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Top 3 Spotify Playlists For Learning Spanish
It’s no secret that music is a very effective way to learn a new language. What if I told you that all the songs, all the tools you’d need, are waiting patiently for you, on an app you use daily? Spotify has so much more to offer than most people realize. If you haven’t yet incorporated music in your Spanish-learning journey, get ready to discover your new favorite playlists!
What I really like about this playlist is the variety of songs. You can jam out to some Pop from Shakira, dance along to Bachata with Aventura’s Obsesion, or relax with some alternative rock from Café Tacvba. With so many different genres, you’re bound to find some favorites.
The good thing about this playlist is that it’s only 31 songs long. What I mean is that it’s a doable number to start off with. There’s enough to pick and choose your favorites, but more than enough to keep you busy memorizing and singing for days or weeks on end.
The reason we’re focusing on Mexico’s Top 50 Charts is the digestibility of the Mexican accent to non-natives. Much like English-speaking cultures, Spanish-speaking cultures have vastly different dialects. For example, people who live in Spain speak with a lisp, and Chilean citizens like to add the sound “po” to the end of most words, making the language unrecognizable to many. For the most part, Mexican Spanish is easy for foreigners to understand, given the clear enunciation & pronunciation, as well as the modest tempo of their speech.
Not only should you try to replicate the Mexican accent, but be sure to pay attention to the vocabulary they use. When it comes to the names of things and conjugations, other countries often come up with terms exclusive to their culture. We’ll look to the country of Chile for some examples. They have a whole list of words you’ll never hear in any other country. The word “cachai” is used to ask the question “do you get me?” or “does that make sense?” And instead of novio/novia for boyfriend and girlfriend, they use the terms “pololo/polola”.
Mexico, on the other hand, rarely creates new vocabulary specific to their culture. They use the standard terminology recognized across most, if not all, Spanish speaking countries. You can see why it would be beneficial to learn a Spanish dialect that ‘sticks to the standards,’ rather than making up their own regional vocabulary (i.e. pop vs. soda or thongs vs. flip flops). So if you’re looking to pick up some Spanish songs as a new student or beginner, you’re better off starting with Mexican bands & musicians!
This is both a playlist and a band. My reason for choosing this particular group is surprisingly personal. I met a friend in Chile who originally comes from Michigan, but speaks Spanish so fluently that she was able to marry a Spanish-speaking trucker who lived in Patagonia. I asked her how she gained her fluency, and she pointed me to this band, Calle 13.
She commented on how clearly and articulately the lead singer enunciated his words, and also found the lyrics to be intriguing. Not only did she grow to understand them quickly, but the songs themselves were engaging, which is critical when using them as a language-learning method. Calle 13’s lyrics are versatile enough to continue posing a challenge as you advance on your journey to Spanish mastery. While Calle 13 is a solid starting point, you can use Spotify to search for “artists like them” and continue expanding your international song library!