How to learn Spanish on your own: The best tips and techniques

How many times have you thought to yourself, “I would love to learn Spanish”? Once? Twice? A million times? Well, wanting to learn a language is easy. Doing it is the hard part. Fortunately, in this article, we have broken down the best way to learn Spanish on your own. With these eight manageable techniques, you can stop wondering how to get started and jump straight into accomplishing your Spanish language goals. So, what are you waiting for? Keep reading to learn more or discover online Spanish classes on Preply.

What is the best way to learn Spanish?

The best way to learn Spanish involves a combination of immersive experiences, such as speaking with native speakers, and structured learning through courses or apps. Consistent practice and exposure to the language in various contexts can significantly enhance fluency and comprehension.

Set realistic goals and track your progress

Before diving into your Spanish studies, it’s important to set clear, achievable goals. Consider using the SMART framework – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound – to define what you want to accomplish. For example, you might aim to hold a five-minute conversation in Spanish within one month or learn 20 new words each week.

Tracking your progress helps you stay motivated and see how far you’ve come. Use a language journal, milestone checklist, or a progress-tracking app to record new vocabulary, grammar points, and conversational milestones. Regularly reviewing your achievements can boost your confidence and keep you moving forward.

Create a beginner-friendly study plan

Having a structured routine is key to building momentum and making steady progress. Here’s a sample weekly study plan for beginners:

• Monday: 20 minutes reading simple dialogues or short stories; 10 minutes reviewing new vocabulary.
• Tuesday: 20 minutes listening to a Spanish podcast or music; 10 minutes practicing pronunciation.
• Wednesday: 20 minutes on basic grammar (e.g., verb conjugations, sentence structure); 10 minutes writing simple sentences.
• Thursday: 20 minutes speaking practice with a tutor or language partner; 10 minutes reviewing feedback.
• Friday: 20 minutes watching a Spanish TV show or YouTube video; 10 minutes noting new phrases.
• Weekend: Review the week’s material, practice speaking, and engage in fun activities like cooking with a Spanish recipe or labeling household items.

Adjust this plan to fit your schedule and learning preferences. Consistency is more important than the number of hours – short, daily sessions are often more effective than occasional long ones.

Balance and sequence your learning methods

As you progress, it’s helpful to balance different skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – so you develop well-rounded proficiency. In the early stages, focus more on listening and reading to build comprehension and vocabulary. Gradually increase speaking and writing practice as your confidence grows.

For example, start with listening to slow, clear Spanish audio and reading simple texts. Once you’re comfortable, add speaking exercises with a tutor or language partner, and try writing short paragraphs. As your skills develop, challenge yourself with more complex materials and spontaneous conversations. Regularly rotate activities to keep learning engaging and effective.

Understand realistic timelines for Spanish fluency

Reaching conversational fluency in Spanish is an exciting goal, but it’s important to set realistic expectations. According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), reaching a B1 (intermediate) level typically requires around 350–400 hours of study, while achieving C1 (advanced) may take 600–750 hours or more. With consistent effort – such as 30 minutes a day – you can expect to hold basic conversations within a few months and reach higher levels with sustained practice.

Remember, progress varies for everyone. Patience and persistence are essential – celebrate small wins along the way and don’t get discouraged by setbacks.

Overcoming common challenges

Every language learner faces obstacles, whether it’s a lack of motivation, hitting a plateau, or feeling nervous about speaking. If you find your motivation dipping, try joining online communities or study groups for support and accountability. When you hit a plateau, switch up your routine by exploring new resources or gamified apps to keep things fresh.

Don’t let the fear of making mistakes hold you back – practice speaking as early and often as possible. Remember, making errors is a natural part of learning. Celebrate your progress, seek feedback, and stay curious. If you ever feel stuck, a Preply tutor can help you overcome challenges and keep you moving forward.

Olly Richards’ 90-day language method: Expert breakdown & How it works

Although becoming fluent in a foreign language takes a lot of time and hard work, reaching a conversational level in a short amount of time is not so far-fetched. According to Olly Richards, a famous polyglot, you can go from possessing almost no language knowledge to engaging in long conversations in just 90 days. In his 90-day plan to reach a conversational language level, Richards outlines three main phases for learners: comprehensible input, output, and immersion. To put this plan into action, he also offers specific tips to learn a language fast.

• Comprehensible Input (Days 0-30): At this stage, the main priority is to watch, read, and listen to material in the target language that is one level above your own. This exposure will familiarize you with the language and teach you about its most practical vocabulary and grammar concepts.
• Output (Days 31-60): The next step is to begin speaking in your chosen language, even if you feel awkward or unready. Whether you’re practicing with tutors, language exchange partners, or friends, the key is to try out what you’ve read and heard, then learn from your mistakes.
• Immersion (Days 61-90): The final phase requires immersing yourself in the target language. This can be as big as taking a trip to a country that speaks that language or as small as changing the language settings on your phone. Either way, incorporating your chosen language into your life in as many ways as possible can significantly increase your proficiency.

Read in Spanish (even as a beginner) 

One of the first steps you can take to learn Spanish independently is to begin reading. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to pick up an untranslated version of Don Quixote and try to make sense of it.  Instead, the best thing to do is start with short, simple dialogues and stories. These could be passages found in beginner Spanish textbooks or news articles. Even children’s stories are some of the best books to learn Spanish on your own. Finally, narrow your reading material to topics you enjoy discussing with others like hobbies, sports, interests, etc. Reading about subjects you are familiar with and want to learn more about increases your motivation to study. Moreover, if your goal is to converse with others in Spanish, you need to learn to talk about the things you love.

Spend time on grammar

As you read in Spanish, you will also undoubtedly begin to notice specific grammar patterns and repeated sentence structures. While this natural learning process is highly beneficial, you can advance your fluency even faster by proactively reviewing basic Spanish grammar rules.  We recommend trying to split your time between different skills, but at least 30% of your time should be spent studying grammar in the early months. Instead of tackling everything at once, zero in on the simple Spanish grammar necessary to have a basic conversation and go from there. For example:

Conjugations 

Arguably, the most important aspect of Spanish grammar is to learn how to conjugate verbs. This allows you to tell someone who is doing an action (the subject) and when (the tense). Although it’s challenging, take it one step at a time. Start with the present tense, then move to the past. If you don’t know where to start, check out this guide to Spanish conjugations.

Sentence structure

Like English, the typical word order for Spanish sentences is subject + verb + object.  E.g: I (subject) + eat (verb) + apples (object).  However, there are several differences with Spanish syntax. For example, direct and indirect object pronouns come before verbs. E.g: Me lo dan (Me it they give) = They give it to me.  Overall, Spanish sentence structure is more flexible, and exploring how it works can quickly improve your proficiency. As you read, focus on learning the most common Spanish words that you see repeatedly (e.g., el, la, de, que, y). Mastering these words can help you understand roughly 50% of what you read. You can also add to your vocabulary by identifying unknown words or phrases, looking up their meaning, and storing them in flashcards or a language journal. Then, reread the text and take note of how much your comprehension improved.

Masculine & Feminine Nouns

As a Romance language, every noun in Spanish is assigned a gender. For example: “mesa” (table) is feminine, “jugo” (juice) is masculine.  What’s more, the articles, pronouns, and/or adjectives that correspond to that noun must also match its gender. For example:  la mesa (the table), el jugo (the juice).  Learning how these nouns and their counterparts work goes a long way in helping you understand the Spanish language.

Listen to Spanish podcasts and music

Beyond reading, listening to Spanish music and podcasts is one of the best ways to learn Spanish at home. Podcasts are a more recent language learning tool but are proven to be worthwhile. They can expose you to the rhythm of the language, authentic phrases, and exciting content.  Moreover, you can study Spanish on a podcast while washing dishes or taking a walk. An effective approach is listening to the whole recording, noting unfamiliar vocabulary, outlining its key points, and listening to it again. Try it out with these six podcasts to learn Spanish. If you love music, you can multitask by enjoying tunes and learning Spanish at the same time. Whether you listen to a local Spanish radio station or find a Spanish music playlist on Spotify, lyrics can teach you common idioms and unique expressions.  Also, the repetitive nature of songs allows you to hear phrases repeatedly until you can’t forget them. The world of Spanish music is diverse, so even if your tastes run from rock and pop to hip hop, you’ll find an artist that works for you. You’ll be singing Spanish songs in the shower in no time.

Focus on pronunciation

You might find that when first listening to spoken Spanish, everything sounds like one long, rapid sentence. However, by studying Spanish sounds and the alphabet, you can improve your listening comprehension and pronunciation. This is because you’ll be able to recognize specific sounds, distinguish between words, and eventually understand native speakers. Learning Spanish sounds undoubtedly improves your pronunciation as well. Perfecting your accent is essential to effective communication. That’s because even if you speak Spanish with solid vocabulary and perfect grammar, it’d still be difficult for natives to understand you with poor pronunciation. Take this step at the beginning of your language learning journey because breaking bad pronunciation habits won’t be easy later on. Author Gabriel Wyner said in his 2014 book, Fluent Forever:

In the course of mastering the sounds of a language, our ears become attuned to those sounds, making vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, and speaking come much more quickly.

Extremely effective ways to improve your Spanish accent are working with expert Spanish tutors, receiving feedback from native language exchange partners, and testing yourself with voice recognition technology. Another option is to record your speech and then compare it with the audio of a native speaker. No matter your approach, take Spanish pronunciation seriously, and you’ll reap the benefits.

Watch Spanish TV and Movies

When thinking about how to learn Spanish on your own, you’ll find that watching Spanish TV and movies offers many of the same advantages as listening to Spanish podcasts and songs. However, watching films and TV shows also enables you to use context to figure out the meaning of words and phrases, much like you would in a normal conversation. For example, actors’ body language, facial expressions, and hand gestures all contribute to your understanding of what they’re talking about. If an actor points at a person or an object, you are already one step closer to connecting his/her language to its precise meaning.  Here are a few tips for making the most of your time in front of the television:

Choose a series or movie that interests you

You can try a Spanish novella (soap opera) if you’re feeling dramatic or CNN en Español if you’re feeling worldly. Just remember to pick something that you want to keep watching.

Start small

Begin with short videos (e.g., YouTube clips), then move to TV episodes, and finally transition to movies. If you jump straight into watching a two-hour film, you might find yourself losing focus or falling asleep.

Identify new words and phrases

Choose vocabulary that you found helpful from the show to record and study later. You can save these in a language journal or add them to a study app.

Skip the English subtitles 

If you only watch Spanish movies or TV with English subtitles, you just end up reading English for hours at a time. Instead, watch without subtitles the first time through and then add Spanish subtitles for clarification. Finally, rewatch it without the subtitles to see what you’ve learned.

Have conversations: Go beyond “¿como estas?”

The importance of conversation practice when learning Spanish (or any language) can’t be understated. A recent study found that conversing with others in the target language enhances your ability to speak and improves your listening, vocabulary, and grammar comprehension.  The main reason for this is that producing speech in a foreign language requires you to remember everything you have learned and then apply all those skills to form a coherent thought. Furthermore, it strengthens your memory of these concepts so that you can do it again. With that being said, if you really want to learn Spanish, you need to start speaking early on. One way that you can achieve this is by finding a Spanish language tutor. On Preply, you can find a native speaker to converse with who can also design customized lessons that expand your vocabulary, strengthen your grammar, and perfect your pronunciation. So, study some basic Spanish words and phrases, and try them out in your next class.

Use apps and social media

One of the best ways to learn Spanish on your own is using website, apps and social media dedicated to the language. Overall, Spanish language apps are great for fitting bite-sized lessons, games, and exercises into a busy schedule. When choosing an app, consider what aspect of Spanish you’d like to improve. This guide to the best apps for learning Spanish breaks down which ones are best for different purposes. There are apps for improving your reading, listening, speaking, writing, vocabulary, and/or grammar so find the best one for you.  YouTube channels also offer outstanding (and free!) videos to learn Spanish. For instance:

SpanishPod101

SpanishPod101 provides reading practice, learning strategies, listening exercises, pronunciation activities, everyday phrases, and more.

Butterfly Spanish

Butterfly Spanish presents you with informational videos on diverse topics, like verb conjugations, the alphabet, and vocabulary.

Easy Spanish

Easy Spanish is another great Youtube channel that helps you learn “Spanish from the streets”. It includes interviews with native Spanish speakers on aspects of the Spanish language and culture.  Although apps and social media can’t give you exceedingly personalized instruction or feedback, they are useful instruments that can no doubt enhance your Spanish learning experience.

Immerse yourself

As Olly Richards recommended, once you’ve taken time to absorb Spanish and then try your hand at producing it, it’s time to crank it up a notch. This requires immersing yourself in the language in as many ways as you can. To start, you can engage even more in the recommended activities above. Beyond that, experiment with these additional tactics:

• Change the language settings on your phone to Spanish
• Label items in your home with Spanish words
• Follow Spanish speakers on social media
• Set your AI assistant to Spanish (e.g., Siri, Alexa, Google)
• Eat at Latin or Spanish restaurants and speak to staff
• Post on social media in Spanish
• Cook meals using recipes in Spanish
• Travel to a Spanish-speaking country

No matter how you decide to do it, just be aware that the more you engage with Spanish, the quicker you will learn it.

The best way to learn Spanish on your own? It is up to you

In the end, learning any language is a series of small steps that leads to an incredible accomplishment. The main thing is to enjoy the process and use methods which suit you best. Follow the simple steps we’ve listed above, find what works for you and be consistent. Our top recommendation is to start lessons with a 1-on-1 tutor on Preply. Not only would you have someone to converse with in Spanish regularly, but you would also gain individualized instruction, invaluable feedback, and indispensable guidance on how to achieve your goals most effectively. So, now that you’re armed with a plan of action and the resources to enact it, get started on your journey to Spanish proficiency today. ¡Buena suerte! (good luck)