Here are some of my favorite resources to get you started with Spanish! You’ll find both free and paid suggestions.
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Self-Study Courses
Destinos [FREE self-study video course + excellent source of comprehensible input]
Watch for free HERE (you can turn on captions on this site if needed). Also available on YouTube HERE although captions aren’t included.
In the video below I discuss how I started learning Spanish with Destinos.
Rocket Spanish
See my thorough video review of Rocket Spanish here or read the blog post here.
Rocket Spanish is a high-quality interactive online language course based on dialogues. Learn Spanish naturally through real-life conversation and then enjoy getting all of the dialogue broken down for you step-by-step. You’ll find numerous, varied activities after each audio lesson and your understanding of the material will be put to the test as you’re asked to infer meanings and come up with new phrases based on what you’ve learned.
It’s a comprehensive program which you can try 100% free at this link! TRY ROCKET SPANISH FREE!
Assimil with ease – Spanish
If you enjoy textbooks, Assimil is my top recommendation. Based mainly on dialogues with just enough grammar to keep you going, Assimil will have you learning in a challenging, but effective way. Make sure that you get the “with ease” series and that it comes with the audio CDs!
Spanishpod101
Spanishpod101 is nice for beginners looking for free Spanish audio lessons, in a podcast style, together with English explanations. You can start absolutely free!
Reference Materials
- www.Spanishdict.com – dictionary with definitions in context, online lessons, grammar explanations, and full verb conjugations
- www.wordreference.com – online dictionary with helpful example sentences and a helpful forum with learners and native speakers who have discussed some of the trickier vocabulary and grammar points
- https://context.reverso.net/translation/ – definitions in context, synonyms, and conjugations
- www.linguee.com – an online dictionary which searches the web for the phrases you’re looking for and their translations
- www.hinative.com – ask native speakers how to say things or ask if your sentences sound natural
Videos and Shows for Spanish Learners
- Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish – A melodramatic Spanish novela specifically designed for beginners. I started learning Spanish with Destinos myself!
- Spanish conversations– Check out our own playlist of Spanish conversations!
- Extra – A comedy designed for Spanish learners. You can find this on YouTube with subtitles.
- Spanish Playground – A great channel with super simple and clearly spoken dialogues.
Reading
Olly Richards’ Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners [NOTE: This is written in Spanish from SPAIN]
A helpful and entertaining read if you are learning Spanish spoken in Spain.
Lingq
Lingq is an excellent online resource for audio + text in many languages. Think short stories, news articles, and more! You can even import your own material.
Podcasts
- Espanolistos– hosted by a Columbian Spanish teacher and her American husband – (enter your e-mail to receive the transcripts)
- Spanish and Go podcast – hosted by a Mexican Spanish/English teacher and her American husband
- How To Spanish podcast – Mexican Spanish. Interactive transcript provided if you opt in as a patreon member
- Coffee Break Spanish– Episodes divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Transcripts only available through a paid membership
- Radio Ambulante – Latin American stories in Spanish.
- Notes in Spanish– Divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced Spanish podcasts
Create your own learning materials with these tools
Resources that you create or have created for you I In addition to the reference resources mentioned above, these sources will aid you in creating your own materials.
- www.ankiapp.com – A popular free app to create and practice your own flashcards with a spaced repetition system. You can sync it both with desktop and your phone.
- Fiverr – This is the site that I use to find translators and voice artists when I want to get something translated or read for me in my target language.
Speaking Practice
italki
The best way to convert all of the input (listening and reading) that you should be doing in Spanish into spoken Spanish fluency is by talking with humans!
I get that sometimes it can be nerve-wracking to talk to native speakers of your target language when you’re a beginner. That’s why italki is so awesome. It gives you the opportunity to talk to native teachers with 1-1 lessons in a safe place (your own home or wherever you may be), free from embarrassment or judgment. They have teachers both for adults and kids!
Songs
Here are some of my favorite songs for learning Spanish. These all have different styles. Some are slow. Some are fast. But I find them to all have clearly spoken lyrics.
• “Baila Esta Cumbia” – Selena
• “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” – Selena
• “Fotografía” – Juanes, Nelly Furtado
• “Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor” – Juanes
• “Si Nos Quedara Poco Tiempo” – Chayanne
• “Vivir Mi Vida” – Marc Anthony
• “No” – Shakira (Shakira’s singing style can be a challenge for some beginners, but this is one of her slower songs.)
