Comments on: Spanish Core 1-50 + Spoken Spanish Practice Lessons 1-50 (Couples – two logins)

By: Kerry Charters-Byrne

Kerry Charters-Byrne — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 22:59:59 +0000

I started to learn Spanish a few years before coming to live in Spain, including night school, Michel Thomas and other courses on CDs, various online courses and phrase books. I knew a fair bit of Spanish but didn’t really know or understand what I knew, nor how to put it all together. James’s classes were like the keys that unlocked it, and I finally understood what I knew and how to put my knowledge together with my new learning. He has come up with a unique formula to make learning the basics fun and easy and to give you a great structure to build on. His sense of humour makes the classes enjoyable and memorable. After the first year, the spoken language classes began and for once James did not do all the talking; he made use of his family, friends and actors to help us hear different voices and accents. The spoken process built up from single sentences to short stories with different themes and varied, interesting content. It rapidly became easier to understand the stories when you did not focus on one word, instead listening to whole sentences – trust James when he explains this theory. Being able to repeat the lessons multiple times has also helped to tune my ear in; often when you hear a word that you don’t understand, it’s because it’s more than one word but when spoken it blends together. I am far from fluent, but I can get by with long Spanish lunches with my neighbours, and I am sure I have made them laugh a few times with my mistakes. James gave me a firm base to stand on and the confidence to use what I have learnt. I was lucky enough to attend James’s physical class; his response to questions was always first class. In four years he answered every one of our class questions – nothing ever fazed him. To say “”he knows his stuff”” is putting it mildly; no question was ever a “”silly”” question. James’s humour also helps you to remember. Once I started online classes, the Q&A option is as good there as in the physical class – getting answers to your questions as you work through a subject is most helpful. I am also part of the JSS Facebook group; this has been a friendly environment to learn more, ask questions and have access to James’s cultural tips, which have been invaluable in helping to understand some of the Spanish customs and ways. After my first lesson with James I recommended him to others, and will always continue to do so. I am living proof that his methods work. I love my life in Spain – learning the language and culture enhances this more every day.

By: Pamela Rose

Pamela Rose — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 22:59:59 +0000

Over the years, I’ve attended several formal beginners/intermediate Spanish courses in the UK with limited success. I still never felt I understood the structure of sentences or culture in Spanish very well. I saw a post about James Spanish School online course on Facebook. It was a perfect deal for the 100 lessons, especially as there was no time limit on using them and the fact you could repeat them as often and whenever you like was a real bonus. James is a very entertaining tutor and I love the humour and sarcasm when comparing Spanish and English perceptions of the different cultures. I always end up laughing. For various personal reasons, I’ve ‘fallen off the wagon’ in terms of working my way through the lessons on a regular basis, but the great thing is that I know I can revisit those lessons I completed and carry on again whenever it suits me, and I have every intention of doing that. The culture clips provided in the online lessons (and on the Facebook group) are so useful, as are the notes that come with the video lessons. Having a test after each lesson is really useful in terms of identifying progress and providing a sense of achievement. I would (and have) recommended this course to my friends and family. I haven’t started the spoken Spanish practice section yet. I live in the UK and so do not attend class groups; however, the online community group is very useful for reading students’ comments, listening to the short, focused culture clips and verb explanations that James uploads – these are fascinating and useful to dip in and out of. I’ve sent the link to lesson demos to my daughter in Australia, as learning Spanish would be so useful for her in her travels and if she ever wanted to move to a warmer climate closer to home.

By: Lynn Cain

Lynn Cain — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 22:59:59 +0000

Love this course. I started trying to learn Spanish using Duolingo but gave this up when I went to a class, as I realised that Duolingo was South American Spanish. I went to the class for a while, but then I found JSS, which I’ve found to be the most useful. I like the fact that I can go at my own pace and will always have the videos and lesson notes to refer back to. James explains things really well and there are quizzes which track progress. I definitely recommend this course. I’ve found the spoken lessons very useful. I’m still working through them, but I intend to keep going over them to help everything stick in my memory. I’m surprised at how much I’ve understood when doing the listening exercises, especially as, for the most part, I’ve been listening before reading the lesson notes. The lessons have also given me the confidence to try speaking Spanish in shops etc. I find the direct Q&A chat very useful. I’ve asked for clarification a couple of times when I’ve been a bit unsure about something, but I also find reading all the other questions and answers very helpful too. As I’m doing this course remotely, it’s reassuring to know that there is back-up if I have any questions or problems with the course. Help is always at hand. I also find the cultural tips useful. Since James explained about the queuing system in Spain I no longer think people are pushing in! I’ve already directed some of my friends to the ‘My Living in Spain’ series on YouTube.

By: Angela Rodger

Angela Rodger — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 21:40:11 +0000

I highly recommend James Spanish School as it concentrates on getting you straight into creating sentences and cuts out all the technical jargon. I had attended a one-year night school course in the UK to learn Spanish 25 years ago, but I came away only with the knowledge of how to ask directions and to ask for things in restaurants and shops. With the core course and James’s unique teaching style I was able to formulate more sentences in the first couple of months than I had done in the one-year course I did at college. James explains the rules of the language in very simple terms, and it just makes sense! The spoken Spanish practice lessons are much more intense than the core lessons. I’m just over halfway through at the moment. There is great support both directly on the course and from the Students Group on Facebook. If a question crops up during a lesson you can scroll down to the Q&A section under the video, first to see if the question has been asked before, and if not you simply type it in – I’ve found that James answers really quickly during the day, easily within an hour. The Students Facebook Group also contains short cultural videos by James to help understand the Spanish way of life.

By: Wendy Lawrenson

Wendy Lawrenson — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 16:52:35 +0000

James very kindly donated his online Spanish course to a charity auction and I purchased it. I have lived in Torrevieja for many years and during that time I have done many courses and had many teachers. Previous online courses have always required a test to determine your level. My Spanish is quite good so initially I thought the core lessons would be too easy – still, I gave it a go, and I am so glad I did. I have learnt more about Spanish culture from James than from living here for 20 years! I love his teaching style and really enjoyed the lessons. I have recommended it to many friends as I consider it to be the best way to learn Spanish for anyone living here in Spain. I continued with the more advanced course, and I am currently doing the final spoken practice lessons. For me, it has been a great revision course as well as a way of learning many new words and phrases. My husband has started the course and he also loves it. He did Duolingo for 5 years and has learnt more in the first 20 lessons of James Spanish. He gave up Duolingo as soon as he started on the core lessons. Because of his heritage, James has the advantage of being well aware of both Spanish customs and English ones and can teach you how certain common English phrases would be translated into Spanish. I highly recommend the James Spanish course to both beginners and intermediate learners. I have completed the spoken Spanish practice lessons and have learnt a great deal, especially where numbers are concerned. I always struggled with them, but now I find it much easier to understand and translate them. I am very happy with the progress I have made and how much I have enjoyed the lessons. One of the best things about James Spanish courses, both core and spoken, is the fact that you can go back and do them over and over again (which I intend to do) and also print out any course notes. I have never found this on any other online course. I highly recommend the lessons. I don’t really use Facebook or YouTube so cannot comment on the weekly cultural clips etc. I have used the Q&A chat and found it to be very helpful with very prompt replies. I have to say that James explains things so well I have rarely had to ask a question. I am very pleased to be living in Spain, but I wish more of my friends would take the time to learn the language. I am definitely in the minority in my circle of friends and acquaintances.

By: Steve Jackson

Steve Jackson — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 14:28:16 +0000

The JSS programme to learn Spanish is probably the best course I’ve ever used. James takes you through all the basics and the core verbs you will need to start with. He builds the course up interestingly, and if there is something you don’t understand in a lesson, just replay it again and again until you do. It’s well worth your time and effort to complete this course. James’s sense of humour helps you along the way – thank you, James and your team. The course is great and keeps your attention. I highly recommend it for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners. The cultural tips James gives are very useful and aid your understanding of Spanish life and culture. The WordAmigo section is a very good tool as well.

By: Alan Sergeant

Alan Sergeant — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 12:38:00 +0000

My name’s Alan Sergeant, I’m an 80-year-old Lancastrian, and I’ve been spending half my time in Spain for most years since I retired. I’m a big La Liga fan – I much prefer it to the Premier League. I’ve always had a bit of “”football Spanish”” in me – fuera (out of play), fuera de juego (offside), saque de porteria (goal kick), saque de esquina (corner) – and, of course, the word for the referee when things aren’t going our way: idiota! But despite the odd word, I really struggled to string a proper sentence together. About a year ago, a friend pointed me toward the James Spanish School. I started back in England, and I’m now working through the spoken Spanish lessons, repeating them over and over. I’ve added WordAmigo to the mix, and it’s been a massive help. My memory isn’t quite what it was 40 years ago, but having the audio files and flashcards on my phone is great. I can hide the words I’ve already mastered and just focus on the tricky ones. My Spanish friends are actually quite shocked at how much my conversation has improved. I go on road trips all over Spain during my 90-day visits, and these days, I have no trouble chatting with the locals. In fact, at my local Spanish bar, anyone wanting to know what’s happening in La Liga is sent straight to me! I’d recommend JSS and WordAmigo to anyone.

By: Brod Kearon

Brod Kearon — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:58:00 +0000

The practice lessons are great for getting you used to the sound of the language and deciphering what people are saying to you. It helps enormously to repeat those lessons over and over, especially the ones about the dreaded numbers! I’m working my way through the lessons again. Learning how to deal with tradesmen, the post office, the doctor, etc. is invaluable, but I feel I need more dialogue practice. For instance, now that we know (more or less) what people are saying, we need to be able to respond quickly and confidently, and that takes conversation practice. I can understand much more now than I did when I started the course, but I still get stuck when trying to speak. The Facebook videos are a great help in explaining how certain things work in Spain. I don’t live in Spain, but I spend about four or five months a year there, so I need to be able to operate in Spanish. The only trouble is that our place is in Catalonia and everyone speaks Catalan. Of course, they can speak Spanish but some of them pretend not to be able to! The cultural clips are great – could some of them perhaps be in Spanish? I haven’t seen ‘My Living in Spain’ – I must check it out.

By: Julie Armitage

Julie Armitage — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 18:59:00 +0000

I am still at the early stage of the spoken course. I find it an advantage to have the course available for me to repeat each lesson as many times as I need so that I can tune in to the words. Learning to listen is an art, and James’s advice about not focusing on one word and its translation, but listening to the whole sentence/story, really works. I find it very useful to have each lesson available so that I can go back to it if I need to refresh my knowledge. It’s a great way to learn to listen as well as speak Spanish. Being part of an online group has really helped me. I can ask at any time if I need to clarify a point, and learning from what others ask is really useful too. The cultural clips are fascinating and help me navigate my new life here in Spain. The journey is always ongoing as James releases new ideas to help us.

By: John Henderson

John Henderson — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 16:10:00 +0000

I tried learning Spanish before using ‘Spanish with Paul’, but I found it to be very laborious and struggled with being unable to speak to local Spanish people. I tried Duolingo, but I never liked the running streak of days as an incentive. I find JSS gets to the point so quickly and you focus on what’s important in relation to learning the language. The whole way you teach it is fun, enlightening, and to the point with minimum time wasted. The dad jokes are very good – the only bit I didn’t like were the jokes about a Scotsman driving a Dacia, which I am both! Ha! Honestly, all great fun. I had so much more confidence in a short time to say what I want, and my brain wasn’t full of useless information. I prefer the online classes because I can go at my own speed, revisiting/revising lessons at any time. We are all different in our learning, so we can focus on an element that we personally are struggling with and stay there until we master it without feeling any pressure from others. I also like the comment section because you still feel you are learning as a group, so you have the best of both worlds. My confidence has grown greatly regarding neighbours, shops, bars, and now I look forward to having that exchange with Spanish-speaking people. I loved the structure of learning a language from scratch, because naturally English is my first language and it came automatically without too much work, having youth on my side at the time. Finally, I have different neighbours and friends using JSS as a language tool – Americans, English, Dutch, Swiss – and we are all in agreement it’s the best one out of all the others we have tried. I have just started the spoken Spanish practice lessons, so I don’t have much to say about them, but I am really enjoying them and even after only a few I am feeling the benefit. I enjoy reading the questions and answers in the tutorial support and I find most, if not all, of my questions have been asked and answered. Some of the comments let you adjust your learning process. I really enjoy the culture clips and tips on Facebook and find them very helpful in answering my queries. As I mentioned before, the feeling of the group and the benefit of learning at your own pace gives you the best of both worlds.