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Date Published: 17/10/2025

Learning Spanish Online – with a course like no other

James Spanish School (JSS), an online language school, has become a standout success in student progress thanks to its simplified learning techniques

JSS holds a unique place among Spanish language schools. It focuses on just one group: time-poor English-speaking adults who are either planning to move to Spain or already living there and want to learn everyday Castilian Spanish to talk with the locals.

For 25 years, English-born, Spanish-educated principal James Bretherton – whose first language is Spanish – has been teaching a simplified Spanish course. Initially in his Pilar de la Horadada school, but now online to students across Spain, Britain, Ireland, North America and beyond.

He explains the challenges English speakers face with insight and clarity. Why simplified?

James explains: "The reality is that expats coming to Spain rarely want to spend much time learning Spanish. For them, 2–3 hours a week is a lot. But that's not enough to match 20 years of daily exposure that native speakers have. They want to have real conversations with neighbours, shop staff, officials, tradespeople and others – not to pass exams or write Spanish novels.

So, they need a different kind of learning experience – which is exactly what we provide."

JSS ensures rapid progress through a simpler approach to sentence and conversation building. People learn their first language without knowing what a 'gerund' or 'past participle' is – so why teach Spanish that way?

At JSS, grammar is taught without grammatical terms. From the very first lesson, students begin building sentences naturally. Different language structures create gaps in speaking and listening. JSS highlights these differences with clear examples and exercises.

Student engagement and concentration are vital. To keep things light and memorable, JSS weaves in cultural insights – how Spaniards queue, what to wear at funerals, the economics of weddings, earrings for baby girls, the Menu del Día, the ONCE lottery and more.

Cultural understanding helps students feel part of their new community and gives them extra motivation to keep learning. And humour plays a big role, because people learn better when they laugh.

JSS's online format offers a better learning experience. The 100-lesson course, complete with 170 videos, lesson notes, self-assessment tests and learning aids, can be streamed on a laptop, tablet or phone. Students can pause, rewind and rewatch as often as they like. Lessons are available 24/7, with no expiry date.

Rapid response in conversation is essential and JSS teaches a variety of ways to achieve it. Advanced learners aren't held back; they can complete multiple lessons per week and move ahead using self-assessment tools. There is a cast-iron guarantee: if a student learns nothing from a given lesson, they can request extra spoken Spanish practice lessons at no additional cost.

The core lessons help students say almost anything they want in Spanish. But understanding what's said in return is the real challenge. That's why JSS includes 50 spoken Spanish practice modules with more than 75 hours of listening content – to help students tune their ears and follow real conversations.

JSS offers strong tutorial support. A wide range of self-assessment tests and learning aids. Ongoing quizzes help identify vocabulary gaps and ensure steady progress.

By the end of the course, students often reach the conversational level of a Spanish youngster, having mastered the grammar, sentence structure and basic vocabulary.

All the while, they can be moving to much more adult vocabulary with WordAmigo, JSS's custom AI-powered system designed to help with memory retention – especially for older learners. It features all the JSS word lists, keywords and verbs, along with an additional 11,000 word pairings, vigorous pronunciation testing and intelligent flashcards that adapt to each student's progress – speeding progress towards confident conversational Spanish.

What students say

James' Spanish lessons SON MAGNÍFICAS! I love them! - Dr Gray Church

"James is absolutely brilliant. His way of teaching is so engaging and fun, it makes learning Spanish a real treat. I'd definitely recommend this course to anyone wanting to learn and improve their Spanish in a fun, easy going way." - Keith Williams

"Best Spanish Teacher in all of Spain." - Chris Stallard

A special discount offer for our readers from JSS

Using voucher code SP25 will give you a 25% discount on 50 and 100-lesson courses, with WordAmigo free with all 100-lesson courses, including singles, couples and family packages.

Go to https://jamesspanishschool.com/spain-today for much more information and a free demo lesson.

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Learn Spanish in a completely different way to any other online course

James Spanish School (JSS) is an online language school tailored for English-speaking adults moving to or living in Spain. Led by James Bretherton, an English-born, Spanish-educated dual native speaker, JSS offers a simplified, very practical approach to learning Spanish, as spoken in Spain – designed for real-life conversations, not exams.

Students build sentences naturally, without grammar jargon, and can quickly gain confidence speaking with locals. The course focuses on sentence structure and speaking and listening skills. Cultural insights – and its humour – make lessons engaging and memorable.

The 100-lesson programme includes 170 videos, downloadable notes, quizzes and 75+ hours of spoken practice modules to boost comprehension.

Students can learn anytime, anywhere, and progress at their own pace. Advanced learners aren't held back and strong tutorial support ensures questions are answered quickly. JSS has a cast-iron guarantee offering extra practice if needed.

Also included is WordAmigo, the AI tool, which enhances memory retention with adaptive flashcards and pronunciation testing – helping learners reach a conversational level of a Spanish youngster with vocabulary that grows more adult over time.