Lifestyle & HomeBeginnerPreview
Spanish for Beginners
A practical beginner course that gets you speaking survival Spanish for real situations instead of memorizing grammar charts. You finish able to greet people, handle a cafe or market, ask for directions, and hold a simple present-tense conversation aimed at the CEFR A1 level.
For complete beginners who want to actually speak Spanish for travel and everyday life rather than just study grammar rules.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook turns the course into daily speaking practice. Each section maps to one course module and mixes drills you say out loud, fill-in worksheets, and checklists you can reuse every week. Work through it out loud with a phone recorder, real menus, and your own travel plans so the Spanish you practice is the Spanish you will actually use.
Sounds and Survival Phrases
Drill the five vowels, the stress rules, and your first greetings until pronunciation and small talk feel automatic.
Exercise: The Vowel Purity Drill
Record yourself on your phone saying the chain a-e-i-o-u five times, then the words casa, mesa, vino, hola, and mucho. Play it back and compare each vowel against native recordings on Forvo. Re-record until your vowels stay short and pure with no English glide.
- Which vowel do you tend to glide or lengthen the most (often o into oh-w or e into ay-ee)?
- Did the h in hola stay completely silent in your recording?
- After comparing to Forvo, which single word still needs the most work?
Worksheet: Stress Rule Worksheet
For each word below, write which syllable is stressed and state which rule decides it (ends in vowel/n/s, ends in other consonant, or has a written accent). Then say it aloud.
- hablo — stressed syllable and rule
- hablar — stressed syllable and rule
- espanol (español) — stressed syllable and rule
- telefono (teléfono) — stressed syllable and rule
- ciudad — stressed syllable and rule
- joven — stressed syllable and rule
- cafe (café) — stressed syllable and rule
Exercise: Rehearse Your First Exchange
Memorize the greeting dialogue from Lesson 3 (Hola, buenos días. ¿Cómo estás? ...). Practice both roles out loud until you can run the whole exchange without reading, swapping in your own real name.
- Which line was hardest to say smoothly, and why?
- Did you remember to respond to ¿y tú? rather than freezing?
- What one extra question (for example ¿De dónde eres?) could you add to extend it?
Checklist: Pronunciation and Greetings Mastery
- I can say all five vowels short and pure with no glide
- I know the j/g, ñ, ll, and rolled rr sounds and the silent h
- I can apply both stress rules and read an accent mark correctly
- I can greet someone by time of day and exchange names
- I know por favor, gracias, perdón, and no entiendo by heart
Building Sentences with Verbs
Conjugate regular verbs and the four key irregular verbs, and lock in when to use tú versus usted.
Worksheet: Conjugation Grid
Fill in the present-tense form for each subject. Cover the answers from the course and write from memory first, then check.
- hablar — yo / tú / él / nosotros / ellos
- comer — yo / tú / él / nosotros / ellos
- vivir — yo / tú / él / nosotros / ellos
- ser — yo / tú / él / nosotros / ellos
- estar — yo / tú / él / nosotros / ellos
- ir — yo / tú / él / nosotros / ellos
- tener — yo / tú / él / nosotros / ellos
Exercise: Ser or Estar Decision Drill
For each English sentence, decide whether to use ser or estar, then write and say the full Spanish sentence. Use the DOCTOR (ser) versus PLACE (estar) memory aids to justify each choice.
- I am from Canada. — ser or estar, and why?
- The bank is here / nearby. — ser or estar, and why?
- I am tired today. — ser or estar, and why?
- She is a doctor. — ser or estar, and why?
Exercise: Build Five Sentences About Your Day
Write five true sentences about your real day using only present-tense verbs. Include at least one tengo que (I have to), one voy a (I am going to), and one regular -ar verb. Then say them aloud.
- Which sentence used the ir + a future, and did the a + el contract to al correctly?
- Did any tener expression (hambre, sed, años) come out word-for-word wrong before you fixed it?
- Which sentence are you confident you could say to a real person tomorrow?
Checklist: Verb Foundations Mastery
- I can conjugate regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs in the present tense
- I know the forms of ser, estar, ir, and tener cold
- I can choose ser versus estar correctly in common situations
- I can build a future with voy a plus a verb
- I know when to use tú and when to default to usted
Spanish for Travel and Daily Life
Practice numbers, prices, time, ordering, shopping, and directions with the exact phrases you will need on a trip.
Exercise: Numbers and Prices Out Loud
Say the numbers 0 to 20 from memory, then read these prices aloud in Spanish: 15, 32, 45, 78, 100. Finally, role-play asking ¿Cuánto cuesta? and answering with a price.
- Which teen number (once to quince) or combined number (treinta y dos) tripped you up?
- Could you say a price and add es muy caro or barato naturally?
- Did you remember to use cuestan for more than one item?
Worksheet: Restaurant Script Worksheet
Plan a full restaurant visit in Spanish from arrival to paying. Fill in each line with a real phrase you would say, using Quisiera and por favor for politeness.
- Asking for a table for your group
- Asking for the menu (la carta)
- Ordering a drink
- Ordering a main dish (Para mí, ...)
- One dietary or allergy phrase you may need
- Asking for the check (la cuenta)
Worksheet: Directions Listening Sheet
Write the Spanish for each direction phrase, then have a partner or a text-to-speech tool read them at random so you practice recognizing them by ear, not just on the page.
- straight ahead
- to the right / to the left
- turn right (gire / doble)
- the first street / the second street
- next to / across from / near
- ¿Where is the bathroom?
- I am lost
Checklist: Travel Readiness Mastery
- I can count to 100 and say a price out loud
- I can tell time using es la una and son las ...
- I can order food and ask for the check politely
- I can ask for and recognize basic directions
- I can buy a ticket and tell a taxi where to go
Conversation and a Study System That Sticks
Build question-asking skills, set up your input and flashcard tools, and design a daily routine you will actually keep.
Exercise: Question Word Sprint
Write one real question using each question word: ¿Qué?, ¿Quién?, ¿Dónde?, ¿Cuándo?, ¿Por qué?, ¿Cómo?, ¿Cuánto? Then practice turning three statements into yes-or-no questions using only rising intonation.
- Did you place the opening inverted question mark on every question?
- Which question word do you most need for travel, and is it automatic yet?
- Could you ask someone to slow down (Más despacio, por favor) without hesitating?
Worksheet: Set Up Your Anki Deck
Create your first spaced-repetition deck and record your settings here. Build cards from words you actually met in your input, each with a full example sentence.
- Tool chosen (Anki / Memrise / other)
- New cards per day (recommended 10-20)
- Card directions (Spanish to English and back? yes/no)
- Example sentence included on each card? (yes/no)
- Daily review time and trigger (for example after morning coffee)
- First 10 words/phrases added
Worksheet: My Daily Spanish Routine
Design a 20-30 minute daily routine that touches input, vocabulary, and speaking. Anchor each block to an existing habit so it survives a busy day.
- Anki review — when and how many minutes
- Comprehensible input source (Dreaming Spanish, podcast, etc.) and minutes
- Speaking practice (shadowing, self-talk, or tutor) and minutes
- How I capture new words into Anki
- Weekly speaking session (italki / Tandem / meetup) — day and time
- My A1 milestone target date
Checklist: Study System and First Conversation Setup
- I can ask questions with all seven question words
- I set up a spaced-repetition deck with example sentences
- I chose at least one comprehensible-input source I enjoy
- I scheduled a recurring real speaking session
- I committed to speaking imperfectly and aiming for CEFR A1
Your Action Plan
- Drill the five pure vowels and both stress rules daily for one week using Forvo to self-check
- Memorize your greeting and self-introduction exchange and say it out loud until automatic
- Learn the present-tense endings for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs and write five sentences about your day
- Master the forms of ser, estar, ir, and tener and practice the ser-versus-estar decision drill
- Memorize numbers 0 to 100, prices, and telling time, then role-play a market purchase
- Rehearse a full restaurant script from greeting to la cuenta before your next meal out
- Practice asking for and recognizing directions by ear with a partner or text-to-speech tool
- Set up an Anki deck, add 10-20 cards a day with example sentences, and review every morning
- Pick one comprehensible-input source and watch or listen 10-15 minutes a day
- Book a recurring italki or language-exchange session and start speaking before you feel ready, aiming for CEFR A1
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