I really have no good excuse for not learning Spanish. By just living in Costa Rica I have learned a few words and phrases, but I am a long ways from being a fluent Spanish speaker. I have the perfect learning tool laying on my desk. I just need to make a commitment to spend a fixed period of time everyday to learning Spanish.

If you search the Android Market for all apps related to “Spanish learning,” you will get over a 1,000 hits. The top rated courses have both a limited free version, and a full paid version. Before investing in the paid version, I would suggest trying out the free version. We each have different learning styles. I know that I am a visual learner, and that I will learn to read Spanish, before I learn to speak Spanish. If you are an auditory learner, then courses that emphasis speaking might be a better fit for you.

You know that you are getting proficient in Spanish, when you can understand jokes, and read poetry. I once had a teacher that said you really know a language, when you can dream in the language. To get to that point, you need to start with the basics. I am not going to review all the Android apps related to Spanish learning in this article. I will suggest a few, and you can explore the Android Market for other apps.

Basic Spanish for Dummies ($1.99 USD on Android Market, $0.99 from Barnes & Noble) compliments the book “Spanish for Dummies.” I like the app, because it provides both the phonetic pronunciation and a spoken pronunciation. It has sections for Basics, Words/Phrase, Flashcards, a Dictionary, and Part of Tens. The Part of Tens provides for ten common expressions, ten holidays to remember, and ten phrases that make you sound fluent. The book is not necessary, but helps with the understanding of Spanish grammar. Instead of a hard copy of the book, you can get the eBook from Amazon ($9.34 USD), Barnes & Noble ($16.74 USD), or Kobo Books ($15.49 USD).

I prefer B&N or Kobo, as the eBooks are downloaded to your mobile device. If you do not have an eBook reader, you can download readers for the above sources from the Android Market. If you live in Costa Rica, you will not be able to download the B&N ebook reader. To get around this problem, your Android device must have a VPN connection to a USA server.

The busuu.com Spanish app combines pictures, written, and speech. The big difference is that you can join the on-line community for learning Spanish. The app has two beginner courses and two intermediate courses. Each course comes with five free modules. You can purchase additional modules for each course for $5.26 USD per course. You don’t need Internet access to use the course, but you do need Internet access to participate in the community. Each element of a course goes through learning vocabulary, conversations, and then a final check. This course is oriented more towards conversational Spanish. The on-line community has a basic level (free) and premium level ($4.99 USD per month). To get full benefit from the premium level, your Android device does need a microphone and video cam.

Spanish in a Month has a free and paid ($2 USD) version. The free version comes with lessons 1, 15, and 30. The course moves in pictures, words, and speech from simple nouns to full sentences. There are no grammar lessons that I could find. This is simply a listen and repeat course, with tests.

There are Spanish courses for every profession. There is even a Police Spanish Guide, which reminds me of the Border Patrol Spanish course that I took as a probation officer in Phoenix, Arizona.

For a little fun, you can always play Hangman for Spanish learners. This game has options for single player, two player, and on-line challenge. Repetition, and more repetition, is the key to learning. Hangman just adds a little fun to the repetition phase of learning.

Tiempo para aprender español.