Learning a language in the classroom, even when that classroom is on Zoom or Microsoft Teams, is never the same as using the language in real life.
When I really started taking my Spanish seriously back in 2019, I spent a summer taking 2-hour classes every day for two months.
It was intense, but I was a confident conversational Spanish speaker by the end of those two months. I was at a point that I never thought I would get to. I could actually understand what people were saying to me, at least in simple situations like at restaurants, bars, and the supermarket.
But it was talking to taxi drivers, listening to people at futbol games, and haggling at the local tianguis where I learned to speak more like a Mexican. Ok that, and a few good Netflix shows.
Despite living in the country for five years and revisiting it a whopping five times last year, there is still so much colloquial Mexican Spanish that I don’t know.
So when I discovered that one of my favorite Spanish learning apps, Gritty Spanish, had come out with a Mexican-focused program, I was excited to try it out.
I used the original Gritty Spanish program during the pandemic to delve deeper into the language and attempt to push myself beyond the intermediate level.
They have made significant improvements to the program and app since I last used it and it is now easier and more convenient to use on the go.
What is Gritty Spanish?
Gritty Spanish is a Spanish program that aims to teach you real Spanish. The gritty part of the language that is spoken by locals in shops, amongst friends, and on dating apps.
If you want to progress beyond the classroom Spanish you have learned, this is one of the best ways to do it.
It is available as an app that you can download on your phone or tablet. There are several levels to choose from of their original Gritty Spanish program including one for beginners, intermediate, and more advanced Spanish learners.
Most of the programs have a mixture of Spanish from the most popular countries to visit including Mexico, Colombia, Spain, and Dominican Republic.
But the latest program that I have tested out and that I am loving is the one dedicated specifically to Mexican Spanish.
Mexican Spanish is the one that makes the most sense for me to continue to improve since that is where I spend the majority of my travels. Not only do I love to visit Mexico, but traveling there is a huge part of my business both for my blog and for my YouTube channel. So it can only benefit me to improve my Mexican Spanish language skills.
Gritty Spanish: Hecho en Mexico
Like the other programs on Gritty Spanish, Hecho en Mexico is focused on audio conversations between different people.
Each conversation comes with a full transcript in both Spanish and English. It underlines the colloquial words so that you know that this is a particularly common word or phrase in Mexico and it gives a translation of those as well as examples of how else the word or phrase may be used in other contexts.
One of the things I love about the app is that you can download the different episodes and listen to them offline and with your screen turned off. So I usually listen to it with headphones on while I’m cooking or when I go for a run.
The episodes are short, usually only 3-5 minutes. This means they are digestible but still long enough that you are getting context for each of the conversations.
Each one is almost like a mini telenovela. There’s drama, intrigue, funny stories, and fantastic dialogue. The situations themselves aren’t always realistic, but that’s part of what makes them fun and engaging to listen to.
I don’t foresee myself needing to argue with a jealous boyfriend (at least not in Spanish!), talk to people at a beach bar, or meet a stranger on the subway who instantly becomes my best friend (these are all things that happen in the different episodes). However, the context, accents, and speed of talking are realistic.
You can head to the website to learn more about the program and download it for yourself here.
The Gritty Spanish app is easy to use and allows you to listen to the conversations anywhere, which has really helped me be more regular with my studying.
What I love about it
There are a lot of positives of this program that have me coming back again and again since I downloaded it last month.
- The accents are great for practicing the different accents around Mexico. They haven’t just chosen one generic Mexican accent to use, but instead have accents from all over the country which felt like one of the most realistic parts of the program.
- The vocabulary is genuinely things you’ll hear all the time. I especially love that it’s not just singular words, but phrases that are very commonly used in Mexico, many of which I hadn’t known before.
- It’s easy to listen to on the go and I can dedicate a quick 10-15 minutes a day to it which feels very manageable.
- I used this before my recent trip to Valladolid and I genuinely heard many of these phrases and words which I had never picked up on before and felt pretty excited that I had learned them!
What I think could be better
- I know that the gritty situations are sort of their USP, but I wouldn’t mind a few more slightly more realistic situations with a focus on travelers. There are a few episodes like “The Choices in a Tianguis” and “Bartender Chat After Work” which I could see myself experiencing, but overall as a visitor to Spanish-speaking countries, many of these situations are unlikely to occur.
- You can slow down the audio if they are talking too quickly for you but it really distorts the speaker and in my opinion, makes it harder to understand the Spanish than when it is at normal speed.
I love the thorough explanations and examples of the different Mexican-Spanish words in each conversation. It helps you understand when and how to use the word or phrase for yourself.
Who is it for?
If you have a good base of Spanish around the B1 level or higher and you regularly travel to or are planning to move to Mexico, then this is perfect for you.
If you are a beginner at the A1 level and you can’t understand simple podcasts or conversations in Spanish, then this will be too difficult for you just yet.
This is a fun way to learn more of the language that is actually used on a day-to-day basis in Mexico. As someone who travels to different parts of the country, I also found the different accents and ways of speaking to be helpful and interesting.
How I use the app
There are plenty of different ways to use the program and get the most out of it. I highly recommend trying out different speeds, listening to it a few times, and figuring out the best way to utilize the transcript so that you are learning in a way that makes sense for you.
I listen to one episode all the way through without looking at anything. I try to pay attention simply to the conversation and the context, but notice the words that I don’t know.
The second time through, I listen to it while following along on the Spanish transcript. At the end of the second time listening to it, I read the information given about the words and phrases that I don’t know.
Then I listen to it again one more time through with just the audio again. All of this takes about 15-20 minutes.
The next time I use the app, usually a day or two later, I listen to the same story once more. If there are words I don’t remember, I look them up again. But then I move on and do the same with the next episode.
I try not to listen to more than 3 episodes a week because I tend to return to them again a few times throughout the week so that I really know the vocabulary that I didn’t know before I move on to more new vocabulary.
Personally, this has really helped me to learn the few new phrases in each episode well. It has also helped my listening skills a ton.
Sometimes I repeat new phrases and words out loud or I will read the transcript out loud while reading it so that I can practice pronunciation, but I don’t do this every time.