by Alexa Steele

Created on: March 15, 2009

As a non-spanish-speaker I consider myself an unbiased judge in considering what is the best language learning podcast for learning Spanish. My method was simple, I downloaded episodes of five different learn-spanish podcasts from the iTunes store. I listened and evaluated them on a) comprehension - did I understand the lesson and b) entertainment - did I like the podcast enough to tune in again. Although most of these podcasts offered additional online study materials, I wanted to find out if any of these podcasts could stand alone as an introduction to a new language.

The first podcast I tuned in to (contestant number one, I suppose) was Learn Spanish by SpanishPod.com. I was greeted by cheerful Latin music and hosts JP and Liliana. In each episode the duo introduce a short Spanish dialogue, offering a keyword to listen for. After the dialogue they provide line by line translation along with grammar and pronunciation tips. Each lesson is fun, informative and punctuated with useful cultural notes.

Contestant number two was titled Learn Spanish - Survival Guide. In this podcast the host, David Spencer, is a Spanish teacher from Baltimore, Maryland. David speaks with a distinctly American accent which seems to bleed over into his Spanish. His teaching style is to use call and repeat drills. He speaks a Spanish phrase, translates it, and provides time for the listener to repeat it out loud. His focus is on "travel Spanish" or simple questions that a first time visitor to a Spanish-speaking country might find useful such as "Do you speak English?" or "Where is the bathroom?" Unfortunately, about half way through the first podcast I found myself mindlessly repeating after David without knowing what I was saying. In my opinion this podcast did not pass muster for entertainment value.

Contestant number three was Spanish 101 by SpanishPod101.com. The music and hosts were energetic and engaging. Regrettably, three whole episodes of this show were dedicated to selling the SpanishPod101 system for learning Spanish. Only in episode four did I find an actual Spanish lesson in which a man named Alan and his co-host introduce a Spanish dialogue. In addition to line by line translation emphasis was placed on vocabulary words and pronunciation. This podcast is clearly designed to be used in conjunction with the subscription based tools advertised in episodes one through three (available in Free, Basic and Premium packages), and so did not meet my stand-alone criterion. Still,

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