Course description

This course gives you the Spanish you'll actually use on holiday: at the airport, in your hotel or holiday flat, on taxis, buses and trains, in restaurants and tapas bars, at the market, on the beach and, if you need it, at the pharmacy or in an emergency. It's written for holidaymakers from the UK heading to Spain, with notes on the Spanish of Latin America wherever a traveller would hear something different.

Every lesson is written in plain English and is built around real situations, with phrase tables, a guide to saying every new Spanish word, short dialogues, sentences to read aloud and a practical task. You learn phrases you can use straight away, with only as much grammar as each phrase needs. Allergy and emergency phrases are covered carefully, alongside the travel facts from GOV.UK and the NHS that matter for each situation.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow Gail and Hefin, a couple from Wrexham, as Gail prepares for a week in Málaga, practising with a language exchange partner in Mexico, and then makes the trip, from a missing suitcase on the first day to a delayed flight home. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, an answer key, extra practice with answers, a word list, phrase cards, dialogue scripts and flashcards, plus role-play cards, a menu reader, an allergy card template, an emergency phrase card and a printable phrase sheet where they help.

What you'll learn

• Sounds and first phrases: the five Spanish vowels, stress and the written accent, the consonants that catch English speakers out, greetings, please and thank you, usted and tú, rescue phrases and numbers to 20.
• Airports and arrivals: airport signs, checking in and security, passport control and what GOV.UK says about the Schengen rules, a missing suitcase, flight times, the 24-hour clock and delays.
• Hotels and holiday lets: checking in, meeting the owner of a holiday flat and the house rules, asking for things, complaining politely and checking out.
• Getting around: taxis, buses and the metro, trains and tickets, hiring a car, road signs, petrol stations and breakdowns.
• Directions and sightseeing: asking the way and understanding the answer, museums and monuments, the tourist office, guided tours, the weather, days and dates.
• Eating out: getting a table and reading the menu, the menú del día, tapas and raciones, explaining a food allergy or a diet, and paying the bill.
• Drinks, markets and money: coffee and breakfast, ordering drinks, shopping at a market, clothes and souvenirs, and paying by card or in cash.
• The beach, health and emergencies: beach flags and pools, the pharmacy, seeing a doctor with your GHIC, calling 112, and reporting a theft or a lost passport.
• Small talk and Latin America: chatting about yourself and your holiday, a few past tense phrases, ustedes and vosotros, and the words that change between Spain and Latin America.
• Your trip project: a phrase review and printable phrase sheet, your own phrasebook and allergy card, a trip plan and role-play scripts, and how to keep your Spanish going.

Who it's for

Holidaymakers from the UK going to Spain or Latin America who want to be polite, get what they need and handle the unexpected in Spanish. It suits complete beginners and anyone who knows a few words, whether you're planning a beach week, a city break, a road trip or a visit to friends.

What this course is, and isn't

This is a text-based course with no audio or video: pronunciation is taught with simple written guides. It teaches the Spanish of Spain, with the main Latin American differences explained. It isn't a grammar course and doesn't lead to a qualification, it gives language rather than medical or legal advice, and it doesn't recommend any apps, books or brands. The story and characters are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Pronounce Spanish clearly enough to be understood, using simple written guides, and greet people politely with usted or tú
• Get through an airport, passport control and a missing suitcase, and understand flight times, gates and delays
• Check in at a hotel or holiday let, ask for what you need and sort out a problem politely
• Take taxis, buses, the metro and trains, hire a car and fill up with fuel
• Ask for directions and follow them, and buy tickets for museums, monuments and tours
• Order in restaurants and tapas bars, read a Spanish menu, explain a food allergy or a diet, and pay the bill
• Order coffee and drinks, shop at a market and in shops, and pay by card or in cash with confidence
• Cope at the beach, the pharmacy and the doctor, call 112 in an emergency and report a theft or a lost passport
• Make small talk, say a little about what you did, and recognise the main differences in Latin American Spanish
• Build your own phrasebook, allergy card and trip plan, and practise your trip with role-play scripts

Frequently asked questions