To learn a language, whether it’s German, Portuguese, Italian or Spanish, theory is important! Indeed, without the basics, it will be difficult for you to progress.
Did you know ? Castilian is the most studied language in the world and is spoken by around 440 million people across the blue planet, especially in South America. So it’s up to you to get started!
You are probably already looking for the best ways to learn Spanish if you want to study the language. You will likely be aware that you can take Spanish lessons with a private teacher, Spanish courses at a local language school, or you can even find a number of online Spanish options.
It is safe to say, however, that regardless of which option you choose, you will likely need a book to help you practise and advantage in the language of Cervantes.
Whether you want to go to Madrid or Barcelona, to discover South America, or simply for the pleasure of speaking a foreign language, Superprof has put together a selection of the best books for you to study Spanish.
Let’s start with some classic books that will give you the basics of the Spanish alphabet, grammar, spelling, conjugation and vocabulary. This will help you prepare for a language course, perfect your accent or learn to pronounce complicated words correctly!
The author, Francisco Javier Anton Martinez, proposes a solid and effective method, which is based on:
The pack consists of a 612-page book and a CD / MP3. This method consists of 100 lessons that cover the main points of Spanish grammar, the so-called common vocabulary (the one to communicate in everyday life) and exercises.
Find the right Spanish book to help you progress
You will assimilate the language in two steps:
At the end, the final level, called “without difficulty” will ask you to have a conversation about a current topic to verify that you know enough Spanish grammar and vocabulary. Have a native speaker on hand to help with your Spanish speaking if you can!
Half an hour a day to experience live dialogues, reminders of Spanish classes and easy exercises. Within a few months, you will be able to chat to friends or strangers with no difficulty. It’s common that an adult masters the use of 1500 words after practising this method.
If you want to join this great family, this big book to learn Spanish seems like it will get you on the good track!
The Assimil method, which has already 85 years behind it, has succeeded in opening the doors of foreign languages to millions of people. It remains to know if it suits you, too!
Keep in mind that learning a language requires rigor, discipline and great involvement. If you want to teach yourself Spanish then you will need all of these things. But you will also need a good book, and Spanish with Ease just might be the one for you.
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Beginners learning Spanish are always on the look out for some useful tips to get them started, one of which is to invest in a good book.
Although Margarita Madrigal wrote this book in the 1950’s, it’s still a “magic key” to learning the basics! Simple and logical, this 496 page book is built around 45 lessons.
The method is mainly intended for beginner students coming from universities and big schools, but it is up to you to see if it suits you in your own situation!
The idea is to learn by listening, and to accumulate knowledge by doing written exercises which are included in the book of Spanish exercises which is included.
Make sure you find an engaging book to help you learn Spanish
If you want to spend an evening on the ramblas in Barcelona speaking Spanish to the locals while enjoying tapas, it will be well worth turning a few pages of a Spanish textbook to help you out a little bit.
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This updated language-learning guide helps you learn to speak Spanish in 15-minute lessons, each one based on a different theme. For those of you who are keen to learn Spanish with an app, you will pleased to hear that there is a new audio app which accompanies this book.
The 12 chapters are broken down into 15-minute daily lessons that combine vocabulary and grammar essentials about a range of themes, from socialising, to doing business. This book is probably the most user-friendly, accessible language guide on the market.
You’ll be surprised what you can achieve in 15 minutes a day.
For all those who feel that they don’t have any spare time on their hands, you can enjoy the cooking time of your paella or just part of your lunch break, to devote yourself to learning a grammar point, questions of understanding, or even a little game of conjugation.
This method includes:
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There are lots of reasons to learn Spanish, but they are of no use to you if you become lost as soon as you are asked “¿Cómo te llamas?”, “¿Que tal?” or “¿Cuántos años tienes?”?
The purpose of this Spanish conversation book is to enable the student to integrate current Spanish, as it is spoken today, quickly and efficiently.
The formula is enticing and rather fun, but it is aimed at motivated and autonomous people who are not afraid of potting books on their free time. You need to know that for interactions, we are close to none!
For those who want a bit more audio, Dummies offer the Spanish “mega audio kit” for dummies with a book, 5 audio CDs, online exercises and a mini lexicon offered.
This book, developed by Spanish teachers, is fairly well structured into chapters (in the office, holding a conversation, at the bank, at the restaurant, in the shops, etc.) to learn the basics in all situations of everyday life. However, as you can probably expect, the price increases quite considerably for this option.
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If the idea of learning a second language by using a book discourages you, we’ll have to find a more amusing way to convince you to open one! Here is our selection of more fun books to get you back on the Spanish track in a fun way!
It is good to soak up the culture of the country, but we don’t recommend a glass of sangria between two readings!
Learning Spanish with El Nuevo Compañero de Cuarto proposes a new method to learn the basics of the Spanish language and develop vocabulary in record time. It also helps to refine its understanding of Spanish grammar by reading stories in English and Spanish.
It’s for you if:
This book to learn Spanish is a real game changer: will you recognize all the pairs of antonyms?
What are antonyms? Adjectives having opposite meanings: for example true and false, polite and rude, or beautiful and ugly.
This is to find the 100 pairs of antonyms in the text and to list them in Spanish of course! Enhance your vocabulary quickly and in a fun way!
It will then leave the book a few days and then resume it to reactivate the memory and test what you can remember.
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Why not see what fun Spanish books your local library has?
We recommend the small and amusing collection 300 chistes españoles e hispanoamericanos (300 Spanish and Spanish-American jokes) as a way to make your language learning more enjoyable. Just like learning Spanish online can involve games to make it fun, books can use jokes.
To understand some jokes, it may be useful to know some phrases like:
And the best part of this kind of book as part of your Spanish course?
The less interesting aspect:
So, when will your next laugh be? By the way, to have a laugh in Spanish is said to “tener una ataque de risa”, so better start early.
And if you laugh in Spanish and you want to transcribe it in writing, you should not say “haha” but “jaja” (with the guttural pronunciation of the Spanish jota)!
Don’t just put aside audio books in Spanish! In the same way that you can use movies to learn Spanish, audio books are a great way to learn the pronunciation, the rhythm of the phrases, the accentuation, and to be charmed by the musicality of the country of Flamenco!
With audio books, you can listen to your favourite stories on the move, even while cycling!
There are many websites that offer Spanish audio books to download for free:
Now that you know what books to learn to learn Spanish, do not deprive yourself of free sites to learn Spanish to better master the language of Cervantes! So, what book will you allow yourself to try to shine in Spanish?
Whether you are in the middle of a language school, during evening classes or summer courses, nothing is worth a book to improve your vocabulary, grammar and conjugation!
Spanish literature is full of authors and writers who have improved, changed, or contributed to the Spanish Language
The novels, tales and poems allow to learn more about Spanish culture, and the history of Spain while enriching your vocabulary with new Spanish words.
The beauty of the narrow streets of Seville, the charm of the monuments of Andalusia and the various populations that participated in the rise of a country recognized today for the beauty of its landscapes, the richness of its language and culture.
Reading children’s books is a good way to improve your level of Spanish.
To learn this new language, you will find books for people of all ages, abilities, and situations. It doesn’t matter if you want to help help a dyslexic child learn Spanish, or if you are someone who has recently retired any wants to learn Spanish without having to look for language courses.
The same can be said for your level, too. For beginners we turn to books of the Spanish literature easier to access as:
More accessible for intermediate and advanced students, the classics of Hispanic literature are at hand:
Spanish lessons online would be a great companion to these classic stories!
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