Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash
I really think that YouTube is such an underrated tool when it comes to learning a language. Listening has probably been the most effective method I’ve used to learn them. It has to be combined with other things, but you'll be stunned at how much you can improve in a language just by listening to authentic content. Initially, I didn’t want to listen to anything because I had a fear of not understanding, and as a result of this lack of understanding, I became really demotivated. Once I got over this fear, I listened to a lot of content on YouTube in order to improve. I want to share with you the YouTube channels that I used the most to improve my Spanish, as I feel they're incredibly useful for anyone trying to learn it. However, I'd just like to highlight a few things first:
You need to listen to things that interest you – I love language learning, so I ended up watching lots of videos on this topic (which is why all the channels below are related to it). If you have absolutely no interest in language learning, these channels won't be as useful to you, and instead you should try to find things that genuinely interest you.
I haven’t ranked these channels in any particular order. I presented them in this list in a completely random order, as I like them all equally.
I only started watching these channels when I already had about a pre-intermediate level of Spanish, so they won't be useful for complete beginners. If you are pre-intermediate or above, then they'll be useful.
The information I'm giving about each channel is correct to my knowledge and is what I've learned from their videos.
Español con Juan:
Juan is a former Spanish teacher who comes from Granada
(Spain) and lives in London. He created his YouTube channel to help people
learn Spanish through context. He does this by making videos where he tells stories
about various topics (e.g. Spanish culture, his personal life, methods to learn
Spanish, and more), trying to incorporate key Spanish grammar points and
vocabulary. Juan comes across as a very nice person who makes learning Spanish
fun. He tries to avoid directly teaching in the conventional way and instead
tries to teach by using examples in the form of funny stories, often with short
explanations at the end. He doesn’t want to speak too slowly because his videos
aren’t for complete beginners, but he also doesn’t want to speak excessively
fast because he wants intermediate-level learners to be able to improve. This was the first channel I really started watching, and it really helped me learn while also being entertained by the videos. I owe Juan a lot for how much he helped me with his humorous style.
El Jardín de Martín:
Martin is from Peru but lives in Germany. His videos are multi-purpose; they aim to teach people about life as an emigrant in Germany (particularly aimed at fellow Latinos), but he also started to incorporate a lot of videos about language learning techniques. It is mostly videos of Martin talking to the camera; however, he's also got a lot of videos where he interviews other people about a variety of topics, allowing you to learn a lot and also hear various people speaking Spanish.
Channel link: El Jardín de Martín - YouTube
Spanish with Vicente:
Channel link: Spanish with Vicente - YouTube
Lenguas con Marko:
Marko is a Croatian polyglot who creates videos (all in
Spanish) to give his tips and thoughts regarding language learning. He offers
great detail in his explanation of various language learning methods, including
using his own experience to back up his points. Despite Spanish not being his
native language, he has an excellent level (my estimate is B2 or C1).
Channel link: Lenguas con Marko - YouTube
Español Automático:
This channel is run by Kara (a Polish native with an incredibly high
level of Spanish, at least C1 in my opinion) and Mauro (a Spanish native). They have a wide range of videos
related to learning Spanish, including generic language learning tips, specific
grammar and vocabulary points, as well as podcasts to improve your
listening comprehension. They both have a positive personality and place a
strong emphasis on trying to motivate the viewers and making them feel good
about their learning.
Channel link: Karo de Espanol Automatico - YouTube
Summary:
As I mentioned at the start, if you are a complete beginner in Spanish, I don't think these channels will help you that much. They are aimed at those who already have at least a pre-intermediate level of Spanish, but if you already have this level, they will rapidly improve your comprehension through the variety and quality of their videos. These are all channels that I continue to listen to, and I always find them useful, interesting, and entertaining.
Key vocabulary:
Underrated - something that people generally don't value/rate very high
Authentic - genuine/real
Demotivated - feeling like you don't want to continue with something
Highlight - to make something known/draw attention to something
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