The Best Online Resources For Learning Spanish
I wanted to share all the resources that I have used for learning Spanish. And not only the Spanish grammar â but the kind of Spanish you would hear natives speaking! If youâre also struggling with learning Spanish on your own, these (mostly free!!) resources will make your language journey much easier!
Letâs goooo!
Best online resources for learning Spanish
- Spanish lessons
- Textbooks
- Skillshare
- Youtube
- Italki
- Podcasts
- Netflix
- Music & Radio
- Apps
- Language exchange
- Reading
- 1000 most common words
- Journaling in Spanish
- Changing your phone settings
When you don’t know where to start – Structured classes are your best friend
Take Spanish lessons at your local University
I’ve taken a couple of Spanish courses along my Spanish learning journey. I enrolled in a University course this spring and I have been enjoying the classes so much! Having a Spanish teacher and structured classes is one of the best ways to start when you are new to a language. They will make you understand the basic grammar and ideas of the language, making it easier for you to continue it by yourself.
Invest in a Spanish textbook
There are a lot of textbooks that are targeted at self-learners. These books include dictionaries, Spanish short storybooks, textbooks, grammar books, and so on. I have found these to be the best way to learn the grammar, alongside watching some of my favorite Youtubers, who teach about Spanish grammar.
Skillshare
Someone told me about Skillshare in 2020 and honestly, taking courses and learning new skills saved me from the lockdown! Skillshare is a platform, where you can learn about several different topics, and there are a good amount of courses that focus on learning Spanish. The courses are structured, so they are a great way to start learning Spanish.
You can get a 1-month free trial of Skillshare here!
The Best Free Online resource for learning Spanish â Youtube
Youtube is by far one of my favorite online resources for learning Spanish. There are so many great teachers and YouTubers who are specifically dedicated to teaching Spanish – and it’s all for free!! Here is a list of channels that are focused on teaching Spanish:
- Spanish with Vicente
- Butterfly Spanish
- Spanish After Hours
- Easy Spanish
- Hola Spanish
Not related to Spanish learning specifically, but if you are into language learning in general, I recommend you check out Ikenna and Lindie Botes đ
Spanish with Vicente
Vicente’s videos focus mostly on day-to-day Spanish, vocabulary, grammar, and DELE (Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera).
Check Vicente’s channel here.
Butterfly Spanish
Ana is a super bubbly and fun Spanish teacher from Mexico, and she does detailed videos about Spanish grammar and vocabulary.
Check Ana’s videos here.
Spanish After Hours
Laura is from Spain (Madrid if I remember right), and I love love love her accent and her videos! It’s very easy to understand her and she has a different approach to teaching Spanish. You don’t even realize that you are learning a language cause her videos are so entertaining to watch đ I’d say her videos are great for beginners since her pronunciation is very clear and she talks slowly.
Watch Laura’s videos here.
Easy Spanish
The Easy Spanish – YouTube channel is run by several different Spanish speakers from all over Latin America and Spain. Youâll be exposed to different accents, personas, and perspectives by following spontaneous conversations. The videos don’t go into grammatical stuff, but you get to hear interesting interviews about culture, politics, hobbies, food, and travel.
Check Easy Spanish here.
Hola Spanish
Hola Spanish host – Brenda Romaniello is Argentinian, and she teaches Spanish from Latin America, as well as Spain. She has videos on vocabulary, grammar, learning techniques, useful phrases, and listening practices. She also shares cultural differences between different Spanish-speaking countries.
Watch Brenda’s videos here.
Spanish Lifestyle Youtubers for learning colloquial Spanish
Watching Youtube videos from native Spanish speakers is a great way to learn Spanish. You’ll catch words and phrases used in more colloquial language. It’s also super fun to see daily vlogs from people who live in a country you want to move/travel to! Here are some of my favorite YouTubers I follow:
- Alexandra Pereire (lifestyle, travel, fashion)
- Carla Wonderland (hauls, favorites – videos)
- Alex Gibert (lifestyle, vlogs, hauls)
- Rebeca Teran (lifestyle, vlogs)
- Ratolina (makeup tutorials, hauls, reviews)
- Doralys Britto (lifestyle, haircare, workout routines)
- Platos faciles con Tamara (easy-to-follow recipes, she also speaks super clearly and slowly so itâs easy to follow even if you are a beginner)
- Cynthia Novillo (vlogs, vegan recipes, what I eat in a week videos)
- Sofia Tadeo (vlogs, fashion, hauls)
- Vegan Booty (vegan recipes, workout videos, vlogs)
Italki
It’s suuuper important that you get to speak the language, especially when you’re learning a language by yourself. I love using Italki for getting conversational classes (and grammar lessons too) with native speakers. You can choose to have a class with a professional teacher or a community tutor.
If you are learning a specific accent or dialect, you can also choose the nationality of the teacher. I enjoy that you get to know the person you’re talking, to and you’ll get to share your cultures.
Get 10 USD credits on Italki here.
The link included is an affiliate link. If you make a purchase with the links I provide, I receive a small commission at no additional charge to you! Thank you for your support đ
Entertainment
Podcasts For Learning Spanish
Podcasts are a great way to learn Spanish! I curated a list of podcasts you can use to learn Spanish depending on your language level.
- La Maleta De Carla
- No Hay Tos
- Memorias de Viaje
- Duolingo Spanish Podcasts
- Easy Spanish Podcast
- Podcast Para Aprender Español / Spanish With Vicente
La Maleta De Carla
Carla is a Spanish travel blogger, and she also has her own podcast. This podcast is especially great if you love traveling! She shares her travel stories and talks about sustainable traveling. Many of the episodes include an interesting guest and a subject. This is a bit fast-paced, so you need to have a fairly good knowledge of the language to keep up with the conversations.
Level – upper intermediate to advanced
No Hay Tos
This podcast is hosted by two Mexicans, Beto, and HĂ©ctor. They talk about Mexican culture and also go into grammar. Mostly it’s just spontaneous conversations about current events, culture, and their personal lives. I find it easy to listen to their conversations since they both have a neutral accent and they don’t talk too fast.
Level – intermediate to advanced
Memorias De Viajes
The podcast is hosted by Cristina LĂłpez, and like Maleta de Carla, this is a great one if you love traveling. Most of the episodes feature a guest, and you can listen to interesting conversations on volunteering, solo travel, and differences between Spain and England for example.
Level – upper intermediate to advanced
Duolingo Spanish Podcast
Every episode has a different theme or story, and it’s the only podcast on this list that uses English. That makes it easier for beginners to follow the story and there are several episodes to choose from!
Level – beginner to intermediate
Easy Spanish Podcast
This podcast is hosted by two Spanish speakers, Paulina and IvĂĄn. Paulina is Mexican and IvĂĄn is Spanish so you’ll be hearing two different accents and the differences between these countries. In the podcast, they also talk about culture, current events, and the Spanish language overall.
Level – intermediate to advanced
Podcast Para Aprender Español
This is the podcast from Spanish with Vicente. The episodes are usually around 12- 15 minutes, so they are not too long or too difficult to follow if you have a basic understanding of the language.
Level – beginner to advanced
Music & Spanish radio
Listening to music is an effortless and fun way to expand your music repertoire and learn Spanish! I have several artists I like, but just to name a few you can check out: Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro, Bizarrap, Romeo Santos, Camilo, Ozuna, Jerry Di, Shakira, Guaynaa, Camilo, and Mariah Angelic.
Some good radio channels (from Spain)
- Cadena Dial
- Los Cuarenta
- Rock FM
- Kiss FM
- Cadena 100
Netflix
Watching Netflix and learning Spanish at the same time is just as good as it sounds. You can download a Netflix extension, which will make your Spanish learning even easier!
Download the Language Reactor – Chrome extension.
This shares the first place as my favorite online resources for learning Spanish! Here are some of my favorite shows I’ve watched to learn Spanish:
- La Casa Del Papel
- Valeria
- Soy Georgina
- Velvet
- Elite
- La Reina Del Sur
- Narcos
- Ingobernable
- Las Chicas Del Cable
- La Casa De Las Flores
- Madre Solo Hay Dos
- Made in Mexico
- Nailed it Mexico & Nailed it España
- Las CrĂłnicas Del Taco
- Street Food: Latin America
Apps
These are great online resources for learning Spanish, and my favorites are SpanishDict, ConjuGato, and Memrise. SpanishDict is the one I use the most. You can easily search for a verb and see how itâs used and conjugated. You can also set a notification to receive a âword of the dayâ. Duolingo and Babbel are good ones as well, though I find them to be best suited for when you are just starting out with the language.
5 Extra resources and tips for learning Spanish
Language exchange
The best and probably most fun way you can learn Spanish is by finding yourself a language partner! Not only youâll get to learn Spanish, but you get to make friends from all around the world and learn about their cultures. My favorite apps for finding a language exchange partner are HelloTalk, Hi native, and Tandem.
Start with learning the most used words in Spanish
Learning the most common 1000 words in the Spanish language is a great way to start. I promise this will help your language journey so much since these are the words you’ll be using the most. You can find a list of the 1000 most common words in Spanish here. If you learn by writing things down like I do, write the words into your notebook (with translation) and set a goal to learn 10-20 new words every day. Remember to say the words aloud and look for the right way to pronounce them as well!
Read Spanish books and magazines
Reading books that are targeted at a younger audience is a great way to start since they usually contain lots of images, and the text is easy to read. The visuals help you connect the dots and it’s much easier to understand the story.
Viajar para chicas con prisas was the first Spanish book I ever read. Even though I’m probably 10 years older than the targeted audience, I found the book to be a fun and easy read. Definitely suitable for anyone who loves traveling! Grab the book here!
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Journal in Spanish
This is something that has helped my language-learning process tremendously! I already journal every morning, and once I switched from writing in English to writing in Spanish, I finally started to learn and use the vocabulary that was essential to me and the way I speak and express myself. In your journal, you can write down what you ate for breakfast, what did you do that day, what was the weather, how did you feel during the day, etc.
Change your phone’s settings in Spanish
This is a simple tip, but a great way to learn useful vocabulary. It’s like subconscious learning đ
I hope you got some new resources and tips to add to your learning strategy. Immersing yourself in a language is quite easy and super fun! You can listen to a podcast while commuting to work, play some music while you are cooking, and watch an episode or two at the end of the day.
And try to think it this way; you’re never just learning about the language â the learning process opens you to so many cultures and you’ll learn about the history and manners of Spain and Latin American countries. That has to be one of my favorite parts of learning a language đ
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