if you want to learn Spanish on your own this video has everything you need including the best free tools to help you develop each of these skills par thanks to unacademy for sponsoring this video let's get started core learning if you're just starting to learn Spanish or if you feel like you're at the beginner level for whatever reason it's important that you build a solid understanding of the basics how to conjugate verbs how to make sentences how to ask questions etc etc and to do that you should use this textbook or this audio platform complete Spanish stepbystep is in my opinion the best textbook for Learners who want to study on their own it's easy to understand it's comprehensive and it includes free audio guides for every lesson if you're the type of person who likes learning from a textbook swing by your library and pick up a copy language transfer on the other hand is a free audio platform and it's a great way to learn the basics on the go this series includes 90 lessons at about 10 minutes each and each lesson is presented as a conversation between a Spanish teacher and a novice student it's a bit like listening in on a private class and it's a great introduction to the language for total beginners and if you're interested in learning Spanish with an app you can also check out the unacademy language app today's video sponsor unacademy will help you learn useful real world language from lesson one how to talk about your interests how to order food at a restaurant how to ask for directions it's all contextual and it's based in real world scenarios to help you start making conversation right away for instance let's say you want to learn how to introduce yourself in Spanish the app will guide you through everything you need to know step by step including useful grammar points and cultural notes [Music] me Fernando is Fernando is Jo you get free lessons every day and can use the app without interruptions plus it's all narrated by this delightful cat una to learn more download the unacademy language app and get your streak started today Spanish pronunciation and dialects now depending on where you go in the Spanish-speaking World there are some variations in vocabulary and pronunciation for instance you may already be aware that castian Spanish makes use of the appical S sound as in the word Thea or in Latin America sesa and if you want to learn more about Regional differences in Spanish you can check out this video that compares speaker and dialects from Spain Mexico Colombia and Argentina that said if you're just starting to learn the language it's a good idea to master neutral pronunciation and this excellent video will help you master every letter and sound in standard Spanish it's short it's sweet and with a little practice you'll be rolling those Ares like a pro in no time building vocab of course one of the pillars of learning to speak fluent Spanish is building your vocabulary so let's talk about how you should do it we'll start with the tried andrue flashcards as you may know I'm a big fan of the eny platform which is free on your desktop or through your mobile browser and this series of five Ani decks will expand your Spanish vocabulary massively these decks are all free they have native audio spoken by a real person and they each include a staggering 2,000 cards now look I wouldn't recommend using any of these decks until you've got a strong handle on the basics and that would mean you've either completed the language transfer course or made it to at least chapter 10 in Spanish step by step but if you're past that point and you're a fan of flashcards by all means go for it if your Spanish is at the intermediate level B one and up you can also try using the twocan extension for Google Chrome this is a free browser extension that will automatically analyze any web page you're looking at and translate a handful of words into Spanish it's an interesting system because most of the time you'll be able to figure out what individual words mean just from looking at the English context but of course you can also click on a word to get a definition if you're looking for a more casual free form way to boost your vocab I'd say it's worth trying listening resources if you're learning Spanish solo listening resources are in my opinion the best way to build your skills over time they'll help you develop an ear for the language and just as importantly they'll get you in the habit of expressing yourself like a native and once you've got that core learning under your belt podcasts are your best friend so what should you be listening to well now's the time when you might want to start leaning into a specific dialect of Spanish they're all mutually intelligible but maybe you like the sound of a certain dialect or you're planning to travel to EXC country etc etc for the sake of this video I'm going to recommend podcasts largely from either Spain or Mexico but there are of course plenty of other options out there so if you have any recommendations please leave a comment and let other viewers know so at the beginner level I recommend coffee break Spanish and quent at this level the dialect differences are going to be pretty slight you're not really going to hear a lot of regional slang or idioms so you should really just pick whichever one you prefer for low intermediates I would suggest listening to espan Konan or how to Spanish these are both fully Spanish podcasts but they're specifically designed for Learners so the pace is pretty gentle and the vocabulary is mainstream Upper Intermediate Learners can also check out o or noos which are similar to the previous offerings but they're generally a little faster there's more slang and the hosts definitely do go off on tangents now once you reach the advanced level the Spanish language podcast world is truly your oyster however I will recommend three excellent shows that are all fascinating for different reasons number one is Radio ambulante the host of this show creates short audio documentaries about individuals living all over the Americas Argentina Cuba Colombia the USA it's an amazing window into different Latin cultures and a great way to get familiar with various Spanish dialects number two is kaso which is a Chilean Audio Drama about wait for it time travel it's very fun to listen to it's addictive and if you're at all into sci-fi you'll love it and number three is NAD saada and this is an improvised Twan comedy show from Spain it's pretty Advanced but it'll help you get familiar with more idiomatic expressions and the Spanish sense of humor mastering grammar as I've mentioned in other videos you don't need to go out of your way to study Spanish grammar if you consistently use the other resources that I talk about in this video you'll naturally internalize the various rules and Concepts over time that said it can obviously be frustrating when a phrase or a sentence just doesn't make sense and when that happens you should turn to this video that's right this one video covers more or less all of Spanish grammar tenses reflexive verbs direct and indirect objects and of course everyone's favorite ELO is it the prettiest video on the internet no but the explanations are fantastic fantastic and streamlined and if for whatever reason you'd prefer to consult a book for your grammar needs I recommend this one it's got everything you need and plenty of practice exercises for the grammatical overachiever TV shows and movies can watching TV and movies in Spanish really help you learn the language yes but I wouldn't recommend relying on video content to boost your skills until you reach a relatively advanced level B2 or above and the key here is that while you're watching you should use either no subtitles or Spanish subtitles not English at this point you're ready for immersion and you should be challenging yourself to make consistent progress so what should you watch well your options are practically Limitless but I do have three Netflix recommendations for the undecided number one is laasa deel and if you haven't seen this yet why are you even here coolest character in the history of Television maybe number two clubos this is a very funny show about a Mexican soccer team if you're a fan of Ted lasso check it out and fin number three Hugo Latino and this is basically one of those absurd reality shows where they stick a bunch of hot people with zero self-awareness on an island and then roll the cameras it's pretty entertaining and a great way to get familiar with Spanish slang and everyday language speaking skills what's the best way to improve your Spanish speaking Skills Practice there are no shortcuts but there are a handful of ways to get started method one chatting with AI if you haven't yet practiced speaking Spanish with chat GPT it's worth a try download the free app use the voice to text feature and simply start making conversation this is a good way to get comfortable making small talk and you can also ask the system to point out and correct your mistakes method two video chatting a much more effective and enjoyable way to boost your language skills is by hiring a private tutor through an online platform like preply and if you do a language exchange with someone who's learning English it's totally free and finally method three in-person meetups if you live in the US or a major European city it's very easy to find in-person Spanish conversation groups you can use a free site like meetup.com to search for a gathering in your area and then all you have to do is show up and join the conversation reading skills learning to read comfortably in Spanish will help you develop a true Mastery of the language and it's a great way to complement your listening practice if you're at the low intermediate level I would recommend downloading this free ebook it's a collection of children's stories that you're probably familiar with and if you happen to have a Kindle you can tap on any words you don't know to get an instant definition beyond that you can also check out Paco arits excellent graded readers these are short Spanish novels that are specifically tailored to Learners of a given level from A1 all the way up to C2 so you can get on that proficiency ladder and just keep climbing and there you have it everything you need to learn Spanish efficiently and enjoyably if you have any questions or comments please let me know and as always thanks for watching