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People decide to learn Spanish for many different reasons. Whether you love the food, the culture or you want to travel to Spanish-speaking countries, Spanish is an excellent language to learn.
Because Spanish is so widely spoken around the world, you’ll find lots of Spanish learning resources and people to help you learn. There are also lots of Spanish language hacks that will help you make progress much more quickly – and the best news is, many of them are free!
Spanish language quick facts
When you’re learning Spanish, it’s good to know a little about the language. Did you know, for example, that 15.8% of countries have Spanish as their official language? It’s also the third most-used language online – but on Twitter and Facebook, it’s actually the second most-used language.
Spanish is so widely spoken due to the Spanish conquests in the Americas. It’s been seen as an important language for centuries and became one of the five official languages when the United Nations organization was established in 1945.
Despite Spain and its language having influenced a lot of countries in the world, the Spanish language itself has also been influenced over the years. Through its history, the language has taken on loanwords from Basque, Celtiberian, Gallaecian, and Iberian (pre-Roman languages), then later on from Arabic, Greek, Native American languages, neighboring Romance languages, and English.
Now we know some interesting facts about Spanish, let’s move on to our Spanish language hacks.
Spanish language hacks
1. Learn on the go with audio lessons and podcasts
When you’re a language learner, you’re often used to multi-tasking – taking in what someone is saying, understanding it, then working out how to respond. It’s time to take it up a notch and learn on the go.
Whatever you’re doing – laundry, ironing, cooking, walking the dog, or commuting, you can listen to Spanish podcasts or audio lessons as you’re doing it. If you have a long commute, whether by train, bus, or car, you can make so much progress by tuning in to Spanish podcasts. I also recommend signing up for audio courses like Pimsleur and Rocket Spanish to learn on the go.
2. Tune in to Spanish radio
If you don’t fancy trying to learn actively while commuting (or cooking), why not tune into a Spanish radio station? This way, you’ll get to learn passively and take in words and phrases without much effort. You’ll likely learn a little about Spanish (or Hispanic) culture too – especially if you choose a talk radio station.
For the best experience, choose a talk radio station or a public radio station. The most popular stations in Spain are:
- Cadena Ser
- Cope (news, sports, talk, religious content, humor)
- Onda Cero (news, music, sports, traveling, history, animals)
- RNE (Radio National de España) (six stations: Nacional, Clásica, 3, 4, 5, Exterior de España)
- Los 40 (popular music in Spanish and English)
- Cadena Dial (music exclusively in Spanish from both Spain and Latin America)
- Cadena 100 (pop-rock from around the world)
- Europa FM
- Rock FM
- Kiss FM (music, news)
- Los 40 Classic
- Radiolé
Cadena Ser is by far the most popular station in Spain. One of its most popular shows is Hoy por hoy. This broadcasts interviews live. They discuss current affairs like culture, social issues, economics, and politics. They also offer podcast episodes and some have automatic transcriptions too!
3. Mix it up and concentrate on high-frequency words
Another of our Spanish language hacks is to mix it up. Using a mix of resources will help give you the variety you need to keep you engaged. What’s more, you’ll realize just how often Spanish high-frequency words come up no matter the topic or resource.
When you know high-frequency words, you can say so much more! There is a popular term called the Super 7 verbs (a phrase coined by Terry Waltz). These seven verbs are es, tiene, le gusta, hay, está, va a, and quiere. When you know these 7, all you need is a few nouns, and you can have a conversation straight away!
Here is a list of the 200 most common words in Spanish. Once you know these, you’ll be so much more fluent. How quickly do you think you could learn 200 words?
4. Use apps to help you
As mentioned above, mixing up your language learning is a fantastic way to keep focused and engaged and technology has a role to play in this too. We all know screens can be addictive, so why not use that natural draw we have to our phones to use Spanish apps to help you learn faster?
If you’re trying to learn Spanish by working your way only through a textbook page by page, you’re probably going to get pretty bored.
One of the best Spanish language hacks is to download some Spanish learning apps like Babbel or Mondly and check into them whenever you’ve got a moment to spare – waiting for an appointment, on the bus, in a queue, or whenever you like!
5. Hire a tutor
Most of our Spanish language hacks don’t come at a cost, hiring a tutor does. That said, you can find affordable online Spanish tutors on italki and Preply without breaking the bank. The tutors on these sites set their own prices, which means there are affordable tutors for all budgets.
When you have a language tutor, you’ll have opportunities to really personalize your learning. It also motivates you when you’re accountable to someone, which is a great way to make fast progress.
6. Make sure you’re enjoying your language learning
You decided to learn a language for a reason and whatever that reason is, you’ll learn more if you’re enjoying it. Unless your aim is to pass an exam with a specific syllabus, there’s no reason why you can’t decide what topics you focus on.
If you’re into sports, focus on learning about sports and the language that goes with it. If history is your thing, try to do some historical research in Spanish. It’s amazing how quickly you progress when you love the subject you’re learning about.
7. Watch Spanish programs and movies on TV
With Spanish being so widely spoken, you won’t have a hard time trying to find something to watch in Spanish. Netflix has some great Spanish shows including La casa de papel (Money Heist). This show started on Antena 3 in Spain and was well-received in the media. When it moved to Netflix, it was the most-followed series for six weeks. It trended globally on Twitter on a regular basis.
YouTube is also great for Spanish clips. You can watch episodes of The Simpsons (Los Simpson), for example. You can also listen to Spanish songs – even ones from the film Encanto for example.
When you’re watching Spanish programs and movies, you can choose to put the subtitles on to help you. For beginners, English subtitles will help but for intermediate learners, you can put on Spanish subtitles for a little help.
Pro tip: Watch Spanish shows and movies on Lingopie for an additional vocab boost. Unlike regular TV or Netflix, subtitles on Lingopie are clickable and you can collect words into flashcards for later review.
8. Social media Spanish language hacks
For users of social media, you’ve got an easy Spanish language hack – follow Spanish people and join groups in Spanish! Here are some specifics for different social media:
- Instagram – follow people who do stories in Spanish on topics that interest you. This way you’ll be exposed to Spanish regularly when scrolling through people’s updated stories. It’s a way of getting short bursts of Spanish immersion.
- Facebook – join some Spanish language groups or groups based in Spain or your favorite Hispanic cities.
- TikTok – find some Spanish-speaking people to follow. Choosing people from different Spanish-speaking countries will give you a great insight into how people live differently in the Spanish-speaking world.
9. Arrange a Spanish-English language exchange
This Spanish language hack is all about reciprocity. Essentially, you give up your time speaking English to a Spanish speaker, and they return the favor. For people living in a university city, this is often easier to find and arrange.
Typically, exchange partners arrange to meet in a library or café and spend half an hour chatting in Spanish then the other half chatting in English. It’s a win-win for both people!
Can’t find Spanish speakers in your area? You can connect with them on language exchange apps instead!
10. Know what your goals are
Knowing what you want to get out of your learning is one of the best Spanish language hacks to know. If you have a goal or a target, you can put steps in place to get there.
Whether you’re a student or not, you’ve probably heard of SMART targets. The idea is that goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. When your goals are SMART, you’ll know exactly what you want to do and have an idea of how you know you’ve got there – whether that’s an exam taken or being able to order food in a Spanish restaurant on your next business trip, for example.
11. Be a reflective learner
Having a goal or target is great but you don’t want to wait until the exam (or whatever your end goal is) to know if your learning efforts have worked.
One great Spanish language hack is to reflect frequently on your learning. Think back each week to what you’ve learned in that week that you didn’t know before. This can be really motivational to keep going!
As well as looking at what you’ve learned, also think about where your weak areas are and consider how you might work on those. Do you need to practice a particular verb or grammar point?
12. Immerse yourself
When it comes to Spanish language hacks, the best hack is to immerse yourself completely in the language. Ideally, this would be living in a Spanish-speaking country, with Spanish-speaking people, and in a Spanish-speaking school or job.
However, for most people, this is not at all possible! That said, there are things you can do to immerse yourself in the language without jumping on a plane and leaving everything you know behind.
Instead, change things in your life so that you’re surrounded by Spanish (or Hispanic) things. Change your phone language to Spanish, your laptop, buy a Spanish diary or calendar, follow Spanish recipes, etc. There are so many things you can do!
Final thoughts
Whatever your reasons for learning Spanish and no matter your level, you should find these Spanish language hacks useful.
There is a Peruvian proverb that goes poco a poco, se va lejos (little by little, you go far), and it seems really appropriate for language learning! Simply put, a little Spanish learned each day will add up to be a lot of Spanish over time. Good luck!