Popular Sites & Blogs

Both Langbox App and the blog (yes, that’s us!) are clear examples of Spanish teaching materials that have been created with enthusiasm and dedication. From their content - well researched, varied, contemporary, engaging, and fun, to their graphic design and an easy-to-follow order, everything here is top-notch. 

The blog features almost a hundred articles on a variety of Spanish-related topics, with tons of useful vocabulary. In case you are unsure how to use the new words, practical examples with translations to English are provided for your convenience. You’ll find some great tips on how to study on your own as well!

We believe in a quality free language education, which is why all their content is available at no charge. Both the blog and the app. No subscription is necessary.

You probably wonder how the app works and whether it’s worth your while. It’s divided into big topic blocks (e.g. People), which are further separated into smaller topics (e.g., emotions, relationships, friendship, personality, and dating). Each topic comes with a handful of practical exercises, which can be conveniently solved either by clicking or tapping. 

As you progress, you obtain virtual medals and unlock new blocks of topics. Everything is very intuitive and straightforward. If you still have some doubts, simply check the app tutorial in the intro section.

Pros:

• all the materials are available for free
• practical and interesting content
• easy to follow app exercises
• light and dark screen mode for additional comfort
• bookmark your favorite phrases

Cons:

• no dictionary included
• no writing exercises (yet)

SpanishDict is one of the best and most complete free Spanish learning resources on the web. Their website is packed with valuable materials and features that are just a click away! Do you want to translate a sentence or a phrase? You can do it right there, just by typing it in. 

Are you looking for verb conjugation tables? Look no further; simply write the verb you need and see all the possible forms it has. Vocabulary bank, grammar video lessons, pronunciation guide - you name it! Whether you are a student, a teacher, or simply a Spanish enthusiast, make sure to add SpanishDict to your favorites.

Registered users can track their progress streak online and have a word of the day sent to their email to keep them motivated and always learning. And if you decided to go prime (for as little as 4.99 USD in an annual scheme), you’ll not only get rid of all the ads but also gain access to additional printout study materials. 

Pros:

• an extensive variety of resources
• user-friendly and straightforward website structure 
• iOS and Android apps available for download

Cons:

• the offline version of the app only for Premium users
• no blog

This website and the blog are run by language specialists from Medellin, Colombia, where BaseLang also has a school of Spanish. They offer two different Spanish courses (Real World and Grammarless) that can be taken either via zoom or in-person at their local premises in Medellin. 

Their Real World teaching program is based on one-on-one classes with native speakers, with the flexibility to book lessons at any time and work with several different tutors who can either propose their own teaching plan or work with a curriculum of your preference.

On the other hand, Grammarless uses a language learning concept that imitates that of a little child, with no grammar explanations whatsoever. According to Baselang, the progress happens up to four times faster than with any other method. 

A great addition to the Spanish courses is the blog with dozens of entries explaining both grammar and vocabulary concepts. The success stories you’ll find there are truly motivating!

Pros: 

• very developed blog with valuable posts
• additional materials available for download
• a support section with answers to common technical questions about the courses

Cons:

• no other study material available online

The Spanish Experiment is a younger sister of other successful online language websites: the French and The Italian Experiment, The German Project, and The Fable Cottage by developers from New Zealand. 

Its main feature is, of course, Spanish lessons in the form of written explanations of topics that include grammar (question words, articles, plurals, adjectives, etc.) and vocabulary (feelings, greetings, directions, and so on). As the site is still relatively new, the lessons are not that many, but the ones that are available look thoroughly prepared, with lots of practical audio examples).

Apart from online Spanish lessons, The Spanish Experiment also features reviews of popular Spanish courses, as well as a special section of adapted short stories in Spanish. Each story comes with an audio version, and its Spanish text is conveniently translated to English. 

Pros:

• all the text-based content is free
• well designed with funny illustrations and lots of audio materials

Cons:

• videos of the stories are only available at The Fable Cottage with a subscription

This website’s motto is “Learn Spanish in The Right Way,” which gives a hint about its main product: language courses with their own methodology. There are 7 of them, to be exact, the main one being The Complete Beginner Spanish Course (49.90 USD). To accompany it, one can also purchase a course on verb conjugation, on Spanish vocabulary, reading and listening in Spanish, and a grammar course, each costing around 30 USD.

You’re not looking for paid study materials? Then you’ll surely appreciate the extensive Spanish blog that is absolutely free of charge. It’s divided into grammar and vocabulary sections and includes lots of valuable tips and examples. 

A cherry on top is a collection of 100+ Resources to Improve Your Spanish (both as pdf and audio files) that MyDailySpanish is giving out for free in exchange for your name and email address. 

Pros:

• high-quality blog 
• additional free resources if you subscribe to a mailing list

Cons:

• no possibility to take a glimpse into their courses

This website offers learning courses not only for Spanish but also for nine other languages, all based on the same methodology: storytelling. The mind behind this unique method is Olly Richards, a teacher and an author of over 30 language books. 

“Learn Spanish Through Story” is a self-study program that should bring substantial results in just 12 months. Everything you’d like to know about the course is explained in the extensive article on the homepage. 

Does the website offer any free study materials? Of course, it does! The section Spanish Learning Tips is a blog with lots and lots of helpful stuff. The posts can be filtered according to their category: apart from the typical speaking, reading, writing, listening, and grammar sections, you’ll also find tips to keep motivated, great memory hacks as well as some cool tips on strategy and method. 

Do blog posts seem like not enough? How about a Spanish podcast, also 100% free? You can either listen to the episodes on the website or have them delivered to your email. 

Pros:

• useful and diverse Spanish blog 
• free podcast
• multilanguage
• run by young specialists passionate about languages
• lots of recommendations from previous students

Cons:

• no sample lesson without providing credit card info from the offered Spanish course is available

This website is another hidden treasure for those who wish to improve their Spanish in a fun and inexpensive way. By registering, you get 7-day trial access to a massive collection of materials, the main ones being video and audio podcast-style lessons, that are graded according to the level you’ve chosen. 

To make it easier for you to find a topic or a type of lesson that you most like, there is a convenient filtering tool in the Lesson Library that sorts the available materials according to their name, popularity, and release date. Additionally, you can pick between audio or video lessons (or both) and decide whether you are looking for something about grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing, or something conversational.

Along with your subscription (starts at 4 USD / month), you also gain access to a substantial selection of vocabulary flashcards with tons of practical examples, a grammar bank, an online dictionary as well as lists of most common words that can be conveniently added to your personal word bank. 

Another fantastic feature offered by SpanishPod101 for the Premium PLUS users (23 USD/ month) is the possibility to work with your own teacher through an incorporated onsite messenger. 

Pros:

• well-prepared, engaging, and varied audio and video lessons
• the methodology focused on practical expressions
• lots of additional materials
• good value for money
• mobile app available both for Android and iOS

Cons: 

• the grammar section could be more developed 

One quick look at the Loecsen website, and you’ll immediately know what it is: an online and FREE language course, available for 41 different languages. 

If you are a complete beginner planning to travel to a Spanish-speaking country and you want to pick up some basic expressions to help you deal with everyday situations - Loecsen lessons might be just what you’ve been looking for.

Divided into 17 topics, including basic conversations, greetings, feelings, family, transport, hotel, restaurant, and such, the website offers a bunch of useful expressions for each of them. The terms are read aloud with a Spaniard accent and accompanied by simple images to help you understand their meaning. Translation between any two languages is also available. You can go back to each word or phrase as many times as you want and record your own voice as well. 

Will you become fluent in Spanish with Loecsen classes? Not really. But you will surely learn a few useful phrases that can prove really handy when spending your summer in Latin America or Spain. 

Pros:

• 100% free
• 41 language versions available
• useful situational content

Cons:

• quite basic and limited
• no other resources available on the website
• graphics look a bit amateur

When first launched back in 1998, StudySpanish was one of the pioneers in educational websites. Over 20 years later, it is clear that the website has come a long way. Very well organized and user-friendly, it is definitely worth taking a look at. 

Their main product is a course of Spanish called “Camino” with both desktop and mobile app versions, consisting of online quizzes, podcasts, and tests. Even though most of the course materials are available for free, only the premium membership (9.99 USD per month) will give you full access to its contents.

Is the “Camino” worth it? It certainly looks well designed, with three different levels, incorporating both vocabulary and grammar units and focusing on situational dialogues and lots of drills (substitutional, replacement, and translation). The whole methodology is presented as “guided imitation,” and according to the success stories by former students - it seems to be working quite well.

Pros:

• unique teaching approach
• many materials available for free
• additional and helpful content (verb drills, grammar, pronunciation)
• teacher membership options
• directory of Spanish schools worldwide

Cons:

• some materials missing or links not working
• drills have been reported as difficult to follow and buggy

A cute little fox will welcome you from the home page, showing the offered content: free Spanish dialogues, free online lessons, and bonus materials. What’s in there? Let’s have a look. 

The Spanish dialogues section features six different conversations, about two-minute each. The transcript and the translation to English are available to make sure you don’t miss anything. Judging by the level of difficulty, they are aimed at A2-B1 students. 

As for the lessons, they are focused on grammar content and include topics like different tenses, object pronouns, formal commands, and specific verbs. They are written in the form of blog entries with embedded youtube links.

All in all, the website looks promising, but it seems that very little content has been added after 2019. 

Pros: 

• easy to access and well-structured content
• free
• bonus content with reviews of different Spanish courses and learning hacks

Cons:

• the authors seem to be Spanish learners themselves, rather than linguist specialists
• lessons and dialogues seem to be relatively few

“Lingolia is for people of all ages who wish to learn foreign languages” - that’s how the team behind the Lingolia project introduces themselves on their Facebook page. Judging by their official website - they sure make every effort to help not only Spanish learners but also those who are trying their chances at English, German, French, and Esperanto (!)

Looking through their materials, I was quite surprised to find out how much importance they give to grammar contents. Don’t get me wrong - I am a grammar freak myself, but the common trend in online language learning is to reduce grammar focus to a minimum. Seeing the well-developed and organized content of the Lingolia grammar section was a pleasant surprise. Each entry comes with a straightforward and easy-to-follow explanation and exercises.

The vocabulary section, although a bit smaller, is built in the same way and features not only the most common daily words and phrases but also well-researched Spanish idioms, confusing pairs of words, and - my absolute favorite - a convenient yearly calendar with ten keywords to learn each month. 

If you like how Lingolia materials are structured, you can access hundreds of more by paying the membership fee (10.49 EUR for three months).

Pros:

• simple and user-friendly layout
• large grammar content
• a large section with free materials

Cons:

• exercises seem to be always of the same type (gap filling, choosing the correct alternative)

Idiomas gratis means “Languages for Free,” and it is precisely what the website has to offer. Even though Spanish is still their relatively young child (compared with Portuguese, Italian, French, English, or German), it already features quite an impressive collection of useful links for everybody who wishes to learn this language without spending a dime. 

Whether you are looking for free Spanish books in .pdf format, free online courses, or youtube classes - Idiomas Gratis will show you exactly where to find them with convenient links. They will also lead you to Spanish newspapers and magazines, radio and online television channels, as well as podcasts for the learners of this language. 

Pros:

• great catalog of handy links for Spanish learners
• options for other languages available 

Cons:

• no on-site materials, only links (at least for Spanish)

The Spanish Trainer website is a personal project of a teacher who goes by the name of Carolyn and who has a degree in Spanish Language and Literature. She offers on-site and online classes, one-on-one and in small groups. The website serves as a scheduling tool.

What if you are not looking for classes? In that case, you might still hang around and read through Carolyn’s Spanish Blog 365. Why the name? For the simple reason that it features precisely 365 posts, each for one day of the year. They are conveniently arranged in categories and cover grammar and vocabulary topics for each of the three proficiency levels that Carolyn separates her students into.

Pros:

• bite-sized blog entries with useful examples
• topics ranging from grammar to vocabulary, culture, and travel tips

Cons:

• most blog entries are for level 1
• not much information about the class methodology

Aren’t podcasts great for language learning? Of course, they are - fun, engaging, and communicative; they use everyday language and show accurate pronunciation. 

Folks on Spanish Obsessed know that very well, which is why they’ve tailored complete Spanish courses in this way. Ten different levels with hours of audio, tapescripts, and exercises will take you from absolute beginner to advanced. If you want, you can also complement the individual study in Spanish Obsessed Academia and join a small group of learners in an online class with a real teacher. 

Apart from the podcast courses and online classes that are only available for paying users (except for a few sample podcasts you get when you register), Spanish Obsessed also offers a free study resources section with a blog and in-depth study guides. 

We’ve looked through those and found some real gems: Spanish opinion phrases, using Kindle for vocabulary practice, and an introduction to Spanish and Latin American Music.

Pros: 

• easy-to-navigate website
• sample podcast lessons for registered users
• interesting blog content
• possibility to download content into your account
• progress tracking

Cons:

• 24.99 USD per month for unlimited access to the audio courses
• no trial class at the Academy

Learn Spanish Now is another website packed with partly free study materials: flashcards, quizzes, crosswords, and other games, its own podcast with short audio exercises, and - last but not least - a Spanish blog. 

The blog posts are conveniently tagged according to the level and the type of content they cover (grammar, listening, vocabulary, and such). The entire blog takes up 37 pages shows that there is plenty of material to choose from. If you like the articles, you can sign up and have every new one delivered straight to your email.

Those who like to read in Spanish, study with a handy coursebook, or get ready to pass a Spanish language test will surely appreciate a vast collection of titles and their Amazon links.

On the downside, not everything is for free on Learn Spanish Now. The premium service that allows access to additional learning materials as well as online tutoring, assessment test, and a personalized weekly working plan costs 30 EUR per month. 

Pros:

• well-developed and extensive blog
• a selection of free materials
• valuable links to purchase additional Spanish books
• easy to understand level description based on the CEFR scale 

Cons

• some of the materials only available for subscribed users
• occasional typos on the website