Recursos en línea / Online Resources
Professor Jason - Learn Spanish and Portuguese
Professor Jason - Learn Spanish and Portuguese
Professor Jason - Learn Spanish and Portuguese
Dr. Jason R. Jolley, Associate Dean and Professor at Missouri State has a YouTube channel. His "Spanish by Topic" videos are excellent. When you start learning verb tenses, the subjunctive or any other topic you want to fully understand, watch his comprehensive videos. Favorites: Por vs. Para, Using the Personal A, The Participle SE in Spanish, and Relative Pronouns.
www.youtube.com/channel/UC2-lKlnIdzq6-e-zwU34YJw
Yabla
Professor Jason - Learn Spanish and Portuguese
Professor Jason - Learn Spanish and Portuguese
Yabla is one of our all-time favorite online platforms. They have an extensive library of videos that are organized by category (comedy, drama, history, etc.), difficulty (1-5 stars), and region/country (Colombia, Mexico, Spain, etc.) You can watch the videos with or without subtitles in Spanish and/or English. In addition, as you're listening to a video, you can practice listening and typing in what you hear ("Scribe"), or you can choose to listen and speak what you hear ("Speak").
Spanishland School
Professor Jason - Learn Spanish and Portuguese
We learned about Andrea and Nate from their "Españolistos" podcasts. Andrea, from Columbia, explains all sorts of topics for her listeners. They have a website, offer online classes, a YouTube channel, and immersion weeks in Bucaramanga, Columbia. Each week they currently release fun new Spanish YouTube videos for intermediate and advanced learners. Favorites: Llevar - Seven Different Uses, 8 Confusing Spanish Verbs: Sentir, Hacer, Arreglar y Más.
www.spanishlandschool.com
Coffee Break Languages
Coffee Break Languages provides an engaging, comprehensive platform for language learners, particularly notable for its "micro-learning" audio and video lessons. Free, accessible podcast "preview" versions offer topic-based discussions in Spanish and English for all levels. Learners can upgrade to "premium" versions to unlock in-depth transcripts, notes, and exercises. Beyond podcasts, the platform extends to the Coffee Break Academy, TV, Magazine, and Books, offering a versatile range of resources.
We first discovered Coffee Break Spanish back in 2018, when their sub-20-minute, ad-free podcasts were the gold standard for sharpening listening skills. The show’s structure was brilliant: a short Spanish dialogue, a vocabulary-focused intermission, and a final segment where Mark broke down grammar in English. If you can track down those original episodes online, they are well worth the search. For a modern alternative, their "Scenes from the Coffee Break Café" is a great place to start.
WordReference
SpanishDictionary
WordReference is a comprehensive, multilingual online dictionary that is widely regarded as a top, if not the #1, online dictionary by Spanish language teachers and learners. It is an independent, free online dictionary that is known for its accuracy, regional variations, slang and community forums. When we were beginners, all of our teachers recommended we use WordReference.
Unlike basic translators, the WordReference Dictionary offers multiple translations for a single term, specifying whether a word is used as a noun, verb, or adjective, and providing up-to-date sample sentences to show how it functions in real-world speech. It is particularly valuable for identifying regional variations, clearly marking if a term is specific to Argentina, Mexico, Spain, or other Hispanic countries. It also has an extensive verb conjugator and audio pronunciation clips.
Beyond its primary database, the site's other superpower is its massive community-driven language forums, where native speakers and expert linguists discuss the nuances of complex idioms and slang that standard dictionaries often miss.
SpanishDictionary
SpanishDictionary
SpanishDictionary.com, formerly known as SpanishDict, is a comprehensive online resource that has evolved from a simple dictionary into a robust language-learning platform. It is widely regarded as a go-to resource for English speakers learning Spanish. SpanishDictionary is owned by IXL Learning, who also owns Rosetta Stone.
Our experience is with the online dictionary functionality. It offers over a million high-quality translations, and we love the native-voice audio and video pronunciations to aid with listening and pronunciations skills. There is also a user-friendly verb conjugation tab that covers all tenses and regional variations. It can also translate phrases and sentences, but beware: as with all on-line translation resources, no program is 100% accurate. That being said, if you understand the limitations of the program (e.g., pronouns), it can still be a very helpful tool for you. It is accessible for free via the web and/or its mobile app.