Spanish is one of the fastest spoken languages in the world, which can be frustrating for beginners who want to improve their listening comprehension. I’ve been easing in by listening to videos and podcasts meant specifically for Spanish learners, so that later I can ramp up to more difficult ones. Listed below are some YouTube channels that I’ve enjoyed and hope you’ll like too.
Spanish is the official language in 20 to 22 countries (depending on your source), so the range of accents is tremendous. That’s why it’s good to listen to videos/podcasts from a variety of places. For most of these channels I’ve noted the country of origin.
Closed captions are sometimes available (in Spanish). To enable them, roll your curser over the video and a tiny cc will appear at the bottom, as shown by the red circle in the photo below.
If you don’t understand a word or sentence in the closed captions, pause the video, open the Google Translate app on your phone, click on the camera icon, and hold your phone up to the computer screen. The English translation will magically appear on your phone screen.
Beginning Spanish Channels
Based in Mexico, Ana is spunky and personable. Her channel focuses on basics and grammar. She explains everything in English, so it’s not immersive, but it’s helpful for newer Spanish learners who can’t yet follow explanations in Spanish. It can also be helpful for beginners who are a little further along, because there’s plenty of information you wouldn’t get from a book.
These videos are PowerPoint-type slides with short phrases that are read aloud in both Spanish and English. Although they seem to have been made with an AI assist (because of the consistent voice inflection and occasional sound glitch), the Spanish is accurate as far as I can tell. I like to listen to them while doing simple tasks.
Intermediate Spanish Channels
Based in Spain, Pablo reads medium-length sentences in English and Spanish. He’s down-to-business, but his occasional asides make him seem like a fun guy. He’s also on Spotify, so you can listen while taking a walk. He offers “Castilian Spanish phrases, vocabulary, questions, answers, verbs, and more for beginners and intermediate student levels.”
Originally from Argentina, Brenda has a mix of videos, including “vocabulary lessons, grammar lessons, listening exercises, Q&As, cultural tips, Spanish learning techniques, how tos, and lots of motivation.” She comes across as professional yet approachable, and really seems to care that her students make progress.
Based in Mexico. This is one of my favorite channels because Ana and David are so amiable and fun to listen to, plus they discuss many interesting topics. They don’t spend as much time on grammar. Both are former Spanish teachers and Ana has been an English/Spanish simultaneous translator.
Intermediate/Advanced Spanish Channels
Based in Columbia, Andrea focuses on grammar for students who already have the basics down well. I don’t, but I still enjoy her videos, especially the vlogs where she and her American husband moved back to Columbia (where she’s from), and did some traveling.
This channel has fascinating videos about the world we live in. I haven’t spent much time on it yet but it’s my next step for understanding Spanish that is spoken faster than the other channels I’ve listed, yet not ridiculously fast. I’m not quite ready for telenovelas!
Can you recommend any YouTube channels in Spanish? Let me know in the comments.
Cover photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
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