Why listen to Spanish language podcasts if you don’t speak Spanish fluently yet? In most traditional language schools and in online Spanish language lessons, students are focused on speaking. At Lingoda we emphasise that speaking and listening go hand in hand. Never forget that social interaction in another language is highly dependent on listening. That’s why you have to develop is listening to become fluent.
We’ve talked about Spanish movies to watch and Spanish books to read before. There is another type of media that works perfectly for honing your Spanish listening skills: podcasts! If you haven’t tried out a podcast for language learning yet, it’s time to get started. Let’s look at some of the best Spanish language podcasts for beginners.
The benefits of listening to podcasts in Spanish
A podcast is basically a free radio show available on the internet. You can access podcasts on their website from your mobile phone or laptop. Episodes can be streamed live or downloaded for later. Listen one-by-one or binge a whole series. Podcasts are like YouTube for your ears.
Some podcasts are recorded as a hobby and others are professionally produced, but the range of topics is huge. From humour to murder mysteries, there is a podcast for every interest. The main benefits of Spanish podcasts are:
- You can pause, stop, and start the episode whenever you like
- You can learn at your own pace
- Your ear gets trained to understand native Spanish speakers
- Your vocabulary and grammar fluency increases
- You improve your Spanish accent and pronunciation
- You become familiar with culture and events from Spanish-speaking countries
Spanish language podcasts for beginners
Most online lists for Spanish language podcasts send you to language lessons. We know you aren’t interested in more Spanish lessons online. You want a fun podcast, not more work! Our list is all about quick access, convenient listening, and interesting topics. Here are 6 fun and entertaining podcasts in Spanish that we recommend:
- Podcasts in Spanish has 250+ Spanish-language news, conversation, and storytelling clips for streaming and download. In Level 1, I love the clip of a little girl named Amanda telling the story of Ratoncito Pérez, a modern-day rat tooth fairy. Each clip is less than 3 minutes long with transcripts and vocabulary worksheets for students to read along.
- Notes in Spanish is a podcast of Brit Ben Curtis and his Madrileña partner Marina Diez having slow, simple conversations in Spanish. I like the Vacaciones en Tailandia episode using future tense to discuss an upcoming holiday in Thailand. Marina gently corrects Ben throughout the podcast so listeners can hear common mistakes from a Spanish language learner.
- Españolistos is Texan Nate Alger and his Colombian partner Andrea Prince speaking about travel, politics, and cultural differences. These episodes run up to 40 minutes long. Episode 175 deals with social class and poverty in Colombia as well as vocabulary about salary and types of government.
- Radioambulante is a professional podcast by NPR featuring hard-hitting true stories about people in Latin America. The Importance of Being Ernesto is a 30 minute episode about a young boy who learns his father is a Puertorriqueño revolutionary fighter running from the US military. This podcast has Spanish transcripts and English translations to follow along.
- News in Slow Spanish is a podcast series of Spaniards reading news articles aloud at a slow, understandable pace. The first minute of each episode is free to preview and a quick snippet size for beginners. The full 4-5 minutes requires a subscription. Monthly subscriptions are pricey at USD $22.90 so try a free 7-day trial before taking the plunge.
- Palabras Bravas is produced by Babbel and posted to Spotify as a fun listening activity for Spanish learners. Spaniard Paula and German Fidi tell the story of El Misterio de la Calle de Cervantes The Mystery of Cervantes Street as three roommates investigate strange and spooky noises from their flat in Madrid, Spain.
Bonus Spanish podcast
The Learn Spanish and Go podcast is hosted by Jim and May from Spanish and Go. Jim is an advanced Spanish learner from the United States, and May is a Mexican language teacher. They talk about cultural differences, travel, and interview interesting guests from around the Spanish-speaking world. Episodes generally run between 25-35 minutes, and the pace natural but not overwhelmingly fast. Transcriptions are available for each episode, as well as a companion podcast in English where they breakdown the most important words and phrases from the show each week.
Don’t slog through another boring listening exercise. Get into a Spanish language podcast that is actually interesting to follow. For understanding native Spanish speakers better and improving your accent, fun podcasts are where it’s at.
Alison Maciejewski Cortez
Alison Maciejewski Cortez is Chilean-American, born and raised in California. She studied abroad in Spain, has lived in multiple countries, and now calls Mexico home. She believes that learning how to order a beer in a new language reveals a lot about local culture. Alison speaks English, Spanish, and Thai fluently and studies Czech and Turkish. Her tech copywriting business takes her around the world and she is excited to share language tips as part of the Lingoda team. Follow her culinary and cultural experiences on X.
