As you study Spanish, it’s smart to take advantage of as many different resources as you can! Luckily, many of the online options are totally free and easy to use. Continue reading to find out the tutor-approved recommendations from instructor Sara T...
If you’ve stumbled upon this post, you’ve probably already decided to learn Spanish — that’s great! Now, you probably need some direction on where to begin. The World Wide Web offers an infinite number of resources that can help you learn a new language. The downside is that sifting through the junk can take hours on end to find a quality website or resource. Lucky for you, I have done the legwork and found 75 of the best online resources to help you improve your Spanish!
Here they are – starting with my personal top 10.
Click on these to jump ahead by category:
- My Top 10
- Websites for Learning Spanish Online
- Lists for Studying Spanish
- Spanish Help – Verb Conjugations
- Spanish Learning Apps
- Language Exchange Platforms
- Spanish Chatrooms
- Spanish Games Online
- Facebook Groups for Spanish Help
- Facebook Pages for Spanish Help
- YouTube Channels for Learning Spanish
- Free Spanish eBooks
- Open-Source Materials
- News Websites
- Music Channels
- Spanish Magazines
- Misc. Websites in Spanish
My Top 10
- Duolingo
This app is a favorite among language learners of all ages. It has a game-like teaching methodology, which makes it fun to use! - The Most Common Irregular Verbs in Spanish
Get familiar with irregular verbs as soon as possible. The most-used verbs in Spanish (to be, to have, to be able to, etc.) are irregular. By studying one irregular verb each day, you’ll increase your proficiency at lightning speed. - Conjuguemos (Let’s Conjugate)
Verb conjugation is a nightmare for Spanish learners. We don’t change verbs nearly as often in English, but our pronouns are mandatory. In Spanish, you’ll get frustrated at the amount of conjugation you have to learn, but eventually everything will be simplified and you won’t even use pronouns when speaking. The verb will communicate the person you’re referring to. - MIT Courseware
Open-source courseware means that universities are letting anyone download their courses for free. You won’t get official academic credit, of course, but what a great way to get an MIT education for free! - People en Español
This resource can be substituted for any magazine you like to read. Reading in Spanish — especially if it’s about a subject that interests you –will help build your vocabulary and improve grammar. Research shows that learners who read correct grammar are more likely to use it when speaking. - National Geographic in Spanish
Who doesn’t love Nat Geo? This website is one of my favorites for articles, videos, and pictures. You can even subscribe to the physical magazine in Spanish (at an additional cost). - Online Free Spanish
Games are a clever way of disguising learning. This website is best suited for beginners or children, with games focusing on vocabulary. I really like this website because you can play a number of games using the same core vocabulary words. Repetition is necessary when learning a new language. - Grammar Games
For the adult or intermediate learners, try this website. The games focus more on grammar and sentence structure than individual vocabulary words. - Y Mucho Mas
When you’re ready to relax, try this YouTube channel to start watching La Familia Peluche, one of the most-watched Spanish TV series. This channel has all of the full episodes for free! - Spanish Proficiency Materials
This is a website from the University of Texas. It has all kinds of materials for improving your Spanish. My personal favorites are the videos featuring Spanish spoken by native speakers from different countries. You can read along with the transcript (in Spanish) alongside the video. This is an excellent resource for listening comprehension.
Websites for Learning Spanish Online
Below are some of the best online websites for learning Spanish. These websites will help you learn basic grammar, phrases, and vocabulary. Some offer additional exercises and/or videos to help aid comprehension and learning.
- BBC Spanish
This is a comprehensive page of free online Spanish resources. You can test your Spanish proficiency, watch video courses, play games, and find authentic Spanish news, TV, and radio websites. - Fluencia
This app is also available as a website. You can sign up for free via Facebook and begin learning. The learning style is very similar to Duolingo and Rosetta Stone. Beginner lessons cover greetings, basic vocabulary, and pronunciation. - Hello World
This website has more than 700 Spanish resources! I really like the lessons and conversations section, which introduces basic vocabulary and language. There are short, animated videos that feature basic conversation and show vocabulary in real contexts. The website also features a dictionary and plenty of online games and activities. - Learn Practical Spanish Online
This is a free website that includes information on many grammar topics. The website is divided into levels, from beginner to advanced. - Medical Spanish for Healthcare Providers
Being bilingual is a huge advantage in the healthcare industry. This website has a lot of free information for Spanish learners, in relation to medicine and healthcare. Even conversational Spanish learners should take a look – you never know when you’ll be traveling and end up sick or in a medical emergency.
Lists for Studying Spanish
I love working with lists when learning or teaching a language. It’s an easy way to acquire new vocabulary like verbs, nouns, or adjectives.
With the lists below, I recommend committing to learning a certain amount each day. Take a look at one grammar rule each day or one irregular verb. At the end of the month, you’ll know 30 new rules and verbs!
- Common Mistakes When Learning Spanish
Avoid these common mistakes for Spanish language learners by educating yourself before you start making mistakes. It’s much easier to create a good habit than to break a bad one. - The Most Common Irregular Verbs in Spanish
This website shows the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. Irregular verbs, like ser, estar, tener and ir, are widely used in the Spanish language. Use this website to practice conjugating them. - Top 100 Regular Spanish Verbs
Similar the irregular verbs list, you can use this to practice conjugating on your own. - Top Spanish Vocabulary
Make sure you know the most commonly used words — not just verbs — so that sentences really come together. - Top 20 False Cognates
False cognates are words that look similar in two languages, but have very different meanings. Avoid embarrassing mistakes by brushing up on these common amigos falsos (fake friends). (See also: 75 Most Helpful Spanish Cognates to Know)
Spanish Help — Verb Conjugations
The best way to conjugate verbs is the old fashioned way — take out a piece of paper, list your pronouns, and begin writing the different conjugations. There’s no way around it. But you can also practice and test your conjugation knowledge online! Below are some websites with online exercises and Spanish quizzes to help you along.
- Conjuguemos (Let’s Conjugate)
Practice conjugating verbs in an online quiz, based on the pronoun. Quizzes are separated into tenses and stem and spelling change patterns. If you’re a beginner, start with present tense regular verbs. - Spanish Verb Drills
Practice conjugating verbs in sentences here. This website will give you an overview of conjugation and also generates unique quizzes to practice. - Spanish Verb Conjugation Trainer
This site offers free, online Spanish conjugation practice. Quizzes are separated by tenses. You can either choose which verbs you want to practice or generate a random selection. - Spanish New York
This is another free, online verb conjugation practice site, with tons of verb categories to choose from. - Verbs Online
You can practice verb conjugations in sets of 10 here, with a choice of regular or irregular verbs.
Spanish Learning Apps
A resource article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning apps! Downloading some of the following apps will let you practice Spanish on the go. Whether you’re taking a break from work or stuck in traffic, you can always find five minutes to practice.
- Duolingo
This is a free language-learning app that focuses on a game-like way of learning, similar to Rosetta Stone. - Open Language
This website allows you to learn the language from real people. Get the hands-on learning experience you deserve! - Memrise
This is a free application for language learning that follows the CEFR (Common European Framework Reference), which is an international language proficiency scale. There are several Spanish courses ranging from beginner to advanced, based on the CEFR levels. - Fluent U
This is an app that introduces Spanish in context. You can view video/blog/visual-learning-strategies, newscasts, and articles in Spanish. - Pinterest
This is an overlooked app for language learning, but I use Pinterest for almost all of my teaching materials. You can search any topic, vocabulary, or grammar issue and you’ll see beautiful images, charts, and infographics to explain them. This is a must-have if you’re a visual learner. - Rosetta Stone (free demo)
The famous Rosetta Stone is now an app. You can try a free demo version to decide if this method is right for you. - iTranslate
This app lets you translate on your phone by voice. Simply say what you want to translate and your phone does the rest. This is great for traveling abroad — just remember, no translation app or website is perfect. It’ll give you a rough equivalent of the words in another language, but often the meaning is not correctly translated. Stick to simple phrases. - HiNative
This app lets you ask questions to native speakers or people who are practicing speaking Spanish.
Language Exchange Platforms
Language exchange platforms can be helpful if they’re used in the right way. Many of these websites work like social networking, where you set up a profile with details about yourself. You then search for “friends” who you can practice your target language with.
It’s important to keep in mind, though, that you’ll most likely be practicing with other Spanish learners. This is not a substitute for private lessons, since you won’t be getting the error correction and guidance a teacher would give you. But, if you want to practice information you learned in class, like introducing yourself, this is a good option.
I haven’t included individual details because all of the sites operate the same. The most popular, however, is Tandem. Please be aware that using any website to meet other people (even for learning purposes) has risks. Avoid giving out personal information or becoming a target of a scam.
Spanish Chatrooms
Spanish language chatrooms are a great resource for practicing written Spanish in your free time. Keep in mind that chatrooms for language learning run the same risks as any chatroom. I wouldn’t recommend letting children use these alone, since they would be speaking with strangers and all the risks that that entails. Overall, though, most users are genuinely interested in learning and improving.
- Espanglish Chat
This is an English/Spanish bilingual chatroom for students to practice either or both languages. The chatroom is free and works online through Java. - Spanish Chat
Chatrooms are organized by Spanish speaking country, major U.S. cities, or topic. - My Language Exchange
This is an online language learning community. You can sign up and join chatrooms to practice speaking in Spanish.
This website is an all-Spanish option where you’ll find many more native speakers, not necessarily Spanish learners. This website can help you see how Spanish speakers really communicate and how the language is used in casual conversation.
ICQ works a lot like Skype with free messages and video calls. You can find Spanish chatrooms and converse in Spanish with other speakers or learners.
Spanish Games Online
Games are fun for everyone, not just kids. Everyone learns in the same way and even the most dedicated adult appreciates a break from the routine every once in a while! The websites below are the best, in my opinion, offering a variety of free games at different levels.
- Online Free Spanish
This is one of my favorite websites for kids and beginners. It has games and activities, online books, and printable activities for all learning levels. Check out the memory game for tons of basic vocabulary themes. - Digital Dialect
This website has a great selection of Spanish games for beginner, intermediate, and advanced speakers. Topics cover vocabulary, phrases, and verbs. - Que Onda? Spanish
This website has several free online games to practice Spanish vocabulary. I really like the memory game for learning basic verbs and words. You can also play hangman, alphabet soup, whack-a-word, and a verb conjugation game. - Grammar Games
This website is definitely geared toward serious learners. Online quizzes help you perfect your Spanish in a variety of categories, such as adjectives, article verbs, and pronouns. - My Spanish Games
I really like the different and creative games on this website! Many of them are directions-based and aimed at children, but they’re also good for beginners of any age. The Spanish vocabulary games include body parts, weather, animals, and more.
Facebook Groups for Spanish Help
If you’re on Facebook, consider joining a group. Information shared in these groups often includes images, charts, and speaking tips. They’re also a great place to ask questions in between classes and practice communicating in written Spanish. Below are some popular groups that I have found on Facebook. Keep in mind these groups may not be monitored and you should always exercise caution in who you accept friend requests from or speak to privately.
- Amigos y amigas españoles (20,000+ members)
- Aprender, practicar y ensenar el español (6,800+ members)
- Quiero practicar inglés-español (4,000+ members)
Facebook Pages for Spanish Help
A less interactive option is Facebook pages. Pages like the ones below often share helpful information, such as proper ways to use vocabulary words, commonly confused words, and spelling help. You may also be able to ask questions, depending on the page’s settings.
- Spanish Language Routes (200,000+ likes)
- Practicamos Español (48,000+ likes)
- Aprender el Español (13,000+ likes)
YouTube Channels for Learning Spanish
YouTube is an amazing resource for seeing and hearing language used in context. I avoid Spanish “lessons” on Youtube — they’re often a video of a tutor in front of a whiteboard or a long PowerPoint with narration explaining difficult grammar — except you can’t ask any questions. Leave the lessons up to your private tutor (or, check out the live, online Spanish classes via the TakeLessons Classroom) and use YouTube to simply enhance your Spanish by experiencing it in real-life situations.
- MisCositasTV
This website has many Spanish-language videos for learners. What I like about the channel is that there are videos from different countries. Spanish is spoken in so many countries and there are many accents you’ll encounter. - Y Mucho Mas
If you’re studying Mexican Spanish or hoping to travel to Mexico, you must watch La Familia Peluche. This series is about a modern-day family living in Mexico City. This series will remind you of Married with Children or The Simpsons. The visual effects, facial expressions, and body language all help facilitate understanding. Plus, it’s hysterical! - VideoEle
This is a very good channel that features videos according to levels done by the CEFR (Common European Framework). The videos cover basic language and include vocabulary presented in themes. If you’re a beginner, choose A1 videos; intermediate, choose B1 videos; and advanced, choose C1 videos. - BookBox.
This is a collection of animated stories in Spanish (with Spanish subtitles). It says the stories are for children, but adults can benefit from watching them as well! - Vocabuflash
This channel offers stories in both Spanish and English. There are videos for vocabulary, short stories, and dialogues. It’s a great way to listen to pronunciation and work on your reading comprehension skills.
Free Spanish eBooks
More websites are beginning to publish and share free books. The books are either readable from the website or you download them in a PDF format. The websites below offer a variety of books, from beginner children’s books to classic novels. Adult learners shouldn’t be embarrassed to read children’s books, either. A beginner is a beginner — and the level is the most important factor. Plus, children’s books are well-illustrated and fun!
- Children’s Library
This website has an extensive collection of children’s books. By doing a simple search for Spanish, you’ll find 159 books in Español. The best part is that no downloading is required! You can view the books page by page online. It’s perfect for beginner to intermediate learners. - The Spanish Experiment
This page has classic children’s stories in Spanish. As a bonus, you can also listen to the audio version. No downloading required! Just choose a story and beginning reading. - Espacio eBook
Here you can either view in PDF or download the eBooks. Many of them are classic stories and fairy tales by famous writers, such as Hans Christian Anderson. - Free-ebooks.net
This website lets you download free eBooks in Spanish. There’s a wide selection of books, including romance, cooking, terror, mystery, and more. The only negative is that the books are not arranged by level. This site would only be helpful for intermediate to advanced learners. - Children’s Books Forever!
While this website doesn’t have the biggest Spanish selection, I wanted to include it anyway. The titles are well-illustrated and very simple to read. There’s no downloading required; the books are viewed in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Hopefully their Spanish library expands in the future!
Open-Source Materials
Open-source materials are free, downloadable materials on the internet. This field is growing by the day and includes resources for both teachers and students to use. They’re great for independent studying and students who are self-motivated.
- Spanish Proficiency Materials
This is one of the best Spanish-learning websites that offers materials in a natural context. It features tons of videos and podcasts organized by skill level. It’s also one of the few sites to feature an advanced and superior level. You can hear and see native speakers speaking naturally about many different topics. - MIT Courseware
Would you like to study at MIT? Would you like to do it for free? MIT offers free open-courseware, which you can download onto your computer. In addition to Spanish language classes, you can download English-language courses on Spanish culture and history.
News Websites
Listening to the news is extra challenging in a second language. Think about how fast the newscasters speak in English… yes, it’s the same in Spanish! By listening to the news in Spanish, you can fine-tune your ears to very difficult listening comprehension. This will be very helpful if you travel abroad or engage in conversation with native speakers. One of the most common complaints from language learners is that people speak too fast — but in reality, they’re just speaking at their natural speed.
- CNN en Español
This is the Spanish version of CNN. You can read all of the same stories you can find in English. - El Universal
This is widely-read Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City. - Hoy Los Angeles
This is a Spanish-language newspaper based in Los Angeles, California. - Diario las Americas
This is a Spanish-language newspaper based in Miami, Florida. It covers national and international news. - La Opinion
This is another Spanish-language newspaper based in California. It covers U.S., Mexico, and some international news stories.
Music Channels
Learning Spanish is going to open your world up to an amazing collection of artists and music from so many different countries. Music styles vary from country to country, so you might want to try a little of each before you decide which type is your favorite.
Below are websites that stream online radio stations from the U.S. and all over the world in Spanish. You can find salsa, oldies, rock and roll, heavy metal… just about anything to listen to. For extra practice, when you find a song you enjoy, try looking up the lyrics and singing along.
- La Paz
This is my favorite website for music because it divides the radio stations by country. - TuneIn
Choose from more than 20 music categories and even more radio stations to stream over the Internet. - Live365.com
This website features the top Latin radio stations from all over the U.S. Choose from many music categories and stream live. - Last.fm
This website lets you choose a specific artist to listen to. Check out Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, and Juanes! - Surf Music
This website lets you listen to radio stations from Spain. It has a long list of categories and includes styles of music from Europe.
Spanish Magazines
Use whatever interests you to get some meaningful practice reading in Spanish! This strategy will help you learn vocabulary related to topics that you’re likely to talk about. Below are some popular magazine websites in their Spanish versions. If you don’t see your favorite magazine listed, try searching online for a Spanish version.
Misc. Websites in Spanish
You can always keep immersing yourself by switching websites you already use to the Spanish version. Below are some websites that I use frequently, but if you don’t see any of your choices on the list, just try searching for them. You can always change your location in your account settings to a Spanish-speaking country to get the Spanish version by default as well.
- TripAdvisor
If you’re like me, you obsessively check TripAdvisor reviews before booking any vacation. You can kill two birds with one stone by checking it in Spanish. You can go to any TA site in a Spanish-speaking country (the link here is Mexico) and still sign in with your original ID and password. - Hotels.com
There’s nothing better than reading authentic Spanish text with beautiful images to keep you interested. Build up your vocabulary quickly by checking amenities and hotel descriptions. Then, switch back to English to check your comprehension. - Facebook
Sign up for Facebook in Spanish or change your language settings to Spanish. Your friend’s English posts won’t change – but you’ll have the option to translate them into Spanish. And all of the buttons and links will be in Spanish, reinforcing your vocabulary a little bit each time you click me gusta. - Yahoo! en Español
Change your home page to Yahoo! in Spanish to get a daily dose of vocabulary and news headlines every time you log on.
How to Effectively Use Online Spanish Resources
As you explore these options for learning Spanish, keep in mind that one website or one method alone is not going to make you a master Spanish speaker. The best thing you can do is to work with a private Spanish tutor to help you navigate through all the resources available.
Private instructors can save you hours of frustration by explaining difficult grammar concepts in a way they know you’ll understand. In addition, your lessons will give you the opportunity to speak in Spanish and be corrected on the spot. Error correction is essential to learning a language, especially when it comes to pronunciation.
Beyond that, another key to immersing yourself in a language is to have meaningful, everyday experiences in it. This happens when you use the language in a real-life context: try writing messages, updating your social media status, making a phone call, or ordering in a restaurant in Spanish. Making a personal connection to the language in this way makes it more likely that you will retain the information.
Try to use as many of the different types of resources as you can, on a daily basis, and you’ll be amazed at how fast your vocabulary bank and knowledge expands! And if you’d like extra help, feel free to contact me through my TakeLessons profile for private lessons, or check out the online group Spanish classes I’m teaching here!
Post Author: Sara T.Sara T. teaches Spanish, English, Anatomy, and more through online lessons. She has over five years of teaching experience and holds a Masters degree in Teaching and Learning with Technology, with a specialization as an online educator. Learn more about Sara here!
Suzy S.