Best Spanish language apps

[Dunny Ramsay]

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]

I use Google Translate, verbal as well as written.

 

[islandwalker]

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]

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

 

[HenkSlb]

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

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

 

[Ian T]

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]

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]

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

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

 

[Katie Brown]

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]

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"....

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]

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!

 

[FionaMcG]

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]

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

 

[NualaOC]

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]

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