Learn Spanish Free with Native Speakers at PBC Languages
Learn Spanish with native speakers at PBC Languages: small group classes plus free 1-to-1 exchanges, half in Spanish, half in English.
Create your free accountNo card needed. Exchanges between members are always free.
If you speak English, Spanish gives you a head start nobody tells you about: thousands of words share the same Latin root, so anything ending in -tion becomes -ción (nación, información, educación), anything in -ty becomes -dad (universidad, actividad), and -ic becomes -ico (fantástico, económico). Regular -ar verbs also follow one predictable pattern once you learn it (hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos), so early progress in reading and basic conversation comes fast.
What trips people up is the sound system and the false friends. English doesn't have the rolled RR, so perro (dog) and pero (but) sound identical to a beginner's ear until the tongue learns the trill. The Spanish J (jamón, trabajar) doesn't exist in English either, and English speakers tend to turn pure Spanish vowels into diphthongs, so 'no' comes out as 'noh-oh' instead of one clean sound. On top of that, words like embarazada (pregnant, not embarrassed), actualmente (currently, not actually) and realizar (to carry out, not to realize) get miscalculated constantly because they look like English words.
The structure that takes longest to click is ser vs estar, since English only has one verb 'to be' for both. Object pronouns going before the conjugated verb (lo veo, not veo lo) and the subjunctive after phrases like 'espero que' also need real spoken practice, not just study, which is exactly what the weekly exchange is for.
Words you will actually hear
| Here | Elsewhere | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| embarazada | embarrassed | embarazada means pregnant, not embarrassed. The word for embarrassed is avergonzado/a. |
| actualmente | actually | actualmente means currently, not actually. For actually, use en realidad. |
| realizar | realize | realizar means to carry out or accomplish, not to realize/understand. For that, use darse cuenta. |
| sensible | sensible | sensible means sensitive, not sensible/practical. Practical is sensato. |
| éxito | exit | éxito means success, not exit. Exit is salida. |
| ropa | rope | ropa means clothes, not rope. Rope is cuerda. |
| información | information | same word, same meaning, near-identical spelling — one of hundreds of -tion/-ción cognates you get for free. |
| posible | possible | same word, one letter off, and the pattern repeats across most -ble adjectives. |
| importante | important | identical meaning and almost identical spelling, part of the huge -ante/-ant cognate group. |
Classes coming up
Times in your own time zone. This list changes every day.
Exchanges looking for a partner
How it works here
-
Sign up and say your level
Two minutes. If you do not know your level, we place you in the first class.
-
Pick a class or an exchange
Classes are led by a native teacher. An exchange is with another member: half the time in their language, half in yours.
-
Join by video, nothing to install
From your phone or your computer. If you cannot make it, cancel and get your place back.
Questions about this
How long does it take an English speaker to hold a conversation in Spanish?
It depends on how often you practice and what you start with, so we're not going to give you a fixed number. What we can tell you is that vocabulary comes fast thanks to the cognates, and the exchanges are where that vocabulary turns into actual speaking, because you're forced to use it live every week instead of just reviewing it.
Is the exchange really free?
Yes. The one-to-one exchange is a straight trade between members: half an hour in Spanish, half an hour in English, no fee involved. The classes with native teachers are the paid part of PBC Languages; the exchange itself costs nothing.
What level do I need to join the exchange?
You need enough Spanish to build simple sentences and follow slow conversation, roughly an A2 base. If you're starting from zero, the small group classes are the better first step so the exchange doesn't turn into 30 minutes of silence.
How exactly is the time split during the exchange?
Thirty minutes in Spanish, thirty minutes in English, with your partner correcting you and vice versa. Nobody spends the whole hour in their stronger language just because it's easier.
Keep looking around
Start this week
A free account, a free first group class, and exchanges that never cost anything.
