Do you want to take your Spanish to the next level and start speaking it?
If you’ve been struggling to move from the basics to putting a sentence together, or the idea of opening a Spanish grammar book at 8pm on a weeknight just doesn’t cut it, then you are in the right place!
The key to staying motivated and progressing with your language skills is to maintain interest, so here are 5 top tips to help you take your Spanish to the next level for free in a fun and engaging way;
TAKE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS TO THE NEXT LEVEL...
1. LISTEN TO A SPANISH STORY OR CONVERSATION
Listening to a short story in Spanish is perfect to fit in with your morning commute, whilst you are making dinner, or having a cup of tea. Even if you aren’t fully present to absorb the Spanish and end up drifting off onto other thoughts, you can just rewind and listen again!
- Duolingo Stories – If you understand Spanish at a basic level, then these podcasts will help to stretch your Spanish listening skills further. Interesting true stories on all types of subjects told in a continuous stream of Spanish and English, switching between the two. If you get a little lost, then the English parts keep you on track so that you understand the basis of the story.
How do I find Duolingo stories? Find or download the podcasts app on your phone. Open it up and search for ‘Duolingo Spanish podcasts’. Or find it here.
How long is each story? 20-25 minutes
- Show Time Spanish– Free bitesize lessons with likeable Scottish host Mark. If you can get past the cheesy intro song (sorry Mark 😊) then these podcasts offer a full Spanish conversation at the beginning, and then break it down for you and teach you the grammar and the vocabulary.
How do I find the Show Time Spanish podcast? Find or download the podcasts app on your phone. Open it up and search for ‘Show Time Spanish’. Or you can find the series here.
If you’ve already been listening to Coffee Break Spanish from my beginners Spanish skills post then it’s the same teacher and podcast. These are however the more intermediate lessons starting from Season 3, Episode 1.
How long is each podcast? 25 minutes
2. WATCH YOUR FAVOURITE FILM, TV SERIES OR MUSIC IN SPANISH
- TV Series & Films. Watching series or movies in Spanish with Spanish subtitles will help you start to absorb the language, and it’s much more fun than learning grammar! You can also try and add Spanish subtitles to your favourite English movies that you already know well. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t understand all of the Spanish, as you go through you will start understanding more and can always watch the film again. Here are a couple of my favourite series & films from Netflix and Amazon Prime to get you started;
Taco chronicles (mouth-watering documentary all about Mexican street food)
Pan’s Labyrinth (dark and eerie fantasy film with magical creatures)
Made in Mexico (reality TV show based in Mexico City)
Cable Girls (Follows the story of four women based in 1920s Madrid)
Narcos (True crime drama based on Colombian drug cartels). Remember that this Netflix series is a dramatised version of true events and glamorises the truth. If you are planning to visit Medellin in Colombia, I would advise against going on a Pablo Escobar tour and offending the locals. Instead educate yourself through a Real City Walking tour instead, read more here.
- YouTube your favourite song in Spanish with Spanish subtitles on the video so you can (try) and sing along and start picking up on new words and grammar. If all else fails, you had fun singing Taytay in Español 🙂
Take your speaking skills to the next level...
3. JOIN A (VIRTUAL) SPANISH CONVERSATION MEETUP GROUP OR SET UP A CALL WITH A FRIEND TO PRACTICE
Meet up groups can be nerve wracking to attend in person, so now is the perfect time to dip your toe into the shallow end. Find a virtual event to attend, or set up a video conversation with a friend or colleague that also wants to practice speaking Spanish. This is an extremely effective way to improve your conversational skills and get over the fear factor of speaking in another language.
Aim to try and spend as long as you can speaking in Spanish to each other without reverting back to English. The important thing here is to communicate, even if you are filling the gaps with similar words you know in Spanish or saying the occasional English work. You are still getting that practice in and seeing what you remember under pressure! Perhaps make it a virtual Spanish conversation evening over a glass of wine to help get those Spanish words flowing!
How do you find a virtual meetup group? The Meetup app is a quick way to find free virtual events. Just create an account and search for ‘Free Spanish conversation’.
Interested in a Spanish conversation but don’t have someone else who is learning? Comment below and we can set up some time to practice together!
4. READ & PRACTICE YOUR SPEAKING SKILLS WITH DUAL LANGUAGE BLOG POSTS OR BOOKS
Not confident enough to try out a face to face meetup group yet? Or simply don’t have the time to attend one?
Dual language books or blog posts are excellent ways to learn Spanish sentence structure, vocabulary, conjugations and see when the many different past tenses should be used! The best way to learn is by reading what you can and getting an idea of what the story or travel destination is about, its not about understanding every single word. Note a few words or phrases down as you go and at the end of each page look them up. Re-read the page or post again if you wish to imbed your learning.
Once you have read a blog post, practice your speaking skills by speaking aloud a comment or writing them down in Spanish using the Travel in two method. This method replicates the practice of Spanish conversation but gives you an interesting topic to talk about. The best part is you can do it at any time that suits you and you don’t even have to leave the sofa!
How do you find a book or blog post? Try the library for a free dual language book. For a blog post try out one of my dual language blog posts here to read Spanish and English side by side.
COMBINE YOUR LISTENING & SPEAKING SKILLS TOGETHER...
5. USE INSTAGRAM TO TAKE YOUR SPANISH LEARNING TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Watch Instagram stories or read their posts with mini video clips. Here are some recommended teachers and native Spanish speakers I’ve found online that regularly post good engaging content. Interact with them via commenting on a post or watching their stories and sending a direct message response;
- Spanish for everyday – Funny, short clips of different Spanish phrases. Nibaldo is Cuban so you will also get some colloquial words & phrases! Follow here
- Spanish Teacher Barcelona – If you are going to Barcelona, learn some colloquial words & phrases before you go! Follow here
- Travel in Two Languages – I write all my posts and Instagram stories in both English and Spanish and encourage anyone to comment for practice! Follow here
- Spanish hacks – If you are going to Mexico, learn some colloquial words & phrases before you go! Follow here
Help grow the list
Do you have some other fun and engaging ways to learn Spanish that I have missed off?
I’m always looking for new ways to keep the learning process fresh and interesting, so I would love to hear them. If you have any you would love to share, please put in them in the comments section below (en Español, por supuesto 😉).
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Going to copy and paste for helping me learn French right now!!!!
Author
Glad its useful for your French language learning 🙂
Gracias para la informacion, es muy util!
Author
Gracias por leerlo! ¿Haces algunas de estas cosas ahora? O son nuevos para ti? 🙂