30+ Amazing Resources for Reading (and Learning!) Spanish

THE BREAKDOWN OF READING RESOURCES

This article includes Spanish reading resources in several categories:

• Reading Resources for the Beginner Spanish Learner
• Amazing Children’s Books to Build Your Skills
• Spanish Reading Resources with Video and Audio
• News, Information and Current Events in Spanish
• Apps for Spanish Reading Practise
• Paid Resources to Help You Build Your Spanish Reading Skills

I’ve included over 30 resources, most of which contain dozens of articles and stories to read.

READING RESOURCES FOR BEGINNER SPANISH LEARNERS

These resources are perfect to help you master the basics of Spanish and build essential vocabulary.

Reading Passages with Vocabulary Lists
Each passage on topics from Bancos (Banks) to Viajes (Travels) includes a helpful list of related vocabulary.

Reading Comprehension for Teachers and Students
This list of a dozen reading resources is designed to help beginners with reading comprehension.

200+ Passages with Quizzes
This massive collection of over 200 Spanish passages includes integrated quizzes so you can check you’ve fully understood what you’ve read.

Spanish Stories and Much More
This website features a selection of Spanish stories. It also includes a variety of other Spanish reading materials, such as poems, riddles and more!

Cultural Readings for Various Levels
These texts deal with cultural topics in Latin America and Spain, and are broken up by level. Start at A1 if you’re a beginner.

AMAZING CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO BUILD YOUR SKILLS

These children’s books are aimed at beginner Spanish readers, and are much more entertaining than dry essays or reports.

International Children’s Digital Library
The ICDL has a massive collection of children’s books from around the world, including many in Spanish. This website is a treasure trove for language learners.

Children’s Books Forever
These cute downloadable Spanish books feature charming illustrations.

Grimm Stories in Spanish
The Brothers Grimm are known for collecting classic stories including Hansel y Gretel (Hansel and Gretel). What makes this website extra special is that each story is available in many different languages. You can compare, side by side, the Spanish version with one in your native language.

Hans Christian Andersen Stories in Spanish
As with the Grimm stories mentioned above, here’s the same service for the stories of Hans Christian Andersen.

Childrens Books Online
This is another brilliant selection of children’s books, many in Spanish. It includes classics like Jack and the Beanstalk and The Golden Goose.

Spanish Comic Strips
Comic strips are great fun for all ages. This website includes several popular comic strips such as Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes in Spanish translations.

SPANISH READING RESOURCES WITH VIDEO AND AUDIO

Reading is a great way to discover new Spanish words. It’s even better when you can listen to the audio of what you’re reading or watch the stories acted out.

20 Readings with Audio
This website provides over 20 readings for beginners, together with audio recordings.

Listen and Read Spanish — With a Quiz
These readings with audio have a built-in quiz system, so you can double check what you’ve learned.

University of Texas Austin Spanish Proficiency Exercises
This amazing resource features videos of native Spanish speakers from many different regions. It focuses on 15 main language skills such as describing basic objects, counting, and talking about your family.

NEWS, INFORMATION AND CURRENT EVENTS IN SPANISH

I love reading newspapers and magazines to learn Spanish. I find out what’s going on in the world and improve my reading skills!

Spanish News Bites
This website provides small, bite-sized chunks of news in Spanish. Perfect for a beginner Spanish learner.

CNN in Spanish
Not just for beginners, this is CNN’s Spanish-language website, providing all the latest headlines.

Online Newspapers in Spanish
M.I.T. has put together this comprehensive list of Spanish language newspapers. You’re sure to find a newspaper you like.

Even More Online Newspapers in Spanish
Another list of online newspapers for Spanish readers.

Wikipedia in Spanish
Believe it or not, you can get Spanish reading practice from Wikipedia. Search for any topic in your native language, and then click on the left column link for Spanish to be taken to the Spanish language version of that article. This is a great way to build topic-specific vocabulary.

APPS FOR SPANISH READING PRACTICE

There are lots of apps that can help you practice your Spanish reading skills. Here are a few of the best..

Duolingo
Duolingo is a fun language learning app for iOS and Android. It provides a guided, gentle introduction to Spanish, with quizzes and reading exercises.

FluentU Spanish
FluentU curates the best Spanish videos on the web and provides reading tools to help you study them effectively.

Cat Academy
This free app combines the appeal of cats with the language learning power of SRS (Spaced Repetition Systems, more on these in a moment).

PAID RESOURCES TO HELP YOU BUILD YOUR SPANISH READING SKILLS

All the resources I’ve shared so far have been free. But if you want results fast, you might consider investing in paid products.

Spanish Pod 101
I’m a big fan of Innovative Language podcasts. What you might not realise is that all their materials include downloadable transcripts so you can practice your reading right along with your listening.

Amazon’s Spanish Children’s Books
This selection of the best selling Spanish language children’s books is ideal for beginner Spanish learners.

Teach Yourself Spanish
Teach Yourself Spanish includes plenty of opportunities for reading practice.

Yabla Spanish
I love Yabla. They’ve curated the best video content they can find online over a range of fun topics, and they host the videos on their site with precisely timed subtitles in both English and Spanish. A great way to practise your reading!

Coffee Break Spanish
This programme by the Radio Lingua Network provides audio-focused lesson. You can also get downloadable transcripts to help with your reading comprehension.

4 HACKS TO HELP YOU SPEED UP YOUR SPANISH READING PROGRESS

Here are my top tips to help you cut hours off your study time, so you can become a Spanish reader faster than you ever thought possible.

Improve Your Recall with Spaced Repetition Systems
SRS is the best way I know to quickly learn new words. SRS prompts you to recall new words when you’re on the verge of forgetting them. This makes them stick in your long-term memory. My favourite SRS tool is the Anki flashcard app.

Use Mnemonics for Better Memory Retention
Mnemonics provide “hooks” for your brain to attach information, which makes them harder to forget. One of the best (and free) apps for setting up mnemonic devices is Memrise.

Increase Your Reading Speed Using Learning With Texts
This open-source, cloud-based foreign language reading app will help you absorb Spanish vocabulary at an accelerated rate. Best of all, it’s free!

Pomodoro Your Productivity
The Pomodoro Technique is a way of breaking up your study sessions into short segments, followed by even shorter breaks. This helps you study faster and smarter.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET READING SPANISH!

Reading in Spanish is important. However, the best way to learn Spanish fast is to speak from day one. I always recommend a study programme focused on speaking.

Reading isn’t an end unto itself. It’s a tool to help you learn new words. It also exposes you to grammar and culture.

With this list of reading resources for beginner Spanish learners, you can level up your Spanish language faster than ever!

This article originally appeared on Fluent in 3 Months and is republished here with permission.