Spanglish Friends - Beginners Spanish Podcast

Have you always wanted to learn Spanish but thought “I don’t have time,” “I’m too old,” or “this feels too hard”? You’re not alone — and this episode is here to change that 💥

In Episode 42, our very first episode of 2026, Em and Val break down how beginners can actually start learning Spanish, stay motivated when life gets busy, and build a realistic plan that works long-term.

This is a highly interactive episode designed to help you set clear goals, overcome mental blocks, and take real action — not just dream about learning Spanish.

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Want to talk about Christmas in Spanish? 🎄

In Episode 41 — our final episode of 2025 — we’re diving into Christmas vocabulary, festive phrases, and cultural traditions from Spanish-speaking countries.

Learn how to say Feliz Navidad, talk about gifts, family meals, and understand how Christmas is celebrated around the Spanish-speaking world.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn Christmas greetings: Feliz Navidad, Feliz Nochebuena & Feliz Año Nuevo

✅ Discover key Christmas vocabulary: árbol de Navidad, regalo, villancicos & Nochebuena

✅ Understand how Christmas is celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries

✅ Listen to a festive mini conversation...

Did someone say something in Spanish and your brain just froze? Episode 40 of Spanglish Friends teaches you exactly what to say when you don’t understand — without panicking, pretending, or switching to English. You’ll learn powerful beginner phrases like ¿Puede repetir?, ¿Qué significa?, and Lo siento, no entiendo so you can survive real conversations with confidence.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn how to ask for clarification: ¿Cómo se dice…?, ¿Qué significa…?, ¿Cómo se escribe…?

✅ Practice essential “panic-saving” phrases: ¿Puede repetir, por favor? and ¿Puede hablar más despacio?

✅ Learn how to say you’re a beginner...

Amigos… ever wished you could talk about your favourite furry (or feathery!) friends en español?

Today, we’re learning how to name pets, gender them correctly, and talk about the animals you have — all with simple, beginner-friendly Spanish.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn the 5 common pets in Spanish: perro, gato, pájaro, pez, conejo

✅ Understand how to make pet words masculine or feminine (perro → perra, gato → gata…)

✅ Hear a mini conversation between Em & Val using all the new vocabulary

✅ Learn how to say “I have a pet…” + describe it with size...

🚀Amigos — ever felt that little “Spingle” tingle when a Spanish verb looks… different? That’s your brain telling you it’s irregular! In this episode, we’ll help you recognize irregular verbs instantly, without panicking or Googling.

🎙️In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Discover the most common “-go” verbs in the yo form and why they stand out

✅ Learn the key stem vowel changes: e → ie, o → ue, e → i

✅ Recognize completely irregular verbs like ser, ir, and tener ✅ Hear a mini Spanish conversation with all three patterns in action

✅ Get tips and hacks to train your Spingle — y...

🚀 Ready to finally master those tricky Spanish verbs that don’t play by the rules? In this episode, we’re unlocking the world of irregular verbs — the ones every beginner needs to know to sound natural in conversation.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Understand what irregular verbs are and why they’re so common

✅ Learn the 7 essential ones: ser, estar, tener, ir, hacer, decir, poder

✅ Hear real examples from a fun Spanish mini conversation ✅ Learn two powerful hacks to recognize and memorize irregular verbs faster

✅ Gain confidence saying “I go,” “I want,” “I can,” and “I...

😅 Ever been asked “¿Qué estás haciendo?” or “¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aprendiendo español?” ? Don’t worry — this episode’s got you covered!

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn how to ask and answer questions about what you’re doing right now

✅ Understand how to say how long you’ve been learning Spanish using llevar + gerundio

✅ Practice natural questions like “¿Qué está haciendo tu hermano?” and “¿Qué están haciendo tus amigos?”

✅ Build real confidence answering like a native: Estoy estudiando español, Llevo aprendiendo por seis meses

✅ Hear a full mini conversation bre...

🤔 Ever wondered how to say “I’m eating,” “I’m studying,” or “I’m watching Netflix” in Spanish? In this episode, we’ll teach you exactly how to describe what you’re doing right now using estar + gerundio — the Spanish version of “ING” words!

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn how to form the present continuous using estar + -ando / -iendo

✅ Understand the difference between “Hablo español” (I speak) and “Estoy hablando español” (I’m speaking)

✅ Master the most common -AR, -ER, and -IR verb patterns: hablando, comiendo, viviendo

✅ Discover irregular forms like leyendo, durmiendo, an...

Have you ever wanted to describe your family in Spanish — not just who they are, but what they do, how you get along, and where they live? Today, we’ll show you exactly how to do that — paso a paso.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn how to talk about your relationships using me llevo bien / mal, soy muy unida a, and tengo una relación complicada con

✅ Describe what your family members do using trabajar and ser

✅ Learn how to say where they live using vivir

✅ Describe your family’s size with phr...

How would you say “My grandmother is from Spain” or “I have two brothers” — en español?

In today’s episode, we’re diving into la familia — one of the most heartwarming and useful topics for Spanish beginners!

By the end of this episode, you’ll know how to talk about your family members, from parents and siblings to in-laws and step-family.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn how to say your immediate family members (madre, padre, hermano, hermana, hijo, hija)

✅ Learn extended family terms like tíos, primos, abuelos, and sobrinos

✅...

What are you doing this weekend — en español? 🎉 In today’s episode, we’re continuing our journey with ir a + verbo and learning how to describe your weekend plans using time markers like mañana, esta noche, and este fin de semana.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn two natural ways to ask about someone’s plans (¿Qué vas a hacer? / ¿Qué planes tienes?)

✅ Practice using voy a + verbo to describe your own plans

✅ Add temporal markers like mañana, pronto, and esta semana

✅ Hear a fun Spanish dialogue full of real examples Duration: 00:15:29

Ready to talk about your future plans in Spanish? 🌴☀️

In this episode, we’re learning one of the most powerful (and simple!) structures in beginner Spanish: ir a + verb, which means “going to” — just like “I’m going to eat,” “You’re going to travel,” or “She’s going to work.”

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn how to say “I’m going to” using voy a + verbo

✅ Master the irregular verb ir with yo voy, tú vas, él/ella va

✅ Discover how to ask someone “What are you going to do this weekend?”

✅ Hear a fun mini Span...

Special episode alert amigos! 🎥 It’s our very first VIDEO episode — and Em is spilling her most cringe Spanglish fails. Spoiler: they involve concerts, highways, and kitchen tiles.

We’re celebrating episode 30 by re-introducing ourselves, sharing the story of how Spanglish Friends began, and then diving into Em’s top 3 Spanglish mistakes so you can laugh, learn, and avoid them yourself.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Meet Em & Val in our first-ever video recording

✅ Hear the funny (and embarrassing) stories behind Em’s 3 Spanglish fails

✅ Learn the truth about false friends like atender...

Want to confidently ask and say the time in Spanish?⏰

Episode 29 of Spanglish Friends teaches you how to tell the time, ask “¿Qué hora es?”, and understand common responses like “Es la una” or “Son las tres y media.”

Perfect for beginner learners who want to handle everyday conversations with ease!

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn how to ask “What time is it?” in Spanish

✅ Use numbers and key phrases like “y media” and “menos cuarto”

✅ Understand AM/PM and the 24-hour clock in Spanish

✅ Hear a mini conversation about asking...

Want to confidently talk about what you do in your free time? Episode 28 of Spanglish Friends teaches you how to ask about and describe free time activities using me gusta, frequency words like siempre and a veces, and time expressions like por la mañana or los fines de semana.

Perfect for beginner learners ready to describe hobbies and routines in Spanish!

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn two ways to ask someone about their free time

✅ Use frequency words to describe how often you do activities

✅ Add time expressions to...

Want to describe your daily routine confidently in Spanish?

We'll teach you how to use reflexive verbs to talk about the actions you do to yourself every morning, like showering, getting dressed, or brushing your teeth. Perfect for beginner Spanish learners ready to talk about their daily life!

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn what reflexive verbs are and why they’re used

✅ Practice forming reflexive verbs with pronouns like me, te, and se

✅ Hear and repeat common reflexive verbs for morning routines

✅ Listen to a mini conversation abou...

Want to share your favorite foods, hobbies, or activities in Spanish? 

Episode 26 of Spanglish Friends teaches you how to say what you like and don’t like using me gusta, me gustan, me encanta, me encantan, and how to ask others about their preferences with ¿Te gusta…? / ¿Te encanta…? Perfect for beginner Spanish learners who want to express opinions confidently!

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:
 ✅ Learn how to say what you like using me gusta, me gustan, me encanta, me encantan
 ✅ Learn how to say what you don’t like by adding no to these phrases
 ✅ P...

Want to chat about food en español?

Episode 25 of Spanglish Friends teaches you essential vocabulary for meals of the day, describing food, and common table expressions.

Learn words like desayuno, almuerzo, cena, merienda, and how to say “it’s tasty,” “it’s sweet,” “it’s spicy,” as well as polite expressions like ¡Buen provecho! and ¡Salud! Perfect for beginner Spanish learners.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn the names of meals in Spanish: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks

✅ Discover key expressions to describe food: rico, delicioso, dulce, picante, and more

✅ Practice essen...

Picture yourself walking into a restaurant in Mexico City… the music is playing, the smell of sizzling food fills the air — and you confidently order your meal in Spanish!

Episode 24 of Spanglish Friends teaches you how to order food and drinks like a local. You’ll master the articles un, una, unos, unas (a / some), learn polite phrases for ordering, and understand the most common questions waiters ask when taking your order.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn how to use un/una/unos/unas when ordering food & drinks

✅ Discover 2 key phrases to order...

Want to chat about the weather en español? Episode 23 of Spanglish Friends teaches you essential weather words and phrases like “it’s sunny,” “it’s raining,” “it’s windy,” and more. Learn how to ask ¿Qué tiempo hace? (What’s the weather like?) and how to ask and answer questions about the temperature — perfect for beginner Spanish learners.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn key weather expressions like hace sol, está nublado, está lloviendo, and more

✅ Practice asking “What’s the weather like?” in Spanish

✅ Discover how to ask and answer about the temperature naturally

...

Keep building your Spanish skills with Episode 21 of Spanglish Friends, where we continue mastering regular verb conjugations in the present tense.

This episode covers how to conjugate verbs with nosotros, vosotros, ellos/ellas, and ustedes — so you can confidently say “we speak,” “you all live,” and “they sing.” Perfect for beginners looking to expand their conversation abilities.

Head to episode 18 to listen to PART 1.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Learn the endings for regular -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs with nosotros, vosotros, ellos, and ustedes

✅ Hear a fun mini conversation using these...

Confused about when to say tú vs usted in Spanish?

In this beginner-friendly episode, we’ll help you understand how and when to use the formal you in Spanish — so you can sound polite and natural when meeting new people.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ The difference between tú and usted

✅ When to use usted depending on the person, place, and country

✅ How to say formal phrases like: • ¿Cómo está usted? • ¿De dónde es usted? • ¿Qué hace hoy?

✅ A short Spanish conversation using only usted

✅ Tips on how native...

Ready to test your Spanish skills? In this special milestone episode, Val puts Em to the test with 5 Spanish questions based on everything we’ve covered so far — from greetings, numbers and months, to verbs, directions and seasons.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll:

✅ Practice real listening with 5 beginner-level Spanish questions

✅ Hear Em’s responses using what we’ve learned in the last 20 episodes

✅ Get a full English breakdown after each question to help you understand

✅ Review vocabulary, grammar and listening — all in one fun quiz-style episode!

Whether you’ve been with us from...

Want to talk about the seasons in Spanish? 🌸☀️🍁❄️ In this beginner-friendly episode, we’ll teach you how to say the four seasons of the year in Spanish and how to have a real conversation about your favorite season — with reasons, examples, and pronunciation tips.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ How to say primavera, verano, otoño and invierno

✅ How to ask: “¿Cuál es tu estación favorita?”

✅ How to answer with a reason: “Mi estación favorita es el verano, porque me gusta el calor.”

✅ Bonus seasonal vocab (flowers, sun, cold, weather, etc.) ✅ A...

Want to speak confidently in Spanish? In this beginner-friendly episode, we’ll teach you how to conjugate regular -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs in the present tense — so you can start building thousands of real Spanish sentences like “yo hablo español/ I speak spanish” right away.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ When to use the present tense in Spanish

✅ The 3 types of regular verbs (-AR, -ER, -IR) and what they mean

✅ How to conjugate verbs with yo, tú, él, ella and usted

✅ Easy patterns to help you speak about yo...

Want to say your birthday month in Spanish?

🎉 In this episode, we’ll teach you how to say all 12 months of the year in order, give you two clever tricks to help you remember them, and show you how to ask and answer when your birthday is — in clear, beginner-friendly Spanish

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ How to pronounce and remember all 12 months in Spanish

✅ Easy patterns to help lock them in (hint: most end in “o” or “-bre”!)

✅ How to say when your birthday is — and ask someone else th...

Planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking country or want to feel more confident navigating Spanish-speaking cities? In this episode, we teach you how to ask for directions using the verb ESTAR, and how to understand the most common responses — in clear, beginner-friendly Spanish.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ How to ask “Where is…?” using ¿Dónde está...?

✅ 5 essential adverbs to describe location: allí, allá, cerca, lejos, al lado de

✅ How to understand simple directions like “It’s 2 blocks away” using cuadras

✅ A short Spanish conversation in context — plus a full breakdown...

Want to learn how to say the 7 days of the week in Spanish? In this episode, we teach you how to talk about the days of the week and key time words like today, yesterday, tomorrow — plus two cool bonus words: how to say “the day after tomorrow” and “the day before yesterday” using just one word in Spanish!

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ The 7 days of the week in Spanish (with pronunciation help)

✅ How to say today, yesterday, and tomorrow

✅ Simple one-word phrases for “day after tomorrow” & “day before y...

Ready to level up your Spanish from just “yo soy” and “tú estás”? In this episode, we teach you how to say “we are,” “they are,” and “you all are” in Spanish — with clear examples, cultural tips, and conversation practice to help you speak more naturally.

🎙️ In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ When to use nosotros/nosotras, ellos/ellas, and ustedes/vosotros

✅ How to conjugate them using both ser and estar ✅ Simple memory tricks to make it stick

✅ A short dialogue using all 5 pronouns in context

Whether you're learning Latin America...

😅 Feeling a little confundido about emotions in Spanish? This beginner-friendly episode teaches you when to use estar (not tener) for feelings — plus 10 essential emotions to boost your Spanish fast and take your conversations to the next levels! 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ 5 high-energy emotions (I’m good, fantastic, well, happy and excited)

✅ 5 lower-energy emotions (I’m so-so, not good, sad, tired, stressed)

✅ 2 common traps to avoid as a beginner! (I’m cold/hot, I’m hungry/thirsty) 

Val (native Spanish teacher from Venezuela) and Em (English-speaking learne...

🧠 Struggling with Ser vs Estar in Spanish? This episode is your beginner-friendly guide to finally understanding how to say “to be” in Spanish — and when to use each one!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ What Estar means and how to conjugate it in the present tense (I am/ You Are / She&He Is)

✅ The 2 main reasons to use Estar (emotion & location)

✅ The 2 main reasons to use Ser (identity & origin)

Val (native Spanish teacher from Venezuela) and Em (English-speaking learner) explain everything step-by-step so you can feel more confide...

🎉 In this episode of Spanglish Friends, we explore Spanish birthday vocabulary and phrases for beginners! Whether you're learning Spanish from scratch or want to build your confidence, this lesson is for you. 💬

We’ll teach you:

✏️ Challenge of the Week

 Wish someone a happy birthday in Spanish! 🎈
 Try: “¡Feliz cumpleaños a mi [mamá/hermano/amigo]!”
 Comment below or message us on Instagram — we’d lov...

Learn how to count from 0 to 100 in beginners Spanish! 

In this episode, Val and Em will teach you: 

✅ How to count 0-10 & tricks to remember the numbers 

✅ How to count 11-15 (the tricky ones!) and then the simple trick to remember 16-19 

✅ How to count 20-100 and the key trick (adding ‘-enta’) to remember 

🎉 Spanglish Friend Shout Out of the week

This week’s shout out goes to our new amigo Eric from Canada!

Eric participated in our episode 6 challenge via instagram to find and practice saying a wo...

Learn some more adjectives to describe sizes and people, plus learn how to say ‘I am’, ‘You are’ and ‘He/She is’ with the verb “ser” in beginners Spanish! 

In this episode, Val and Em will teach you: 

✅ What are the most common adjectives - those describing words-  to describe shape and sizes - like tall, small, big etc? 

✅ What are the common adjectives to describe peoples personalities - such as nice or fun? 

✅ How you you say ‘to be’ in Spanish? Such as ‘I am’, ‘You are’ or ‘He/she is’ 

🎉 Sp...

Learn how to say the colors in beginners Spanish! 

In this episode, Val and Em will teach you: 

✅ How to say the names of the basic fundamental colors in Spanish 

✅ The correct sentence structure in Spanish (of noun + adjective) 

✅ The secret trick you can use to figure out if the ending of the adjective needs to change to match the gender of the noun 

✏️ Reto / Challenge of the week

Tell us in the comments what’s your favourite colour shirt (camisa) or t-shirt (camiseta) in Spanish? 

E.g. la camisa r...

Do you know how to start using the genders to describe stuff in beginners Spanish? 

In this episode, Val and Em will teach you: 

✅ The 4 ‘thes’ of Spanish - El, La, Los and Las. The secret is, male nouns (people, places or things) generally end in o (e.g. el libro / the book) or los libros / the books), and feminine nouns generally end in a or -cion (e.g. la casa / the house or las canciones / the songs) 

✅ Nouns - persons, places or things, can change to masculine or feminine, like profesor (male teacher) or...

Welcome to PART 3 of your crash course on how to pronounce words as a beginner Speaker! 

In 60ish minutes, you are going to accomplish something it took your first years of primary school to do if you are a native English speaker. 

You’ll be able to pick up any menu, lyrics, or book and be able to pronounce everything correctly, even though you may not know the meaning of every word yet. 

In this episode, Val and Em will teach you: 

✅ What are the unique letter combinations in Spanish and how to p...

Welcome to PART 2 of your crash course on how to pronounce words as a beginner Speaker! 

In 60ish minutes, you are going to accomplish something it took your first years of primary school to do if you are a native English speaker. 

You’ll be able to pick up any menu, lyrics, or book and be able to pronounce everything correctly, even though you may not know the meaning of every word yet. 

In this episode, Val and Em will teach you: 

✅ How to pronounce the vowels in Spanish...

Welcome to PART 1 of your crash course on how to pronounce words as a beginner Speaker! 

In 60ish minutes, you are going to accomplish something it took your first years of primary school to do if you are a native English speaker. 

You’ll be able to pick up any menu, lyrics, or book and be able to pronounce everything correctly, even though you may not know the meaning of every word yet. 

In this episode, Val and Em discuss: 

✅ How Spanish is a phonetic language, you pronounce the lett...

How do you actually start to learn Spanish as a beginner?

In this episode, Val and Em discuss:

✅ The 3 most common myths about learning Spanish as an absolute beginner

✅ The 3 recommend language learning tools to start learning Spanish as a beginner

✏️ Reto / Challenge of the week

Tell us in the comments:

Wondering how to introduce yourself and ask basic questions in simple Spanish?

In this episode, Val and Em discuss: 

✅ The different ways of greeting eachother

✅ How to ask someone's name, age, what is their profession is and how they are feeling✅ How to use basic joining words to connect sentences

✏️ Reto / Challenge of the week

Introduce yourself in the comments in Spanish!

¿Cómo te llamas?
¿Cuántos años tienes?
¿Cuál es tu profesión?(Whats your name, how old are you and what is your job)?<...

Have you been looking for a podcast that's actually for true beginner Spanish learners? Look no further, welcome to the Spanglish Friends community!

In this episode, Val and Em:

✅ Introduce themselves as co-hosts and share their language learning and teaching stories

✅ Discuss who this podcast is for and how to know if its the right podcast for you

✅ Make 3 promises as to how they are going to help you actually learn Spanish as a beginner

✏️ Reto / Challenge of the week

Introduce yourself t...

Welcome to Spanglish Friends, the podcast for 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 beginner Spanish learners!

💁‍♀️ Co-hosted by your experienced Spanish teacher Val from Venezuela, alongside Em, your Aussie friend and native English-speaker who has spent the last 10 years learning Spanish from scratch. 

Each episode you’ll: 

💛 LEARN simple Spanish through real-life super slow conversations that you would actually use in real life, not just textbook! 

💛 HEAR student Em asking Profesora Val your burning questions, providing explanations in English that actually make sense, and making mistakes so you feel confident to start making them too!

💛 R...