Apps for Learning Spanish
25 February 2023
As a second-year Spanish student at Victoria University of Wellington, I understand the struggles of learning a new language. Fortunately, I have discovered some excellent Spanish learning applications that have helped me improve my language skills.
In this blog post, I will be sharing with you the applications I use regularly to enhance my knowledge of Spanish. Whether you’re a beginner or an intermediate learner, these resources can help you learn and practice Spanish at your own pace, anywhere and anytime.
Spanish Dict
This is the primary application that I use. I use it everyday, and will usually have it open in my lecture, should I need to find the translation of an unfamiliar word.
If you un-mute the video, you can hear the spoken Spanish from the app.
The main highlights include:
- Translation of words - it will give you the translation, including the type of conjugation that is applied. With Spanish to English translations, sometimes there can be multiple conjugations that are possible, and this app shows you all of them.
- Translation of sentences - the app uses three different translation engines (if needed) so that you can be more certain that the translation is correct
- Grammar lessons, including video tutorials. Also documents describing the different topics of grammar.
- Conjugation drills - these are quizzes that you can choose which tenses and types of conjugation that you want to practice.
I rate Spanish Dict as a must have for any student studying Spanish. The app is available as both a iOS/Android app as well as a webpage.
HelloTalk
My primary use of this app is to connect with native Spanish speakers.
HelloTalk helps you to find native Spanish speakers who want to learn English. You can read and write, as well as speak and listen. Because everyone is learning, people are very patient with each other, and want to help.
In addition, you also get to meet people who live in countries that you’ve barely heard of, and in circumstances that are very different from your own. You will learn more than just a new language here.
A few of the other features I use include:
- Correction of errors
- Transcription of recorded audio messages
- Translation of written messages, and the transcriptions if necessary
- Voice chat rooms
- Video chat rooms (if you’re really brave)
HelloTalk is available primarily as an iOS/Android app, but there is also have a web view of the chat functionality.
Dreaming Spanish
The primary goal of Dreaming Spanish is to improve your listening comprehension.
The app publishes several videos every day, and these are segmented into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. The videos are usually between 10 and 20 minutes long, and cover a wide variety of topics.
Examples of videos include:
- Places I wouldn’t go back to in the US (as an Argentinian)
- For or against: Everyone should become vegan
- Your first lesson in VR: Pablo’s turtles
Some videos are interesting, others are boring. But, because there are new videos published every day, there’s always something worth watching.
I try and watch 15 minutes of these every day, and it has certainly helped.
Speechling
Speechling helps with speaking and listening comprehension.
It has recordings of short phrases in Spanish, and also a recording of the English equivalents. You can have the app playing Spanish and English phrases while you go for a run, or wash the dishes, etc.
ChatGPT
The newest app that I use is ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a tool based on a machine learning model, that you can ask questions. It will normally give a very useful answer.
Here is an example of an interaction with ChatGPT:
Question: Why do some Spanish verbs use an indirect object pronoun, and not a direct object pronoun?
In Spanish, verbs can take direct objects, indirect objects, or sometimes both. The choice between direct and indirect object pronouns depends on the role the pronoun plays in the sentence and the specific verb being used.
Direct objects are nouns or pronouns that receive the action of the verb directly, answering the question “what?” or “whom?” in relation to the verb. Direct object pronouns in Spanish are: me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las.
Indirect objects, on the other hand, indicate the person or entity for whom or to whom the action is done. They typically answer the question “to/for whom?” or “to/for what?” in relation to the verb. Indirect object pronouns in Spanish are: me, te, le, nos, os, les.
Some Spanish verbs specifically require an indirect object pronoun because they involve an action done to or for someone else, or because the action has an indirect recipient. For example:
- Gustar (to like) - This verb uses an indirect object pronoun because it’s structured differently from English. In Spanish, it literally means “to be pleasing to” someone. So, instead of saying “I like the book,” you say “The book is pleasing to me” (Me gusta el libro), where “me” is an indirect object pronoun.
- Dar (to give) - This verb usually has both a direct and an indirect object, as you give something (direct object) to someone (indirect object). For example, “Le di el libro” (I gave the book to him/her).
- Enviar (to send) - Similarly to “dar,” this verb often has both direct and indirect objects, as you send something (direct object) to someone (indirect object). For example, “Le envié una carta” (I sent a letter to him/her).
These are just a few examples, and there are many other Spanish verbs that use indirect object pronouns. It’s important to learn and recognize the different structures and roles of direct and indirect objects in Spanish to use the appropriate pronouns when needed.
Question: What about the verb hablar?
The verb “hablar” (to speak or to talk) in Spanish typically takes a direct object when referring to a language, topic, or subject of conversation, and it takes an indirect object when referring to the person with whom one is speaking. Here are some examples to illustrate the different uses of “hablar”:
Direct object pronoun:
- Hablo español. (I speak Spanish.)
- No hablo mucho de política. (I don’t talk much about politics.)
In these examples, “español” and “política” are the direct objects because they are the topics or subjects of the conversation.
Indirect object pronoun:
- Le hablo a mi madre todos los días. (I talk to my mother every day.)
- ¿Me puedes hablar más tarde? (Can you talk to me later?)
In these examples, “mi madre” and “me” are indirect objects because they are the people with whom one is speaking. Notice that the preposition “a” is often used in Spanish to introduce the indirect object when it’s a person, even when an indirect object pronoun is also used (as in “Le hablo a mi madre”).
However, it’s worth noting that when the verb “hablar” is used without a specific object, it doesn’t require a direct or indirect object pronoun. For example:
- Hablamos durante horas. (We talked for hours.)
- Mi abuela habla mucho. (My grandmother talks a lot.)
I found the response from ChatGPT to be very helpful, because I was having trouble understanding why sometimes an indirect object pronoun is used with the verb hablar. The response helped me understand the different scenarios by which the pronoun choice might happen.
One cavet about ChatGPT though - sometimes its answers are not correct. It will confidently make incorrect statements, so you require some context to know if a response is likely to be factual or incorrect.
The use of ChatGPT for learning Spanish probably deserves its own blog article, or series of articles. It is very powerful, and can provide a lot of help to Spanish students.
Podcasts
These are my favourite Spanish Language podcasts:
- Duolingo Spanish podcast
- Easy Spanish podcast
- Que Onda (Wellington radio station)
- News in slow Spanish
Useful emails
- Real Fast Spanish will send an email every few days, containing links to helpful articles. For example, the theme of today’s email was asking questions in Spanish.
- SpanishDict sends a handy “word of the day” email.
Apps that I do not use anymore
- Duolingo - the app starts off quite fun, but after a while I found I wasn’t learning that much. I managed a 365 day streak, but it didn’t help.
- Google Translate - it’s very accessible, but there are much more accurate translation engines that work well with Spanish.
Summary
In summary, there are a variety of different applications available for the learning of Spanish. The apps I find most useful are Spanish Dict, HelloTalk and Dreaming Spanish. When I have a monotonos activity to perform, I play a podcast or turn on the Speechling app.