I self-taught myself Spanish. No classes, no tutor, no AI — just determination and the right resources.

You might be surprised to hear that music videos actually played a part in my journey. I went from saying Gracias like Dora the Explorer to speaking Spanish more like Selena Gomez — whose own Spanish has noticeably improved too, if that's not a Paul McCartney-style replacement situation. That said, music videos aren't really the best place to start, since very few have subtitles — and some, like this one, are honestly more of a product promotion than a learning tool.

My story starts further back than YouTube, though. I was non-verbal at school. Other pupils would hit me for not speaking, and I had so many bruises that teachers thought my parents were hitting me. I did eventually find my voice — and then, years later, I found a second one in Spanish. (People also bullied me at work, but that's a story for another post.)

The real turning point was discovering that YouTube had genuinely improved as a learning platform. I was always told to avoid it for serious study, but the content has come a long way. Two resources that made the biggest difference for me were building a solid foundation in Spanish grammar — this reference book is excellent — and working through this Spanish masterclass playlist on YouTube, which I'd highly recommend. I'd also recommend this video.

 

I'm heading to Spain on holiday soon. I'll let you know how I get on.