Some resources for Spanish

This list (some links may be dead) includes a variety of resources available online at the time it was created.
Inclusion in this list does not represent an endorsement or recommendation.

Compiled by the Center for Language Instruction and Coordination (CLIC) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: http://clic.illinois.edu/

Apps and sites to learn vocab and grammar through games, flashcards, or interactive lessons (some free, some paid):

https://www.duolingo.com/
http://www.lingrolearning.com/
https://www.lingualia.com
https://es.babbel.com/
https://www.memrise.com/
https://www.clozemaster.com/languages
http://www.hello-hello.com/index_home
https://www.transparent.com/
https://www.lingohut.com/en
https://www.getflowlingo.com/
https://www.busuu.com/
https://fluent-forever.app/
https://www.lingq.com/
https://www.mosalingua.com/en

Watching, listening, reading (some sites also include lessons and activities) – some free, some paid, various levels, including Elementary:
Practica Español: https://www.practicaespanol.com/
Profe de Ele https://www.profedeele.es/
A playlist of 10 videos of Intro-level topics, with captions: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdzqcdsXmqB8k_tf6HgYYVbycksMN7YWg
Conjuguemos Tube (thematic and cultural videos): https://conjuguemos.com/tube/table_of_contents
https://bablingua.com/
https://campus.difusion.com/ (video lessons and activities), videos are also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DIFUSIONELE/playlists
“Dreaming Spanish” (videos only, no activities): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCouyFdE9-Lrjo3M_2idKq1A
If you like watching TV or short videos, try some of the free lessons here: https://spanish.yabla.com/ or https://www.fluentu.com/
http://spanishlistening.org/ (Note: the “levels” they suggest are not always accurate)
Wespañol: https://wespanol.blogs.wesleyan.edu/about/: videos of real-life interactions created for elementary-level learners. There are 2 basic components: Escenas (video scenes) and Temas de estudio (study topics).
SGEL Español para extranjeros: https://www.youtube.com/user/sgelele/playlists
Easy Spanish (videos of Spanish speakers answering a variety of questions on the street; not all “easy”…): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA5UIoabheFMo9oB_AF7JftV34ecOalvM&disable_polymer=true
Happy Hour Spanish, Travel videos in Spain: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLyKhKdhFagO4x_BeyWPabUaSGnZDBTZn
Of Course Languages – Real Spanish Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/user/OfCourseLanguages/videos
This is Language: https://www.thisislanguage.com/
Spanish Language and Culture with Barbara Kuczun Nelson: https://personal.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.html
“Practical Spanish” (audio files, readings; elementary, intermediate, and advanced): https://www.learnpracticalspanishonline.com/index.html
“MyRoe Spanish Corner” (videos) https://www.youtube.com/user/MyRoeSpanishCorner/featured
Audio Lingua (short audio files – search by language, level, etc.): https://www.audio-lingua.eu/
Woodward Spanish: https://www.spanish.cl/
Free courses (not live or interactive, but lots of comprehension exercises to learn on your own): https://www.edx.org/course/subject/language
“The Spanish Experiment” (beginner lessons with audio) https://www.thespanishexperiment.com/learn-spanish
“Todo claro” (lots of computer-graded exercises, mostly drills, for different levels) https://www.todo-claro.com/c_index.php
“Hablando español” https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZfAi8nnixn-i_HfUXPIRVQ

Music
http://www.ver-taal.com/canciones.htm
“Lyrics Training”: https://es.lyricstraining.com/es/

Series made for learners (most available in full for free online):

“Destinos”: http://learner.org/series/destinos/
“Mi vida loca” (it requires Flash and only works in certain browsers):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/full_details.shtml
“Habla con eñe”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvPI-4JGdyo
“El cuarto misterioso”: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2WSSON8LQfJdvaxsw-EN451S1T5vOJxo
“¿Eres tú, María?” https://vimeo.com/37349044
“Lingus TV” (very short sitcom-like videos for Spanish learners): https://www.youtube.com/user/LingusTV/playlists
“Extra”: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLVULqsElvki_riI1ld0QhZJx1wom5Ply

Other videos (not necessarily for Spanish learners):

Short interview videos by native speakers on various topics:
“Spanish proficiency exercises” (video interviews and podcasts) https://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/siteindex.php
“Spanish in Texas”: http://www.coerll.utexas.edu/spintx/
“Las voces de las mujeres”: https://larc.sdsu.edu/voces-mp4/
“The intercultural classroom” (2 playlists of videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx4NLdbS_hp6R1UN9JB_Ydw/playlists
activities and extra resources here: http://interculturalclassroom.com/

Short films from various countries: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6R5xodc3sqI9VSZ7kxfrgjrXQQS4oySE
Some have subtitles, others don’t.
Also, not all content may seem appropriate for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised!
Collection of short films from Colombia: http://www.cinecorto.co/category/video/
TED Talks en español: https://www.ted.com/playlists/518/ted_talks_en_espa%C3%B1ol
Series the TVE (España; some of the new ones have captions, which helps with comprehension): http://www.rtve.es/television/series-tve/

Textbooks and ancillary materials available online:

“BBC Active Spanish”: http://www.bbcactivelanguages.com/TeachersHome/ResourcesSpanish/tabid/97/Default.aspx#suenosWorldSpanish1
Realidades: http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?area=view&wcprefix=jck&wcsuffix=0001
Vocabulary activities for several textbooks (Adelante, Arriba, Asi se dice, Avancemos, Aventuras, etc.): https://conjuguemos.com/activities/spanish/vocabulary/1
Album (audio files of short stories and other literary readings): http://college.cengage.com/languages/spanish/burgy/album/3e/students/index.html
Podcasts for Intermediate/Advanced learners (and adventurous beginners!):

Podcasts:
https://podcast.duolingo.com/ (for learners; includes transcriptions)
https://radiolingua.com/category/coffee-break-spanish/ (for learners)
http://radioambulante.org/category/audio
https://www.newsinslowspanish.com/ (paid, but they have a few free samples)
https://radiopublic.com/ted-en-espaol-GOoaaN (TED podcasts; advanced)
http://www.spanishpodcast.org/podcasts/ (for learners; includes transcriptions)
http://www.podcastsinspanish.org/index.shtml
https://www.lengalia.com/en/learn-spanish-for-free/podcasts.html
https://soundcloud.com/tags/delearte
“No hay tos”: https://player.fm/series/series-2286640 (for learners, but fairly advanced)
“Notes in Spanish” (for learners, all levels): https://www.notesinspanish.com/

Social media pages to follow and groups to join

Facebook Pages for learners (they share blog posts, word of the day, jokes, tips, etc.)
https://www.facebook.com/PracticamosEspanol/
https://www.facebook.com/murodelosidiomas/
https://www.facebook.com/learn.spanish.language
https://www.facebook.com/spanish.quotes
https://www.facebook.com/practicaespanol/
https://www.facebook.com/Que.Decis.Spanish.For.Foreigners/

Facebook groups for learners:
“Learn Spanish” FB group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/149992775151265/
“Language Exchange Partners” FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/887987291326299/
“Español intermedio y avanzado” FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/espanol.intermedio/

Authentic Facebook pages (not specifically for learners; not all content will be appropriate for everyone):
https://www.facebook.com/CulturaColectiv/
https://www.facebook.com/LaGenteAndaDiciendo/
https://www.facebook.com/CNNee/
https://www.facebook.com/univisionnoticias/
https://www.facebook.com/ItchyFeetES/ (cómics)
https://www.facebook.com/peopleenespanol/
https://www.facebook.com/pictoline/
https://www.facebook.com/wawawiwadesign/

Reading

Veinte Mundos https://www.veintemundos.com/en/library/ (most of the readings there are fairly advanced, though, even those that say “intermediate,” but since all of the readings have an audio file, being able to read and listen at the same time can be good for pronunciation)
Great travel blog in Spanish: https://viajandoporahi.com/
Newsela: https://newsela.com/articles/#/rule/latest?languages=es if you like reading news articles
Ciudad Seva (literature): https://ciudadseva.com/
Tecla (revista electrónica con actividades para la clase de español): http://www.educacionyfp.gob.es/reinounido/publicaciones-materiales/publicaciones.html
Other reading tools
http://lingro.com/: If you enter a website (for a news article, for example), and then select the type of dictionary you want (e.g., Spanish – English), the page is displayed but all of the words become clickable, and when you click on each word, it shows you the translation. It can be useful if you want to read something in Spanish, but you want to have the option of clicking on words to see what they mean.
http://beelinguapp.com/: side by side reading (text displayed in 2 languages), with audio.
List of online newspapers from all over the world: http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/news/ (site is no longer updated so not all links work)
BBC Mundo: https://www.bbc.com/mundo
Revista Trabalenguas (Audio revista para estudiantes de español): http://revista-trabalenguas.info/

Children’s stories: https://www.thespanishexperiment.com/stories
Popular fables and stories: https://www.thefablecottage.com/spanish
“Revista Literal” (online magazine with short stories written by students, for beginning students) https://revistaliteral.com/
Short stories made for learners: https://readtospeakspanish.com/blog/

Interacting with native speakers

iTalki: https://www.italki.com/teachers/spanish?teacher_type=0 . Some of the teachers/tutors offer relatively low-cost ($2-$5) 30-minute trial sessions, and you can tell them what type of help you’re looking for (e.g., just talking, reviewing something specific, etc.). They also have a free “language exchange” option (https://www.italki.com/partners).

The Mixxer: https://www.language-exchanges.org/ (free site to find language exchange partners: they help you with Spanish, you help them with English)

Other sites and apps to connect to native speakers (some paid, some free):
https://talkabroad.com/
https://www.linguameeting.com/
http://www.boomalang.co/
https://www.speaky.com/ (free)
https://www.easylanguageexchange.com/ (free)
https://www.hellolingo.com/ (free)
https://www.hellotalk.com/ (free app)
https://www.verbling.com
Update: WeSpeke does not seem to exist anymore.

Dictionaries and other tools:

Wordreference (the best online dictionary): http://www.wordreference.com/es/

Linguee (the best dictionary to see whole phrases being used in context): https://www.linguee.com

Verb conjugator (there are many! this is just one): http://www.spanishdict.com/conjugation

Local library subscriptions:
Rosetta Stone (free to UIUC students, faculty, and staff): https://guides.library.illinois.edu/istclibraryguide/training
Mango Languages (free with Urbana Library account): https://urbanafreelibrary.org/eresources/databases