Summary

The beginner episodes of Notes in Spanish may be a bit tricky for the absolute beginner, but the narrators, Ben and Maria, say that it’s normal to be a bit lost at first. They add their personality to the conversations, so even when they teach basic introductions, it is far from the dialogue you would read in a Spanish 101 textbook — you will sound natural in no time if you practice listening comprehension with this duo. There is no end to the topics that Ben and Maria can talk about in the intermediate and advanced episodes — one day you may be touring their home, the next you’ll be listening to them discuss Harry Potter. Each episode comes in bite-sized 10ish minute chunks so you can acquire some new vocabulary on the go. It’s probably not possible for beginners to use this podcast as their sole learning resource, as after 30 beginner episodes the intermediate episodes use almost no English. You may need some extra support to keep up. Ben and Maria offer the Real Spanish Control course to help you transition from beginner to intermediate, but you can also check out the podcast Unlimited Spanish to practice speaking, Duolingo to learn the basics, and SpanishVIP or iTalki for private tutoring.