The Multiplex

The tools I used to reach B2 Spanish in one year

I began a serious pursuit of learning the Spanish language in December of 2024, beginning somewhere in the early A1 level and having reached somewhere in B2 territory at the time of writing this (this level system, consisting of levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, comes from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)).

Since then I have tried a number of tools and resources, some of which helped accelerate my learning and others which slowed me down. I aim to document my experiences and observations here.

Note: I didn’t take an official exam to test my level. I am claiming B2 based on feedback from certified DELE instructors I’ve practiced with on italki.

You can find more about the approach I took here.

Apps

italki

Learning Phase: A2 - Current

Method: Obtain high-quality speaking practice with native Spanish (or any other target language) speakers, ranging from casual conversation to more feedback-focused sessions with certified teachers.

This app has been crucial for rapidly improving my Spanish. There’s simply no better way to improve your speaking than by finding native speakers to converse with. It can definitely get expensive (I spoke with people charging anywhere between $10/hour to $30/hour), but for me it was essential for simulating an immersion environment.

Duolingo

Learning Phase: A1 - A2

Method: Of all the resources I’ve tried, this one was easily the most addictive and least useful. The gamified experience, in my opinion, forces you to optimize for the wrong outcomes, speeding through exercises rather than engaging with them in a way better suited for learning. I definitely think it does a good job (at least for Spanish) at giving you an intuition for the grammar, but as for a holistic language-learning experience, it was far too slow for me. I abandoned it for more rigorous approaches after reaching around A2.

HelloTalk

Learning Phase: B1 - B2

Method: This was an interesting experience. The app connects you with people targeting your native language whose own native language is the one you’re targeting, and you chat with them. My Spanish writing skill improved quite a bit using this app, but unfortunately it’s full of people using it as a dating service, which is perhaps an unsurprising outcome. I did eventually find conversation partners that were serious about learning English and nothing beyond that, but they were few and far between.

LingQ

Learning Phase: A2 - B1

Method: The concept of LingQ was especially attractive to me at first, because it allows you to consume content as you otherwise would, but lets you mark unknown vocabulary as you go, converting words to flash cards and allowing you to rank how well you recall the words. What eventually drove me away from the app was that I already had a large vocabulary due to my frequency dictionary method, so I was spending far too much time marking words I already know as such. Adding to the annotation burdens was the fact that each conjugation of a verb counted as a separate word in the database, so for a given verb I’d have to annotate it for every conjugated tense and form. It’s completely within reason that there was a more efficient configuration that the app offers, but I dropped it before investing any extra time into optimizing.

Anki

Learning Phase: A1 - Current

Method: Anki is a flash card program that implements a spaced repetition algorithm used to find the most efficient set of flash card reviews at any given time.

I continue to use Anki to efficiently memorize a large number of things, and this includes Spanish vocabulary, phrases, and grammar structures. I used it to memorize the first several thousand most common words in Spanish (using a frequency dictionary as my source), and I give this the majority of the credit for rapidly pushing my Spanish into the B1-B2 range.

Yes, it’s true that a bag of words isn’t all that is required to unlock understanding in a language. It’s also true that flash cards in language learning run the risk of increasing or prolonging your reliance on translations from your native language when using the target language. But in my experience, learning these words quickly unlocked what might be the most important milestone in any language learning endeavor: the ability to consume content meant for native speakers.

The whole idea of a spaced repetition system (SRS) is insanely powerful and is worth looking into if you haven’t already encountered the idea. One of my favorite places to learn about it is in many things written by Andy Matushchak.

Dreaming Spanish

Learning Phase: A1 - Current

Method: This website provides video and audio content labeled by difficulty. They're all about comprehensible input as the way to learn a language, and they aim to provide as much engaging Spanish (and now French) comprehensible input as you would need to acquire the language. I think this method works, but on its own can be quite slow, so I use it alongside these other resources.

Books

A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish: Core Vocabulary for Learners

Learning Phase: A1 - B2

Method: Start from beginning (most common), go word for word, create Anki cards for new vocabulary.

If I had to cite one resource that accelerated my learning and language acquisition more than any other, this would probably be it. The idea for using one of these dictionaries came from Gabriel Wyner’s book, Fluent Forever, but the way in which I used it differed quite a bit from what Wyner prescribes. I’ll talk in more detail about how I stored the vocabulary into memory in the Anki/Spaced Repetition section, but for now I want to emphasize that knowing the first few thousand most common words in a written language leaves you extremely well-positioned to understand the vast majority of content you encounter.

Practice Makes Perfect: Complete Spanish Grammar

Learning Phase: A1 - A2

Method: I’d pick through this resource when I was curious about a specific area of grammar or simply when I felt like reading about grammar. It’s very well regarded in terms of grammar resources, but a lot of people in language learning circles are skeptical about an intense focus on learning grammar, highlighting that you can capture a sufficient intuition of it through a high volume of comprehensible input. I have an optimistic view of this method, but I also just enjoy learning things like grammar for the sake of it.

A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish

Learning Phase: B1 - Current

Method: This book is awesome. Most grammar books are prescriptive and pedagogical, giving the learner lots of rules and drills, feeling much like what you’re likely to have encountered in school (or in the Practice Makes Perfect book mentioned above). This book is written more like a field guide. It’s very descriptive and analytical, it gives lots of examples of what actually happens in the language, mentioning when applicable when an example is regional or colloquial. I read this book simply because I enjoy it, and consequently I learn the concepts it contains more easily.

Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish

Learning Phase: A1 - A2

Method: I used this book very early on because it taught a lot of great patterns for intuitive vocabulary building, rules of thumb for verb conjugation, etc. There are so many occasions when a native English speaker can apply one of these patterns to easily translate an English word to Spanish, even if it’s a Spanish word they’ve never encountered.

Olly Richards’ Short Stores in Spanish for [Beginners/Intermediate Learners]

Learning Phase: A1 - A2

Method: I just followed the guide at the beginning of these books, which basically instructs the reader to try not looking up all unknown vocabulary, try to enjoy the content, and build confidence and familiarity with the language as you go. They are intended to be an earlier source of content in the comprehensible input space. I read these using both physical and audio formats. They were useful but I grew bored with them after about two months.

AI/LLM Tools

Learning Phase: A1 - Current

Method: I discuss the ways I use LLM-based tools for language learning in this post.

Other Miscellaneous Contributors

Of course there are lots of things that happen or happened outside the context of these tools that in aggregate contributed to my learning, which I’ll briefly list here:

Going Forward

The B2 level is simultaneously an exciting place to be (you can read/watch/listen to almost anything: consume what you’d otherwise consume in your native language) and a somewhat tantalizing plateau (it’s much harder to notice improvements at this level, and thus harder to stay motivated) in a language-learning journey. Here are the Spanish-native content sources I prefer that keep me interested and motivated on a daily basis:

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