9 of the Best Resources for Learning Spanish Online
Finding credible resources for language learning can be difficult and time-consuming, but don't worry...I'm here to help! There has never been a better time to learn Spanish, and with these 9 indie resources you'll be using the language comfortably in no time.
Finding credible resources for language learning can be difficult and time-consuming, but don't worry...I'm here to help!
Insider Info Comin' Right Up..
Here at Fluent Language, I love supporting independent language producers. So my indie Top 9 means that these resources are not part of a big corporation or brand of language businesses. They're insider tips that you might miss otherwise.
What’s the best way to learn Spanish on your own?
Many people think that you have to travel and take huge amounts of language lessons, but learning Spanish on your own is absolutely possible! Make sure you have a good mix of the four core skills in your routine: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Rule one should be to follow your heart and do what you enjoy the most. All three methods are efficient, and there is no reason why you can’t do a bit of each. You are NOT doing it wrong.
Here are the Best online Resources for Learning Spanish
There has never been a better time to learn Spanish, and with these 9 indie resources you'll be using the language comfortably in no time.
My friend Olly Richards is fluent in a whole bunch of languages, but I'm never more impressed than when he speaks Spanish. Olly knows what it takes to become confident, and he knows that being stuck on "intermediate" can be frustrating.
He runs Spanish Uncovered over at StoryLearning. This an innovative and SUPER effective online course designed to guide you from beginner and into language fluency. His programme includes:
The complete 20-module Spanish Uncovered programme to learn Spanish through story
100+ video lessons on reading, vocabulary, grammar, listening skills and pronunciation to learn with in an exciting "virtual classroom" environment
Dozens of interactive quizzes, to consolidate your learning, grow your vocabulary and perfect your grammar naturally
Fully downloadable material so you can learn faster - anywhere, any time, and on any device
20 integrated speaking training worksheets, so you can learn to speak your language with confidence and take part fully in basic conversations with native speakers
A 365-day money-back guarantee, so you can enrol without risk today, try out the course, and get a full refund if it's not right for you
They even do a free 7-day trial over there so you can see the course for yourself!
Easy Spanish have numerous videos that help you learn 100% authentic and natural Spanish. Created by polyglot favourite Easy Languages, the videos offer a mix of language and culture by chatting to people on the streets about certain aspects of their culture or language.
By the way, if you like podcasts then don't miss my best podcasts for Spanish learners.
It's informal, it's not very time-consuming - each video is less than 10 minutes, perfect to cram in as a working break between your studies. And most importantly it's fun and fulfils that wonderful language learning motivation: wanting to hear from real people who live somewhere else!
Randall Munroe's beloved XKCD webcomic has a global following, so much so that the community of fans decided to create a Spanish version! XKCD en español is available for all strips that the translators found "translatable", and there's enough to keep you going for days and days.
Another perfect study break, or try adding XKCD it into your daily routine. Reading one comic strip a day won't make you fluent, but it will get you used to seeing and reading written Spanish, and these short strips fit into the busiest of days.
Glossika
If you already know some Spanish and you want to start practising and adding more vocabulary over time, than the Glossika style might be perfect for you! This multilingual AI app is all about sentences… Lots and lots of sentences.
In every session, you will hear and see 10 to 20 sentences that you hear in your native language, and in Spanish, then you repeat these, and overtime, you can improve your grammar, vocabulary, and feel more ready for real, fluent conversations.
Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish
(UK Amazon Link | US Amazon Link)
Margarita Madrigal's textbook on how to learn to read, write, and speak Spanish in only a few short weeks with her proven method has become something of a cult classic as far as language books go. Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish begins by teaching you the past tense since this is the tense we use when we tell stories, and telling stories is a lot more interesting than repetitive sentences introducing ourselves.
The book's approach is focused on communication, so you'll get most out of this for boosting the speaking skill. Serious students will do well to support this with a grammar book.
The book was originally published in 1953 and is still praised today, more than 60 years later! A must-have for keen learners.
Language Transfer is a platform providing language courses for free in podcast and PDF-form. Project costs are funded through a voting campaign and occasional donations from users. The founder, Mihalis Eleftheriou, works with native speaker volunteers that he sources from the users of LT. The courses are user-funded and users can vote with a small sum of money to decide on the language or level of the next course. They have a complete Spanish course just waiting for you to get listening!
El Blog para Aprender Español, written in Spanish with the occasional English translation or guideline, offers free materials for download to use to practice your Spanish. The blog is run by Raquel and María, both Spanish ELE teachers from Madrid with experience from classrooms across Europe.
El Blog offers you everything from an insight into Spanish culture and life in Spain to basic grammar lessons. And if you like these two ladies, you can book them for one-to-one Skype Spanish lessons.
Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Daddy Yankee, Enrique Iglesias...I could name amazing Spanish language artists all day long. Maybe you've thought about learning Spanish through music before (that's got to be more fun than Duolingo!!). But how??
Tamara from Spanish Con Salsa has the answer! She has created a FANTASTIC Spanish programme all around the power of music and dance. This truly special music will ignite your love of Spanish and take you to brand new places. Unmissable! 💃🏽
Check out my interview with Tamara to learn more about how it works here:
I am a HUGE fan of Say Something in Welsh, so imagine my excitement when I found out about their Say Something in Spanish range!
Say Something In Spanish's system is simple: they say something in English, you say it in Spanish, and then you hear it twice in Spanish.
By turning language learning into a game of words, SSI allows you to explore a new language without the pressure of instant perfection. SSI started out with a very successful Welsh version of their language course, and their Spanish version is just as good.
Try a sample and Say Something in Spanish immediately on this sample page.
Have You Used Any Of These Yet?
Before you read this article, you probably already heard about Duolingo …and I hope you have discovered a lot of brand-new resources. For me as a language learning coach, it’s also important to show you how to learn vocabulary in Spanish and how to grow yourself teaching skills.
Why not join my newsletter to find out even more about this? I share great tips on a weekly basis for free and I look forward to seeing you there.
#clearthelist April 2018: Now I Know My Welsh Language Level
Catch up with my language learning goals and strategies with #clearthelist
Welcome to my latest language learning update through #clearthelist. Clear the List is a support and accountability blog group sharing monthly language learning goals. I have got LOTS OF GOALS this months, so let's get going.
What Happened in April 2018?
First of all: I went to Wales!
My big April goal was Book a day in Wales: SMASH SUCCESS PARTY, I went and attended a 2 day Easter Course in Wales in early April. You may have heard about it on the podcast I recorded there, which I was so happy with. The course I attended was awesome, so great to spend 2 days in the classroom with others who are also at my level in the language.
Talking of level, I have more good news. I chose to sign up for the course at intermediate level (“Canolradd” or roughly B1). I was not convinced, thinking I’m actually a little lower. But having taken a short self-assessment test, I figured I might as well be ambitious and downgrade if necessary. Turns out, I didn’t have to downgrade.
After 2.5 years of self-study I now know B1 level Welsh! This is so exciting, because I’ve never 100% self-studied a language to this level before. I still enjoy learning the Welsh language so much, and have a long way to go.
If you’re also a self-studier, see if there’s a top-up course like this available in your target language. They are great fun, and the tutor knew exactly which parts learners at our level are struggling with the most.
German Course Creation
I am currently working on a new German course. A lot of my working time was spent working with this story and creating resources for our students. German Uncovered in collaboration with Olly Richards from I Will Teach You a Language, and we're coming close to opening the course for the first time.
The Fluent Show
On the podcast, there were some great episodes during April, but the most exciting one has to be the episode Welsh is Not English.
I had never tried this “radio documentary” style of editing and was so proud of the result. Give the show a listen and subscribe for more episodes if you like it. The Fluent Show is now available on even more platforms including Spotify and TuneIn Radio.
Most “Fun Fact” of The Month
Welsh has 50 ways of saying yes or no. I can correctly use about 1.5 of them. Sigh.
How Did It Go With My April Goals?
In addition to the 2 day course, I also had some other goals:
Have 3 natural conversations with my tutor/exchange partner and listen carefully: Ohh gosh, oh my, I missed the one session I’d booked and never even rescheduled. So that’s 0 out of 3.
However, I had conversations in Welsh while travelling there. I actually tried to use Welsh in 3 or 4 shops and restaurants, and couldn’t find any server who actually knew the language. So my conversations were with enthusiasts, i.e. all the people you heard on the podcast. Thank you so much to Gavin and Steffan, Morfydd and Janet, for speaking Welsh to me.
Practice Welsh listening by playing with no-subtitle TV, and reviewing the Pigion podcast vocab before I listen: I didn’t watch any good TV, I need to stop even setting this goal as it’s just not what I get up to right now. But I listened to 2 Pigions and made good use of the vocab supplied with the show.
Write a longer Welsh poem and continue playing around with different poetry formats: I managed one longer poem, but it was supremely nonsensical. Well, better than nothing, right?
Finish my easy reader novel and read all of the latest Lingo Newydd magazine Yep! I finished Bywyd Blodwen Jones, my first ever book in Welsh! Also did well with the magazine, which continues to be such a joy in my house. Great to add a bit of Welsh over breakfast.
Daily Contact Goal
In April, I logged 19 days of contact with the Welsh language. My most used language apps were ApGeiriaduron, Duolingo, SmartCards+, and Clozemaster. Followed by Instagram and Twitter.
Goals For May 2018
Sometimes there’s nothing special or grand to be aiming for, and those are the hardest times to keep going. It feels like “another month of the same”, without that fizzy excitement of a fixed goal.
I find that my goals get more exciting when I share them with others, and when I join a group. So it’s time to search for accomplices.
They’re also more exciting when they are a challenge, so I made sure to include challenging things in the Speaking and Writing sections for May.
Listening
Complete at least 2 intensive listens to the Pigion podcast This podcast publishes a vocab list for each show, so intensive means I’ll read through the vocab, add some words to my lists, and then listen until I feel like I’ve understood 75%. This is natural, full speed, native content. No shame in not understanding it all.
Reading
Start reading Ffenestri or Sgwp I bought two books for learners when I was in Wales, and then I got stuck because I can’t decide which one to start with. Goal: Pick one and just bloody start.
Read poetry in Welsh! Great job writing wonky poems on Instagram, Kerstin. But it’s time that I expanded my education here and learnt to appreciate what the language is like when used by a true expert. I love poetry more and more each day, and will
Speaking
Have at least 6 (!) short conversations in Welsh only This month I’m aiming to increase the frequency, not the length of my exchanges. I’ll take any opportunity from tutor sessions, friends, exchanges, and group chats using the Say Something in Welsh Slack group. By short, I mean 15 minutes (but you may make your own definition of “short”).
Look for a book club I mentioned new books above, and I am going to hit the forums at Saysomethingin and social media to see if anyone would like to have a book club meeting to chat about what we’re reading.
Writing
Write 2 language poems, and more considered ones. I have proven that I can write wacky, slightly nonsensical poetry in the Welsh language.
Anything Else?
Note to self: I need to start getting organised and booking my accommodation for the National Eisteddfod in Cardiff nice and early. I'm planning to volunteer again this year, which means a chance to speak and hear lots of Welsh.
I don’t have any goals in a language other than Welsh, but I do have something special and linguistic. to work on. I am reading several books that will help me with my general understanding and appreciation of language, and the English language in particular.
The first one is Getting Through by Roger Kreuz and Richard Roberts, a sequel to their book Becoming Fluent, which I LOVED and reviewed here on the blog (read the review).
There are two poetry books, too: Lifesaving Poems by Anthony Wilson,Collected Poems by Carol Ann Duffy. I’m also interested in finding more great French, German, and Spanish poetry. Great way to discover new worlds in my existing languages!
How was your month?
Is there anything you’re curious about? What did you learn in April? Leave a comment below or join #clearthelist to share your own language learning journey.
If you want to join the linkup for the month, hop on to Clear The List, hosted by my friends and language inspirations Lindsay Williams and Shannon Kennedy.
No More Hoarding! How to Organize All Your Language Learning Resources
Ever heard of resource overload? Most language lovers I know can't get enough of new books, courses, and blogs to inspire them...but there's a dark side!
Language resources can be overwhelming. You might wonder which ones are worth your time, or what you really need to get started in a language.
Over the years, I've amassed a huge pile of language learning resources, and in today's post I want to introduce you to a few of my favourites and explain four categories of resources that you should have when you're teaching yourself a language.
For instant organisation, you can find a Resource Organiser worksheet in the Language Habit Toolkit, available in the Fluent Online School.
1) Guiding Resources: Language Textbooks and Language Courses
The first resource I believe you should have is what I call a guiding resource. This can be a book, a CD set, a video course, or even a night class. For any resource to be considered a guiding resource in my mind, it must fulfil the following criteria:
Great Structure
Never compromise on structure. Look out for units, chapters, steps. There is none that is best for everyone, so ensure that your guiding resource follows a path that you will find interesting. You don't want something that just throws a lot of information at you, and you don’t want to be yawning by chapter 3.
The resource should have lessons that move you from one level to the next level. For example, in Benny Lewis' Teach Yourself book, there are different units and they tell you what it is you are going to learn - units such as talking about yourself, asking about other people, talking about family, and describing things.
Having a structure to follow is very important for independent language learners, so be sure to check out the curriculum before you buy.
Designed for Your Situation
When you buy a textbook, make sure you check if your choice might be designed for group classes (for example, Façon de Parler). This doesn't make such textbooks bad resources, but the way they are written, a lot of the exercises are usually not designed for you to do by yourself. The text will say something like: "Find a partner in your group and then practice these sentences with them," or "In the group, have a discussion of this image." The textbooks just assume that you're in a group class. If you're teaching yourself, this is not always helpful.
Multimedia
Third, there should be a multimedia component. This means that you want more than just a book or audio. You want the book unit to be accompanied by audio, worksheets, or video. Online courses in languages are getting better and better, but check that there’s offline access if you need it.
My preferred structure for a guiding resource is this:
Start with a story or dialogue, then an explanation of what was new, and finish with a chance for you as the learner to practice what you’ve learnt.
Good examples of guiding resources are
- Teach Yourself series, in particular the Language Hacking books
- Assimil (on Amazon UK)
- Duolingo if used in line with these recommendations
2) Input Resources: Enjoyable and Comprehensible Input
Input resources are very easy to find…the internet is a total treasure trove of them! I also call them supplementary resources, as they supplement all other learning.
You can have as many as you want. You never have too many input resources. With these resources, you can follow any story or video for some time, drop it, and then get back to it weeks later. Most YouTube videos in the language that you're learning are going to fall into this category. Music and TV shows also fall into this category.
Your input resources must be understandable, but not too easy and not too hard. You need to be able to sense that you're learning as you're following it; so, there should be a little bit of a challenge. But at the same time, you don't want them to be so easy that you know exactly what's coming.
If it’s fun, it works
Input resources also must be enjoyable. They must be fun, so feel very free to toss out what doesn’t interest you. If you don't enjoy them, you aren't going to engage with them. At Langfest in Montreal, I met the famous applied linguist Dr Stephen Krashen, whose belief in comprehensible input is all about these resources. This is where the magic happens. You need input, it needs to be fun, you need to understand it, and you need lots of it.
Good examples of input resources include
- Easy Languages on Youtube
- Olly Richards’ Short Stories for Language Learning (Amazon UK | amazon.com)
3) Reference Resources: Dictionaries, Grammar Guides, Phrasebooks
In a journey as epic as learning a new language, you’re going to get lost and waste lots of time without a map, and that’s what the reference resource can be for you.
Accessible Language Materials
First, the resource must be accessible. Obviously, they should be there for you to touch or open, but more importantly, they must be easy to understand. Second, the resource must be accessible in the sense that you should have it around. It should be there when you want it because the whole idea of a reference resource is you don't follow it as a course.
Dip in and out
Nobody ever learned a language by reading a dictionary. Instead of following reference resources as a course, you just have them around for when you have a question. At the start of language learning, I think reference resources are good to help you answer the question for yourself: Where am I going to look this up?
Many video courses fit right into the reference category. For example, the Fluent courses on German pronunciation and on grammar cross over between guiding and reference resources. My dream for my German courses is that somebody follows it, gains a lot from it the first time, but knows that they can dip in and watch every video individually.
Good examples of reference resources include
The three core reference resources you need are
- a good online or offline dictionary (read my in-depth dictionary tips)
- a good grammar resource (read more tips on effective grammar study)
- and a good pronunciation guide.
So those are the three key categories of resources you should have somewhere in your personal language library. To re-cap:
- Guiding Resources give your studies shape and help you know your progress. You want these to be structured.
- Input Resources make language learning effective and enjoyable. You want these to be fun and right for your level.
- Reference Resources are on hand when you have specific questions and need a quick answer. You want these to be easy to access and understand.
If you don't have these three areas covered on your (virtual or IRL) bookshelf, it's easy to feel lost when learning a new language, to miss things, and even to lose yourself and think you're better than you are or worse than you are.
4. Self-Teacher's Resources
Are you learning a language by yourself? You need one more: the self-teacher's resources, which are all about how to organise yourself. This category contains language learning blogs, podcasts, books to help you master the learning process.
The self-teacher's resources are awesome because they
- keep you motivated and accountable
- help you adopt great study techniques.
For a practical, action-focused take on this resource that will set you up for inevitable success, check out the Language Habit Toolkit, your language coach in a box.
What are your favourite resources? Want recommendations for a resource in your target language or feel you're lacking something?
No problem! Leave me a comment below or say hi in the Fluent Language Learners Facebook group.
My Challenge Results & 17 Tips For Language Learning on Social Media
This is 2017: Social media is more powerful than ever. The next US president is tweeting at all hours. The Facebook algorithm has contributed to shaping public opinion. And over 80% of the population (in the USA) are on some kind of social network.
You'd think we're all a bunch of timewasters, scrolling our life away. But in this world of chaos, a small idea came and brought new motivation: "Use social media for good", it stated. Let's all stop wasting time and turn that naughty Facebook habit around.
Today, I'm here to tell you how that idea works out in practice. I've just completed a 28 Day Social Media Challenge, supported by the course Social Media Success. This course by Lindsay Williams is made for language learners and builds up your new study habit over 4 weeks.
Download the Guide
If you want to get more "behind the scenes" insight and find out which social networks are my top recommendations for language learners, be sure to download the new Guide to Social Networks from my Fluent Cool Kids Club by signing up here for free..
My Challenge Results
In my main language, Welsh, I spoke more sentences, discovered more native speakers, and added new vocabulary. In other words: HECK YES. This habit does not replace bigger study sessions, but it didn't take away the time for them either. Instead, I spent an effortless extra 3 hours on language learning.
I also found more time for my secondary languages. Currently these are Malaysian and French, and in the challenge I did things for both of them. Just a little bit, but it was there and lets me build onto them. I'm already working on a schedule.
17 Quick Tips for Language Learning on Social Media
Over the course of the 28 days, I collected short and simple tips that can help anyone get started with language learning on social media. Feel free to try a few of these, or even just to pick one.
Learn when you are busy
We already spend so much time on social media that this isn't a new time demand for most people. In fact, when was the last time you checked Facebook or Twitter? 20 minutes ago? Good! If you can do that, then you will find the language activities very easy. I was able to stick with the plan even on days where I travelled for over 12 hours, or met my whole extended family.
Here are my top tips:
- Mix language tools (flashcards) and social media together
For example, you can add new words you learn on Snapchat to a list on Memrise, or document your Duolingo tree in a Facebook group.
- Edit your newsfeed to stay focused
Are you following someone who tweets more nonsense than helpful things? Edit your newsfeed! You can mute some posts and set up focused lists to help you get there and save time. Twitter is my favourite tool for this.
- Newsfeed a mess still? Make a new profile
I created a language profile on Instagram so that I could stay focused on languages and have a newsfeed that gives me support and motivation. You can do the same on any social network, and most apps now support quick switching.
It pays off in 4 ways
Lanugage learning on social media is not just a way of taking your language skills to the next level. It also keeps you accountable, meaning you will stay motivated and keep going for longer. You will create documentation of how you're doing in languages, allowing you to see and feel progress. And finally, the community of language learners will start connecting to you meaning you make new language loving friends and find more interesting things about your language.
Here's how to get the most out of this:
- Follow teachers, bands and businesses
Social Media for Language Learning is about getting your newsfeed right, so make sure you follow as many useful accounts as you can. Find them by searching for your languages or seeing what's related to people you follow.
- Find existing communities
Every social network has a bunch of great groups that are already talking about your language. Check out Instagram challenges, Twitter chats, subreddits and Facebook groups.
- Avoid hiding your mistakes
When there is something wrong, people like to comment and correct it. This is how you find the best language community online, so forget about looking flawed and start putting your mistakes out there - they're like community bait!
- Make and share a goal
If your followers know what you are working on, they will be more invested in your success and you'll get lovely support messages. This also works for your own motivation, as stating the public goal keeps you more accountable.
Not every social network is great for language learning
In my experience of working through the social media jungle, some apps and websites emerged as stars and others felt like a waste of time. You can read more about my experiences in the special guide to social networks I created for the Fluent Cool Kids Club, which is free to join.
- Organise everyone you follow
On Facebook it's groups, on Pinterest it's boards, on Twitter it's lists. The better your organization, the faster you can find the right people.
- Organise early, but not too often
Invest half an hour at the start to get your lists or groups set up, and then don't worry about it anymore and enjoy the journey!
- Be ok with not being everywhere
Over time, you will realize that some apps or networks feel more like an obligation than a pleasure. The best way for you to find out what works for you is to try the challenges in Lindsay's course. After 28 days, look back and ask what worked best for you - then ditch the duds and stick with your daily practice where it matters!
Oh, by the way: This is fun!
Maybe this all sounds like a lot of hard work, but let me tell you: I had lots of fun with my languages. This way of learning is creative and lets you try out anything such as practice with kids, singing new songs, sharing pets or photos of your books.
Some tips to get more out of this:
- Use apps to go with your apps
The app store is full of great ways to take your photos and words to the next level! You can create images with apps like Wordswag, discover Snapchatters on Ghostcodes, and much more. Simply search your app store for the name of any social network and you'll find new ideas instantly.
- Explore more social networks
No one said you have to stick to Facebook and Twitter! Try language learning networks or look around on the boards of Fluent in 3 Months or Italki for example, or investigate the extra social networks in my new Cool Kids Club guide.
- Use algorithms to find more and more
Once you follow a language learner, the social network will learn what kind of people and topics you're interested in. Wait a few minutes, and watch your newsfeed transform into a language class like no other!
At the end of every week, you should spend 30 minutes on a review for new words and lessons. Here's what I did:
- Review your liked/saved posts
On most social networks, you can access a list of everything you've "Liked" so that you can use this as a bookmark system and work through it once a week as you review the best of the week.
- Learn social media vocab
The easiest way to find out vocabulary for "post", "comment", "tweet" etc is to switch the user language in your social network.
- Add your new words to a separate vocab list
Every week, it pays to invest a little bit of time to take all those new posts and words out of the internet and put them into your notebook, flashcards, and, ultimately, brain.
- Stay organised
Building habits is not the same as doing an intensive challenge, but this investment of your time in "little and often" will pay off. Use a diary, a tracker or follow the Social Media Success schedules so that you don't give up halfway through. The goal here is to start a daily language practice, not to become fluent in a short time!
So here's the conclusion: Social Media for Languages is something you should try - immediately! It won't take a lot of time, and it will pay off for sure.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment here and tell me what worked for you and which social network you use all the time.
And don't forget that my free guide to ALL social networks is waiting for you in the Cool Kids Club!
