I’m often asked for suggestions of good places online where people can learn and practice Spanish for free. In fact, I’ve been asked enough times to make me develop this short “The Best…” list of my recommendations.
Many of these sites also offer lessons in other languages, including English.
Feel free to offer additional suggestions.
I personally have found that going to a language school in a Spanish-speaking country (I went to ones in Mexico and Guatemala) and living with a family to be by far the best way to learn Spanish, but these sites can provide good initial exposure and be helpful for later development and practice.
Here are my choices for The Best Sites For Learning Spanish Online (not in order of preference):
BBC Languages Mi Vida Loca
The BBC also has several other sites for learning Spanish.
Duolingo looks like it’s a pretty decent language-learning site.
List of Websites Where You Can Watch Spanish Videos with Spanish Subtitles or Transcripts Online for Free is from How To Learn Spanish.
Spanish Is Your Amigo
Lingo Hut seems like a pretty impressive site for beginning learners of many different languages, including Spanish. Using a drop-down menu, you can easily select your native language and the language you want to learn, and then progress through a well-designed series of exercises including reading, listening and speaking.
Memrise is an interactive learning program for multiple subjects, but I particularly like their Spanish-learning resources.
Qlipo is a brand-new site that helps English-speakers learn Spanish through the use of music videos. It’s definitely a different approach from what you see at the other sites on this list.
Spanish-Resources has quite a number of good interactive exercises for learning Spanish that are leveled by ability. In addition, it appears that teachers can create passwords for students and follow their progress.
Spanish as a Second Language, With the Accent on Fun appeared in The New York Times.
This is Language is another online tool for language learning that has made its platform free during school closures.
Google’s grammar suggestions in Docs are now available in Spanish is from TechCrunch.
LangBox is a new Spanish-learning site.
Leerly is a new tool for learning Spanish.
How Have I Not Heard Of “Ingles.com” Or “SpanishDict” Before Now?
ZenGengo looks like a potentially useful language-teaching/learning tool for teachers and students.
Roxxem is a new site where learners of Spanish, French or Chinese can acquire the language through music.
Level Up Spanish is a new tool for learning…Spanish.
“SPANISH: BEYOND THE WORDS” IS A COOL NEW GOOGLE SITE
And, even better, it’s free.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.
Thanks for your resources. Here are a few others I have found for my student site.
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_es.htm
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2spanish.html
http://www.fodors.com/language/spanish/
Widget for word of the day and games
http://www.transparent.com/languagepages/spanish/spanish.htm
A great, free too to help students learn Spanish, and ESL students learn English, is the “”On This Day” history feature from Dulcinea Media, offered in both English and Spanish, with the latter being a loose, conversational transliteration, rather than a machine-like literal translation:
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news.topic__ss_categories_ss_on-this-day.html
http://www.encontrandodulcinea.com/articulos.html?topic=/categorias/Hoy-en-la-Historia
Awesome list.
One to add is my website Lenguajero – http://www.lenguajero.com
It’s a community for English-Spanish conversation exchanges and has a daily writing club where native speakers correct others writing.
Natalie – thanks for lenguajero link – do you screen members? I just took a quick look & some member photos were too sexy for me to recommend the site to my 9th gr. students die to likley family concerns…
Hi Mr. Louis,
Thanks for the comment and question. The answer to your question is that no, we do not screen our members.
That said, we completely understand your concerns, and do not think that Lenguajero is ready for use in a highschool classroom (unless the students have been given a lesson in internet safety).
We are currently working on a Classroom Edition for colleges and universities, that would allow teachers to monitor what their students are doing on the site (who they are talking to, what they are writing, etc.). This is the first step we are taking to build a classroom only tool for Lenguajero, and will be the framework for a highschool classroom version that will come a little later on.
You can check out the current classroom version here – http://www.lenguajero.com/classroom
nice ))
thanks you )
Really vaulable list, Larry! Just missing our own free site – Spanish Newsbites – http://www.spanishnewsbites.com – where you can hear the Spanish news and learn the language as you listen. Thanks!
Thanks for the suggestions. My Spanish graduate students have been collected some resources too. Check our list: http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/sparesources
Yuly – I visited the wallwisher – but all one gets is a preview of the resource. The URL is not given nor do I see a way to get one. Do you have all those sites bookmarked on delicious that you could share? por favor? 🙂
Thanks for the list. I would also like to add LingQ.com to the list. Spanish is one of the 10 languages offered at LingQ. There is a vast library of Spanish content with audio and transcript available free of charge and a range of learning opportunities with the members of the community.
As a language teacher I have searched a lot of language learning sites on the net. By far the best I have found in concept and execution is
http://www.lingq.com
I works for Spanish and ten other languages. Check the site’s Help or the site’s wiki
http://lingq.pbworks.com/
for details.
I’m not affiliated with the site in any way (other than being a user), but I would also recommend LingQ. They’re library of content is pretty impressive and constantly growing.
Thanks for these recommendations!
I’m using LiveMocha right now to learn Dutch and it’s absolutely wonderful. I love the user-generated and -supported aspect of it. Also, as a teacher I enjoy helping non-native speakers learn English. I’m planning to brush up on my Spanish once I’m done studying Dutch so intensely.
One site that I have used with both my Spanish students as well as my own kids at home is http://wordchamp.com
You can create sets of flash cards that you can require them to go through in many different ways. You can have the words read out-loud and then they have to write the English word or the Spanish word. You can have the Spanish word written and they have the write the English word (or vice versa). You can even add a picture to it (I haven’t played with that type yet).
I’ve used it with my own kids for their spelling words as well.
The cool thing about it is that if they get the flash card wrong they will have to do it three more times. I love using this site.
I have also found the resources on http://www.languagenut.com very useful. There are karaoke songs and stories, with supporting games. Well worth a look.
I have found a great website to learn spanish free, lenguage exchange, podcasts, spanish forum ….
http://www.lengalia.com/en
Hello,
My name is Andrew Lawton and I am a Spanish teacher in Austin, TX. I have a free Spanish website for students to practice grammar at: http://spanishgrammarlessons.com. Please add it to your site if you think your users would find it useful. Thanks!
Andrew Lawton
For some wonderful Spanish lessons for all levels, check out IDEL by Berta from Madrid and Albert from Barcelona.
These are original, witty, and come with audio and text.
http://spanish-lingq.blogspot.com/p/beginners-a1-a2.html
http://spanish-lingq.blogspot.com/p/intermediate-b1-b2.html
http://spanish-lingq.blogspot.com/p/advanced-c1-c2.html
These are also integrated with the LingQ system.
Steve
I like to introduce my own site also: http://www.e-learn-spanish.com
Here you can practice on verbs, por/para, ser/estar, numbers, time, idiomatic, ….
and many more to be added soon.
The site is for those who know the grammar (or partial) and want to practice on it.
It is not a site for those who want to start learning Spanish.
kind regards,
SETKI
If you’re a beginner I recommend this site : http://www.senorjordan.com/los-videos/
Hi Larry –
I wanted to thank you for pulling this list together. I have been looking for something like this. I have been studying Spanish for 4 years through various means and am alwyas looking for other ways to supplement my learning. I have recently started a website to help others who like me are on a journey for Spanish fluency.
I have used many of the sites that you have listed here previosly. This is an excellent list.
Gracias!
This this is also very good with a lot of free resources to learn Spanish including Spanish Grammar, Pronunciation, Vocabulary, etc.:
http://www.livingspanish.com
What about http://www.babbel.com?
Similiar to Busuu but much cleaner and well structured.
Cheers,
Marvin
I’ve only listed sites that are free, and you have to pay for Babbel.
You have to pay for other services like busuu as well. At least if you really want to use their stuff and not only some trial courses. 🙂
Does anyone know/heard of Spanish Hour 50 day program? Is it worth it?
I have been using http://www.rocketlanguages.com/spanish/learn/pronunciation. The usability is average but there is a heap of audio there!
http://www.lingohut.com is a fantastic site to learn a new language. It is 100% free.
This is my favourite Spanish page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spanish-Word-a-Day/134102359998984?fref=ts
It is a word-a-day page that has activities and photos daily. There is also tutor who corrects your spelling/grammar daily.
Check it out, it’s a good way to make yourself practice everyday.
I am spending some time looking through all of these links, it’s quite an extensive list. My current issue is that I have quite a bit of college level Spanish but still struggle to learn and understand new vocabulary. I also have difficulty creating my own intelligent conversation. In English I am very expressive but I have difficulty creating anything similar in Spanish. Any suggestions? If I were more fluent in Spanish I would have more job opportunities but I have yet to find a way to become more fluent that I can afford. I considered purchasing Rosetta Stone but according to their information on the web even their highest level would be review.
Jenni,
I can only say that nothing beats going to language school for a month in Mexico or Latin America and living with a family there.
Larry
Yes, I have heard that before. The difficulty I have run into with that is the costs associated with it. Just transportation there and back would be more than I could afford.
I recommend this website http://www.onlinespanish.org
they offer Spanish live lessons via Skype
Writing Lessons
Email lessons, Spanish DELE Preparation and much more
And the best is that you always have a tutor to assist you.
Free. Learn colors in spanish (android phones)
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=raagd&c=apps
Hi all,
My Online Skype Spanish school: http://www.letsgospanish.com has a sister site that blogs about once per week on a new subject. We are getting good ideas from twitter-land and from our students, so please have a look! http://letsgospanish.wordpress.com/
Rgds,
Steve
Thank you for the list. I would also like this: http://herewegospanish.com
I made a Spanish Learning Site called: “All Free Spanish.” This site teaches you Spanish really fast cause it starts out with the most commonly used vocabulary words. I made it in favor of someone interested in Learning Spanish for free at their own pace. If someone wants to learn Spanish, please try this simple site out! Gracias! 🙂
All Free Spanish Website
Is the “allfreespanish.com” site down? I could not get to it today. If it is not going to be available, can you recommend another site? Thanks.
We needed something that could be used to build vocabulary at home on the desktop or on a smartphone when on the go (or waiting in line or to see a doctor), so we created http://www.language-cards.com
It’s simple vocabulary building tool to supplement more complicated tools.
http://www.vocabuflash is a new free website with lot’s of resources.
@SpanishTalkFree on Twitter is a very good place to learn spanish as it provides useful translations right in the twitter stream, no need to open heavy webpages. There are interesting quotes and sentences, useful grammar.
Thanks for the list. Here is a new one
http://www.spanishlistening.org
It is for extensive listening practice. It has over 300 videos or native speakers with captions and quiz, much like http://www.elllo.org
Thanks for the lists. Always love them.
Hi!
My name is Micaella and I am an online Spanish teacher.
I would like to share these resources that are published in this
website, they are all for free.
http://www.121spanish.com/videos
I hope you find them useful!
Check out this new startup – Qlipo, that is still in its very first stages but seems like a nice idea: http://www.qlipo.com
Learning Spanish is A great experience for me, this article has inspired me So much, I’m learning From Profe Krista Croghan, She is a Brilliant Teacher, I’m really impressed with her teaching method, Always helping. Also She is Famous Just Search Her name, You will get her on top or go to her website for free tutorials spanish-clicks.com …. , I’m Proud to be her Student.
Find short stories in Spanish at http://www.LanguageComics.com
En este canal de youtube de la escuela de español para extranjeros de valencia, 2Day Languages, puedes encontrar vídeos donde profesores de español te enseñan muchas cosas de manera divertida. Puedes elegir tu nivel 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/user/2DayLanguages/videos?sort=dd&view=50&shelf_id=2
HI, THIS WEBSITE IS GREAT. THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTIONS – I AM OFF TO TRY THEM OUT NOW!
I think apps are a good way to learn (not learn everything, but to improve things like vocab). Especially if you can get a game or something then it doesn’t feel like you are studying. I’ve been using one that is a crossword with hints in English and answers in Spanish which has been pretty good https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kurt.kurappt.spanishcrossword&hl=en
Hi,
Thanks for the list of options! I’d like to add my blog to this list. I’m posting Free Spanish video-lessons on a daily basis, following a structured plan. Also, you can submit questions or doubts either through the blog or my Youtube channel.
http://www.spanishfreelessonsonline.com/
My Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR6K-ZudJ0CNJjNVDqeMYBA
I hope it’s useful.
Thanks,
Rodrigo
You might also want to check this site: http://www.spanishconjugation.net/ – conjugations for over 1000 Spanish Verbs.
Great Spanish learning tool.
Hi Larry,
Thanks for the list. Let me post my recommendation for learning Spanish online free:
http://www.spanishfreelessonsonline.com/
Thanks and regards,
Rodrigo
Good Morning, thanks for this great list, maybe you don’t know this site: http://www.onlinefreespanish.com a lot a free sources for learn Spanish. We like to invite you to review, let us know your opinion. Gracias.
Hi everybody,
http://www.spanisharea.com is a free site for learning Spanish with articles on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. There is also a variety of exercises for practising the different skills.
I hope you enyoy it!
Great! The best Spanish teacher in Spain via Skype:
http://learn-spanish-claro.blogspot.com.es/search/label/C%20U%20R%20S%20O%20S%20%28prices%29
http://www.allfreespanish.com is a great place to learn Spanish free online. It offers quick and easy Spanish lessons to anyone right from the website conveniently!
For the best site with free online/mobile games that quiz you on Spanish vocab, verb conjugation and useful phrases, try this site!
http://www.SpanishPhraseMaze.weebly.com
Enjoy!
Oliver
Great list! For those interested in Spanish Immersion Programs check out our Spanish School in Panama City, Panama. We offer 1 to 12 week programs for everyone from high school students and families to travelers and professionals in the incredible historic neighborhood of Casco Antiguo.
For more info visit the Casco Antiguo Spanish School website at http://www.cascospanish.com
Thanks for sharing your information. I have got also one of the best Spanish learning site http://www.quierohablarespanol.com/ES/. This is very helpful to me.