Can you really learn Spanish on YouTube?

After all, isn’t YouTube for dancing cats and other mindless distractions?

Actually, if you look for Spanish videos on YouTube, you’ll find that the challenge isn’t in finding real learning content.

After a few clicks, you’ll find thousands of free YouTube videos trying to do exactly that: teach you Spanish.

But this turns out to be both a blessing and a curse.

The quality of the lessons vary enormously, and you have to spend a ton of time sorting out the wheat from the chaff—especially if you’re a beginner.

I know your pain, and that’s why I’ve selected my top 23 picks to help you learn Spanish on YouTube in 2020. They’re all different, but what unites them is their professional approach and presentation, strong teaching skills and ability to keep you engaged.

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Why Study Spanish on YouTube?

So you might first be asking: Why should I start with YouTube?

Here are a few good reasons!

You might already have books or structured lessons in a classroom, but it’s always a good idea to diversify your language learning diet with multiple sources.

Many of the videos also allow for close-up study of lip and mouth movements of Spanish speakers.

You can watch in your own time and pause and rewind whenever you need to.

and pause and rewind whenever you need to. Say what you will, but the best Spanish learning content on YouTube is actually really good. I’d argue that the need to compete with the rest of YouTube has forced these teachers to elevate their game.

Other Spanish YouTube Channels and Resources for Learning Spanish

If you want more information about learning Spanish with YouTube, here are some extra resources:

Additional Resources to Learn Spanish on YouTube

Below, you have my list of the top 23 free channels to learn Spanish on YouTube. Every list has to end somewhere, and there are a few channels that didn’t quite make it in, but are nonetheless well worth taking a look at. These are:

Learn Spanish – A good selection of video lessons, mainly for beginners, that allow the student to communicate in everyday situations.

– A good selection of video lessons, mainly for beginners, that allow the student to communicate in everyday situations. The FluentU app – If you like learning Spanish with YouTube channels, then here’s something you’ll love. Keep reading to find out more!

23 Channels for Learning Spanish on YouTube (2020 Edition)

So without further ado, here are my top 23 recommendations for learning Spanish on YouTube:

Up and Coming in 2020

These awesome channels are regularly updating in 2020. Some are new channels to watch while others are excellent established hotspots for Spanish lessons on YouTube.

Real World Spanish Lessons are perfect for beginners.

Their videos cover all the hot topics, including learning Spanish while you sleep, common speaking mistakes, how to get a handle on verbs and verb conjugation and even learning Spanish while driving! Nothing is off limits in these fast, entertaining and uncomplicated videos.

One of the greatest parts of learning with Real World Spanish Lessons? The wonderfully conversational tone of this channel. This feels like a living room chat with a friend—not a language lesson!

Grabbing information here—whether it’s simple, essential Spanish phrases for beginners or more demanding grammar rules—will give learners a definite skill boost!

If you like the FluentU program and blogs, the FluentU Spanish YouTube channel is one to watch. The channel shares tips, tricks and resources for learning Spanish with authentic and fun content.

Find tips on using all sorts of real-world resources—such as Spanish-language television, authentic podcasts and stimulating TED talks—to improve your Spanish mastery.

And what could be better than indulging in mouth-watering meals such as tortilla de patata, the renowned Spanish potato omelet? Get your Spanish really cooking as you learn with authentic recipes.

Lots of exciting videos are in the works. Subscribe to FluentU Spanish and hit the notification bell, so you never miss a new video!

The purpose of this channel is to help Spanish learners become confident speakers while they learn the language quickly.

The videos are brief and to the point and each focuses on a distinct topic. Whether you want to learn how to order food in Spanish, master Caribbean Spanish or learn without becoming discouraged, there’s an engaging video to address your need!

It’s a sweet change of pace to find a low-stress approach to language learning. The videos are informative and focuse on stress-free speaking but emphasize that it’s not essential to immediately grasp every single grammar rule—just speak and in time you’ll pick up skills. These videos are like having a personal Spanish tutor!

This channel stresses teaching through authentic experiences. Honestly, watching these is like taking little trips to Spanish destinations!

New learners will love this channel. The content is very basic, highlighting beginner phrases and foundational vocabulary. It’s a super fun way to grab a whole lot of the language without investing a huge amount of time. Plus, there’s new content every three days!

The lighthearted nature of these videos will appeal to even experienced Spanish speakers. The dialogue is clever and there are illustrations and explanations that are sure to bring a smile!

SpanishPod101 gives an entertaining introduction to Spanish life, culture and language. These free video lessons include topics like Spanish holidays and fiestas, hobbies, staying fit and relaxing. Many of the well-produced videos are between two to four minutes in duration and done entirely in Spanish, with Spanish and English subtitles. Longer, more involved videos are also available.

These lessons are especially helpful for intermediate and advanced Spanish language learners. The narration is done at normal speed and there are few interactive elements, although lessons do often include quiz question and a fun fact. There are also video lessons dedicated to Mexican Spanish.

Love the videos on their YouTube page? Then you should definitely explore the rest of what SpanishPod101 has to offer with their complete Spanish program—there are currently 1,600 lessons and counting!

Start with this beginner Spanish lesson, which introduces the 1200 essential Spanish words every learner should know.

How to Speak Spanish Online Fast! is a channel that combines solid Spanish language learning with some silliness. Assorted friendly puppets help teach the language. The most notable one is Professor Rabuffi, who introduces videos on verbs, grammar, memes and much more! A wealth of information—and lots of fun, too!

The first impression might be that these aren’t “serious” enough but don’t be fooled by the puppets. The videos are formatted so that information is presented in a clear and concise way, with example sentences.

Wordpie offers more than one language to learners. Their Spanish playlist is substantial and provides a heap of material that will enrich any Spanish program.

The concept of shadow speaking is featured on Wordpie. Learners listen, then repeat what they’ve heard. Native speakers provide the material so it’s a snap to practice until pronunciation is completely on point! Learners should play and repeat until they sound like the speaker to get the best results.

Spanish Shadow Speaking #5 focuses on essential vocabulary. Pictures illustrate the key points, and spelling and pronunciation are also featured.

Bilingue Blogs covers Spanish accents and speaking styles from across the globe. Puerto Rico, the Domincan Republic and Cuban accents are all featured here.

The videos are cool and slightly unorthodox (no boring classroom lessons here!), and the conversational lessons are so casual you might feel as if you’re chatting with a friend on the street. It’s an excellent resource for developing conversational Spanish skills!

They cover a variety of topics, including a lesson on how to roll your r’s that’s definitely worth a watch! The video cuts right to the issue that so many learners find difficult. Also, it’s a fun lesson to follow along as the technique is demonstrated.

Spanish and Go is substantially useful for anyone who intends to travel to a Spanish-speaking location. This is the spot to learn real world Spanish that will serve conversational needs well. Also travel tips and cultural aspects of various locations allows for excellent pre-adventure planning!

Even if you’re not going to travel, use these videos to gain destination-specific vocabulary, learn about Spanish culture and discover interesting customs.

Jim and May take learners on their adventures, sharing interesting sights and sounds while teaching Spanish learners the essentials. Some of their travel blogs focus on culture so if you’re wondering about the must-see spots in Puerto Rico or how holidays are celebrated in Mexico, you’ve got to tune in to this likeable globe-trotting duo!

Looking for a place to learn Spanish language tips, discover intriguing cultural facts and participate in engaging activities? This channel has the low-down.

Intermediate-level lessons feature Cody, a Spanish language learner, and Maria, his Spanish teacher. This format allows viewers virtual entrance to Cody’s classroom. It’s useful to be part of the class, even if it’s a small class! Participate in the activities and reply to the lesson prompts for a beneficial experience.

Don’t forget to answer questions when they’re asked! It’s okay if you get them wrong the first time around. Cody doesn’t always have the correct answers, either!

This channel gives viewers a look at ordinary life—in Spanish! Given that this immersive approach is entirely in Spanish, some videos might challenge absolute beginners.

There is a playlist dedicated to teaching beginning learners. That’s an option that will prepare viewers for the more advanced titles.

If you’re looking to power up your conversational skills, this is an ideal choice for any level learner. There are tons of basic to advanced Spanish phrases that’ll hugely affect vocabulary skills. Plus, the listening practice is perfect for modeling pronunciation.

“Tag along” on adventures in this video series. It’s a wonderful way to feel right at home while learning. It also makes learners feel as if they’re experiencing Spanish immersion—even if it’s a long- distance immersion, it’s still super interesting and informative!

Maria Español is a vlog in Spanish so this one’s perfect for fluent, advanced or even intermediate learners.

It’s an almost immersive experience, listening to each episode and garnering wonderfully useful cultural information—all while powering up language skills. Maria is engaging and the topics are interesting.

This vlogger’s casual teaching style is showcased in videos like “¿Qué hay en MI BOLSO?” (What’s in MY BAG?). She actually goes through the contents of her bag, naming items as she pulls them out and discussing why they’re useful—or not. Talk about a great way to pick up some useful conversational vocabulary! Honestly, this is one of the most entertaining Spanish videos I’ve watched!

Who thought that learning a new language could be so much fun? Web Spanish is a neat series of videos provided by webspanish.com. They’re voiced and presented by actors who take on different roles and find themselves in a wide range of situations. For example, a “policeman” talking about his mission and a “tour guide” discussing a typical dish. You may chuckle a little, but you’ll also learn. This is a different approach to the more formal video lessons, but it’s a welcome and refreshing change.

The tone is light and there are good uses of images, which helps the viewer memorize key words and phrases. The videos are entirely in Spanish; there are no translations or English subtitles, but the pace of speech is slow to moderate. Therefore, these video lessons are ideally suited for those at the advanced beginner stage and above.

The Spanish Blog video series is a collection of free Spanish lessons with native Spanish Teacher Laura Garrido Eslava. There are lessons for all levels, from beginners and pre-intermediates to advanced Spanish language students. The lessons typically last from three to five minutes, and in past videos, during each one, Laura speaks directly to the camera.

The presentation is formal with a clear and easy-to-follow structure. Laura speaks first in Spanish and then in English. There are interactive elements too, as she asks you to translate Spanish words and phrases.

Laura seems to be back from a hiatus with a brand new format to her videos, which now have the words clearly displayed on the screen so you can easily follow along and learn!

She does excellent, brief clips and assigns them levels according to the Common European Framework. I really like her videos; the language is clear and very well planned according to each level. Hope you enjoy them too!

This channel, whose name translates to “The Blog to Learn Spanish,” has great videos for specific language goals. These tend to be more obvious teaching lessons and not natural speaking videos. They’re especially great for beginners.

Professor Jason offers a series of comprehensive free Spanish videos that cover many different aspects of grammar and speech. For example, the placement of adjectives, when and how to use the subjunctive, and asking and answering questions.

There are videos for beginner, intermediate and advanced Spanish language learners. They last for 20 to 30 minutes, which makes them much longer than many other free Spanish videos on YouTube. That may be too long for some people to take in one sitting, but the joy of videos is that you can always stop and come back to them later, picking up from where you left off.

Professor Jason has an expert’s ear for Spanish and his presentation is warm, friendly and engaging. During the videos he’s either speaking straight to the camera or his voice is heard as the camera focuses on what he’s writing. He speaks in both Spanish and English, translating as he goes along.

Professor Jason has recently expanded to teaching Portuguese and general translation tips, as well, so that’s something to check out if you’re interested!

“Fundéu Urgent Spanish” would be for higher level learners, but they have great tips about common mistakes that even native speakers may make.

Although many of their videos are short clips with writing only, they also publish occasional vlogs which can be very useful for more advanced learners.

Oldies but Goodies

These channels are no longer updating but they’re still treasure troves of videos and excellent content!

If Señor Jordan (Mister Jordan) ever decides to quit teaching Spanish lessons, there’s probably a career in stand-up comedy waiting for him. A natural-born performer, he uses his great sense of humor to deliver fun and sometimes funny Spanish lessons for beginners. They’re short, punchy and very entertaining.

Make sure you check out his song for remembering the irregular first person forms in the preterite tense and the charming personal pronouns song. You’ll soon be singing along—which is actually the idea.

SpanishDict’s videos are always good because they’re well produced, crisply presented and also well structured and organized. All the basics are covered and there are even separate videos focused solely on pronunciation of the words. The Spanish lessons fly by at a comfortable speed and feature interactive elements so there’s no chance of nodding off.

Spanish sessions gives a really good introduction to the Spanish language, from learning how to pronounce the alphabet and asking directions, to more complex material such as when to use the subjunctive mood. The videos deploy a range of presentation methods including real life situations, a classroom setting and the presenter talking straight down the camera.

There are no translations, just Spanish, and the spoken words are supported by large Spanish subtitles. Awesome! Why don’t more video lessons on YouTube do this? Sometimes, you come across videos where the subtitles are so small you need the Hubble Telescope to be able to see them.

Each Spanish lesson concludes with a series of slides and graphics that recap what you’ve just seen and heard. It’s a good way of committing new things to memory.

What a great name for a channel! It sure caught my attention. This multi-level video series has lots of Spanish lessons covering different situations, such as dining out with friends and attending a meeting. The lessons are well paced, and consist of a presenter speaking a Spanish sentence followed by a graphic that shows the same sentence in its written form and the English translation.

There’s enough of a pause between each section to give you time to commit the words and meanings to memory. The average video length is five minutes. Currently the playlist is a bit of a mess, which is slightly annoying, but just scroll down to find the excellent lessons.

YouTube contains an abundance of fabulous, free Spanish learning material. Using this resource allows you to learn at your own pace and in your own time.

The materials are diverse. Truly, there is something for every level and style of learner.

There are videos, lessons and vlogs that will suit all entertainment and learning personalities. Some are serious, some are funny and lots are somewhere in the middle—but all provide endless chances to learn and grow your Spanish fluency.

Watch as many as you’re able to watch and use them like the valuable teaching aids they are. Take notes, practice pronunciation, immerse in the cultural aspects and enjoy every single minute of the experience!

Find a Spanish YouTube channel that resonates with you. If you browse a bit, you’re sure to find a “favorite” channel. When you do, pull up a chair and settle in.

Learn and have fun—and soon you’ll be chatting in Spanish like a native-born speaker!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)