Spanish for Beginners: Where to Find the Best Content

Have you made the decision to learn Spanish but not sure how and where to begin?

First off, congratulations on pursing language learning! Achieving a bilingual status is not only a great personal achievement, but can lead to more rewarding travel experiences; and makes you more competitive in the job market.

Secondly, you have come to the right place. There is so much Spanish content on the web which can be a bit overwhelming. But don’t worry, in this post, I will show you four of the best ways to learn Spanish, which will get you started on your journey to fluency.

Spanish for beginners

YouTube
One way to learn Spanish is to watch Spanish YouTubers. Take advantage of the closed caption option, to help you follow along with the words and sentences in a written form while you listen. Videos can also be stopped, started and repeated in case you get stuck.

Once you have found a YouTube Channel that interests you, you can follow the channel and get updates on new content as soon as it becomes available.

Although there are many YouTubers to follow, Luisito Comunica a YouTuber from Mexico, speaks at a slower and easier to understand pace. Also, his videos are sure to catch your attention, as he travels to many different and exciting places where he describes the food, different cultures, and other attractions he encounters along the way. If you are interested in listening to an Argentinian accent, try, Me llamo Natan. This channel has lots of content to choose from, so you will have so many opportunities to practice! For those looking for shorter and easier to understand videos the channel, Genial, offers interesting tidbits of information, facts, exercises and life tips, and the best part is, that the content is 100% Spanish! The videos are only 5-6 minutes in length and usually cover the same topic, so they are easier for the new Spanish learner to follow along.

Check out polyglot and LingQ cofounder Steve Kaufmann’s YouTube channel for some helpful Spanish learning tips!

Pro-tip: A faster way to learn Spanish using YouTube and LingQ

Instead of having to stop videos, look up words using other dictionaries and disrupting your study time, use LingQ. You can easily import YouTube content (blogs and podcasts too) and turn those videos into interactive lessons that include the transcript, audio, and video for both mobile and desktop. That means you can study your favorite Spanish content anytime, anywhere. For more information, please see our complete guide to importing on LingQ.

Turn something like this:

Into this:

Not only is it easier to follow content using LingQ, you can also go through 100s of professionally transcribed and recorded Spanish lessons by browsing the library. There’s even a Language YouTubers shelf full of awesome videos to study from!

Got it? Now let’s move on to a few more resources that can help you learn Spanish.

Blogs
Instead of reading and repeating Spanish vocabulary words over and over, why not put the words into context? Spanish Blogs offer interesting topics, and will help you improve your reading comprehension. Choosing a blog that focuses on topics that interest you will make it easier to come back time and time again.

One popular trend is to blog about travel adventures. There are hundreds of individuals, couples and groups travelling around the world and retailing their adventures on the web. If you are thinking of taking a trip, or just love travel, check out the blog Guias Viajar, a blog that offers tips and advice for travel planning. If you are looking for more of a personal retelling, bloggers Vanessa and Roger from the blog Viajeros callejeros, offer up their personal tales from different and exciting trips. A similar Blog, Imanes de viaje, actually outlines the trip day by day, and offers advice and great places to stay along the way. In addition to the interesting descriptions, this blog site offers impressive photos of the destinations.

Once again, you can import your favorite blogs into LingQ and read them on your mobile device (iOS or Android).

Podcasts
A first and important step to learning Spanish is exposure to the language, so why not find a Spanish Podcast? Not only will you be exposed to so much new vocabulary, you can also begin listening and understanding individuals who are speaking real Spanish. One Spanish Podcast worth checking out is Coffee Break Spanish, which offers a wide variety of audio recordings at an appropriate pace for new learners. Many of the podcasts are focused on learning new concepts, and the information is often repeated for improved comprehension.

Once you have started listening and understanding Spanish, it may be time to switch to a Podcast that includes two individuals discussing a topic.  This will assist you in learning conversational skills! Notes in Spanish, a podcast where a husband and wife duo explore various topics and discuss real life issues, and Spanish Obsessed, where a couple discuss different Spanish Language lessons, are both great options.

Other fun ways to learn Spanish for beginners
Do you enjoy keeping up with current topics by watching the news? Perhaps the key to making time for learning Spanish is replacing one of your everyday habits to the Spanish version of the activity. Another great idea for new learners, is to read the news in Spanish. One popular website you can visit is El Pais. 

If you are a TED talks fan, TED en Español, can be accessed online and through the app store. Subtitles are offered in English and Spanish for improved comprehension as needed.

Last but not least, LingQ’s Spanish Mini Stories are also another great resource you can read and listen to. These stories have been recorded by native-Spanish speakers and each story comes with translations too. By completing these stories, you’ll start to recognize grammar patterns and learn the most common Spanish vocabulary. Give them a try after you’ve downloaded LingQ.

How long does it take to learn Spanish? Check out polyglot and LingQ cofounder Steve Kaufmann’s blog post to learn about the 5 factors that influence this!