Spanish is one of the core language classes offered at THS, and by extension, at the middle school and elementary school level. It is the most popular second language in America, with more than 41 million people speaking it at home, according to the Voice of America. As someone who has been a part of the Spanish learning pipeline for as long as I can remember, I want to share some of the tools I’ve used that have made the journey to fluency a lot easier. From apps like Duolingo which encourage daily streaks, to online dictionaries like SpanishDict, there are a wide variety of available resources. These are my top recommendations for Spanish tools students should use to aid their learning.

Duolingo

This may be one of the more generic language-learning options, but there’s a reason why it’s so popular. Duolingo is a brilliant tool for beginners to Spanish. It emphasizes daily learning habits with its streak feature, encouraging learners to spend a little time on the app every day. The learning pathway is straightforward, starting with the basics of conjugation before gradually introducing new vocabulary and advancing grammatical skills. However, there is one major caveat— it isn’t very effective past an intermediate level. In my experience, once you get used to the present and past tense, the learning load slows down and focuses an egregious amount on basic vocabulary and grammar concepts. While you can test out of these zones into more advanced concepts, I’d strongly recommend using other online resources due to their depth and complexity. Overall, while it’s a great way to build consistency in your Spanish practice, Duolingo’s usefulness diminishes at  higher  levels. Still, I’d recommend it if only to keep yourself consistently practicing Spanish.

WordReference and SpanishDict

Bilingual dictionaries are incredibly useful resources when it comes to learning Spanish, both for expanding vocabulary and as something to default to when you see Spanish words you don’t recognize. WordReference and SpanishDict, two of the best resources, have their own specialties, and I’d recommend both for different purposes. WordReference has an intricate web design, covering multiple facets of Spanish grammar. The main thing I find it useful for are locuciones. A locución is the Spanish word for an expression or idiom, which is great to integrate in your vocabulary to make your speaking sound more fluid and dynamic. On the other hand, SpanishDict is useful for getting quick and easy to understand definitions, with a very well organized interface. Primarily, one of the lesser known uses is its free grammar courses which offer in-depth explanations of the more complex Spanish concepts. I particularly appreciated its explanation of the Subjunctive mood. If you’re learning a new tense, mood, or other grammatical concept, I’d strongly recommend using SpanishDict to help practice and learn it. 

LingQ

Reading is a core learning strategy for attaining fluency in any second language, and Spanish is no exception. LingQ helps make the process of learning through reading seamless and natural. LingQ provides users with an array of online resources, from articles to transcribed youtube videos, which you can read for your own leisure. Its main feature allows users to create “LingQs” by tapping on new vocabulary to receive a definition. The site catalogs new vocabulary and prepares you for exams to study it with. Unfortunately, this feature is locked behind a paywall after the first few uses. This doesn’t stop it from being a great resource for practicing reading; if anything, it just adds the tedium of entering each word into a site like SpanishDict manually instead of instantly getting the definition. Another benefit is that there is a filter you can use to sort content by complexity. This means advanced learners can bypass  basic lessons and focus on more complex reading materials. To sum up, LingQ is  a great resource for immersing yourself in the Spanish language, with few downsides besides the paywall. 

Language Transfer

This is one of the underground gems I’ve discovered while  trying to learn Spanish. Language Transfer focuses on the patterns linking Spanish and English together, as well as specific terms and phrases which help you wrap your head around Spanish grammatical structures. The way it works is through 5 to 8 minute long audio files in which the project founder, Mihalis Eleftheriou, teaches a student—along with you—a certain Spanish concept, often  a useful turn of phrase. When I had been using it, I recall learning useful tricks that helped expand my vocabulary. One example is that all English adjectives ending in “-al” are nearly identical in Spanish, with very few exceptions. Patterns like these are ways to quickly augment your knowledge of Spanish without the painstaking task of memorizing groups of thematic words. 

Netflix and YouTube 

Despite not being specifically tailored to language learning at first glance, Netflix and YouTube both offer a great way for intermediate to advanced Spanish learners to level up: watching Spanish content. Exposure to authentic Spanish content—especially through listening and interpretation—is crucial for mastering the language.YouTube is a great resource for people looking for more casual Spanish content. You can start by just googling popular Spanish influencers in whatever topics you’re interested in (gaming, beauty/makeup, sports, etc.). Since YouTube is free and widely accessible, it provides an easy way to incorporate Spanish into your daily routine.Netflix is more useful for people who are interested in longer, more immersive content. There are many great movies and shows that we don’t access because of the language barrier, so looking for content this way is not only good for improving your Spanish skills but also diversifying your palate of entertainment. Again, googling recommendations is probably the way to go here. For both Netflix and YouTube, unless you’re incredibly comfortable with the language already, turning on subtitles in Spanish will help you follow along and keep up with the fast rate of speech while identifying new vocabulary.

These are just a few of the tools I’ve found useful so far in my language learning journey, but remember, different strategies and techniques work better for different people. Feel free to experiment with the tools that work for you, and explore other options!