Learning a new language doesn’t have to take up hours and yours of your day every day. Obviously, the more time and commitment that you’re able to dedicate to learning Spanish, the quicker you’ll feel confident speaking. When there are days that you can’t dedicate much time, or if you’re looking for new ways to slip Spanish into your routine, check out these low commitment activities.
Low commitment learning- Listen to music in Spanish
Odds are, you listen to music every single day. Although Reggaeton is the most popular genre in Spanish around the world, if you’re not a fan, there are plenty of other genres to choose from. You can find your favorite types of music in Spanish by doing a quick search on your favorite streaming platform.
In addition, some artists even have Spanish versions of their popular songs. I’m not just talking about Bailando by Enrique Iglesias! Beyoncé’s If I Were A Boy is even in Spanish, Si yo fuera un chico. There are plenty of options to choose from, and you might even recognize some of them from the radio, as lots of music in Spanish is popular in mainstream music as well.
Take it up a notch by looking up the lyrics and trying to follow along. This strategy is less low-commitment, but if you want to put a little more time and energy into it, this is a great way to practice speaking skills too. Singing is speaking, and it’ll even help your pronunciation.
Try Spanish podcasts
Spanish podcasts exist for every level. Whether you’re in your first week, your first year, or are several years into your studies, these podcasts are great low commitment ways to practice and learn. There are plenty of podcasts out there for educational purposes that are partially in English and partially in Spanish. These podcasts are designed to be slow and repetitive to focus on getting the basics down. As the levels increase and you move up from A1, you’ll notice more and more Spanish and less and less English.
If you’re up for a challenge or are more advanced, you could try listening to podcasts that are made for the general public and not made-for-education. It might be a bit tricky at first, especially if you’re navigating around different dialects that you aren’t familiar with. If you stick with it, it’ll be a great and low commitment way to get Spanish practice in every day.