Lately I have been seeing more and more websites offering free Spanish Lesson podcasts. I think this is a fantastic idea, and could be really beneficial to anyone planning a trip to a Spanish speaking part of the world.

I think most people would agree that it is definitely beneficial to learn a little Spanish before attempting travel through a Spanish speaking area of the world. But, let’s be honest, trying to learn a language out of a book is extremely boring, and doesn’t even provide you with necessary practice in pronunciation and listening comprehension.

Spanish Lesson podcasts can fill that gap, and give you an opportunity to improve your listening comprehension and practice correct pronunciation. Plus, podcasts are free, so why not spend a couple of hours a week using them before your big trip!?

To help you on your way I looked over a number of sites offering Spanish Lesson podcasts and came up with a list of 4 that I consider to be the best. All together they can provide you with over 100 hours of free Spanish instruction!

• Coffee Break Spanish: This is a good site for beginners. The Spanish speakers in the podcast are NOT native speakers, but they provide a good balance of Spanish conversation and explanation in English.

• Spanish Sense: This is a very solid site, offering Spanish Lesson podcasts in 5 different levels: newbie, elementary, intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced (though most are for their “newbie” and “elementary” levels). Every podcast I listened to was run by native Latin American Spanish speakers (I think from Mexico, but not sure).

• Notes in Spanish: This site offers intermediate and advanced Spanish podcasts. The podcasts are run by a native Spanish speaker from Spain and an Englishmen, both of whom speak Spanish only in Spanish during the podcast.

• Rojas Spanish: Podcasts for intermediate to advanced Spanish speaker. These podcasts are run by Luis Rojas who is from Lima, Peru. His is accent is not exactly like a native Ecuadorian’s, but it is similar.