3 Tips for Learning Spanish Before Your South America Trip

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If you’re planning a trip to South America then learning some level of Spanish is an absolute must. You would probably be able to manage in the bigger cities just using English but if you want to visit the smaller towns, speak to local people and get the full South American experience then you should try and learn some Spanish.



Local people in South America do really appreciate it when you try to speak Spanish and you will get the chance to learn more things about the culture that you otherwise might not if you didn’t speak the language. Not to mention Spanish is just a beautiful language and learning is always fun.



But don’t worry, no one is expecting you to be fluent, and learning Spanish isn’t as difficult as you might think. Being able to speak conversational Spanish is actually quite attainable and we’re here to help you find out how to do that.



So here are our top 3 tips on how you can learn Spanish before your trip to South America.

Learn some grammar and vocabulary with Duolingo

The first thing you want to be doing when you’re learning Spanish is receiving input, because you can’t start speaking if you don’t have any words or you don’t know how to construct sentences. But you don’t want to be spending your time memorising word lists or working your way through textbooks because that’s boring. Instead you should download Duolingo.



Duolingo is a fun app that teaches you Spanish in an engaging and interactive way. The app is set out in a series of self-contained modules that cover different topics, which you need to complete before you move onto the next. Each module gradually gets more and more difficult until you’re dealing with quite complex grammar and really interesting topics.



Not only is the app fun to use, but it also has built in learning incentives to motivate you like streaks and leader boards. Not to mention the enormous online community that can be found in the forums if you ever have a question or just want to talk to people about learning Spanish.



Thousands of people use Duolingo everyday and they swear by it. But as great an app as Duolingo is, it’s not enough to help you fully learn Spanish, so that’s where our other handy tips come in.

Reinforce your Spanish by reading graded readers

After you’ve started learning words and grammar you want to start reinforcing your Spanish in more natural ways. A great way to do this is by reading in Spanish. But you need to be careful. You don’t want to start reading books that are far too difficult for you, because even if the story is interesting, you’re not going to be taking anything in if you’re looking up every other word in the dictionary. Similarly, you don’t want to be reading children’s books that are suited to your level but you find boring and not enjoyable to read. The point of reading when you’re learning a foreign language is to help your learning in an interesting and more natural way. That’s where graded readers come in.



Graded readers are books that have been written specifically for different learning levels. So if you’re an intermediate learner, you should be able to find stories that have been written for an intermediate level. This is a great way to read because it means you get to find interesting stories that are aimed at adults but that have been written to meet the level you’re currently at.



Lingo Press Books have a great collection of Spanish graded readers for beginners. The books are specifically written for adults and are engaging whilst still having the vocabulary and grammar structures that are suitable for a beginner.

Practise speaking with italki

Now you have the words and the means to construct sentences, the next thing you should be doing is practising your speaking.



Most people find this the scariest part of learning a language and they have a phobia of making mistakes when talking to natives. But if you’re going to learn a language, you need to realise that making mistakes is ok, and that it’s a natural part of the learning process. Of course, this is easier said than done when you’re speaking to a native who doesn’t understand where you’re at with your learning and isn’t as patient as you need them to be.



A way to get around this and to practise speaking in a more comfortable environment is to find language partners on italki. Italki is a website where you can find people to practise with. You search for a native Spanish speaker who is learning English and organise a language exchange with them where you spend half the time speaking English and half the time speaking Spanish.



This way you get the practise that you need, but you’re also practising with someone who is learning as well, and who understands that you’re going to make mistakes, you need a bit more time to think, and that that’s ok.



Get your input, reinforce that input, and then start speaking. And remember, don’t be afraid to make mistakes; you can’t learn without them.

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