Spanish Podcasts to Spark Your Language Skills
For those learners who are not able to study abroad, travel to a Spanish-speaking country, or meet up with a native Spanish speaker, don’t worry! Thanks to Spanish podcasts, you can immerse yourself in Spain without having to buy a ticket.
Listening to Spanish podcasts is a great alternative compared to a textbook, as it provides you with exposure to natural Spanish conversations and helps with listening. The presentation of Spanish in an audio format can also boost comprehension skills and support pronunciation. However, there are so many great podcasts out there, it’s sometimes hard to know which one will fit your needs. This blog post aims to highlight the strengths of some of the most popular podcasts available, and help you decide which one is right for you.
Spanish Podcasts for Beginners
Spanish Obsessed offers a series of podcasts to learn ‘Spanish from Scratch’ as it is named on the site. The hosts Rob and Lis offer a natural conversation at an appropriate speed for new learners. Rob, a non-native speaker, also offers some helpful insight on how he learned Spanish.
Unique feature: Offers interesting teaching points such as “How to tell a story” and “How to tell a joke” which can help you learn to engage in meaningful and relevant conversations.
The official website offers two types of memberships, in which all transcripts and materials can be accessed.
This podcast exposes new learners to real conversation between the host’s Ben & Maria in Spanish. Ben, a non-native speaker, offers some special insights on the learning process, while Maria kindly corrects his pronunciation and teaches helpful tips on commonly mispronounced words and sounds. At the beginner’s level, the hosts provide an explanation of topics and phrases in English.
Unique feature: The podcast is interactive as the hosts give you time to problem solve and practice Spanish phrases out loud before providing the correct answer.
The website provides transcripts, as well as vocabulary and grammar worksheets to help you learn as you listen.
Nate and Andrea are the dynamic hosts of this conversational podcast. It includes longer podcasts, at a good pace, to help prepare you for “all situations.”
Unique features: The host’s sometimes read short stories and articles out loud on the channel.
Access to materials: You can sign up and receive transcripts easily via e-mail.
Lesson Oriented Spanish Podcasts
This podcast offers lessons all the way from ‘Saying hello’ to learning the Subjunctive. Godron and Cynthia do a great job of explaining various grammar and vocabulary topics, as well as providing tips on how to best learn a new language.
Unique feature: Some podcasts come with a video of Gordon and Cynthia giving the lessons.
Access to materials: A free sample pack is included with each level of learning; however, worksheets must be purchased to access all materials. The worksheets (called Helpsheets on the website) also include a translation of the podcast and various exercises and tests.
If you are looking for teaching points on nouns, adjectives, vocabulary, and more, this podcast may be for you. The first lesson discusses the gender of nouns and when to use “la” verses “el”. Listeners are often instructed to repeat words or phrases for pronunciation practice. Although the audio is somewhat robotic, the content is worthwhile.
Unique feature: Each podcast includes a written lesson and test or quiz.
Access to materials: You can enjoy two free sample transcripts and lessons; however, membership is required for additional materials.
Offering a series of Spanish learning tools, this website has a wide variety of topics, so you’re sure to find something that interests you. Different channels are promoted throughout the week, and podcasts are marked with their difficulty level once you have chosen a topic.
Unique feature: The website includes practical topics such as preparing for an interview, and cooking, which can be important to master as you prepare for real world conversations and situations.
Transcripts: Included with each podcast and easy to access.
Advanced Spanish Podcasts
Don’t have enough time to watch the news and practice Spanish? News in Slow Spanish is the answer! This podcast is an exciting bridge if you are feeling more comfortable with beginner’s Spanish conversation, but are not quite able to understand and enjoy movies or the regular news in Spanish. This slower version includes recent, interesting events at a good pace for new learners. It includes transcripts for all podcasts and is not robotic sounding.
Unique feature: Also includes a grammar and expressions catalog.
Access to materials: Free transcripts for all podcasts.
Once you’ve mastered the News in Slow Spanish, this podcast will keep you in the know for all current events and help advance your listening skills. All transcripts are included and you can practice listening to various accents and voices as the reporters and hosts vary.
Unique feature: Whereas many podcasts require signing in to view transcripts, the transcripts on this channel are handy, as they are included right below the audio clip.
Access to materials: Easy to access, as mentioned above.
Importing Spanish Podcasts into LingQ
Listening to podcasts is always good, the reality is, you miss out on the ability to read and review your vocabulary effectively.
That’s why, using LingQ, you can import your favorite podcasts and create interactive lessons to help you practice Spanish the best way possible. Let me show you how.
First. click the import button at the top right (must be logged into LingQ):
Add the transcript and audio (a picture is always nice too):
Click save and you’re all set. Just like the picture below, you can now go through the transcript while listening to the podcast at the same time. Save your words for a later review so you don’t forget:
Not only that, you can take your lesson on the go thanks to LingQ’s mobile app:
Last and definitely not least, you can import YouTube videos into LingQ as well. Check out this post to learn how you can get the most out of your favorite Spanish YouTube channels.
Originally published at www.lingq.com
