The best way to learn Galician is a mix: mostly Galician you can understand, plus review and real conversation, with the balance set by your goal. Galician you can mostly understand is called comprehensible input. Below, you'll see what each way of learning builds and the mix that suits six common goals.
Which Ways of Learning Galician Work Best?
Reading and listening to Galician at your level works best, and each other method adds one skill on top of it.
| Method | What it builds | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and listening at your level | Words, grammar and listening | Most of your time |
| A structured course | An order for the basics | Your first months |
| A tutor or conversation partner | Speaking and quick replies | Using what you know |
| Flashcards or other review | Words that stay with you | A few minutes each session |
| Shows, podcasts and books | Galician at natural speed | Fun, once you follow most of it |
| Grammar study | Why a sentence works | Patterns that confuse you |
Input is the base of the mix: a 2016 review of 49 studies in Reading in a Foreign Language, a University of Hawaii journal, found that reading a lot of easy material improves reading in a new language.
What Is the Best Way to Learn Galician for Your Goal?
For every goal, the best way is the same base of reading and listening, with the rest of your time on the skill that goal needs most.
- Talk With Family or FriendsRead and hear lots of everyday conversations, and spend the rest of your time talking with them or with a tutor.
- Travel to GaliciaSpend most of your time on short dialogues about ordering food and finding your way, such as on the Camino de Santiago, and say each one out loud.
- Pass the CelgaRead and listen at your level most of the time, and add the Celga courses on the official Portal da Lingua Galega as the test gets close.
- Live in GaliciaRead and hear Galician about everyday life most of the time, such as shopping and the local news, and practice those talks with a tutor.
- Watch Galician TVPut most of your time into listening, starting with Xabarín's cartoons and moving on to AGalega's series with subtitles on.
- Read Galician BooksSpend most of your time reading short texts, and move on to a novel such as Ollos de auga once longer stories feel easy to follow.
To see how many hours each stage takes, read how long it takes to learn Galician.
What Are the Best Resources for Each Part?
Each part of the mix has a good free option, such as Xabarín for cartoons or the Real Academia Galega's dictionary for verbs, and an app or service for when you want more. Bubblegum, which appears in a few rows, is a language app where Poppy, an AI tutor, writes Galician lessons at your level about things you like.
| Part | Free option | App or service |
|---|---|---|
| A course for the basics | The Portal da Lingua Galega's course for people starting from zero, with five units | uTalk for first words and phrases with recorded voices, or Talk In Galician, a paid web course |
| Reading and listening at your level | Cartoons and shows on Xabarín, sorted by age | Bubblegum, or Readlang for Galician web pages you pick |
| Shows, podcasts and books | AGalega for series, Podgalego for podcasts, and GaliciaLe for e-books | Language Reactor, which shows Galician subtitles beside a translation on YouTube |
| Review | Anki, free on computers and Android | Bubblegum's Regenerative Review™, which brings saved words back in new lessons |
| Conversation | A language exchange on Tandem | A tutor on italki, or Talkpal for practice with an AI partner |
| Grammar and words | The Real Academia Galega's dictionary, which shows how a verb changes, and DígochoEu's short videos | Verba, a Galician-English dictionary for iPhone with verb forms |
What Should You Avoid?
Avoid anything that keeps you away from real Galician sentences you can follow.
- Reading Galician Like EnglishIn Galician, x usually sounds like the sh in ship, as in xente (people), so play the audio as you read.
- Lists With No SentencesSave words from lines you have read, so each one comes with an example and the o or a that shows its gender.
- Shows You Can't Follow YetSave AGalega's series for when you can follow an episode with subtitles on, and watch Xabarín's cartoons before that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to learn Galician with an app or a teacher?
Use an app for the hours of reading and listening, and a teacher for speaking and corrections. Lessons with a tutor on italki are paid, so spend that time talking, and do your reading and listening on your own. italki has a page of Galician tutors, so check each profile for beginner teaching before you book.
Should I learn Galician grammar first?
No. Start reading and listening right away, and look a pattern up when it confuses you. A rule is easier to learn once you have seen it a few times: after Chámome Ana (my name is Ana) and Gústame o café (I like coffee), it is easy to see that the word for "me" goes on the end of the verb.
Which Galician app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Galician, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Galician app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Jeon and Day (2016), The effectiveness of ER on reading proficiency: A meta-analysis, Reading in a Foreign Language 28(2), University of Hawaii
- Portal da Lingua Galega, Xunta de Galicia: Celga, the official Galician language certificate (five levels, with preparation courses)
- Portal da Lingua Galega: Introductory course in Galician language and culture (five units, for people starting from zero)
- Real Academia Galega: Dicionario (with sound and verb forms)
- Anki, official downloads (free computer version and AnkiDroid)
- Tandem: supported languages (Galician is listed)
- italki: Galician teachers
