5 Free Resources to Turbocharge Your Spanish Learning
By: Cyn E. Rowan
Tags: Spanish Language, Tools And Resources, Free, Spanish, Learning Spanish

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

You´ve decided to learn Spanish as your second language because of one of the amazing reasons why it is such a great language to learn. You´ve set aside some time on your busy schedule each day and now you´re looking for resources and tools to help you accomplish your goal. Whether you choose to learn using an immersion program, online classes, or self-study, there are hundreds of websites and applications out there offering thousands of different ways to help you learn.

So, how do you choose the most productive online resources from the thousands that are available? This was one of the first obstacles I encountered when I started learning. It is easy to get overwhelmed with all the many options out there and choosing the right ones can be a task in itself! Let me save you some time!

Through trial and error, these are the five resources that I use that have been the most beneficial in improving my ability to understand and speak Spanish almost fluently in less than two years.

For detailed explanations of the intricacies of Spanish grammar, vocabulary, and translations:

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Learning good grammar as early in the language learning process as possible is important to your success in learning Spanish because grammar is how you structure words to convey meaning. It is something that needs to be actively learned but can be boring and time-consuming. You can turbocharge your Spanish with these fun, accessible, and easy resources!

Spanishdict (website and app) (FREE and premium)

As the name indicates, this website and the application are foremost a Spanish/English dictionary. However, it is a gold standard of language dictionaries because it goes way beyond just a simple translation of an English or Spanish word. Each translation of the word includes every context in which it can be used (this is especially useful), what part of speech it is (and if it’s a verb, contains the full conjugation of all tenses in Spanish) their synonyms, and antonyms, example sentences to demonstrate word use, an audio and sometimes video pronunciation of the word, a photo to increase memory retention as well as common phrases and colloquialisms (by country) in which the word is used. Thorough, right?

The website and the app also contain resources for learning Spanish grammar and vocabulary. For example, in the Grammar section, you can find really detailed and contextualized explanations in English of complex grammatical concepts such as how to correctly use ¨ser/estar¨ for the Spanish verbs for ¨to be¨ with tons of examples. The vocabulary lists are in the form of digital flashcards and are very engaging! There are also hundreds of quizzes on grammar and vocabulary that are fun and designed to help with long-term language retention.

Spanishdict is useful from beginner to advanced levels. When I began learning Spanish, I used the app mostly as a Spanish/English dictionary. It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was so much more than that. I started relying quite heavily on the grammar section to explain and contextualize the different uses of Spanish verbs and prepositions and to learn my favorite concept, verb periphrasis! There are loads on here!

Spanishdict has also launched Fluencia, an interactive learning tool available by website, tablet, or smartphone that provides interactive exercise to learn Spanish anywhere! It’s not free but you get 15 free lessons before you have to upgrade to the paid version. I recommend trying the free version and if you find it useful, upgrade.

2. Lawless Spanish (FREE and Premium)

I stumbled upon this website one day while searching for B2 level grammar for one of my self-study sessions. It’s an incredibly invaluable website because it has everything you could possibly need to learn Spanish! You can find study materials based on your CEFR level, categories, or topics. There are exercises and quizzes for each lesson and you get 10 free quizzes per month on the free version.

The grammar section is really extensive! The most extensive I´ve come across yet! Each grammar point is explained in great detail using easy-to-understand language and examples. They also provide handy formulas to help you remember and fully understand the concepts. This is by far my favorite resource on this website. I love language formulas!

There are detailed vocabulary lists including lists of my obsession, verb periphrasis! They also offer these really neat listening comprehension lessons where you can listen to short clips and input what you hear directly into the website and at the end of the clip you get instant feedback on how you did plus corrections (if needed).

A really cool and convenient feature of the website is the ¨Subjunctivisor¨. It’s an interactive tool that figures out whether you need to use the subjunctive mood with a verb, expression, or conjunctive phrase. The subjunctive mood is one of the nightmares for an English speaker learning Spanish and it can be really difficult to determine when to use it. This tool takes away all the guesswork!

I am a huge fan of Lawless Spanish and can’t recommend it enough! It has been by far the most beneficial resource during the course of my time learning Spanish. I still use it to this day!

To improve your listening comprehension and your ability to think in Spanish:

Photo by Etienne Boulanger on Unsplash

Podcasts are a really great way to practice listening comprehension and to become familiarized with the accents and rhythms of Spanish. They can be used for active or passive listening depending on your goal. They can also increase your vocabulary and help you improve your understanding of how words fit together. There are many Spanish podcasts available for varying levels of Spanish comprehension and in a myriad of styles.

The ones below are those that I have used personally and that I have found to be very effective. These podcasts provide the transcripts for each episode on their websites which is super helpful. I always print out the transcripts and follow along with a pencil as I listen in order to discover new words and phrases. The majority of the vocabulary I have learned was from the transcripts of these podcasts. I find that it is much easier to retain vocabulary in this manner.

3. Unlimited Spanish.com (FREE and Premium)

This is a podcast containing 12 to 20-minute episodes discussing a variety of topics in Spanish from grammatical concepts to Spanish culture to technology and even topics from the headlines. It is perfect for beginners and those at intermediate levels, especially those who are planning to live and work in Spain. Oscar, the founder of this podcast, is incredible! He structures the episodes in a friendly and easy-to-follow format. Each episode begins with a quotation and then his introduction of the podcast and the topic of the day. At the end of each episode, there is a Q&A, a mini-story that either summarizes the concepts covered in the episode in various points of view or verb tenses or, if it was an episode on vocabulary, uses the newly introduced vocabulary in a short story to provide context.

My favorite episode is Episode #127, ¨Los Trucos de Los Supermercados¨. It’s about all the ways the supermarkets trick you into buying more than you need. It is hilarious, especially the mini-story at the end. I really enjoyed this episode because it was the first episode I could fully understand quite early in my Spanish language journey.

4. Radio Ambulante (FREE)

This is a podcast from NPR and it covers a variety of themes across Latin America from immigration, to politics, to social issues and Latin American culture. It´s a bit more advanced and is a perfect listening exercise for upper-intermediate and advanced levels. The episodes are quite long, ranging from 25 minutes to just over an hour. The style of the podcast is nonfiction narrative storytelling with the host, Daniel Alarcón, narrating the stories interspersed with interviews and reports from people of diverse backgrounds across every country in Latin America and the US. Radio Ambulante also has a Spanish language app called Lupa that helps students improve listening comprehension using the stories from the podcast.

One of my favorite episodes is ¨Por la feria¨. It’s about the experiences of migrant workers who come to the US every year on temporary visas to work at the county fairs. This is something I knew nothing about and it was really interesting learning about the experiences of the workers, the visa process, and the working conditions at these fairs.

To increase Spanish vocabulary:

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

It’s impossible to speak a language without at least knowing some of its words! Words are how we convey meaning and make sense of the world around us. It is the foundation on which we build language. Though I don´t believe learning a bunch of words is the fastest and most efficient way to learn Spanish, it is great when used in addition to one or more of the resources, especially the ones mentioned in this post.

5. ReWord App (FREE and Premium)

This is a Spanish vocabulary app that applies the spaced repetition method to teach vocabulary using digital flashcards. It is a really great way to increase your Spanish vocabulary in a fun and engaging way. You can choose to learn words from different categories or a list of the most common Spanish words. Some of the flashcards include example sentences to contextualize the words to help you retain vocabulary long-term. The app also tracks how many words you have learned and accounts for the words you already know. It’s said that you need to learn 3000 words in a language to understand 95% of text and have a decent conversation, so it’s good to keep track of how many words you´ve learned. The free version will allow you to learn a limited amount of words per day.

None of these alone would get you to fluency in Spanish. You´d need a combination of these for self-study as well as an active method of practice like immersion classes, online classes, language exchanges, or other ways of active speaking/listening practice. The power to learn Spanish is in your hands and all you need is time, motivation, a method of self-study, and active practice. You can do this!

What other resources have you used that have been very helpful to you in learning Spanish?