5 Best Programs for Learning Spanish
Spanish is considered as the second most widely spoken language in the world with around 460 million native speakers. Because of the extensive usage of this language around the globe, many of the people consider it important to learn this language. However, not every one of us is fond of going to a language learning school for this particular purpose. Well, you do not have to worry about it anymore because we live in the era of Information Technology where every little thing is digitized. It means that there is such software available in the market that can help us in learning the Spanish language.
Before jumping into the list of the best Spanish learning programs, we would like to discuss with you the characteristics of a good language learning software which are mentioned below:
- It should teach you a particular language that you want to learn just like a professional teacher.
- It should be easy to use and have a friendly and intuitive user interface.
- Instead of just stating the rules of any particular language, it should also let you practice your own skills by providing you with various different exercises.
- After using such software for an adequate amount of time, you must be able to speak that language like a native speaker.
Now when we have a good knowledge about the characteristic of a reasonable language learning software, we believe it is the right time to share with you the list of 5 Best Programs for Learning Spanish so that you can quickly grab one of them in order to quickly learn the second most widely used language in the world.
1. Rosetta Stone Spanish
Rosetta Stone Spanish is a program designed for learning the Spanish language easily by Rosetta Stone for the Windows and Mac operating systems. Rosetta Stone is a very vast language learning program with support for around 28 different languages. For each language pack, it consists of 40 to 50 lessons with around 30 minutes duration for each lesson which means that the language lessons provided by this software are quite comprehensive and detailed. The lessons provided by this language learning software are categorized into three different modules i.e. Courses, Exercises, and Games.
The Courses module is designed to teach you all the rules and regulations of the Spanish language. The Exercises module is there to let you practice your Spanish skills in a professional manner whereas the Games module provides you with a fun-filled environment for improving your Spanish skills while playing different games. Rosetta Stone is efficient enough to keep a track of your language learning progress by periodically Saving your Scores. It also intentionally repeats some of the most important lessons time and again in order to make you learn them by heart.
The best thing about this program is that it pays equal attention to your speaking, listening, and writing skills. Moreover, all the lessons are totally Spanish based without any English translations. Therefore, you are forced to learn the Spanish language while using this program. The Speech Recognition Algorithm of Rosetta Stone is there to ensure that you pronounce all the Spanish words and phrases correctly. After every language learning lesson, you are headed towards a Live Conversation Session with a native Spanish speaker so that you can easily practice whatever you have learned so far.
Rosetta Stone also provides you with an Online Community where you can connect with other Rosetta Stone users as well as native Spanish Speakers and thus polish your conversational skills to the fullest. If you are traveling to a place where Spanish is widely spoken and you have got absolutely no clue about how you can interact with the locals, even then you do not need to worry because Rosetta Stone presents you with a Phrase Book consisting of the most commonly used phrases of the Spanish language or any other language that you want to learn. Moreover, this PhraseBook is also available offline so you do not even need to have an Internet connection in order to access it.
The TruAccent feature of Rosetta Stone ensures that you are speaking the language with the right accent just like a native speaker. In a nutshell, Rosetta Stone provides you a complete package with the help of which you can learn the Spanish language from Simple Greetings and Introductions and all the way to full-fledged Conversations that involve Expressing Personal Concerns, Giving Directions to Someone or even Listening and Understanding a Native Spanish Speaker.
Rosetta Stone offers us a free trial version whereas the details of its paid subscriptions are given below:
- 3 Months Subscription- This subscription costs $11.99 per month with $35.97 down payment.
- 6 Months Subscription- The price of this subscription is $10.99 per month with $65.94 down payment.
- 12 Months Subscription- This subscription is worth $8.99 per month with $107.88 down payment.
- 24 Months Subscription- Rosetta Stone charges $6.49 per month with $155.76 down payment for this subscription.
2. Fluenz Spanish
Fluenz Spanish is another popular program designed for learning the Spanish language with the Windows and Mac operating systems. Unlike Rosetta Stone which is mainly focused to making the user sink into the pool of Spanish language, Fluenz does not leave you clueless thinking that you are learning an alienated language by providing you with English subtitles for every language lesson. In this way, you can easily relate the Spanish words and phrases with an already known language and thus you can be able to learn Spanish more quickly.
This language learning program can also act as a Virtual Teacher because many of us are not satisfied with mere language learning tutorials rather we need an actual physical person teaching us in order to understand things more clearly. This feature even lets you visualize the body language of the teacher so that you can grasp his expressions more accurately. This language learning program is mainly aimed at making you more social and comfortable while speaking Spanish. Therefore, its lessons are mostly about topics like Ordering Food, Going to an Airport, Shopping, etc.
Fluenz Spanish also allows you to choose the Difficulty Level so that you can adjust it according to your own needs and enhance your vocabulary to the fullest by learning the words of every level. You can even Download your lessons for going through them offline. This software gives you regular feedback on your performance in the form of a Progress Report so that you can keep a check on your improvement. Last but not least, Fluenz also enables you to Record your Voice as you speak Spanish while giving you Hints wherever you get stuck so that you can go through your recordings later on and learn from your mistakes.
As far as the pricing of Fluenz Spanish is concerned, then it offers us the following two options:
- Fluenz Spanish Immediate Download- This option consists of packages ranging from $187 to $378.
- Fluenz Spanish Fast and Free Delivery- This option also consists of packages ranging from $187 to $378 but their features differ.
3. Babbel Spanish
Babbel Spanish is an effective Spanish learning program designed for the Windows and Mac operating systems. The best thing about this software is that it is equally good for beginners as well as for professionals. It consists of lessons covering a wide range of scenarios while each lesson is 10 to 15 minutes long which is very good for such users who normally get bored with lengthy lessons. The Speech Recognition Technology of Babbel ensures that you correctly pronounce all the Spanish words that you have learned.
You can use the Review Manager of Babbel to check if you can correctly recall whatever you have learned so far. The Progress Marker of Babbel is there to keep a keen eye on your language learning progress. Moreover, your Learning Progress is also synchronized across all the devices on which you use this program so that you can always pick up from wherever you left. The thing that fascinates some of the users is the Random Learning feature of this software. It means that you will not be forced to take the lessons in a predefined sequence rather you can jump to any section at any time you want right according to your own choice.
Babbel offers us the following four pricing plans for learning Spanish:
- 1 Month- The price of this plan is $12.95 per month.
- 3 Months- This plan costs $8.95 per month.
- 6 Months- This plan is worth $7.45 per month.
- 12 Months- Babbel charges $6.95 per month for this plan.
4. Ouino Spanish Complete
Ouino Spanish Complete is a feature-rich language learning program designed for the Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android operating systems. This feature equally focusses on all the major five elements of any language i.e. Vocabulary, Grammar, Conjugation, Verbs, Pronunciation, and Conversation. Ouino is considered as the most comprehensive language learning programs at present with around 400 different lessons and 1000 different exercises. Moreover, this software also gives you full flexibility in customizing your lessons according to your own needs.
You can conveniently practice all the four language learning skills with Ouino Spanish Complete i.e. Reading, Speaking, Listening, and Writing. This software also consists of various Games with the help of which you can easily polish your Spanish skills and that too while staying within a pleasureful environment. You can even set the Speed of these games according to your level of expertise so that it does not become unnecessarily challenging for you. Ouino offers you a Free Demo whereas you can easily get complete access to it by paying an amount of $97.
5. Duolingo
Duolingo Spanish is a free Spanish learning program designed for the Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android operating systems. The best thing about this program is that despite being free of cost, it still presents you with almost all those features that other paid language learning programs provide. It has a very friendly and easy to use interface which is equally good for the beginners as well as for the experts. If you are already familiar with the Spanish language, then you can take the Placement Test of Duolingo which will correctly give you the direction to start with.
The Personalized Learning feature of Duolingo distinguishes it from other competitive language learning programs because Duolingo is flexible enough to adapt to your learning style. Along with the formal language learning lessons, this software also consists of various Exercises and Games that you can enjoy while polishing your Spanish language skills. This program has also got a way of keeping its users motivated with the help of Rewards against each victory that they achieve during a game. Moreover, this software also provides you with instant feedback with the help of its Immediate Grading feature so that you can conveniently keep a track on your progress.
