Top 5 Reading Apps to Improve Your Reading Skills in Spanish
With two bilingual kids, I’ve become an expert on reading apps for Spanish and English. There are so many on the market that you’re sure to find at least one that suits you or your learner.
While playing with my daughters and exploring the reading apps for kids, I realized that most of these apps are also great for adults that are just learning Spanish.
Read this blog post to discover why reading apps are such a great resource for improving your reading skills. I’ll also share with you my 5 favorite Spanish reading apps. Three of them teach you to read in Spanish from scratch, and I’ve thrown in two reading comprehension apps. I have included both reading apps for kids and reading apps for adults.
Let’s start!
Why Use Apps to Learn to Read in Spanish?
Well, this question should be broken into two separate ones? Why learn to read in Spanish? And why use reading apps to do so?
First, reading in a foreign language opens you a door to a whole new world. You gain access to new stories, diverse cultures, a different way of thinking. They show you structures that you’re not that likely to hear on the street or even while watching movies.
And I’m not talking here just about advanced reading comprehension apps for adults. Learning to read in a foreign language from scratch is super beneficial, especially if the language has sounds that do not exist in your mother tongue.
You learn how to pronounce vowels, consonants, diphthongs, and syllables. You learn how to associate letters with sounds. You learn the correct pronunciation, accent, and intonation.
For intermediate Spanish students, learning by reading book apps is also a great idea. You learn new words in context and get used to ready-to-use structures.
Now, why use digital apps at all? Because it’s fun! I don’t know about you, but I love apps for kids to learn a new language. They’re stress-free and educational but the entertainment element seems to be more important than in reading apps for adults.
For kids, learning through gaming works best. What’s more, apps are convenient. You might not feel like opening a textbook, booking an online class, or even opening a computer, but 5 minutes on a bus, waiting in line, or in the bathroom are easy to fit into your schedule.
Let me show you the absolute winners among Spanish reading apps for Ipad and Android to learn Spanish.
The 5 Best Reading Apps for Spanish
The following Spanish reading apps range from teaching the very basics (letter-sound association, discrimination, simple words) to reading with longer texts.
1. Lee Paso a Paso
This award-winning reading app for kids is perfect to start reading in Spanish. It’s not only for kindergarten! It’s also ideal for teaching phonics and other necessary skills for reading in Spanish to adult learners.
The progression is easy to follow. You first get to know vowels, then you learn to identify syllables and their sounds to form words.
I tested this app with my Spanish-speaking daughters (5 and 7), and they found it very entertaining. However, I think it’s also great for adults who are learning Spanish as a second language. It helps with new vocabulary, correct pronunciation, and reading comprehension!
While playing, you’ll match words to pictures, complete words with missing syllables, and count syllables in words. There are 30 letters to learn and 131 syllables! You can choose your difficulty level.
2. Aprender a Leer – Silabario
This is another free Spanish reading app for kids that teaches you through syllables. It’s designed for learners as young as 4 years old, but it’s also great for teens and adults starting their journey with Spanish.
Your learning starts with vowels, then simple syllables, then two-syllable words, and finally four-syllable words. You learn to associate signs and sounds, and you can choose either cursive or print.
3. Aprender a Leer con Grin
Aprender a leer con Grin (Learn to Read with Grin) helps you to learn reading from scratch. The app offers 30 lessons, each with 14 games available in two levels. You can change the difficulty level at any time.
This reading app teaches visual and auditory memorization, identification and association, discrimination, understanding, and literacy. You can choose between cursive, print, uppercase, and lowercase.
You can create three different profiles within the app so you can learn along with your kids. The app awards you with apples that you can later feed aliens with.
This fun digital resource includes a set of printable activities available that you can use along with the games.
4. Cuentos Clásicos
You already know how to pronounce sounds, and you’ve mastered Spanish phonology. Now it’s time to work with short texts.
Cuentos Clásicos (classic short stories) is a good reading app to start with, as you probably know the stories and you can guess the meaning of the new words. Stories for kids are a great resource for learning a foreign language, as they tend to use common language and repetition.
There are 24 stories to read or to listen to, including Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood), El Mago de Oz (The Wizard of Oz), El Patito Feo (The Ugly Duckling).
5. Beelinguap
If you’re tired of kids’ content, try another Spanish reading app: Beelinguapp. It’s specifically designed to teach reading but to teach a language through reading.
The app uses stories and shows you English and Spanish text at the same time to build your language awareness. A native speaker reads the text for you to learn pronunciation.
Choose your favorite genre and create flashcards with new vocabulary. Read novels, news articles, scientific content, culture, and more. It’s a books and articles reading app in one.
It’s a splendid resource to try if you’re at least at the early-intermediate level to challenge yourself with longer texts. It’s free to use, but if you want to switch between Spanish and other languages, you’ll have to pay for the premium content.
Start Reading in Spanish Today!
Reading comprehension skills are essential to develop. It feels great to be able to read your first books in Spanish and understand almost everything. Make sure you also check out 15 Reading Tips for Beginners Who Love to Read for more helpful ideas.
To practice your conversational skills now and learn about other free book reading apps—or if you just need somebody to correct the way you pronounce new sounds—sign up for a free class with one of our friendly, native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala.
Download Homeschool Spanish Academy’s free eBook for beginners, Weird & Wacky Spanish Stories for Beginners! It’s best suited for A2 level and above, but it’s also perfect for A1 learners who wish to improve their fluency through reading. It’s fun for kids and adults!
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