, and some modern verb tenses including: (present and past) subjunctive and conditional. Must have mastery of simple and everyday vocabulary, as well as a good amount of advanced vocabulary such as: mondialisation/mundialización, and l'esprit/el espíritu. Must know general grammar concepts.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Say What?! - Very challenging, friendly to those with extended study (2-4 years of professional or self-instruction). Must know all core verbs, everyday verbs, and many advanced verbs. Must know all core verb tenses, everyday verb tenses, and modern verb tenses including: subjunctive, conditional, and future anterior. Must have a mastery of simple and everyday vocabulary, and a relative mastery of advanced vocabulary. Must have near-complete mastery of all general grammar concepts and how they work together.