I want to learn Spanish

[wantmorenow]

Middle aged, crap at languages but I really want to learn Spanish.
No classes where I live (middle of nowhere). I've tried using babbel but having to constantly press buttons is driving me mad. Would love something I could listen to driving or in the evenings on my Alexa. Or you tube would be good too.

Does anyone have any recommendations please?

Also thinking of doing a 3 weeks or more language school next summer in Spain. Again would love to hear if anyone has done this and how it went, costs etc.

Thanks

Use Duolingo
I am using it to speak German and I’m doing really well. (If I do say so myself)
The free app is fine but I’ve just upgraded to the £4.99 per month one

Also using Duolingo and found its really helped me recall the Spanish I learnt at school :) I felt much more confident speaking on our most recent holiday.

Also a vote for Duolingo. You can also look at local borough colleges as many of them have online classes available too at reasonable prices. Good luck!

There are lots of online teachers now. You can do groups or private lessons. Have a quick Google. Lessons are usually over zoom

Another vote for Duolingo. It makes it into a game which I like.

Thanks - no idea why I went with Babbel rather than duolingo. Nothing form my local colleges at all.

I did the free version of Duolingo for almost a year and then either in the new year or Black Friday sales they had a great deal so finally paid up and it makes such a difference to not worry about making any mistakes etc.

My son uses this:

www.dreamingspanish.com

I also love Duolingo and only use the free version, it's brilliant.

Another vote here for Duolingo, in three months I have been able to read and speak Spanish to an acceptable level. Just as well really , we will be living in Spain soon.

Do a course online. I'm learning a language with CityLit. They are great and I highly recommend them.

CityLit

The Language Tutor on YouTube is very good, I watch his videos and use Duoling too. I trued Babbel but didn't really like it.

Another Duolingo fan here, very user friendly and engaging

Another vote for Duolingo - nearly 5 years and I can hold a conversation (if the other person takes it slowly!)

Another app I just started is Memrise - it's good because they do a Castilian course with real people speaking in a natural way which is good for getting your ear tuned in.

If you want to listen in the car try podcasts - Duolingo have loads and I've heard Coffee Break Spanish (IIRC) is good. Juan Fernández (Español Con Juan) is really good too.

Along with apps like Duolingo, you can quite often change the language on Netflix/Prime, or add on subtitles in your other language... useful for getting used to hearing it spoken normally!
You could try audiobooks for something to listen to also. Choose a book you know the story of in English and you might be surprised at how quickly you start to understand and recognise words.
I'm listening to Harry Potter in German at the moment!

If you don't like pushing buttons, I'm not sure Duolingo will be any better than Babbel, but definitely worth giving it a go. I use Duolingo alongside actual language classes (online, over Zoom, as not available locally), as it's a different practice- i also use it to keep my hand in with a language I learnt at school before I lose it entirely. It's useful, but it's not the same as actual lessons for me - also, Duolingo doesn't really talk about grammar, it's very much about repeating patterns. I like grammar, and it helps me understand what I'm learning (yes, I might be doing complex verbs, but which complex tense(s)?) so I have got a grammar book alongside Duolingo. But for other people, the lack of focus on grammar is a great - you do still do it, it's just you go through the pattern without it really explaining.

But I'm sure there will be other online resources - it's so much easier to learn foreign languages than back in the '80s, when you had to find out if a friend was going on holiday to a relevant country and if they could bring back a magazine or newspaper for you, or if you were really, really lucky, a cassette tape of something!