9 Great Podcasts To Help You Learn Spanish In 2024
- Written byJada LòpezJada LòpezSpanish teacher, translator🎓 B.A., Translation and Interpreting English and Spanish, Universidad de Granada🎓 M.A., Formación de Profesores de Español como Lengua Extranjera (ELE), Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Passionate language teacher and translator. Wife, mother of 3 and amateur surfer. - Read time11 mins
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Podcasts are one of the Spanish resources that completely changed my learning experience and gave me a level of comprehension that I really lacked as a complete beginner.
For most people who are learning Spanish, listening can be one of the trickiest parts of getting accustomed to the language.
I know. It’s definitely no easy task.
Tuning your ear to new words and phrases that seem to blur together when spoken at full pace by native speakers can seem impossible. If you’re just starting out, you might be thinking do they have to speak so fast?
Podcasts are brilliant resources to get beyond this hurdle.
In this post, I’ll share a handful of the very best podcasts available for Spanish learners. I’ll follow it up with why Spanish podcasts are important and how you can benefit from them.
Also make sure to see my comprehensive list of top Spanish courses as well.
Table Of Contents
Best podcasts to teach you Spanish
There’s no question. Spanish podcasts are amazing.
They can make a real difference to your listening comprehension. Here’s my list (in order of preference) of top podcasts for learning Spanish.
Notes In Spanish
Notes in Spanish is an excellent resource for honing your listening and speaking skills. With over 40 million downloads, it’s easy to see how popular Notes in Spanish really is! Ben, from England, and Marina, from Madrid, present this comprehensive selection of podcasts, bringing authentic, real life conversations to your ears.
These conversations are based on topics that actually happen in the day-to-day lives of Spanish speakers. From dialogues on current affairs and Spanish culture, to news and travel, Ben and Marina provide the ideal way to immerse yourself in Spanish ways of life with these natural conversations.
What’s unique: Not only does Notes in Spanish have a whole selection of podcasts aimed at beginners, intermediate learners and advanced speakers, it also features worksheet packs that further enhance your learning experience. The worksheets aid your fluency and really help to consolidate your learning, taking you to the next level faster. You’ll also even get access to a free ‘Kickstart Your Spanish’ report when you subscribe.
SpanishPod101
SpanishPod101 is the best way to begin speaking and actively listening from lesson one. It’s ideal for fine tuning your listening skills in a range of contexts, and the great thing about SpanishPod101 is its variety of speakers. Natives from Mexico and Peru feature in this series of episodes, giving you a head start if you’re keen to learn how the Spanish language is spoken across the world.
What’s good about SpanishPod101 is that you’ll receive a slowed down version of the audio as well as line-by-line breakdowns. This is ideal if you’re a beginner or lower intermediate learner who might be struggling to grasp each word.
Going beyond that, SpanishPod101 is the ideal podcast for practising your pronunciation and learning exactly how each word should sound — with voice-recording tools, comparing your own pronunciation to native speakers couldn’t get easier! So, with its genuine conversations in Spanish and wide range of cultural references from all around the world, SpanishPod101 will get you listening and help you to advance.
What’s unique: An added bonus of SpanishPod101 is that you’ll also receive a huge number of resources. Not only will you get wordlists, you’ll also get flashcards and slideshows that will really enhance your learning experience!
Read SpanishPod101 review.
PodcastsInSpanish.com
Podcasts in Spanish exceeds many podcast sites for many reasons. As well as a huge range of dialogues and videos, (many of which can be accessed for free), you’ll also get an in-depth selection of resources to give your Spanish a little boost. These resources include worksheets and activities, which accompany the podcasts and really augment your listening level as you can put your listening skills into practice.
The podcasts are divided into three levels, which means you’ll easily find which dialogues are suited to you. They are also spoken by native Spanish speakers and are real conversations that take place in the everyday lives of Spanish natives.
As you’ll be taken through a selection of themes — from office vocabulary to topics on global warming and television programmes, Podcasts in Spanish really packs a language punch. It gets you actively listening to and engaging with the Spanish language.
The creative minds behind Podcasts in Spanish include Javier Leal Caballero — an official DELE examiner who has authored ‘Hoy Hablamos de…’ and co-authored ‘Etapas Plus’.
What’s unique: The extras and freebies provided by Podcasts in Spanish don’t require a subscription. You can dive into your Spanish learning experience without making any payments, and there is a large selection of dialogues available at the click of a button.
Duolingo Spanish Podcast
The Duolingo selection of podcasts can be accessed via Apple Podcasts and include a wide range of topics and themes. What’s great about Duolingo’s podcasts is the absolute variety you get. As well as subjects like ‘Leaving Venezuela’ and ‘Tattoo therapy’, you’ll begin listening to a truly unique set of dialogues that go off the beaten track and enrich your vocabulary… And they’re constantly adding new ones to their list!
Duolingo’s podcasts are entertaining. They’re ideal for lower intermediate Spanish learners with knowledge of a range of vocabulary and a comprehensive understanding of the Spanish past tense.
Bear in mind that when you’re listening to Duolingo’s podcasts, the stories are based on Latin American speakers, which differ in terms of their accent from those of European Spanish speakers. But with the ideal length and variety of topics, these dialogues are very engaging and fun!
What’s unique: Perfect for intermediate learners, Duolingo’s podcasts are authentic conversations and stories that are easy to understand. They help you immerse yourself in the Spanish language. If you’re a beginner listening to Duolingo’s podcasts, and find yourself getting stuck, you’ll like the summaries provided by the English narrator, which will help you understand the context of the story.
Practica Español
The vast number of videos and dialogues provided by Practicaespañol.com is astounding. But what’s even more amazing are the resources you can access on this site. It’s not only a site for podcasts — Spanish learners of all levels can benefit from Spanish videos to beef up their listening skills, in addition to the articles that accompany the videos and dialogues for those who want to practice for an exam.
As with many of the other podcasts on this list, Practicaespañol.com features a range of topics. Organised into various themes, they’re all current affairs happening across the world and in Spain, and are the ideal way to advance to the next level.
What you’ll also notice about Practicaespañol.com is that there’s a section where you can choose which level dialogues and resources you’d like to use. Each level is clearly indicated by the article and audio you’d like to access. So, from A1 to C2, Practicaespañol.com has you covered.
What’s unique: As the dialogues accompany their corresponding news article, you can follow along in the text if you miss a crucial part of the story. But what’s even more impressive is that Practicaespañol has other resources too, including helpful little hints about common grammatical errors, the vital differences between ser and estar and lists of vocabulary that will help you on your way to achieving Spanish fluency.
News In Slow Spanish
Want to listen to a selection of streaming news, take your vocabulary to the next level and immerse yourself in Spanish by listening? News in Slow Spanish is where you’ll be able to do each of these things.
In a similar way to Practicaespañol.com, News in Slow Spanish offers you a vast range of news and current affairs from all over the globe presented in articles and dialogues. You’ll be able to listen to intermediate and advanced-level podcasts and select the most appropriate dialogues for your knowledge and skill level.
And from art and culture to science and technology to world news and politics, you can get the lowdown on a range of themes and events while really getting to grips with spoken Spanish.
What’s unique: Unlike a few of the other podcasts on this list, which focus entirely on one dialect, switching between the top stories in Spain and the stories of Latin America is possible with News in Slow Spanish.
StudySpanish.com
The in-depth selection of podcasts provided by Studyspanish.com is incredible. The site has been around since 1998 and is an innovator and provider of web-based Spanish educational resources.
You’ll first notice that you can access some for free, but most require a premium subscription. But, not only will you benefit from structured listening lessons that get to the heart of some really tricky grammatical rules, there is a comprehensive range of topics covered by this site. Lots of fundamentals like Spanish numbers, greetings and verb conjugation are covered in detail.
As with some of the other podcasts featured on this list, the podcasts featured on StudySpanish.com are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, making it easy to study and listen to conversations ideal for your level.
What’s unique: StudySpanish.com is not only a site for podcasts. You’ll be able to access an abundance of vocabulary, verb drills, and pronunciation tips that will help your Spanish improve in leaps and bounds. In fact, StudySpanish is a little goldmine of hints and supportive pointers that all help towards your end goal — becoming fluent in Spanish.
Coffee Break Spanish
Award-winning and boasting a huge number of followers, Coffee Break Spanish incrementally advances you through their different podcast levels and episodes in Spanish. You’ll have access to a selection of free podcasts that are fun and keep your attention.
The dialogues cover a variety of topics and, once the conversation has finished, each key tricky element of the language is broken down. This lets you digest and absorb the main events of the story.
What’s unique: There are some really amazing episodes that consist of interviews with an extensive selection of Spanish speakers. You’ll find them in the ‘Magazine’ section and will discover a range of topics in which members of Coffee Break Spanish answer their listeners’ questions.
Hoy Hablamos
From cultural topics such as San Valentín, carnaval and the top cultural news and events from Spain, HoyHablamos features an extensive selection of podcasts — more than 1,000 episodes and over 180 hours of audio to give a ballpark.
With HoyHablamos you can expect to really get to grips with new vocabulary and become more familiar with expressions that you might not have heard before. You’ll even be able to practice your grammar and learn how to use your newly acquired vocabulary in the right context.
What’s unique: The absolute variety of podcasts available will fill your mind with new sayings while reinforcing your existing knowledge of Spanish. The HoyHablamos team are also constantly adding new podcasts, meaning you can keep up to date with the most current news from Spain. This gives you a better level of cultural immersion.
Why are Spanish podcasts important when learning Spanish?
There are so many advantages to using Spanish podcasts when learning Spanish.
Podcasts directly help you develop your receptive language skills — which includes listening. This is an essential skill that sometimes takes a little longer to hone for some learners, but podcasts assist you to acquire learning new words and vocabulary.
As an added bonus, if you’re not currently living in a Spanish speaking country, you’ll also benefit from cultural immersion just by listening to native Spanish speakers.
You’ll gain a deeper insight into Spanish values and become familiar with how vocabulary is used and fits into a range of contexts.
What’s more, you’ll finally be able to definitively nail the pronunciation of unfamiliar words and begin to work on your accent by listening to Spanish podcasts and imitating the Spanish phrases you hear!
Spanish podcasts also help your productive skills, which includes writing.
They’re useful when trying to discern where Spanish tildes or accent marks are needed.
To accurately use Spanish accent marks when you write, understanding which letters are stressed from how they’re pronounced is vital. By listening to podcasts, you can familiarise yourself with how words sound and learn to identify the sílaba tónica which will greatly assist you with writing and using accent marks.
Improve your comprehension of Spanish words and phrases with podcasts
Even though, at the beginning, it seems like native Spanish speakers are speaking lightning-fast, don’t panic!
You will be able understand what they’re saying.
Spanish is easy to learn, but it takes a lot of practice and requires a lot of dedication. Spanish podcasts will definitely help.
They are the ideal way to work toward perfect listening skills.
Tune your ears to the Spanish language with podcasts and before long you’ll be able to understand what they’re saying.
Know of a Spanish podcast that I didn’t mention?
Share it below in the comment section.
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2 COMMENTS
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Paula Guard
Notes in Spanish is probably my favourite Spanish resource I’ve ever used, it’s excellent!
David
There are two great podcasts for intermediate learners that I listen to. How To Spanish is the first and then Spanish and Go. They are especially useful for anyone who wants to learn Mexican Spanish rather than that of Spain. Also, they are completely in Spanish and at a moderate speed- which is what most intermediate people need.