First contact

What will this course help you do?

You want to learn Spanish for the long term

At first, you need to connect three things: what you hear, what you read and what it means. English can help you recognise written words such as importante, familia and restaurante. Those same words may sound less familiar, especially in a sentence spoken without pauses.

Working with short expressions helps you make these connections. You begin to hear where words begin and end, remember sentence patterns and notice recurring elements. Quiero agua and Quiero un café become two examples of the same pattern: quiero followed by what you want.

For longer-term learning, this first set of expressions gives you something to build on. Grammar explanations become easier to understand when you can connect them with sentences you already know. You can then add more vocabulary, reading, listening and conversation.

You are preparing for a short trip

Before a trip, your priorities are often specific: getting to your accommodation, ordering, understanding a price, asking for information or explaining a problem. Start with the topics that match these situations.

Prepare the second half of each exchange too. Knowing how to ask where the station is will not get you far if you cannot recognise “right” or “straight ahead”. For each question you learn, practise two or three possible answers. This prepares you for a real exchange more effectively than learning questions alone.

Even a short stay offers opportunities to practise: greeting people, thanking someone, asking for the bill or buying a ticket. You can keep an address or booking reference written down while handling the opening sentences yourself.

You are planning to move to Spain or Latin America

The first days after a move involve many of the same situations as a trip: transport, shopping, accommodation and introductions. Preparing these exchanges helps you take part in what is happening around you.

You will need broader language skills as you settle in. Understanding a rental agreement, explaining a work situation or following a conversation between several people goes beyond these first guided exchanges. Build vocabulary connected with your life there and arrange regular conversations with people who can rephrase things.

Once you know your destination, start listening to voices from that region. You do not need to finish an introductory course before becoming familiar with the way your future neighbours speak.

What does “A1 beginner” mean?

Level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages covers the first uses of a language: talking about yourself, asking simple questions and dealing with familiar needs. Communication still often depends on someone speaking slowly, repeating or helping you find your words. ¹

First contact is intended for this early stage. Completing a course or recognising its sentences in a quiz does not, by itself, demonstrate every A1 skill. Listening, speaking, reading and writing can develop at different speeds.

What will you practise in the 17 chapters?

Here are the course topics and the kinds of exchanges they help you prepare.

If you are leaving soon, begin with essential expressions, numbers and the topics relevant to your trip. To explore the language more broadly, work through the course while revisiting anything you forget.

How long does it take to learn the basics?

You can use your first phrases from your first session. To prepare for a trip, start with two weeks of daily practice, spending 15 to 20 minutes on transport, accommodation and meals. Allow around 37 to 60 hours for the whole course, including review.

In your first session: a few phrases to try

You can begin by greeting people, thanking them, introducing yourself and saying that you speak little Spanish. Your first goal can be modest: understand a few expressions and try saying them without reading.

You will need to recall them again over the following days. Being able to repeat an expression immediately after a recording does not necessarily mean it will come to you when you need it at a café counter.

In two weeks: prepare for situations on your trip

Fifteen to twenty minutes a day for two weeks adds up to about three and a half to four hours and forty minutes. Use that time for a small set of situations you are likely to encounter.

Here is a suggested schedule. Adjust it according to what you remember:

This schedule is a way to organise travel preparation. It is neither a promise of A1 in two weeks nor an average learning time that applies to everyone.

For the whole course: practice spread over several months

The estimated study time shown for First contact is 37 to 60 hours. If you practise every day, that works out as follows:

These are calculations based on the course estimate. How comfortably you use Spanish also depends on review, your experience of learning languages and practice outside the exercises. Spreading your learning out gives you opportunities to retrieve expressions after you have partly forgotten them.

What if you leave in two days?

Focus on what you will need on arrival: courtesy, asking for repetition, your destination, a reservation, food and help. Prepare the place names and personal details you will need to give. For times and prices, practise recognising spoken numbers and asking someone to write them down.

You can learn more during your stay. Even brief preparation is useful when you choose phrases you will actually use.

How should you study when you are starting from scratch?

Start with a small group of expressions

Choose a few sentences from one situation. Listen to each one while looking at the Spanish and its translation, then listen again without reading. Try to recognise the words you have just met.

Next, repeat aloud. You can break a sentence into parts at first, but say the whole thing too so that you practise its rhythm. Finally, hide the Spanish and try to recall the expression from the situation or its English meaning.

A fifteen-minute session might include five minutes of review, five minutes exploring new expressions and five minutes saying them without a model. If earlier phrases are still hard to recall, give them more time.

Turn a memorised sentence into a sentence about you

Once you understand Quiero un café, replace un café with agua or un té. Change the destination in Voy a Madrid. Use your own name after Me llamo….

This small change checks whether you understand the pattern. It also raises useful questions: do you need an article? Is the noun masculine or feminine? Does the verb change when you talk about someone else? The grammar section below gives you a starting point.

Use the exercises to find out what needs practice

The course activities work on listening, recognising meaning and recalling expressions. Super Memory lets you revisit the expressions.

When you make a mistake, identify what went wrong. You might know a written word but fail to recognise it in speech. Or you might understand a sentence but struggle to produce it yourself. In the first case, listen again without the text; in the second, try saying the sentence before revealing the answer.

The next day, try to remember before rereading. Return to the same expressions a few days later. Review that requires a little effort tells you more than rereading something that merely looks familiar.

Pair each question with an answer

For ¿Cuánto cuesta? — “How much does it cost?” — practise prices. For ¿A qué hora? — “At what time?” — practise times. For ¿Dónde está…? — “Where is…?” — learn to recognise a few directions and descriptions of location.

Then try both roles. You can also ask someone to choose between several possible answers. This gets you used to listening for information rather than reciting a dialogue in a familiar order.

Reading and pronouncing Spanish

Spanish uses the Latin alphabet, including the letter ñ. English speakers will recognise many written words. The relationship between spelling and sound is fairly regular, but some habits need attention from the beginning.

The five vowels

Spanish has five basic vowel sounds, written a, e, i, o, u. Keep them clear and relatively steady. An unstressed vowel generally does not become the weak “uh” sound heard in many English words. The final e in importante is pronounced.

Listen to uno: its u is roughly like the vowel in “food”, without adding an initial “y” sound. Avoid the glide you may use in English “no” when saying Spanish no. English approximations are only starting points; use the recordings to hear the actual sounds. In pan, pronounce both the vowel and the final n.

Consonants to notice

With r, first aim to make your words understandable. If you cannot yet produce the trill, keep practising sentences and work on that sound separately. You do not need to perfect every sound before speaking.

Word stress: which syllable stands out?

In a word of several syllables, one usually carries the main stress. Hotel stresses its last syllable; casa, its first.

For ordinary words, two guidelines help:

• Words ending in a vowel, n or s usually stress the second-to-last syllable: casa, hablan, amigos.
• Words ending in another consonant usually stress the last syllable: hotel, hablar.

A written accent can mark a different stress position: café, inglés, teléfono. It can also show that two vowels belong to separate syllables, as in día, or distinguish words: tú (“you”) and tu (“your”).

When listening, follow the stressed syllable and the movement of the whole sentence. Avoid transferring English vowel reduction and rhythm unchanged into Spanish, even when individual letters seem familiar. ³

Why does spoken Spanish seem so fast?

In conversation, words are not separated by the pauses that written spaces suggest. Some consonants also weaken depending on the accent and situation. You may therefore know several words in a sentence without immediately recognising the whole thing.

Use short recordings: listen without the text first, check it, then listen again. The transcript helps you identify what you missed. As you repeat the exercise, try to rely on it less.

Understanding the main points of Spanish grammar

The explanations below help you read the course sentences and make new ones. They are not rules you must memorise before starting, nor a claim that First contact teaches every point separately. Return to an explanation when you need it.

1. Building a simple sentence

María habla español means “María speaks Spanish”. The subject–verb–object order is familiar from English. Spanish often leaves out the subject pronoun, though, because the verb ending already identifies the person: Hablo español means “I speak Spanish”.

Yo hablo español is also correct. Yo can add emphasis or contrast what you do with what someone else does. You do not need to translate every English “I”, “you” or “we” explicitly.

To link ideas, start with y (“and”), pero (“but”) and porque (“because”): Hablo inglés, pero no hablo español (“I speak English, but I do not speak Spanish”).

2. Nouns have gender and number

The definite articles are el and la in the singular, los and las in the plural. They correspond broadly to English “the”. The indefinite articles are un, una, unos, unas.

Many nouns ending in -o are masculine and many ending in -a are feminine: el libro, la casa. Exceptions include la mano (“hand”), el día (“day”) and el problema (“problem”). Learn each noun with its article. Grammatical gender applies to things as well as people: la mesa (“table”) is feminine and el coche (“car”) masculine.

Plurals often add -s after a vowel and -es after a consonant: casa → casas, hotel → hoteles. A final z changes to c before -es: vez → veces.

Adjectives agree with nouns: un hotel pequeño, una habitación pequeña, dos habitaciones pequeñas. Some have the same masculine and feminine form: un hotel grande, una casa grande. They still change in the plural: grandes.

An adjective often follows the noun, unlike the usual English order. Its position is not completely fixed, so learn useful groups of words together.

For comparisons, más… que means “more… than” and menos… que “less… than”: Este hotel es más barato que el otro (“This hotel is cheaper than the other one”). Tan… como expresses equality: Es tan grande como el otro (“It is as big as the other one”).

3. Articles and contractions

Spanish can leave out an article when referring to an unspecified amount: Quiero agua (“I want water”), Como pan (“I eat bread”). But its article use does not always match English: Me gusta el café means “I like coffee”, with el before the general category.

Two contractions are common: a + el becomes al, and de + el becomes del. You say Voy al hotel (“I am going to the hotel”) and la llave del coche (“the car key”). With la, the words stay separate: Voy a la estación.

You will also see el agua. Agua remains feminine: el agua fría means “the cold water”. Certain feminine nouns beginning with a stressed a sound take el immediately before them. In the plural, the article is las: las aguas.

4. Addressing one person or several, informally or politely

The main subject pronouns are yo (“I”), tú (“you”, one person), él/ella (“he/she”), nosotros/nosotras (“we”), vosotros/vosotras and ustedes (“you”, several people), and ellos/ellas (“they”). Unlike English “you”, Spanish distinguishes several forms of address.

For a respectful form when addressing one person, usted is often used. It takes a third-person verb: ¿Habla usted inglés?, or simply ¿Habla inglés? (“Do you speak English?”).

In much of Spain, vosotros is used informally for several people and ustedes more formally. In Spanish-speaking America, ustedes normally covers both situations. Some regions also use vos for one person; the regional varieties section explains this further. ⁴

Conventions vary with country, age, relationships and setting. Listen to how people address you. If you are unsure, a greeting and a polite request help you begin.

5. Regular verbs in the present tense

Spanish infinitives belong to three groups: -ar, -er and -ir. These are three common present-tense patterns:

These patterns help you understand Hablo un poco de español, Comemos aquí and Viven en México. First practise talking about yourself, asking another person a question and understanding their answer. Add the other persons gradually.

Some frequent verbs are irregular. Useful forms include soy (“I am”, identity), estoy (“I am”, state or location), tengo (“I have”), voy (“I go”), quiero (“I want”), puedo (“I can”) and sé (“I know”).

6. Ser, estar and hay: three different uses

Where English uses “to be”, Spanish often chooses between ser and estar.

Ser identifies or classifies someone or something, or gives an origin: Soy estudiante (“I am a student”), Es mi hermana (“She is my sister”), Somos de Canadá (“We are from Canada”).

Estar locates a person or thing, or describes a state: Estoy en el hotel (“I am at the hotel”), La estación está cerca (“The station is nearby”), Estoy cansado/cansada (“I am tired”).

“Permanent versus temporary” is not a sufficient rule. Madrid está en España uses estar, although the location is stable. With some adjectives, the verb changes the meaning: Es aburrido means “He is boring”, while Está aburrido means “He is bored”.

Hay means “there is” or “there are” and introduces the existence of something: Hay una farmacia cerca (“There is a pharmacy nearby”). To locate a pharmacy already identified, say La farmacia está aquí (“The pharmacy is here”). Hay does not change in the plural: Hay dos farmacias.

7. Tener for age and several sensations

Tener means “to have”: Tengo una reserva (“I have a reservation”). It also expresses age and several sensations for which English uses “be”: Tengo treinta años (“I am thirty”), Tengo hambre (“I am hungry”), Tengo sed (“I am thirsty”), Tengo frío (“I am cold”).

Other states use estar: Estoy enfermo/enferma (“I am ill”). Learn the whole expression instead of looking for a single Spanish equivalent of each English verb.

8. Questions and negatives

A question can keep the same word order as a statement: Hablas español becomes ¿Hablas español? Intonation helps mark the question. Unlike English, Spanish does not add “do” or “does”. Written questions use both ¿ and ?; exclamations use ¡ and !.

Useful question words include qué (“what”, sometimes “which”), quién (“who”), dónde (“where”), cuándo (“when”), cómo (“how”), cuánto/cuánta (“how much”), cuál (“which”, sometimes “what”) and por qué (“why”).

Notice ¿Dónde está la estación?, ¿Cuánto cuesta? and ¿Cómo te llamas? To answer “because”, write porque as one word, without an accent.

For a simple negative, put no before the verb: No entiendo (“I do not understand”), No tengo coche (“I do not have a car”). No tengo nada (“I have nothing”) is a normal construction: its two negative elements work together.

9. Patterns that let you make more sentences

A conjugated verb followed by an infinitive lets you express many things without immediately learning every tense.

Quiero commonly expresses a wish. For a softer request, you will encounter Quisiera… or Me gustaría… (“I would like…”). You can learn these as expressions first and study their conjugations later.

10. Me llamo, me gusta, lo entiendo: understanding small pronouns

In Me llamo Ana (“My name is Ana”), me belongs to the construction of llamarse, literally “to call oneself”. With “you”, this becomes Te llamas Ana; with “she”, Se llama Ana.

Gustar works differently from English “like”. Think of “be pleasing to”: Me gusta el café means that coffee is pleasing to me, or “I like coffee”. The verb agrees with the thing liked: Me gustan los museos. Before an infinitive, it stays singular: Me gusta viajar.

Other pronouns replace an object. Lo entiendo can mean “I understand it”. Tengo la reserva can become La tengo (“I have it”). In Le doy mi pasaporte (“I give him/her my passport”), le refers to the person receiving it.

These pronouns usually precede a conjugated verb: No lo entiendo. They can attach to an infinitive: Quiero comprarlo (“I want to buy it”). First focus on recognising what they refer to.

11. Saying who something belongs to and pointing things out

Mi, tu, su correspond to “my”, “your”, “his”, “her” or “their”, depending on context and form of address. They become plural when the things possessed are plural: mi pasaporte, mis documentos. Su can refer to several different owners; context tells you which one.

Este/esta point to something nearby: este billete, esta habitación. Ese/esa and aquel/aquella distinguish other degrees of distance. To begin with, este/esta and ese/esa, together with a gesture when needed, are useful in many situations.

12. Common prepositions

Start with useful combinations: voy a Madrid (“I am going to Madrid”), vivo en Madrid (“I live in Madrid”), soy de Canadá (“I am from Canada”), un café con leche (“a coffee with milk”), agua sin gas (“still water”).

Para can mark a destination, recipient or purpose: Es para ti (“It is for you”), Estudio para trabajar en España (“I am studying so I can work in Spain”). Por can express a reason, movement through a place or an exchange: Gracias por tu ayuda (“Thank you for your help”), Paseamos por el centro (“We walk around the town centre”). Neither is simply interchangeable with every English “for”. Learn their uses through different expressions.

You will also notice a before certain personal objects: Busco a María (“I am looking for María”), but Busco un hotel (“I am looking for a hotel”).

13. Numbers, times and dates

For travel, recognising spoken numbers deserves as much practice as reciting them. Begin with 0 to 20, then the tens: treinta (30), cuarenta (40), cincuenta (50), sesenta (60), setenta (70), ochenta (80), noventa (90).

From thirty onwards, connect units with y: treinta y dos (32), cuarenta y cinco (45). Numbers 21 to 29 are written as one word: veintiuno, veintidós. One hundred is cien on its own, then ciento uno, ciento dos, and so on. One thousand is mil.

For time: Es la una (“It is one o’clock”), Son las dos (“It is two o’clock”), las dos y media (“half past two”), las tres menos cuarto (“quarter to three”). Practise the 24-hour clock too, particularly for timetables.

A date can be expressed as el quince de mayo (“15 May”). Unlike English, Spanish normally writes days and months with a lower-case letter. Match spoken prices to written amounts; ask for phone numbers to be repeated in short groups.

14. Past tenses, the future and what comes next

The present tense is enough for many requests, but you will soon encounter other tenses. Here is what they generally do, without needing to learn every conjugation yet.

The Spanish preterite is common in speech. The choice between it and the present perfect varies with region and context: an English present perfect does not automatically require he plus a participle in Spanish. ¹¹

For an ongoing action, Spanish uses estar with a gerund: Estoy esperando (“I am waiting”). In Estoy aprendiendo español, the construction presents learning as an ongoing activity, without necessarily meaning that you are studying at that exact second. Its uses do not match every English “-ing” form.

The imperative can give an instruction: Mira (“Look”, with tú), Mire (“Look”, with usted). You will also hear the subjunctive in wishes, requests and certain clauses: Quiero que venga (“I want him/her to come”, depending on context). You will learn these gradually; they are not prerequisites for your first orders or introductions.

Words that can mislead English speakers

Related vocabulary helps, but similar-looking words do not always mean the same thing. Embarazada means “pregnant”, not “embarrassed”. Actualmente usually means “currently”, not “actually”. Una biblioteca is a library; a bookshop is una librería.

Also distinguish muy and mucho: muy caro (“very expensive”), mucho tiempo (“a lot of time”), muchas personas (“many people”) and Trabajo mucho (“I work a lot”).

These differences are easier to remember in sentences connected with your life than in a long list of isolated exceptions.

Spain, Mexico, Argentina: which Spanish should you learn?

One language, several regional varieties

The Spanish spoken in Spain, Mexico and Argentina is the same language. Much of its grammar and vocabulary is shared. Differences mainly concern pronunciation, some everyday words, forms of address and how often particular constructions are used.

“Latin American Spanish” is a useful label, but it is not a single accent. Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile each have regional and social differences. Similarly, people from Madrid, Seville and the Canary Islands do not all speak in the same way.

“Standard Spanish” refers to widely shared usage that avoids relying on very local slang. It does not mean an accent-free voice or that the same words are equally common everywhere.

The differences you will notice first

These are common patterns, not predictions of how every individual speaks. The Catálogo de voces hispánicas offers local examples that go beyond broad national labels. ⁸

Pronouncing ll and y alike is called yeísmo and is widespread in both Spain and the Americas. The resulting sound varies, which is why calle and yo can sound different across recordings. ⁷

Seseo: should gracias have an “s” sound?

Seseo means pronouncing z and c before e/i as s. It is the general pattern in Spanish-speaking America and also occurs in the Canary Islands and parts of Andalusia. It is a fully accepted pronunciation. ⁵

You may therefore hear gracias with an “s” sound or with the sound resembling “th” in “think”, common in much of Spain. Both are regional usages. If you are heading to Mexico, seseo is a suitable model; if you follow recordings from Spain, learn to recognise the other pronunciation too.

Tú, vos, vosotros, ustedes: what should you learn?

Tú is widely used for one person. Vos serves a comparable purpose in several American regions, sometimes with different verb forms: in Argentina, tú tienes generally corresponds to vos tenés, and tú eres to vos sos. This usage, called voseo, belongs to the standard language of several countries; it is not a mistake. ⁶

Vos and vosotros address different numbers of people: vos addresses one, vosotros several. For the plural in Spanish-speaking America, prioritise ustedes and its conjugation: ustedes hablan.

You can start with tú while learning to recognise vos. If you move to a region where voseo is usual, practising its forms will help you join local conversations more naturally.

Words to recognise for your destination

These equivalents are not exclusive. A word may be understood without being the most usual local choice, and its meaning can depend on the situation.

One useful distinction before travelling: in Spain, coger commonly means “take”, as in taking a bus. In Mexico, Argentina and several other countries, it also has a vulgar sexual meaning. Tomar el autobús avoids that difficulty when you mean “take the bus”. ¹⁰

Is the Spanish in First contact suitable for your plans?

For a visit or move to Spain, the course model directly matches your destination. You will still encounter accents and ways of speaking that differ from the recordings.

For Mexico or another Spanish-speaking American country, the sentence patterns and many expressions will be useful. Add listening from your destination, learn its common vocabulary and prioritise ustedes for the plural. For Argentina or another region where vos is usual, become familiar with that form too.

If you have not chosen a destination, you can start with the course model. The verbs, sentence patterns and shared vocabulary will remain useful as your plans become clearer. Changing regions does not mean learning the language again from scratch.

Are Spanish and Castilian different languages?

Español and castellano can refer to the same language. Castellano can also have a narrower meaning depending on context, particularly when referring to Castile or distinguishing Spanish from Spain’s other languages. ⁹

Catalan, Basque and Galician are distinct languages that coexist with Spanish. If you move to an area where another language is used in daily life, becoming familiar with it may also be part of your plans.

Your first exchanges before a trip

These examples complement the course topics. They show how a conversation can continue after your opening sentence.

Explaining that you are a beginner and asking for help understanding

The requests with puede use the polite usted form. With someone you address as tú, they become ¿Puedes repetir?, ¿Puedes hablar más despacio? and ¿Puedes escribirlo?

Checking in at a hotel

— Buenas tardes. Tengo una reserva a nombre de Martin.
— Good afternoon. I have a reservation in the name of Martin.

— ¿Para cuántas noches?
— For how many nights?

— Para tres noches.
— For three nights.

Practise your name, numbers and possible replies: a request for your passport, a checkout time or a room number. You can reuse a nombre de… without changing the whole sentence.

Asking for directions

— Perdone, ¿dónde está la estación?
— Excuse me, where is the station?

— Siga recto y gire a la derecha.
— Go straight ahead and turn right.

— ¿Está lejos?
— Is it far?

— No, está a diez minutos a pie.
— No, it is a ten-minute walk.

To understand this kind of answer, learn a la derecha (“to the right”), a la izquierda (“to the left”), recto (“straight ahead”), cerca (“near”) and lejos (“far”) together. You can also ask ¿Puede mostrarme dónde está en el mapa? — “Could you show me where it is on the map?”

Ordering and asking to pay

— Quisiera un café, por favor.
— I would like a coffee, please.

— ¿Solo o con leche?
— Black or with milk?

— Con leche, gracias.
— With milk, thank you.

At the end: La cuenta, por favor (“The bill, please”), then ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? (“Can I pay by card?”). Recognising en efectivo (“in cash”) helps you understand another payment option.

Buying a ticket

— Un billete para Madrid, por favor.
— A ticket to Madrid, please.

— ¿De ida o de ida y vuelta?
— One way or return?

— De ida y vuelta.
— Return.

Billete is common in Spain. Depending on your destination, you may hear boleto or pasaje instead. Prepare the date and time you want, and how to ask where the service leaves from.

Explaining a problem

Useful expressions include Necesito ayuda (“I need help”), Estoy perdido/perdida (“I am lost”), He perdido mi pasaporte (“I have lost my passport”) and Necesito un médico (“I need a doctor”).

Prepare words that fit your circumstances. For precise medical information, a checked written translation can supplement what you can say. Memorising an opening sentence does not necessarily let you understand every follow-up question.

Choosing a greeting

Hola works in many situations. Buenos días is used in the morning, buenas tardes in the afternoon and buenas noches in the evening or at night, with local differences in timing. Gracias, por favor and hasta luego are useful from your first exchanges.

Before asking a stranger a question, a greeting and perdone help start the conversation. Keep it simple: politeness does not require a long sentence.

How can you tell whether you can use what you have learned?

A good score on familiar expressions tells you something, but not everything about what you can do elsewhere. To check your progress, change the words or the situation slightly.

Try these tasks without reading a prepared answer:

• Introduce yourself in three or four sentences, then give the same information with a different name or city.
• Say what you would like to order and understand a simple question about your order.
• Ask a price, recognise several possible amounts and ask for repetition when needed.
• Understand a short set of directions given in an order you have not memorised.
• Explain where you want to go and when you want to leave.
• Say that you have not understood without immediately giving up on the exchange.

Recalling an expression after a few seconds is already different from having to reread it. Understanding it in another voice means you are beginning to recognise it beyond the familiar recording. Replacing a word while keeping the pattern means you are beginning to make your own sentences.

When should you move to the next topic?

You can move on when you understand the expressions you have practised and can recall some without help. Keep reviewing the difficult ones. Waiting until you never make a mistake can delay your access to words you need elsewhere.

What if you forget a lot?

Reduce the amount of new material and choose sentences connected with your life. When you forget a phrase, check that you understood it and had tried to recall it without looking. Then use it in a small situation: an order, an arrival or an introduction.

If you confuse similar words, compare them in two short sentences. If a whole expression remains difficult, break it up and then put it back together. Its length or sounds may be the obstacle, rather than its meaning.

What comes after First contact?

To keep learning the language

As your first exchanges become familiar, gradually expand what you can talk about: your day, preferences, work, what you have done and what you plan to do. Add short texts and conversations where you choose your own words.

Loecsen’s Independent in 6 months course lets you continue. It offers Spanish from Spain and Latin America, based on standard Spanish. Choose the variety that suits your plans and add listening from the country or region that interests you.

To prepare for a move

Build vocabulary for practical tasks and daily life: housing, appointments, work, school and neighbours. Practise explaining a situation in several sentences and answering follow-up questions. Phone calls and group conversations need particular practice because they provide fewer clues than a simple face-to-face exchange.

The aim gradually becomes understanding without anticipating everything. A conversation partner, teacher or regular conversations locally can help you take this step.

To support school learning

You can use the recordings and exercises alongside your school lessons to practise vocabulary and listening. Match your work here to what you are studying in class. The Spanish courses page shows the learning paths available in English.

Practical questions

Is the course free?

Lessons, recordings, quizzes and Super Memory are available free online, with usage limits. Paid options include MP3 and PDF downloads and removing advertisements. Current conditions are shown in the service.

Do you need an account?

An account lets you save your progress and return to it in later sessions.

Can you study offline?

The interactive course runs online. MP3 and PDF downloads available with the paid offer let you listen and read offline; they do not reproduce all the interactive exercises.

Do you need a microphone?

You can listen and repeat aloud without recording your voice. Speech recognition depends on your browser and microphone access. Its result alone is not a complete assessment of your pronunciation.

Can you learn through listening alone?

Listening helps you become familiar with sounds and recognise expressions. To recall a sentence when you speak, also practise producing it without a model. Add written practice for tasks such as reading a timetable, completing a form or writing a message.

Do you need to learn all the grammar before speaking?

You can use No entiendo before you can explain its conjugation. A rule becomes useful when it helps you understand a sentence or create another. Alternate practice and explanations instead of waiting to know the entire system.

Is Spanish easy for English speakers?

Related vocabulary and fairly regular spelling offer useful starting points. Gender, adjective agreement, verb endings, object pronouns and distinctions such as ser/estar need practice. Understanding a short text fairly quickly does not mean a conversation will be equally easy to follow.

Can you start alone or return after a long break?

You can begin independently with recordings and exercises. After a long break, check what you recognise in speech and what you can produce: reading memories may be stronger than speaking habits. Conversations with others will then help you practise unexpected replies and get corrections.

Does a course certificate prove A1 proficiency?

A course certificate records participation or completion according to the course conditions. It is different from a language qualification based on a separate assessment of skills. If an organisation asks for an official level, check which qualifications it accepts.

Where can you start today?

Open Essentials. Choose a few phrases for greeting people, introducing yourself and asking someone to repeat. Listen, say them aloud, then try to recall them without the text. At your next session, check what you remember before adding more.

Sources and language resources

The examples and study schedules in this presentation were written to support your first steps. These references offer further information on language levels, grammar and regional differences.

1. Council of Europe — CEFR global scale. An explanation of level A1 and how it differs from later levels.
2. Instituto Cervantes — A1–A2 grammar inventory. A reference for early grammar learning. This inventory is not a description of the content of First contact.
3. Instituto Cervantes — A1–A2 pronunciation and prosody. Guidance on sounds, stress and intonation.
4. RAE–ASALE — Usted. Forms of address and the plural ustedes.
5. RAE–ASALE — Seseo. Where this pronunciation is used and its status.
6. RAE–ASALE — Voseo. Uses of vos and its main associated forms.
7. RAE–ASALE — Yeísmo. The merger of the pronunciations of ll and y.
8. Instituto Cervantes — Catálogo de voces hispánicas. Regional descriptions and examples, including: Buenos Aires, Ciudad de México, Santiago de Chile, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
9. RAE–ASALE — Español. The names español and castellano.
10. RAE–ASALE — Coger. Meanings and geographical usage labels.
11. RAE–ASALE — Pretérito perfecto compuesto de indicativo. Uses of the present perfect and geographical variation.