My family spent the winter of 2022/2023 right next to the Mexican border. As in, about a mile away. (My husband once almost went to Mexico on accident, but that’s a different story.) To prepare, I thought we’d start trying to learn Spanish, but we only started a couple of months in advance. And once we got there, both my husband and I had jobs, we got busy, and naturally, we pretty much stopped practicing our Spanish.
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In addition, the only program we used then was Duolingo. Duolingo has one really good thing going for it: It’s free. However, I’ve heard lots of not-so-great things about it, and I’m not certain if it’s European or Latin American Spanish. It might be a mix of both.
While we eventually want to travel to Europe, we’re currently in the USA and we’re more likely to encounter Latin American Spanish. So for the time being, we’re trying to focus our efforts on Latin American Spanish, with mixed results.
Spanish Resources
As previously mentioned, there’s Duolingo. You can pay for the premium service, but I’ve never had a problem with just using the free version. I like that we can use it through the website or through the app on my phone. Duolingo does a great job of gamifying the learning and encouraging us to practice every day.
This year, we also decided to check out Mango. Mango is a paid subscription, however, our library gives us access for free. I like that we were able to choose whether we wanted Latin American Spanish or European Spanish, so I feel like we’re probably getting a better education with Mango. However, Mango is not as much fun as Duolingo and is a lot of flashcards.
Rosetta Stone is a popular way to learn a language. We haven’t tried it, but it’s popular for a reason. You get access to all 25 languages and they have both a lifetime subscription option and a monthly plan. Rosetta Stone has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Babbel is another popular way to learn a language. They only offer 14 languages, but you do get access to all of them. They offer both a lifetime subscription (for the app only) and a monthly option. The key thing with Babbel is it focuses on conversations, either through their app or with a live tutor. Their plans that include the live tutor are expensive, but you can take unlimited classes in Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Babbel has a 20-day money-back guarantee.
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More Fun Ways to Practice a Second Language
As a family, we also enjoy playing a board game I found at a thrift store years ago. Unfortunately, the company is no more, but if you can find it, Play and Learn Spanish is a good resource (though unfortunately, also European Spanish instead of Latin American).
Watching cartoons and Disney movies in Spanish helps familiarize us with the language’s sounds. As our learning is progressing, it’s been fun to start recognizing some words and phrases. Usually, you can only select “Spanish,” but your mileage may vary. There are a plethora of YouTube channels with bilingual book read-alouds and podcasts to help people learn Spanish. I even found a Spotify playlist of Spanish songs!
We found two video games for our kids, both by Rocket Boy, and both very reasonably priced. Pedro’s Adventures is a role-playing game that is designed for the intermediate student. I would still consider us beginners, but my kids have enjoyed playing it and have learned some from it. Linguist FPS is a first-person shooter designed for a beginner student. Something I really like about Linguist FPS is that it includes a variety of languages, so my daughter can use it for practicing her Japanese, too.
I have a confession to make. I’m really, really bad at learning other languages. This is something that I’ve always struggled with, despite my comfort and facility with the English language and various musical languages. So, to help myself out, I downloaded several apps on my phone for extra practice I can do throughout my day.
Phone Apps
My favorite so far is Lingo Legend. I enjoy it so much, that I ended up paying for the lifetime premium account. It’s a bit spendy, but considering how much practice I’ve gotten with it, I think it’s worth it. Lingo Legend does a good job of incorporating language learning into a role-playing game with two sides. You can play with a virtual farm, growing crops, creating and selling products, and playing with farm creatures they call naala. Or, you can go on an adventure and battle monsters. If you use my code PYW22, I’ll get some in-game credit. They offer several languages, including Latin American Spanish!
Unacademy (now called Airlearn) has (mostly) European Spanish. Again, you can choose free or paid. If you go with the free version, you’re limited to 5 lessons a day. Since this app is not as much fun as Lingo Legend, and it’s European Spanish instead of Latin American Spanish, I’m just using the free version. It’s good practice.
Memrise uses videos of real people speaking to help teach the language. It’s more challenging for me, in that they don’t always write out what is being said and the review options are very limited. However, I have picked up some knowledge from it, it’s free, and it’s another way for me to practice more regularly. It also let me choose Mexican Spanish, which I appreciate.
Golingo emphasizes speaking and having conversations. It uses an AI to formulate conversations in different locations. I have found it very helpful, but I don’t like speaking (at all, no matter the language), so it’s probably my least favorite app I use. I would like it more if I could enter in some information about myself and have speaking exercises that are accurate to me. In addition, I think it’s European Spanish.
Finally, I got the app Teach Yourself which has several books you can download to help you teach yourself any of several languages. Many of the books are paid (you can purchase digital versions through the app or purchase physical copies through Amazon), but some books, especially the audio accompaniments for the workbooks, are free. This, as far as I can tell, only has audio and doesn’t listen to you speak, but it’s still helpful.
Immersion is the Best Way to Learn a Second Language
Of course, the best way to learn any language is through immersion. We still have pets, so we’re staying in the USA for the time being, but I look forward to when we can travel internationally and immerse ourselves in other cultures and languages.
No matter what language you want to learn, or why you want to learn it, I encourage you to find a variety of resources to help you learn. We learn something new and different from each resource, and each resource presents things a little differently. By using several resources, we’re better able to provide ourselves with a well-rounded education.