Spend your first weeks with Colombian Spanish you can mostly follow, and start talking with people from Colombia as soon as you have words to use. Learners know this as comprehensible input. Speech there changes by region: friends in Bogotá often say usted to each other, people in Medellín and Cali use vos, and on the Caribbean coast a final s can sound like a soft h. Pick the city you will visit and choose material from there.
In Bubblegum, the reading and listening come as lessons in Colombian Spanish. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes them at your level on topics you pick, with Colombian words. Its voices speak standard Latin American Spanish, so get Colombian audio from the podcasts and videos below. You can tap any word, ask Poppy about a line, and see your saved words again in later lessons through Regenerative Review™.
Spend the bulk of your hours reading Colombian Spanish with the audio on. Each of the other methods covers one gap. Look for texts that give you about one new word a sentence. A very short scene works for a beginner, and a longer story later gives each new word more to go on. When nearly every line needs a lookup, go back to easier text.
| Method | What It Builds | Use It For |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Colombian scenes | Colombian words and the choice of tú, usted or vos | Most of your time |
| Podcasts and videos from Colombia | Colombian voices and learner speed | Commutes and chores |
| A tutor from Colombia | Speaking practice with someone correcting you | Talking through a scene you read |
| A Spanish grammar reference | Verb forms and endings | Whenever one pattern keeps tripping you |
| Saved sentences | Short phrases you can use right away | After each reading session |
| Colombian series and radio | Everyday speech on many topics | Once the main point is clear |
The research behind reading a lot is a 2016 meta-analysis by Jeon and Day. It looked at learners of English, not Spanish, and found that extensive reading improved their reading.
Whatever your goal, the core stays the same: read and listen. Around it, pick the extras that fit what you want.
- Live in ColombiaRead scenes about renting, the bus, and the corner shop. Ask a neighbor whether people there say usted, tú or vos to friends.
- Talk With Family or FriendsAsk for lessons about the food and holidays you share. Try one local word, like tinto, and ask your family what else they say.
- Work With Colombian ColleaguesRead Colombian Spanish about your field, and practice polite requests with a tutor. Listen for when coworkers use usted.
- Watch Colombian SeriesRead a lesson about a show's topic first. Then watch with Spanish subtitles, and replay scenes that go by quickly.
- Travel Through ColombiaRead scenes at bus stations, hostels, and cafés. Practice asking for a price and understanding the answer.
- Study in ColombiaUniversities such as the Universidad Nacional de Colombia teach Spanish to foreigners in six levels. Reading Colombian Spanish before you arrive makes the first week easier.
How long it takes to learn Colombian Spanish shows the class hours involved.
| Part | Free Option | App or Service |
|---|---|---|
| A first course | The free audio for Colloquial Spanish of Latin America, on Routledge's website | Bubblegum, for lessons about your interests and goals |
| Reading at your level | — | Bubblegum, with Colombian lessons Poppy writes at your level, read aloud by AI voices |
| Listening | AudioELE, Colombian voices for learners, and RTVC Play, Colombia's free public media | Spanish Colombiano, stories about life in Colombia for intermediate learners |
| Colombian accent | Videos from the Colombian guides on Dreaming Spanish | A tutor from Colombia, from the Teachers from filter on italki |
| Review | Sentences copied into a notebook and reread each week | Bubblegum's Regenerative Review™, where saved words come back in new lessons |
| Conversation | Talk with partners in Bogotá through a Tandem language exchange | A Colombian tutor, found with the Teachers from filter on italki |
- Only Spain-Based CoursesMany big courses teach the Spanish of Spain, or of Mexico. Keep a course if you like it, and add Colombian lessons so Colombian words and usted feel normal.
- Skipping Colombian AudioBubblegum's voices are standard Latin American, so a place's own accent comes from podcasts, videos and tutors. Listen every week.
- Slang Lists AloneA list of Colombian slang gives meanings but not when to use them. Learn each word in a short Colombian scene, and save that scene.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Spanish. You learn from Spanish you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
- Lessons are in Colombian Spanish, with everyday Colombian words and prices in pesos.
- Lessons show how a Bogotá friend uses usted in a warm way, with no distance.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- The voices read lessons in standard Latin American Spanish, without a Colombian accent of their own.
- Lessons teach everyday Colombian Spanish and don't cover every regional way of speaking, like the coast.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Should I Learn Colombian Spanish With an App or a Teacher?
The long hours of reading and listening fit an app and podcasts, while speaking needs a teacher. A Colombian tutor can also tell you what people in their own city say.
Should I Learn Spanish Grammar First?
No. Hear forms like tienes and puede in a few scenes first, and they are easier to keep. Check a verb table only when one pattern keeps tripping you.
Which Colombian Spanish App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Spanish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Colombian Spanish app comparison explains what the other apps teach.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Colombian Spanish (regional dialects, ustedeo, voseo, tinto, parce, the coast)
- Spanish Colombiano podcast (Apple Podcasts)
- AudioELE: Podcast de español colombiano (iVoox)
- RTVC Play: free series, films, podcasts and live channels from Colombia
- Dreaming Spanish: guides listed by country
- Routledge: free audio for Colloquial Spanish of Latin America
- Tandem: Learn Spanish in Bogota
- italki: Spanish teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Universidad Nacional de Colombia: Spanish courses for foreigners (six levels)
- Jeon and Day (2016), The effectiveness of ER on reading proficiency: A meta-analysis
