When it comes to learning Spanish as a second language, there are a fair number of Spanish language courses you can try.
However, few of them are as detailed and comprehensive as Spanish Uncovered by Olly Richards (I Will Teach You a Language) featuring his method: StoryLearning.
The Uncovered series provide a truly amazing self-study experience at a very competitive price.
If you follow the instructions and put in the hours, this course will teach any beginner Spanish – without a doubt.
In this review I'll be diving into the Spanish version of Uncovered to give you a complete picture of the course.
The other Uncovered courses: German, French, Japanese, and Italian follow the very same model (and even the same story!) so if you liked any of those you're going to love Spanish.
Plus, knowledge of the story will greatly accelerate your success in learning Spanish.
Hopefully by the end of this post you will have learnt enough to answer the question: “Is Spanish Uncovered worth it?”
In my opinion, Spanish Uncovered is a great self-study course for learning Spanish. If you're a beginner and you have the discipline to put in the work you will learn Spanish really fast.
Compared to traditional language schools or night classes, you save a bunch of money too, which you can then reinvest in a private 1-on-1 teacher to go over the materials from Spanish Uncovered, and learn even faster.
PROS
Completely free to try for 7 days
Extremely Comprehensive
Learning with a written story throughout the course is fun and practical
Takes a beginner all the way to lower intermediate levels (B1)
CONS
It's a self-study course, so you're relying a lot on your own self-discipline
It's not cheap
Grammar/Language lessons need to be repeated a few times to fully absorb
Student will have to arrange for their own speaking practice outside the course
All Uncovered courses now feature a full 7 day trial so you can try out the method before deciding to commit fully. The creator Olly Richards says that this is the best way to figure out of the StoryLearning method is suitable for the individual learner first.
He always offered a 30-day refund window, but this makes it even easier to try the product.
What is Spanish Uncovered?
Spanish Uncovered is a self-study Spanish course for beginners. This means you can start this language course without any prior knowledge in Spanish.
Completing the 20 modules according to the instructions gets you to a solid upper beginner, lower intermediate level in Spanish – and can be done within about 100-150 hours of study and repetition time.
The text and audio features both Latin American and Spain Spanish versions, so you will be able to use your new Spanish skills to communicate with the whole world.
People with some experience (pre-intermediate) would also benefit, but might find that it becomes too easy if they are above the upper beginner levels.
Not a beginner? Check out my review of Grammar Hero instead, which is suitable for intermediate learners of Spanish.
The StoryLearning method
Olly Richards always loved learning Spanish through books and stories, so when he started creating books and courses himself he used stories as a pivotal part of the products.
Recently he started using the name “StoryLearning” to describe his methodology.
He believes that stories are the best to learn from, as you see the actual language in context. Cognates, vocabulary, and grammar are all easier to learn as they appear together.
Video: A look inside Spanish Uncovered
I'll be going into details about what you can find inside the course in the paragraphs below, but if you prefer you can also check out a short 5 minute video I recorded where I dive into the dashboard:
Course Overview
The course contains 20 full chapters that all follow the same structure.
In the course you are taught by native speaker Angela Moreno, and Olly Richards himself.
In each chapter you'll be explore a new part of a funny short-story called “The Man with the Hat” or in Spanish: “El Hombre Del Sombreo“
The story section is available in PDF and MP3, so you can listen to a native speaker reading it out while you follow along in the PDF.
Let's take a closer look into a chapter of the course, and see how the actual learning takes place.
What you can learn in each of the 20 modules
Here's what you'll be doing in every chapter of Spanish Uncovered, all chapters follow the same structure.
