Improve your reading comprehension in Spanish with Sprachcaffe

We live in an information society, and most of it is in written form. Improving reading comprehension allows you to access and understand information available in books, magazines, the internet, reports, academic papers, recipes, contracts, etc. In addition, by improving reading comprehension you will also improve your ability to write effectively and coherently, as they are strongly related.

To improve reading comprehension it is important to follow a structured approach and dedicate time and effort on a regular basis. With these tips you will improve your ability to comprehend and analyze Spanish texts.


Your Learning Strategy: How to Improve Reading Comprehension in Spanish

  • Read regularly: Establish a daily reading habit. Read a variety of materials such as books, articles, magazines, newspapers, blogs and literature in Spanish. It is important that you choose readings that suit your level of comprehension. Start with simpler, but challenging texts and gradually work your way up to more complex texts.

  • Do active reading: Underline or highlight important information as you read. This will help you remember and quickly find relevant details later.

  • Take notes or create concept maps: Gathering the most important facts from the text is helpful when you have not understood the whole text. Pay attention to the words that are repeated throughout the text, as they will be the key words.

  • Do a quick reading: A first approach to the text helps you to get an idea of what it is about. This will make it easier for you to activate the vocabulary related to the topic and you will be able to know the main idea at a glance.

Improving reading comprehension is a slow process, but if you follow our advice and practice as much as possible - a good idea is to join a book club - you will improve significantly.


Aids to improve your reading comprehension in Spanish

Book day and Spanish language day

Improve your reading comprehension by learning about the history of the Spanish language.

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Online resources to learn Spanish quickly

Here you can find online resources to learn Spanish quickly.

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Tips to improve your reading skills in Spanish

Use a dictionary

When you don't understand a word, use an online or printed dictionary to look up its meaning and pronunciation. Also by looking up the word in the dictionary you will be able to see the word in different situations and contexts which will help you improve your overall understanding of the text.

Uses memory cards (Flashcards)

Create flash cards with Spanish words on one side and their translation into the language you know on the other side. You can also add a sentence in which the word is used and some examples of synonyms or antonyms. This will help you learn vocabulary effectively.

Choose books of your interest

Read books that are on a topic of interest to you. You don't need to read a book only focused on Spanish grammar, but one of your favorite literary genre or types of novels: romance, science fiction, adventure, fantasy, historical, realistic, horror, psychological, philosophical, etc.

Read children's books

Children's books use easier vocabulary and grammar, so they can be a great resource for beginners. They are also a great way to discover the classic readings of the language you are learning. We recommend reading garbancito or el sapo y el ratón.


Discover here the other three skills needed to learn Spanish

Oral expression

Find out how you can improve your pronunciation and oral expression in Spanish.

To the tips »

Written expression

See how you can improve your written expression in Spanish.

To the tips »

Learn Spanish with Sprachcaffe