What app should an intermediate Spanish learner use?
By Mert Yerekapan · Updated
At the intermediate level, the best tools are the ones that give you lots of real Spanish and speaking practice, not more beginner lessons. Dreaming Spanish, podcasts, YouTube, Anki for your own vocabulary, and a tutor on a platform like italki are the usual picks. Course-style apps become less useful, since you've already learned the basics.
What changes at intermediate
Beginners need structure. Intermediate learners need volume and variety. You know enough grammar and vocabulary to get by, and the challenge is making it automatic: understanding fast speech, finding words in real time, and moving beyond simple sentences.
That's also why so many people feel stuck at intermediate. The apps that carried you through the first months stop giving you what you need.
The kinds of tools to look for
1. Lots of listening and reading. Content slightly above your level, in large quantities. This is the main driver of progress now. See comprehensible input.
2. Personal vocabulary review. Cards built from words you meet in real content, not from a pre-made list.
3. Speaking with feedback. Live conversation, because intermediate speakers often understand more than they can say.
4. Reference tools. A good dictionary and a verb conjugator.
Specific options
Dreaming Spanish. Level-based videos of native speakers adjusting their speech for learners, with a large library at the intermediate stages. A strong choice for pure listening volume.
Podcasts. Intermediate learner podcasts, then native ones. They bridge the jump from learner Spanish to the real thing.
YouTube and streaming. Native creators, documentaries, series. Use Spanish subtitles, then try going without. See subtitle choices.
Anki. Make cards from sentences you meet. At this stage, it's often the best use of a flashcard tool because your cards are personal.
italki or similar. Regular conversation with a tutor or exchange partner, which targets the "I understand but can't say it" problem. See why you can understand Spanish but not speak it.
Story and reading apps. I built Langtok, so I'm biased, but its short Spanish stories with synced word-by-word subtitles, tap-to-translate and playback speed down to 0.25x suit the lower-intermediate stage, where you want easy-to-follow real-sounding Spanish with a safety net. Past upper intermediate, native content will matter more.
Readers and books. Graded readers, then easy novels, either on an e-reader or in print.
What I'd drop
- Beginner course apps, apart from a short daily review if you enjoy it
- Gamified lessons that focus on translation drills
- Anything that only gives isolated sentences
They're not bad, they just aren't where your growth is coming from anymore.
A sample intermediate setup
- 30 to 45 minutes of listening daily (videos, podcasts, shows)
- 15 to 20 minutes of reading
- 10 minutes of vocabulary review
- 1 or 2 speaking sessions per week
That's a lot of real Spanish and a bit of structure. If you're not sure where you stand, check how to figure out your Spanish level first.