Live and Learn Spanish

Home>Language Index>>Spanish

Audio Lessons       Software       Translation       Dictionaries       Exercise Books     Flashcards    Video & Media       Learn Online       Immersion      Culture Corner

You'll find all the resources and tools you need for learning Spanish right here. Advice on which audio lessons are "fantastico", which software really is "estupendo", the best dictionaries and exercise books, flashcards, video and much more...

Of course, if there is something you would like to know but can’t seem to find it through us, please let us know - we will be happy to do some research and do our best to dig it up, and improve the site for you. The comment box is at the bottom of this page.

Language Synopsis

Also known as Castilian, Spanish is a Latin-derived Romance language that originated in northern Spain. From there it gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, and subsequently evolved into the principal language of government and trade. During the 15 to 19th Centuries the language was taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia, as Spain built up its huge empire.

Today, the it is an official language of Spain, most South American countries, and Equatorial Guinea in Africa; 21 countries speak it as their main language. With between 322 and 400 million native speakers across the globe, it is the world's second most-spoken language by native speakers. Estimates suggest that the combined total of native and non-native speakers is about 500 million, making it the 3rd most spoken language on earth.

Below you see a map showing all the areas in the world where Spanish is found to be spoken. The light blue areas indicate countries where it is spoken as a second language.

Spanish Audio Lessons

Using audio lessons is a great way to develop your language skills. They help with pronunciation, build your vocabulary and help you make conversation. Below are some of the best audio lesson courses available for learning Spanish.

Pimsleur Audio Lessons

Without a doubt Pimsleur audio lessons is one of the best resources for learning to speak Spanish. The lessons are structured on the research and methods of the renound Dr. Pimsleur.

Pimsleur provide 4 audio lesson courses: Comprehensive 1, 2 and 3 (30 lessons each) and Plus (10 lessons). You start from scratch with level 1 and build your ability up to intermediate by the end of Level3. The plus course expands your understanding of the language.

Why choose Pimsleur: The 30 minute lessons teach excellent pronunciation - by using the backwards build up drill method students are taught to accurately mimick the sounds of the language.

Pimsleur is excellent for memory - the lessons reintroduce a word/phrase just as you are about to forget it. This carefully planned lesson structure ensures phrases are forged into your mind.

The language taught is very practical for travel, business and every day usage.

For more information on the Pimsleur methods, please visit our Audio Lessons page.

Where to buy: One of the cheapest places to buy the Pimselur audio lessons is from Pimsleur-Language

Michel Thomas

After having tried and tested Michel Thomas courses for various languages, we feel it is the most effective set of audio lessons available. The basic idea is that you sit and listen to Michel teach two students. When he asks them a question, you pause the CD figure it out, and then play. No homework, no writing, just sit back and listen. Michel's simple explanations will help you quickly grasp the grammar and the verb endings, as well as helping you develope a wide range of vocab.

Where to buy: The cheapest place we have found is Amazon. Click on the following links to take you to the products.

Michel Thomas For Beginners: 10-CD Beginner's Program

Michel Thomas Advanced: 5-CD Advanced Program

Internet Freebies

SpanishPod.com

Providers of truly fantastic free online audio lessons.

This vibrant community website offers hundreds of 10-12 minute free audio lessons. Whether you're "newbie" level, "media" or somewhere in between, there is something here for you.

The lessons are enjoyable, funny and teach very practical every day language.

Click below and try a 1 week free trial of the other resources SpanishPod has to offer, including personalised vocab lists, exercises and more.

Spanishpodcast provide free podcast Spanish lessons for those who already speak the language quite well but want to improve thier understanding and use of grammar.

In addition, SpanishPod101 also provide a free seven day trial of their audio lessons. The site also provides other learning material such as flashcards and pdf files with written material.

Spanish Language Learning Software

You can use language learning software to develop all four aspects of your language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. However, software needs to be fun and interactive if it's going to be effective. Below are some of our software recommendations.

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone Spanish (Spain) Level 1,2 & 3 Set

If you're serious about learning Spanish, Rosetta Stone language learning software is a must have. With over 550 hours worth of lessons, it is one of the most comprehensive language courses abvailable.

Rosetta Stone implements the "Dynamic Immersion" method, which basically teaches you the language as a child would learn his mother tongue - by interacting with the world around it.

Rosetta Stone Spanish comprises three Levels which can be bought as a set, or individually. Two verisons are available, "Spain" and "Latin America". Depending on where you'lluse the Spanish will determine which to go for. There is also an online subscription available through the official site.

Why choose Rosetta Stone: Covering all aspects of language learing (speaking, listening, reading and writing) it is one of the most comprehensive language courses available.

The lessons are very interactive and fun, ensuring you can spend hours learning without even noticing it.

ALthough it might seem expensive, Rosetta Stone is actually extremely good value for money. One hour's worth of instruction ends up costing around 80p ($1.60).

Where to buy: Buying from the Official Rosetta Stone site gives you access to all their products, free trials, and the online version of the lessons.

For more information on Rosetta Stone Language Learning Software visit our Software page. Click below for a free trial of this ground breaking language learning software.

Internet Freebies

BYKI provide a free download of their software. The fun and interactive lessons are an excellent free resource for beginners with the language.

English-Spanish Dictionaries

If you're serious about learning the language, it's essential that you get your hand on a good dictionary. Below are some of our recommednations.

Widely recognised as the best and most comprehensive dictionary available is The Oxford Englsih-Spanish Dictionary. With 300,000 words, grammar and culture sections, it is a must have for the serious learner.

One of the challenges in learning the language is learning how to conjugate the verbs (use the right verb ending). That's why we recommend Barron's 501 Verbs: with CD-ROM .

The book acts as a kind of verb dictionary listing all the conjugations for 501 of the most used verbs in the language. An essential reference tool.

Internet Freebies

Translate into Spanish using the following free online dictionary.

	Language:	Spanish MultiLanguage	Direction: Into English From English
	Word:

This site provides an excellent free online English-Spanish dictionary.

Spanish Exercise and Phrase Books

Internet Freebies:

Spanish Flashcards

Internet Freebies:

Free Spanish flashcards are provided on this site. They cover the alphabet, and lots of very useful day to day things.

Video & Media

Internet Freebies:

Learn Live Online

Internet Freebies:

Language Immersion

Surrounding yourself with words and sounds and music, every day, will be the very best way to learn, trust us. We are looking into courses abroad at the moment, and will soon be able to recommend one or two. Until then, feel free to do your best to immerse yourself where you live, using the following suggestions… for example, use a dictionary to print words like “table”, "door", "window", "kettle", "bed", "chair", "mirror" etc and stick them onto those items around the house. Over time these words will automatically become part of your vocabulary, without even trying to memorize them! You could also in time join some verbs, like eat, open/close, wash, boil, sleep, sit, look, etc so as to associate them with the objects. Try it!

Internet freebies:

Immerse yourself right away by...

~Listening to the radio abit each day and tune in your ears!

~Keeping up with the news each day!

~Looking up the weather each day! This site is great because it doesn’t just show the weather in pictures, it's like weather flashcards!

~Keeping yourself tuned into the media!

~Using www.Google.es instead of Google in English… and/or set your search options so that the results include Russian webpages OR use Google’s translation tools to translate English pages that you’re familiar with.

~Listening to music and look for the lyrics to your favorite songs! For example here is a song called Eres tu and here are the lyrics...

Hispanic Culture Corner

Expressions and phrases:

Cultural Quirks:

National Dishes and recipes:

Traditional Music:

Help Others Live & Learn

Have you had the experience of learning Spanish? If so we'd love to hear about your experiences. Which resources and tools did you find useful, and why? Which weren't that great?

Please e-mail us your findings using the form below. By sharing our experiences we can save fellow language learners time and money. In fact that is the mission of Live & Learn Languages!