Let’s be honest, nearly everyone WANTS to know Spanish, because it would be a great resume builder, you could put all those awful years of high school Spanish to use, and you could talk sexy to hot Spanish boys, right? But the follow through, the actual learning of a language is not nearly as sexy. It’s actually really f’n hard, and boring, and confusing.  Trust me, it’s every day of my life.  However, that is why I am here in Spain, so I should probably put a little effort into it. Throughout that last few months I have discovered a few apps that make learning a bit easier, more fun, and a little more clear. While living in a Spanish speaking country is the best way to learn the languages, these apps, I think, do a pretty good job with some of the basics.

 

 

Duolingo-

This is my most used study app because it does a good job of building on my skill level while still being fun and interactive. You have to pass each level by getting enough coins. If you make 3 mistakes/lose all three lives then you have to start over. You also earn jewels for completing units, or completing a level without making any mistakes. With your jewels you can unlock hidden lessons, buy extra lives, and wager your jewels for double or nothing if you complete a 7-day streak of using the app.  You can add friends to your news streams and track their progress as well. The app can be used online or on your phone and includes reading, writing, listening and speaking.  It has good variety, it is user friendly and has game-like set up that keeps you challenged and intrigued.

 

 

Brainscape Spanish Verbs-

This app is not nearly as fun but very helpful as I find Spanish verbs are the most difficult part of the language. The app is a simple flash cards setup. The apps shows an English verb then you think of the Spanish verb and “flip” the card to see if you were right. The app reads aloud the Spanish verb so you can hear the pronunciation and then you are able to rank the verb based on how well you knew it. If you make a 1(not at all) the verb will show up in your deck of cards much more frequently, if you mark a 5 (perfectly), you will rarely see the word. The goal is to be able to rank a 5 on all the verbs. While learning the verb infinitives are very important, verb tenses are really the tricky part about Spanish. This app lets you pick the verb tense you want to study so when you flip the flashcard over, the verb is conjugated in that verb tense for the yo, tu, el/ella, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas forms.

 

 

Spanish Dict- While I use Duolingo to study, this is an app I use absolutely everyday to look up words. Either someone will say something in Spanish that I don’t know, or I will have an English word I don’t know how to translate. The app lets you search in both languages and has a few common phrases. In addition you can set it up to send a daily words to help you build on you vocabulary. Also, you are able to mark words as favorites which is helpful for those words that you’ve asked how to say 15 times and still can’t remember. Finally the app has dictionary game. Its very simple. It shows one word and provides 4 multiple-choice options.  It’s a quick easy way to learn more vocab.

 

 

Mind Snacks Spanish-

This is the most fun app I use and is an easy way to learn different themes such as numbers, colors, foods, greetings, etc. They have a few different games that are usually timed making them very interactive and exciting. I am pretty sure they are designed for little kids, which is probably why I enjoy them so much. As you improve and gain points you also unlock new games which keeps it new and exciting.

 

 

Bueno, Entonces

I think this is the only class I paid for, however they do offer a few free ones so you can decide if you like it and if it’s worth the money. Now I haven’t used this app as much as I should, likely because it takes a little more time to sit down and listen to the class all the way through and it is not interactive. This app is audio recordings of an English guy learning Spanish from an Argentina girl. The British guy is hilarious making it enjoyable to listen to. The app goes through a lesson and on the screen the dialog is written out highlighting verbs in one color, masculine and feminine in another, nouns in another, etc.  Every once in a while the audio will stop and this little sarcastic cartoon professor will pop up and explain some basic grammar that is being discussed. It’s a funny, color-coded, helpful, audio and visual learning tool.

 

 

All these apps are great, but again, the problem that always occurs is ACTUALLY practicing instead of just saying you’re going to practice.  It may be helpful to change your Facebook password to  “haveyoupracticedspanishtoday?” or setting an alarm on your phone. I’m living in the country and my Spanish is still shit, so I’m not making any promises but regardless, I don’t think these apps can hurt J buen suerte amigos!