by Olly Richards
Disclaimer: This Spanish Uncovered review is based on an interview we conducted with Richard Hoare, a student who used Spanish Uncovered to learn Spanish.
Summary
The Good
✅ Fun & motivating story-based learning
✅ Excellent teaching
✅ Comprehensive study material (covers all of levels A1 & A2)
✅ Suitable for both Iberian & Latin American Spanish
✅ World-class pronunciation training
✅ Well worth the price
The Bad
❌ Story chapters could be longer
❌ Requires you to put in the hard work
The Cost
Spanish Uncovered costs $297 and comes with a long money-back guarantee.
The Verdict
If you're ready to get started learning Spanish through this unique StoryLearning method, click the button below to enrol now:
CLICK HERE TO ENROL IN SPANISH UNCOVERED NOW
Otherwise, keep reading to find out more about the course!
What Is Spanish Uncovered?
Spanish Uncovered is a comprehensive online beginner Spanish course, that takes you from a complete beginner in Spanish right up to an intermediate level.
The course teaches all of the key aspects of the Spanish language – reading, listening, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and speaking – and does so using a unique and innovative new method called StoryLearning.
StoryLearning is a process that Olly Richards (your Spanish Uncovered teacher) invented to teach you Spanish naturally. It’s so natural, in fact, that it’s based on how human beings naturally learn their native language.
Stories are the most basic form of human communication. We've been communicating through stories for thousands of years – since we were cavemen. That’s why Olly's Story Method uses the power of story to teach you Spanish from the very beginning.
The language truly gets implanted in your mind. By learning through story, you learn the way that your brain naturally likes to learn. It’s the same way that children learn.
You remember words more easily because you're so engrossed in the story. And the language makes sense to you naturally – on a deep level. You end up learning Spanish almost passively, in the same way that a native Spanish speaker learns. That is the exciting result of learning through stories. And it's the foundation on which Spanish Uncovered is built.
What's Included In Spanish Uncovered?
- Complete 20-module Spanish course to learn to speak Spanish with confidence through StoryLearning™ – a method that relies on your brain's natural learning.
- 60+ video lessons with Olly Richards. You'll learn with the same method that's attracted worldwide attention, from the BBC, Independent, Open University, European Commission, El País, and more!
- Learn the secrets Olly used to learn 8 languages and how to use them yourself to learn to speak Spanish with confidence & take part fully in conversations with native speakers.
- Fully downloadable programme so you can learn faster – anywhere, any time, and on any device… even without an internet connection!
- Complete Spanish learning material, including audiobook, translations, printable worksheets… everything you need to get started and find success with Spanish!
- Expert pronunciation training videos, so you can perfect your pronunciation and speak like a native from the start.
- Money-back guarantee, so you can buy without risk today, and get a full refund if you don't love it.
Introducing Richard (Uncovered Student)
Richard is a teacher from England, who recently moved to Seville in southern Spain. He's also a student of Spanish Uncovered. He had been studying Spanish for a while before enrolling in Spanish Uncovered but felt his progress had been a bit hit and miss. We asked him what motivated him to learn a new language in the first place:
My first experience of language learning was after school when I packed up a rucksack and headed off to France. I went thinking I had a bit of school French but when I got there I realised that, actually, I couldn't really communicate in French and I couldn't be understood. It was a bit of a shock!
I managed to get down to the south of France and I got a job. But the problem was that I worked with English people all day long. So I can say I sort of lived in France for four years but my French standard does not reflect four years' worth of living in the country. That was a huge disappointment for me.
I came away afterwards thinking, “God, my French should be better”. I'd bump into English people that could speak French and my French was not nearly on the level of others.
Anyway, much later on my wife and I decided to move abroad, and we settled on Spain. So I thought, “Right, this is great. This is a second chance for me to get another language. I'm going to do it this time, I'm going to see it through!”. That's how my journey with Spanish started.
Richard's First Steps In Spanish
Richard began to learn Spanish while he was still living in England:
I cycled to work and I started with a beginner’s pack of CDs, which was quite good actually. It got me going but I came to the end of the course and I was like, “Okay, what do I do now?”.
Everybody was doing Duolingo, so I thought, “okay, fine I'll do Duolingo”. I used to cycle while listening to Duolingo but I think the people that I knew that were also doing Duolingo found the same thing that I did: after a while you were not actually learning anything. Just repeating all of this stuff!
After that, I was kind of stuck for a while until I come across the Spanish Uncovered.
When I came across Uncovered, I thought: “Oh my god, this is incredibly refreshingly different”.
You start to get this impression very quickly that this guy [Olly] is serious about his mission, about what he wants to do, which is to teach people another language. He's also willing to admit that it’s not easy, there are difficulties, but he's been through the difficulties and he understands.
That's what did it for me. I thought here's somebody who doesn't care about how many followers he's got or how much money he's making out of it, what he cares about is helping people speak another language.
Read & Listen Lessons: The Heart Of The StoryLearning Methodology
So what are the lessons in Spanish Uncovered actually like? Let's look at each of these lesson types in more detail. We'll also get Richard's opinion on each one, starting with the “Read & Listen” lessons.
You start each module of the course by reading and listening to a chapter of an original story in Spanish – El hombre del sombrero.
This is one of the most important features of the course, as the major failing of most other courses is that they don’t ask you to spend much of your time listening to Spanish.
In Spanish Uncovered, you’ll be asked to spend a lot of time reading and listening to the story. With combined text and audio, you'll develop strong listening skills. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to understand spoken Spanish far more easily, without getting lost in conversations.
This is the foundation of the StoryLearning method and it allows you to learn quickly and naturally while enjoying your Spanish at the same time!
The story also comes in both Iberian and Latin American Spanish so you can practice with whichever variety of Spanish you want to learn.
Here's what Richard said when we asked him if he enjoyed the story-based approach to learning Spanish in Uncovered:
Yes, definitely, because it gives you that feeling that you're making progress– you're not just sitting down for another lesson. You're following along with the story and that gives a kind of flow to the whole course.
So, you can see yourself working through the chapters and it's amazing when you look back about how much stuff you've covered. When I went back, I'd forgotten how much I'd covered. There's a huge amount of stuff that goes with each chapter of the course.
Cognates Lessons
The next step in Spanish Uncovered is to work through a series of video lessons which begin to teach you the language from the story, “uncovering” it step by step. The first of these video lessons focuses on cognates.
Cognates are words that look similar or mean the same thing in two or more languages. For example, the English word gratitude and the Spanish word gratitud are cognates. English and Spanish share thousands of cognates and they're the fastest source of new vocabulary you have when you start learning Spanish.
In the cognates video lesson in Spanish Uncovered, Olly will help you uncover cognates – both obvious and hidden – in the story, so you can grow your Spanish vocabulary quickly.
Check out the video below for a preview of one of these lessons:
Here's what Richard had to say about the cognates lessons in the course:
Going through the cognates lessons in the Uncovered the thing that I loved was that there is a kind of system to them. Olly points out is that there's a pattern. So if you're struggling to understand something or read through something, you can use these systems or patterns, to try to help you through and get some of the words that you might not know otherwise. That’s hugely useful!
Vocabulary Lessons
The next video lesson in each chapter focuses on vocabulary. Once again, in these lessons, Olly teaches you Spanish using an interactive “virtual classroom” to uncover new words from the story text one-by-one.
This is great because it means you're always learning new Spanish words in context, the complete opposite of how you were probably force-fed vocabulary in school.
The video below is a preview of a vocabulary lesson from Chapter 3 of the course:
The thing Richard liked most about the vocabulary lessons in Spanish Uncovered is that they were reassuring and made him feel like he didn't have to memorise long lists of new words:
When it comes to learning vocabulary, I think that's where the story really does help you because that you've seen the words already [in the story]. What I loved about learning vocabulary with Spanish Uncovered is that Olly says: “Don't worry!”
He says “I'm telling you this because it will come up again and if you haven't got it now, don't worry about it. It will come up again. It’s going to come up in the story a lot and you will recognise it, so trust that it will be okay. You don't have to sit down and memorise all this stuff because it will come up again, and in time, it will stick”.
That's huge, you know. As a teacher myself, I know that just because you've said something once doesn't mean somebody's going to remember it. Similarly, if you've written down something once, you're not necessarily going to remember it. Things need to be repeated. I found that very reassuring.
Each vocabulary lesson in Spanish Uncovered also comes with a set of printable worksheets that you can use to practice what you've learned in the video lesson. This means that you learn to use the vocabulary from the lessons, in addition to recognising it when you're reading and listening.
Grammar Lessons
The grammar lessons are one of things that really differentiate Olly's StoryLearning method from other approaches.
Most Spanish courses just give you a bunch of grammar rules and then ask you to memorise them.
But in Uncovered, all of the grammar you learn comes from the story! You read the story, you listen to the audio and you immerse yourself in the sounds of Spanish!
Then, you watch an in-depth lesson with Olly, where he teaches you all about the grammar used in the story. Instead of grammar rules, he shows you the grammar ‘in action' inside the story. The result is that Spanish grammar becomes easy and natural to learn. It’s unlike any grammar lesson you’ve had before!
As you progress through the course, you'll find that you just begin to understand the grammar intuitively, which is far more enjoyable than trying to cram rule after rule into your poor brain!
Watch the grammar lesson preview below to see this approach in action:
Richard found the Olly's verb conjugation tips in Spanish Uncovered particularly helpful. Here's what he said about the grammar lessons:
What I love is that Olly says you don't have to learn the whole verb; you don't need all of it. Just learn the top three (I, you, he/she) for now, and you can learn the other stuff later. You spend your whole school life learning the whole verb, but you don't really need it. You can get by without it. When I heard this, I thought “Of course, that's brilliant!”
Each grammar lesson in Spanish Uncovered also comes with a comprehensive worksheet to help you practice everything you've learned.
Pronunciation Training
Another key aspect of the Spanish Uncovered course is a series of pronunciation training videos with Angela Moreno, a native Spanish teacher and an expert in accent reduction and pronunciation.
This was a part of the course that Richard found particularly helpful:
It’s like having a super extra bonus in there. Why? Because you've got somebody Spanish there explaining to you exactly how to pronounce the sounds.
What's amazing is that Angela understands the subtle differences between how sounds are pronounced in English and Spanish. She teaches you what English people need to do in order to pronounce Spanish properly. It's like a golden nugget of information!
I love that you can go back and you can practice the sounds until you get them right. You can practice in the mirror and you can mimic Angela doing it. You can see how she uses her tongue, her jaw and she gives little hints about your mouth shape. It's magic!
I think she does it so well. Very simple, very straightforward, and she provide's very good explanations. It’s wonderful.
Speaking Activities
By the end of each chapter, you'll have learned a lot of Spanish! The “speaking activity packs” in Spanish Uncovered will encourage you to start using it.
The course does not include any one-to-one speaking sessions with a Spanish tutor. Instead, the speaking section of the course is comprised of a set of “speaking packs”.
These packs contain activities related to what you've learned in Spanish Uncovered and are designed for you to use with your private tutor or language partner.
Most of the activities included in this section can be completed alone. But you'll get even more out of them if you practise them with a teacher or language partner. (There's also advice on how to find a good speaking partner or private tutor in case you don't have one).
Each activity in the speaking packs has a student and teacher section. If you're working with a Spanish teacher, you can simply provide them with a copy of the speaking activity PDF and practise together.
Richard followed Olly's advice and found a private tutor on italki.com to practise his speaking with:
It’s very difficult. You know, Olly touches on it in the course… if you're living in the country of your target language it’s not necessarily a great help because you don't get to talk to that many people. As Olly points out, most people are pretty busy, they don't want to stop and correct your mistakes or whatever, they just want to get on. So, I “ummed and ahhed” a lot, then eventually went to italki [an online tutor marketplace].
I found a tutor there and it’s been absolutely brilliant! Some of our sessions have covered the speaking activities from Uncovered and other topics have come from him [Richard's italki teacher].
Staying Motivated With Spanish Uncovered
One of the most common challenges Spanish learners face is staying motivated long enough to complete a course and actually make significant progress with their new language. If you've bought Spanish courses or textbooks before and given up on them after a few weeks, you'll know what this feels like. But is Spanish Uncovered any different?
It’s an enjoyable way of learning. That's what makes the difference. It keeps me motivated and I want to keep coming back each day because I just know that every time there's going to be one little new thing that I learn and remember. and that's going to add to the pile of things that I know. There’s always something. And over time it also those little things really add up!
What's Missing From Spanish Uncovered?
So as you've seen, Spanish Uncovered is a pretty comprehensive course, with a range of lessons to teach you different aspects of the Spanish language. But is there anything missing from the programme? Richard again:
That's a difficult one because I don't think there is. As I've gone through it, I've thought how could I help improve this and honestly, I'd like to help and say, “Oh yes, you should definitely do this or that”. But I can't!
Everything is so clearly explained. That's what is magical about it. Olly's teaching style is fantastic – he's calm and reassuring.
Olly and Co. regularly update the course and are always receptive to feedback from students. So you can be confident that this is a Spanish course that will only continue to grow and improve with time.
Richard's Progress In Spanish
I look at how far I've come and honestly, I can see big improvements with my Spanish. In the past, if anybody asked me, “How's your Spanish?” I'd respond, “Oh, it’s not there”, but now people ask, “Is your Spanish getting any better?” and I have to admit, yes, it is! And that's in the space of just five weeks! It’s incredible!
I go down to the local stables every day and I interact with the guys at the stables, because they don't speak any English. (Which is great for me!) And about a week ago one of them said to me: “Richard, your Spanish is getting better”. And I was delighted, because you know what? I feel like it is!
How Much Does Spanish Uncovered Cost And Is It Worth It?
Spanish Uncovered costs $297 and comes with a long money-back guarantee. But is it really worth the investment? Here's what Richard had to say:
Knowing what I know now about this course, I would pay double for what it’s given me. The problem with online courses is you often don't know until you've started them. It's really hard to tell if something will be good, isn't it?
But knowing what I know now, I would pay $500 for this. It would be absolutely worth it because Uncovered has saved me from being in a continual cycle of uncertainty with my language learning.
You've got to be serious about wanting to learn. I know people who have lived and worked here in Spain for four or five years and my Spanish is better than theirs. And a lot of them complain about the fact that their Spanish isn't very good but they don't do anything about it. If you're unhappy about the level of your Spanish do something about it. If you want to learn Spanish, this is how you learn Spanish. Do this.
What I think is great about the course is the teaching. I'm a teacher myself, so I know. For me that's what makes the difference: the teaching is of such a good standard. It's positive, it's calm, and it gives you confidence that you're going to be okay if you stick with it.
It's not too much to say that it changes your life. This course is something that people can use, that gives them self-confidence, and helps them reach a goal. That's just really important stuff. It’s great!
Don't Just Take Our Word For It!
Wondering what other reviewers think of Spanish Uncovered? Check out this Langoly review of Spanish Uncovered for a second opinion!
Ready To Get Started?
So there you have it, an in-depth Spanish Uncovered review that gives you student's perspective on what it's like to learn with the course.
If you're determined to learn Spanish and want to do so using a method that's fun, intuitive and effective, click the link below to join Spanish Uncovered now:
CLICK HERE TO ENROL IN SPANISH UNCOVERED NOW
See you on the inside!
