Podcasts are a great addition to any language learning journey. There are so many to choose from though, making it a bit of a minefield. Despite being over 10 years old, for me Language Transfer is still by far the most instructive, concise podcast for learning Spanish and it moves at the perfect pace.
5 reasons why I love it
- Totally alternative approach to language learning: different to most mainstream techniques
- Makes sense: straight-forward and logical which makes progress feel attainable
- Practical: allows you to put your knowledge to work straight away
- Tools: gives you tools to develop further skills rather than just ‘regurgitating’ set phrases
- Entirely free: open source for everyone which is pretty incredible!
How to use it
The audio files can be found on several platforms (YouTube, SoundCloud, the Language Transfer website or even their app). There is also a link on their website to download the Complete Spanish course onto your computer! Each episode lasts between 5 to 10 minutes and there are 90 of them, meaning there is a total of fourteen and a half hours of listening material! The only downside is finding where you left off, so make sure you are signed into an account on one of the platforms so it tracks your listening for you. If you like to listen on the go, I would also recommend avoiding YouTube as you can’t lock your phone or close the app, which brings us to another important point…
Listening on the go is great, especially if you like walking or have a long commute however, be sure to listen actively rather than leaving it running in the background. This podcast covers a lot of content quite quickly and so if you miss an episode it might be difficult for you to catch up later on.
If you can, take notes in a dedicated notebook to solidify your learning. Writing by hand has been proven to enhance memory retention and is especially important at the earlier stages of your language learning journey. Use the notes app in your phone if you are out and about, and transfer them into your notebook at a later stage.
Who is it for?
This course is for anyone hoping to make progress in Spanish. It is accessible to all levels, however I would personally recommend using it alongside other methods such as self-study, language exchanges or classes to truly get the most from it.