Whether you’re planning to move to Spain, or already live there, improving your Spanish speaking skills is critical. Believe me, your experience in Spain will greatly vary depending on whether or not you speak Spanish.

One of the downsides of living in Barcelona is that it can get very easy to end up only speaking English.

Yes, at first it’s great when you just moved, but in the long term you run the risk of getting stuck in the “Expat bubble”. 

How to improve your Spanish speaking skills fast from home

6 ways to learn Spanish by yourself 

With COVID, most of us are having to spend more time at home. In this climate, it can feel pretty discouraging to learn Spanish. However, there are easy ways you can still improve your Spanish without leaving your house. 

1. Listening to podcast 

Podcasts are great because listening to them doesn’t require a lot of commitment from you. You can literally play it in the background whilst doing your daily chores. I have gained so much vocabulary just from listening to podcasts. 

what are some good podcasts to learn Spanish?

Well, first it’s important to mention that not all podcasts are created equal. Depending on your level (Beginner, intermediate, or advanced), some podcasts might be best for you. 

Now, this might be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I strongly recommend against language-learning podcasts.

Why? 

I just find them very unnatural. At least, all the ones I listen to reminded me of bad Spanish classes. If you’re going to learn or improve your Spanish with podcasts, I would strongly recommend listening to podcasts every day Spanish people actually listen to. This will expose you to more authentic Spanish, rather than academic-based learning.

Some of my favorite podcast formats are self-help or self-improvement podcasts. Depending on the topic, they are more or less easy to understand.

You’ll need to try a few to see which one works best works for you. In the meantime here is one of my favorite Spanish podcasts. 

Libros para emprededores

2. Watching popular TV shows in Spanish e.g. MasterChef, First Dates, Got Talent, etc. 

Just like podcasts, watching TV is a great way to improve your speaking Spanish skills and pick up new Spanish expressions. For anyone already living in Spain or looking to move soon, I’d recommend watching popular international TV shows in Spanish. 

A lot of popular American or British TV shows have been adapted to Spanish. The good thing about those is that because you might already be familiar with the format, you can more or less guess what’s going on. So it won’t require much effort from you.

Best Spanish TV shows to learn Spanish

Pasapalabra

MasterChef España

Spain’s Got Talent 

Bake off 

3. Re-reading books in Spanish

If you love reading, this might be a good format to improve your Spanish language. My recommendation is to start off with books you’ve already read in your native language. In this way, it will be easier for you to get through it without having to pick up the dictionary every 2 seconds. 

As a big Harry Potter fan, I made sure to re-read all the books in Spanish. It was a great way for me to improve my vocabulary, and learn common phrasal verbs and expressions in Spanish.

4. Listen to audiobooks in Spanish 

If you’re not a big fan of reading books, another option is to go for the audio version. The same principle applies than for re-reading Spanish books. Start with listening to books you are familiar with to ease off the learning process.

5. Listening to recent Spanish pop songs

Many people will often recommend you to listen to Spanish music when learning the language. I’d go one step further and say that recent Spanish pop music can be a great way to take your Spanish-speaking and listening skills to the next level. 

Since moving to Spain, I’ve discovered a lot of new Spanish artists and have been listening to their album on repeat. I can say without a doubt that they have been a huge help to pick up more colloquialisms and slangs.

Popular Spanish singers to learn Spanish

Tangana 

Nil Moliner 

Dani Martins 

5. Watching Spanish movies with subtitles 

This one is a given but definitely worth keeping in mind. The benefits of watching Spanish movies are endless. In a previous post, I created this list of top Spanish shows on Netflix that have helped me learn Spanish faster.

6. Following Spanish influencers on Instagram 

For good or for worse, most of us spend a lot of time on Instagram. Following Spanish influencers can be a great non-invasive way to improve your Spanish. As mentioned previously, I am a big fan of the Real Fooding moving pioneered by Carlos Rios. 

I have been following him on Instagram for 3 years now, and I have learned a ton just by reading his posts or watching his stories,