Spanish LANGUAGE LEARNING GUIDE

Spanish is one of the most popular foreign languages in Australia. In fact, according to the latest census, there are approximately 140,800 people living in the country who speak Spanish at home, which means it’s the ninth most commonly used language after English. As you can imagine, there are plenty of benefits of learning such a widespread language, which range from better job opportunities to a more active social life, so if you’re looking for your next personal challenge, learning this language is definitely the way to go.

On top of this, Spanish is spoken in 20 countries, which include places like Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua and, of course, Spain, so it’s an ideal language skill to have if you’re planning on travelling to Latin America, Europe or the Caribbean. What’s more, Spanish can open the door for you to learn other languages, as once you are able to communicate fluently, you’ll be able to understand many words and phrases of other Romance languages like Italian, Catalan or Portuguese, which makes it a great foreign language to learn if you’re planning on becoming multilingual in the future.

In short, if you decide to learn Spanish this year, your life will improve in many different ways. To make it easier for you to become a proficient speaker, we’ve put up a guide you can follow to reach your language goals and achieve fluency in no time.

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1. Why Learn Spanish Today

Still not sure why you should start learning Spanish? If that’s the case, take a look at some of the most important reasons why you should become bilingual this year.

To Take Your Career to the Next Level

Are you looking for ways to access better-paid positions in Australia? If so, you should definitely learn Spanish, as it will allow you to apply for amazing positions in Spanish or Latin American companies that operate from Australia like Applus+, Ferrovial Construction or Global Exchange that require you to be bilingual. What’s more, if you already have a corporate job, becoming a fluent Spanish speaker will increase the chances of getting a promotion, since you’ll become an asset to most companies wanting to expand abroad and will be able to occupy more important roles. Alternatively, if you have a business in Australia and you’re trying to attract more clients who are part of the foreign-born community, speaking Spanish will allow you to target the more than 123,000 Australians who are of full or partial Spanish descent, and you’ll be able to take advantage of the economic relations between Australia and all the Hispanic countries to increase your sales.

To Get to Know Hispanic Cultures

Learning another language, such as Spanish, also helps you understand cultures different from your own, so if you’ve always had an interest in the way people in countries like Spain, Chile, Uruguay or Mexico live, you should definitely become bilingual. Simply put, being able to communicate in Spanish while you’re visiting Spanish-speaking countries will enable you to shift from being an observer to being an active participant, which means you’ll be able to engage in all sorts of conversations with natives and learn lots of interesting things about the traditions and customs, which will increase your understanding and appreciation for these places. On top of that, speaking Spanish will allow you to read great works of Spanish literature like Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote in its original form, as well as explore Spanish and Latin cinema without needing subtitles, so if you want to really get to know Hispanic cultures deeply and enjoy all their art expressions, learning Spanish is the way to go.

To Connect with Relatives

If you’re one of the Australians who have family members who live in Spanish-speaking countries and you want to connect with them, the smartest thing you can do is start learning their language. As you probably know, not everyone speaks English in Hispanic countries, so if you truly want to get to know your relatives on a more personal level and find out all you can about their lifestyle, their traditions, and the way they see the world, the best thing you can do is achieve fluency in their language. Once you do, you’ll be able to communicate freely without having to worry about language barriers, and you’ll be able to understand and value their culture, which will make you closer to them and allow you to develop a much deeper bond.

“My lessons with Veronica have gone very well. She quickly assessed my current level and tailored my sessions accordingly, which made the learning experience feel productive and comfortable. Veronica is energetic, and has an excellent teaching style that keeps each lesson interesting. I always feel supported and motivated to continue improving.”

Afra Famili - Spanish course in Brisbane

2. How To Learn Spanish More Effectively

Starting to learn Spanish can be a daunting process; however, if you follow the next recommendations, you’ll become a fluent speaker in next to no time.

Find a Native Tutor

While not everyone can escape to Latin America or Spain for months at a time to learn the language by immersion, if you get a native Spanish tutor, you’ll get to spend time with a native speaker every week, which will make a big difference in your language learning journey. In addition to getting weekly exposure to the language, you’ll get to have someone to hold you accountable to reach your language goals and give you all the support you need, which can be really helpful, especially when you feel stuck or frustrated. Learning with a teacher will also ensure you get as much feedback as possible and have someone create compelling Spanish lessons for you using updated resources, which can make a really big impact on the speed at which you learn. On top of that, making a connection with a trainer will give you a deeper understanding of Hispanic culture and allow you to get a unique insight into the way Latin and Spanish people see the world, and that’s something you won’t find by studying on your own.

Talk to Natives as much as Possible

The only way to be comfortable speaking in Spanish is to engage in as many conversations in the language as possible. Just like travelling to Spanish-speaking countries helps you learn Spanish by immersion, talking to natives on a regular basis is ideal to boost your conversational skills, work on your pronunciation and develop your listening skills. To do this, you can look for language exchange events near your city or town by using websites like Meetup, or if you’re on the shy side, you can make online friends from places like Spain, Mexico, Argentina or Peru on Interpals, a free website that helps you find native speakers from all over the world.

Use Language Apps in your Free Time

In addition to taking Spanish lessons and talking to natives, another thing you can do to work on your language skills is to use language apps. Apps can be really helpful to expand your vocabulary and learn basic grammar, so even if you can devote five or ten minutes a day, they can make a big difference to how fast you acquire the language. Although there are plenty of free apps you can try, here are some of our top picks:

There’s a reason why so many people use Duolingo, and that’s because it helps language students learn new words and phrases in a fun way. It offers many free lessons that are divided into different topics like work, education and travel, and in each of these units, you’ll find tons of exercises that will help you memorise these new words, such as multiple-choice questions, matching an image to a word, rearranging words into a sentence, and more.
Rosetta Stone is another app you can try, which will help you learn Spanish by exposing you to the language in a way that imitates how native speakers pick up their own language, so instead of learning Spanish through English, you’ll be doing it from scratch. In addition to its original way of helping you acquire the language, it has an amazing speech recognition feature that’s designed to recognise the pronunciation of non-native speakers. Although the free trial only lasts a few days, and after that, the price tag is pretty hefty, this is definitely an app you should consider using.
Looking for an app that helps you understand Spanish grammar? If so, you should definitely try Lingodeer. In addition to offering many units that are divided by difficulty, this app stands out because it features a lot of free grammar tips and explanations that can be really helpful to improve your skills, and it includes high-quality native Spanish audio.
If you find it hard to remember new Spanish phrases, you should try Memrise, an app specially made to help you memorise new words in other languages. This app has many different free courses you can take, like Learn Basic Mexican Spanish, Spanish Vocab for Frequency, and Advanced Spanish, so no matter how fluent you are, you should give Memrise a chance.

Take Spanish Level Tests

Language level tests are one of the most useful resources out there, not only for assessing how good your skills are but also to measure your progress over time. If you take one before you start a language course, you’ll have a much clearer idea of what you need to work on, as well as what kind of resources you should use. On our website, you’ll find a completely FREE Spanish Language Test you can take as many times as you want, which consists of 70 questions that cover different topics and that you can answer in less than fifteen minutes.

Immerse Yourself in Hispanic Culture

Lastly, if you truly want to improve your skills and expand your knowledge of the language, you should immerse yourself in the different Spanish-speaking cultures as much as possible from day one. There are plenty of ways you can do this, like watching YouTubers who speak the language, watching films and TV shows, listening to podcasts, or reading the news in Spanish. By doing these things, you’ll make progress in the language much more quickly and discover many fascinating facts about Hispanic cultures that can’t be found in books. Don’t know where to start? Check out some of these useful links.

There are plenty of amazing podcasts you can listen to to learn Spanish. If you’re looking for beginner-friendly ones you can start listening to right now, you should check out A-Zero To A-Hero, which is hosted by two native speakers who cover different aspects of the language, such as verb conjugation, pronouns, and many others. If you find it hard to understand native speakers, you can also try News in Slow Spanish, where the hosts, who focus on Latin American Spanish, talk about the most important news and current events that are taking place in Latin America. As the name suggests, the hosts speak very slowly, so it’s definitely a great podcast to listen to if you need to develop your listening skills from scratch.

Want some extra links? Here are some extra recommendations:

If you enjoy watching YouTube videos, there are many channels that are worth exploring, like Lirica - Learn Spanish with Music, which focuses on helping people learn the language through Spanish music, or Butterfly Spanish, which covers the most important aspects of the language like grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Another one you can check out is Español con Juan, where a native speaker called Juan shares useful tips and recommendations to learn the language, and also Why Not Spanish?, which is hosted by a Spanish teacher and a student who’ll teach you a lot about Spanish culture.
Fortunately for you, if you’re a cinephile, Netflix offers an amazing range of movies in Spanish you can enjoy. If you’re in the mood for a mystery thriller, you can watch Contratiempo, which follows the story of a wealthy businessman called Adrián Doria who is blamed for the death of his lover and tries to prove his innocence with the help of his lawyer. On the other hand, if you are looking for a good rom-com, you should watch Ahí Te Encargo, a film about a married couple that is finding it hard to decide whether they want to have kids or not and end up having to take care of a baby that’s not theirs.
In order to develop your reading skills, a smart thing you can do is start reading the news in Spanish every day. This is a great way to expand your vocabulary and improve your grammar, but also to stay updated with all of the things that are going on in Spain and Latin America. One of the most well-known newspapers many Spanish speakers read is BBC Mundo, which covers a lot of different topics such as Economy, Culture, Sports, and International News. If you prefer to read Spanish newspapers, you should check out El País, RTVE or El Mundo. On the other hand, if you want to read news about Latin America, you can read CNN en Español, Noticias Univision or La Nación.

3. Tips to Learn Spanish Grammar

Master the Present Tense First

Conjugating verbs in Spanish can be challenging for English speakers, so if you’re just beginning, you should focus on mastering the simplest and most commonly used tense in Spanish, the present tense. Although it might feel a bit restrictive at first, if you only focus on the present tense for at least three months and ignore the rest of the tenses, you’ll be able to understand how verb conjugation works, and it will give you the training you need to tackle more complex tenses in the future. Fortunately, even if you can only use the present tense, you can still refer to the past or the future by using words like ayer, which means yesterday, or mañana, which means tomorrow. Once you feel comfortable enough using this tense, you can move on to past and future tenses. However, when you reach more challenging tenses like the subjunctive form of verbs, you should get the help of a qualified Spanish teacher who can help you understand it.

Write Down the Grammatical Gender of Nouns

Because there are different grammatical genders in Spanish, it’s sometimes hard to remember if a noun is feminine or masculine. Although there are some useful rules you can learn, like the one that says nouns ending in “o” tend to be masculine, whereas the ones ending in “a” tend to be feminine, there are still many exceptions, so a useful thing you can do is write down the grammatical gender of a noun every time you learn a new word in Spanish. You can do this in a notebook or in a notes app like ClevNote; the important thing is that you do this often, so you’ll be able to remember which article you need to use with a particular noun, as well as how to write the ending of certain adjectives that change depending on the grammatical gender of a noun.

Read as Much as You can

One of the most underrated ways of mastering Spanish grammar is simply to read a lot in Spanish. This is because when you read, you learn how grammar works, and the more you read, the more easily you’ll start to recognise different patterns within the language. It doesn’t really matter what you read; just keep in mind that the source of whatever it is you’re reading is trustworthy. To make sure you don’t read something that has grammatical errors, make sure to read things like coursebooks, newspapers, and blogs written by native speakers, like the Language Trainers España blog, which has many interesting articles about Spanish and other languages you’ll really enjoy. If this sounds too challenging, you can start with simpler things, like children’s books or comics, and gradually move on to more challenging readings.

4. Key Phrases in Spanish You Should Learn

In order to sound like a native, there are certain words you have to learn. To help you get ready for your first conversation with a Spanish speaker, here’s a list of some of the most commonly used phrases you need to know.

	English version	Spanish version
Greetings	How are you?	¿Qué tal?
	What’s up?	¿Qué pasa?
	How are you doing?	¿Cómo te va?
	Good	Bien
	Very good	Muy bien
	Not so good	No tan bien
	And you?	¿Y tú?
	My name is…	Mi nombre es…
	What’s your name?	¿Cómo te llamas?
	Nice to meet you	Mucho gusto
	Hello	Hola
Polite Phrases	Thank you	Gracias
	You’re welcome	De nada
	No problem	No hay de qué
	Excuse me	Disculpe
	I’m sorry	Lo siento
Saying goodbye	Goodbye	Adiós/Chau
	See you tomorrow	Nos vemos mañana
	See you later	Hasta luego
	See you soon	Hasta pronto
Interests, jobs and hobbies	What do you like to do?	¿Qué te gusta hacer?
	What are your hobbies?	¿Cuáles son tus pasatiempos?
	What do you do in your free time?	¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre?
	I like…/ I don’t like…	Me gusta…/ No me gusta…
	I love…	Me encanta…
	What kind of music do you like?	¿Que tipo de música te gusta?
	What’s your job?	¿En qué trabajas?
	Do you like your job?	¿Te gusta tu trabajo?
	I work at…	Trabajo en…

If you want to learn more useful phrases, take a look at these Slang Essentials: 10 Fun Spanish Slang Words for Your Trip to Latin America.

Here are a few extra must-read articles for Spanish learners:

Looking for fun Spanish lessons to boost your vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation? If so, the smartest thing you can do is book a language course at Language Trainers! Whether you want to learn Spanish to work abroad, relocate to another country or for school, we’ll match you with a suitable tutor who’ll create the perfect personalised course just for you! All you need to do to get started learning with us is send us a quick enquiry now, and we’ll contact you within 24 hours!