On my first post on how to learn Spanish online for free I presented some interactive Spanish learning websites and interactive platforms, which offered a variety of entertaining learning elements and, in some cases, some social networks as well. These offered the possibility to practice Spanish in real time with other platform members. Today I will present some different Spanish learning websites and tools which I really like and which will help me to practice and develop my Spanish speaking skills while I am here in Barcelona.

studyspanish.com

I will start with one of the Spanish learning websites which is a Must-Read for everybody who is seriously interested in learning the basics of the Spanish language. I am talking about the Spanish learning website studyspanish.com. This website gives you a great overview about a bunch of important vocabulary bundled in topic related units.Learning vocabulary is great but there are a lot of more interactive and entertaining Spanish learning websites. But what I really like about this website is its grammar section.

Studyspanish.com divides the complexity of the Spanish grammar into 9 different units. Each unit refers to a specific grammar area, leads perfectly through every section and explains it in a very understandable way. Every basic account member is able to practice their gained knowledge with the help of a quiz and a mini-test. In my opinion it’s not necessary to be a premium account member, although the premium membership offers more practice material. But if I’m honest, the short quiz and mini-test is enough and keeps you motivated to go through all sections unit by unit.

All the important “lessons learned” of each unit chapter are saved on a flash card, which gives you a great overview at the end. This platform is structured more like a classical Spanish learning book than an interactive platform, but the Spanish grammar is explained in a very understandable way and offers you good examples.

busuu.com

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRiQwu6wvak[/youtube]

busuu.com is a free online community for learning languages powered by the publisher PONS. busuu was launched in May 2008 and has currently more than 250,000 users from 200 different countries. After you register for free you can enter the Spanish learning website and choose a specific course. You can start with learning the basic vocabulary with audio-visual learning material covering more than 150 different topics.

busuu gives you also the opportunity to absolve written exercises and let them be corrected by its community members. Additionally, language skills can be directly improved together with native speakers by connecting via an integrated video-chat. Each user is not only a “student” of a foreign language but also a “tutor” of his or her own mother tongue. All in all, busuu.com has a very user friendly interface and focuses on giving the user the opportunity to learn Spanish for free in a very entertaining way.

Coffee Break Spanish Podcas

My last suggestion for today is one of the most popular Spanish learning podcasts on the web. The Coffee Break Spanish Podcast – I listen to one episode per day on my ipod on my way to work – is a fantastic way to start a productive day each morning

For all of you who aren’t sure what a “podcast” actually is here is a short Wikipedia quote: “A podcast is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and downloaded through web syndication. ”Coffe Break Spanish provides 80 lessons of 15-20 minutes each and starts with a beginner’s level through to intermediate. The teacher Mark and his student Kara guide you through weekly Spanish lessons. All you need to do is to listen.

This course has consistently been among the top language-learning podcasts in iTunes US and UK, and won the European Award for Languages in 2007 and the European Professional Podcast Award in 2009. There are different ways to access the free audio files. You can listen directly from the website’s lesson library or subscribe to the podcast in your itunes store (all of these ways are free).

If you think I’ve missed a great way of learning Spanish online for free or you have any suggestions for my third and last part, let me know. I’m willing to test everything around the web that offers free Spanish lessons

- Miriam

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