Considering native speakers alone, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world. Learning it opens the doors to great traveling experiences in 20 beautiful countries, such as Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Argentina. But there’s more to Spanish than just a nice vacation. Besides the usual benefits of becoming bilingual, learning Spanish also expands your career options. Since 16% of Americans speak Spanish, companies are increasingly looking for people who understand it. And, of course, learning the language lets you understand your favorite Spanish songs without going over translated lyrics, and you’ll be able to sing along with perfect pronunciation. Finally, studying Spanish opens the way for you to learn other Romance languages since you’ll have an easier time tackling Italian, Portuguese, French, and more.
There are a lot of strategies, tricks, and tips for learning Spanish. In fact, there are so many that a complete beginner might feel lost and give up before starting. Even students who already know a bit of Spanish will still spend a considerable amount of time developing a good study plan. But language learning software offers structured Spanish courses that teach you everything in a logical order. Additionally, you won’t have to jump from one platform to another, as language learning apps provide all types of classes and exercises.
Spanish is a complex language, and it’s essential that you understand its grammar. Language learning software has exercises just for that. For example, if you try to learn Spanish just by watching TV shows, you probably won’t get the full picture of the language and will find it very hard to create sentences on your own. Last but not least, these platforms make a game out of learning vocabulary and offer interesting cultural trivia about Spanish-speaking countries.
With millions of active subscribers all around the world, Babbel sits at the top of the industry as one of the best-selling language learning apps. The courses use real-life situations, which means students are ready to have conversations within the first three weeks. Babbel offers complete writing, listening, and speaking exercises to teach vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and cultural trivia. There are also various extras, such as games, podcasts, and live classes. Unfortunately, Babbel only teaches 13 different language courses, but they’ve been carefully created by a team of over 150 language experts. You can try one class for free, but to gain full access to Babbel's teaching methods, you’ll need to subscribe. There is no free trial but you can take advantage of the 20-day money-back guarantee.
Used by millions, Busuu is a well-known and well-loved language-learning application. Based in the UK, this platform ensures an engaging experience by providing a decent variety of exercises. There are 12 courses available, and all of them are built taking into consideration the language’s and country’s cultural aspects. In other words, besides teaching vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, Busuu also provides hints on how to properly behave when speaking with the natives. What’s more, Busuu offers a limited free plan that you can use forever. That being said, a paid subscription is necessary to have access to Busuu’s full potential, such as the ability to interact with other people using the app. The price can be as low as $5.41 per month, and there’s a 14-day money-back guarantee to test the premium plans.
Lingoda is the perfect language-learning service for people looking for live classes but still wanting flexible schedules. Instead of repeating exercises, Lingoda enables its users to schedule one-hour lessons with real teachers 24/7. Lessons can be solo or in a group, and all teachers are native speakers. Unfortunately, it only offers courses in four languages: Spanish, German, French, and English. It’s also more expensive than other language-learning apps where lessons average the $10 mark. However, people who are committed to taking daily lessons for three months straight can get refunded up to 100%. Students can try Lingoda through the 7-day free trial available for the Monthly and Marathon subscriptions.
If you don’t know how to speak another romance language fluently, Spanish is going to be challenging to grasp. Let’s start with articles. In English, you have one definite article – ‘the’ – but that’s not what happens with Spanish. Instead, the article you use depends on the gender and number of the object. For example, you say ‘el niño’ to describe a boy and ‘las niñas’ to refer to a group of girls. Things are even more difficult when you try to imagine the gender of the ocean (it’s considered male in Spanish) or add the neutral article ‘lo’. The verb conjugation is also hard to memorize, as Spanish uses far more verb forms than English. By offering step-by-step grammar exercises, language learning software lets you pick up all of these important details easily.
Getting the right pronunciation is also tricky, especially because of the hard ‘R’ sound and diacritics not used in English. But other words are also hard to master since Spanish pronunciation is so unique. In this case, you can use language learning apps with speech recognition that tell you if you’re pronouncing words incorrectly. They also help with the various Spanish dialects, as you can choose which one you want to learn.
Language learning software helps you understand Spanish tremendously. But after you learn the basics, there are a few things you can add to your study plan to achieve your objectives faster. Spanish music is a good example of that. From Shakira to Enrique Iglesias and Luis Fonsi, there are many singers to listen to and learn from. Although music won’t teach you grammar, it’s a fun way to improve your speaking skills.
The same can be said about watching subbed Spanish TV shows. For instance, La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) is a worldwide phenomenon that you can watch on Netflix. Meanwhile, Mexican telenovelas are known for being overdramatic and fun to watch. Reading is another good way to hone your Spanish skills, and there are plenty of Spanish-language novels. But for those who enjoy following the news, we recommend reading the popular newspaper El País.
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