Best Spanish language apps

Dunny Ramsay

Forum member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

CF 2017

• Dec 18, 2016

• #1

I want to include some Spanish language prep in my pre-Camino. Any reccos of iPhone apps?

FYI, I speak some Canadian French and took two years of high school Spanish back when 'los dinosaurios' ruled the earth. But now "soy" to me is a beverage not a conjugation of the verb "Ser"....

 

Waka

Veteran Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Some but not all, and other routes too.

• Dec 18, 2016

• #2

I use Google Translate, verbal as well as written.

 

islandwalker

Veteran Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Francés and routes in Andalucia

• Dec 18, 2016

• #3

Hi Dunny,
Here are some of the online supplements we've used for learning Spanish.

http://ankisrs.net
This is a spaced-repetition flashcard site. You can make your own flashcards or use the shared decks online that other people have made. The spaced repetition system makes it possible to fine tune how often you see a card. Free.

http://www.newsinslowspanish.com
Four news podcasts a week, with a transcript and mouse-over translations. Worth subscribing to because it is so helpful in terms of coming to grips with the way people actually speak. You can play the broadcast at slow speed or regular speed.

https://learner.org/series/destinos/watch/
This 52-episode telenovela was an Annenberg/PBS venture designed to teach beginning Spanish through a continuing story. Although it was made awhile ago, it is still quite watchable. A painless way to pick up vocabulary and speech patterns. Free. Also, Spanish movies on Netflix with the choice of English or Spanish subtitles. Grand Hotel and The Time In Between both have lots of episodes.

https://spanish.yabla.com/videos.php
Videos of all sorts with subtitles and the ability to repeat frames of just a few seconds over and over. Helpful for hearing real Spanish at a slow speed and entertaining because of the video component. $10 per month.

http://www.notesinspanish.com
20 minute podcasts that are mostly conversation between a native Spanish speaker in Madrid, Marina, and her husband, Ben, who is from England. Very interesting topics. Lots of levels to choose from. Free.

http://radiolingua.com
20 minute podcast lessons that are very clear and helpful. You can choose where to start.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/full_details.shtml
An interactive video program from the BBC

https://www.duolingo.com
Short lessons on a single topic. Free.

For reference:
Easiest is just type your question into Google. Example: “por vs para” and you will get lots of hits - everything from language forums to grammar explanations.
Also helpful:
http://www.spanishdict.com
http://www.linguee.com/english-spanish
SpanishDict is clear, fast, and easy to use. Linguee is great because when you type in a word you get sample sentences taken from the web that use that word so you can see it used in context and decide what synonym you want.

Have fun!
Elaine

 

willydp

Active Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

2024

• Dec 18, 2016

• #4

@ islandwalker
Thanks for the great list
I just need a new hard disk in my brain to remember al that I will study

 

HenkSlb

Member

Time of past OR future Camino

2017

• Dec 18, 2016

• #5

willydp said:

@ islandwalker
Thanks for the great list
I just need a new hard disk in my brain to remember al that I will study

Click to expand...

Ask your brainsurgeon for a solid state disk. They are much faster than the conventional hard disks

 

Ian T

I now have a back pack

Time of past OR future Camino

When she says I can

• Dec 18, 2016

• #6

May I suggest go find some Spanish speaking people, immerse yourself, dive in head first, they will love you for trying and you will get so much more from it than some electronic gizmo which normally translates incorrectly anyway.

You appear to have some basics albeit years ago, drag it out you will love it

 

Micah26

Active Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Camino France's (2018)

• Dec 19, 2016

• #7

Hi,
You could see if there are any Spanish speaking people near you who want to learn English and trade time with each other. I think learning some basic phrases will get you through. In each country I visit I try to learn please thank you etc it helps a lot. Once you have 30-40 phrases the rest will come in time over time. Same as when you learned French exposure and using the language is all

 

trecile

Moderator

Staff member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Francés, Norte, Salvador, Primitivo, Portuguese

• Dec 19, 2016

• #8

islandwalker said:

https://learner.org/series/destinos/watch/
This 52-episode telenovela was an Annenberg/PBS venture designed to teach beginning Spanish through a continuing story. Although it was made awhile ago, it is still quite watchable

Click to expand...

And it's also fun to laugh at the early 90's fashions!

 

Katie Brown

New Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Autumn 2016 - Camino Frances

• Dec 19, 2016

• #9

Hey Dunny,

I am currently using Duolingo on my phone to try and learn Italian, and so far it's going good. It's really good with making sure you don't learn something and then forget 1 week later, as you have to keep strength bars full. I really enjoy it, hopefully you will too

 

movinmaggie

Veteran Member

Time of past OR future Camino

2015

• Dec 19, 2016

• #10

Dunny Ramsay said:

I want to include some Spanish language prep in my pre-Camino. Any reccos of iPhone apps?

FYI, I speak some Canadian French and took two years of high school Spanish back when 'los dinosaurios' ruled the earth. But now "soy" to me is a beverage not a conjugation of the verb "Ser"....

Click to expand...

Duo Lingo....free on line, and an app.Very user friendly. Even if you learn the basics, please, thank et al. Enjoy the refresher.

 

mylifeonvacation

Active Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Camino Inglés (from Ferrol June 2014)
Camino Portuguese (from Tui May 2015)

• Dec 19, 2016

• #11

For an app, Google Translate is my go-to. Love the camera feature that translates text right in front of your eyes!

I also bookmarked http://www.wordreference.comfor going more in depth on the meanings of words and for their handy conjucation pages.

If you already know a little bit of Spanish, The Spanish Dude has some really helpful videos available free on You Tube (or even as podcasts) in addition to lots of free (and some pay) materials on his website. www.spanishdude.com
He's got a unique style, and I always learn something from his videos. He also details a flashcard method of memorizing vocabulary that makes sense to me.

Here's a video by Spanish Dude about ordering food in Spain:
Buena suerte y buen camino!

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2016

FionaMcG

New Member

Time of past OR future Camino

May-June 2017: Camino Frances
Sept-Oct 2019: Camino Frances

• Dec 20, 2016

• #12

I spent 10-20mins. a day on Duolingo for about three months and found it a great way to build up some vocabulary (admittedly, a small portion of which was very useless!) and basic sentence structures.

If you have a digital library membership (at least from a U.S. library), you may have access to an app called Mango Languages which is also very good for a a beginner.

 

Dunny Ramsay

Forum member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

CF 2017

• Dec 20, 2016

• #13

Tanti grazie a tutti! (Oops, wrong language.) Muchas gracias a todos. (Better) Thank you and sorry to disturb you. ( Canadian English...)

 

NualaOC

Veteran Member

Donating Member

Time of past OR future Camino

A few and hopefully lots more.

• Dec 20, 2016

• #14

Hi @Dunny Ramsay, I second the recommendation for DuoLingo.

I've also learned a lot from the Paul Noble audiobooks. I listen to them on long car journeys.

 

Rajy62

Active Member

Time of past OR future Camino

Frances 2013, Norte/primitivo 2014, vdlp (2015)

• Dec 24, 2016

• #15

I use duolingo. It is an interactive tool. Very easy to use. Need WiFi.