Young native speakers of Spanish are creating content for YouTube, and their work is an excellent resource for kids learning the language. These Spanish YouTubers are children themselves, sharing their daily lives in entertaining videos.
Videos are a great way for children to learn Spanish. Check out all our Spanish videos for kids.
YouTubers are a relatively new authentic resource for kids learning Spanish. Although some videos are too difficult for class, you can find others that work well. Of course, as with any authentic resource you need to provide support and context for this material. It is worth watching and selecting videos that are right for your kids.
If you find the videos by kid YouTubers are going to overwhelm your Spanish learners, there are other options. One is the Kids Learn Spanish videos. Native speakers from Peru and Mexico use a YouTuber style to talk about common objects using high-frequency vocabulary. The videos are fun and funny!
Check out all the Kids Learn Spanish video topics if the videos below are too challenging for your learners at this point. There are printable transcripts for all of them, too.
Another option is to try the Spanish video series Buena Gente. Again, it exposes kids to native Spanish speakers, but they speak slow, clear Spanish. There are transcripts and listening comprehension questions available.
Of course, YouTube also has a wide variety of resources geared specifically to language learners. Try this video to learn vegetables in Spanish or this video in the Spanish Words Kids Love series to practice tiene and common vocabulary. These 5 Spanish YouTube channels for kids are also a good place to start.
Spanish YouTubers For Language Learning
These are a few of the reasons to include Spanish YouTubers in a class or let your kids watch them at home.
- Visual support – The Spanish is supported by actions, photos, graphics and text. Often YouTubers add key text to the screen. They also dress up to play the role of a parent or teacher for a few seconds and then edit the video to show a short interaction.
- Funny! – The videos are a highly entertaining source of everyday language. Good Spanish YouTubers are talented actors. They are expressive and funny, with well-edited videos, of high interest to students.
- Themes – The videos are related to a specific theme and are often in the form of lists. For example, there are videos of 20 cosas sobre mí or Cosas que hacemos cuando no podemos dormir. Also, many kid Spanish YouTubers do challenges, or retos, that are ridiculous to adults but that young viewers love.
- So much culture! – From details about location and food to school and family, these videos are culturally rich.
- Clips – You can easily use part of a video. Because the videos are often lists or short episodes, nothing is lost by showing a small segment.
- Lots of material – Spanish YouTubers regularly publish new videos, so if you find one you like, there are other videos to draw on. Children understand more as they hear the accent and adjust to the speech.
- Models – These videos can serve as models for activities for Spanish learners. Students can answer the same questions or organize similar content about their own lives.
- Interaction – Spanish YouTubers ask questions and want to interact with their viewers. Your students and children can practice their Spanish by answering in the comments.
Recommended Spanish YouTubers for Kids
Gibby is a talented YouTuber with a huge following. I love her work for language learners because her speech is clear and her topics are appropriate and fun. Also, her team does an excellent job editing the videos to support the language. This video of 10 cosas que todos odiamos is a good example of her work. The introduction is fast and she refers to her viewers as amigibbys, but the 10 things themselves are well within the reach of Spanish learners.
YoSoyJechu is another young Spanish YouTuber with videos you can use with language learners. She is from Chile and has videos of challenges and answering questions, as well as some easy crafts and recipes. The introductions can be a little long and are harder to understand, but you can jump to the content of the video. This video about emojis is an example of one you can use with kids learning Spanish.
There are many other young Spanish YouTubers making fun videos. Check out the YouTube recommendations on your sidebar or look for videos by Gibby and YoSoyJechu recommending YouTubers with a similar style. If you find a favorite, be sure to let us know!
