Frequently Asked Questions.

That would be me! I'm Gabriel, nice to meet you. I speak 5 languages and I've been obsessed with language learning for as long as I can remember.

I used to teach Spanish and got frustrated with how boring the materials were.. so I started writing stories for my students instead. It worked so well that I decided to share them with the world.

I write every story myself and I'm pretty picky about making sure they're fun, well-leveled and effective for learning.

The stories use Castilian Spanish (from Spain) and so does the audio.

But honestly.. don't worry too much about this. Spanish is pretty much the same everywhere. You know how Americans say "elevator" and British people say "lift" and nobody has a problem understanding each other? It's the same thing with Spanish. A few words here and there are different but like 95% of the language is exactly the same.

So whatever your goal is, whether you want to travel to Mexico or move to Spain or just talk to your Spanish-speaking neighbors, what you learn here will work everywhere.

The stories have four levels: A1 to B2. Those letters and numbers are from the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) which is just how language levels are measured pretty much everywhere in the world.

‍Beginner (A1) – You know little to no Spanish. Short sentences, simple words, basic everyday stuff.

‍Elementary (A2) – You can follow simple conversations and understand what's going on without too much help. Stories get a bit longer and more interesting here.

‍Intermediate (B1) – You're getting comfortable. You can follow longer stories and express yourself without having to think about every word.

‍Upper Intermediate (B2) – You can handle real Spanish. Longer texts, natural language, topics with actual depth.

Not sure which level is best for you? Just pick a story from the level you think might be yours and start reading. If you understand most of it, you're in the right spot. If it's too easy go up one level. If you're completely lost after the first paragraph.. go down. No pressure.

If you're looking for stories about magical frogs and enchanted forests.. this is not the place. These are stories about real life situations with real characters.. the kind of stuff that actually happens to people.

So they're naturally more suited to adults and teenagers (12+) who want to learn Spanish without feeling like they're reading a children's book.

There's nothing inappropriate in them and a lot of teachers use them in their classrooms.

Whether you're an adult tired of childish materials or a teacher looking for something your students will actually enjoy.. it works for both.

There's a serious lack of fun and engaging reading material for Spanish learners out there. After seeing the joy and results my students were getting with these stories I decided I wanted to give that same experience to other learners all over the world. So I put them online for everyone for free.

So yes.. the free stories will always be free.

The courses and books are what help me pay rent and keep the lights on but the stories on the site? Those aren't going anywhere.

I still get messages every week from people saying "this is the first time I actually enjoy learning Spanish" and honestly.. that alone makes it all worth it.

Honestly.. not as often as I'd like. Most of my energy right now goes into writing the courses and books since my cat eats like a professional athlete and my landlord doesn't accept "but I write free stories" as rent payment.

Each story also takes a lot more work than people think.. writing, recording audio, creating exercises, reviewing everything.. it's a whole process.

But the stories on the site aren't going anywhere and when new ones drop you'll hear about it first through the newsletter.

No. And here's why.. once you hit a solid B2 you're actually ready to dive into real Spanish books written for Spanish speakers. Novels, articles, whatever you're into. And honestly nothing I write is going to beat that.

So instead of pretending I can compete with García Márquez.. I'd rather focus on getting you to the point where you can pick up his books and actually enjoy them.

A1 to B2 is where I can really help you and that's where I want to be really good at.

Short answer: yes. I've done it myself with 5 languages and I've seen it work with my students over and over.

But don't just take my word for it.. research actually backs this up. Studies on story-based language learning show that people remember vocabulary better, stay motivated for longer and develop listening skills faster than with traditional methods.

The reason is pretty simple: when you're reading a story your brain is focused on understanding what's happening and not on memorizing rules. You learn words in context so they actually stick instead of disappearing the next day. And that's actually when you learn best.. when you're not even trying to.

I wrote a whole post about how and why this works if you want to go deeper:

How to learn Spanish with Stories

Yes and that's the whole idea behind Fluent with Stories method.

Every story is built on comprehensible input, a theory by linguist Stephen Krashen that says you learn a language best when you understand what you're reading or hearing.. not by memorizing rules.

The stories are written so you understand around 80-90% of what you read and your brain just figures out the rest from context. There's actually a name for it.. the i+1 principle: content that's mostly at your level with just enough new stuff to keep you moving forward.

So while you're busy following the characters and wanting to know what happens next, your brain is picking up vocabulary and grammar on its own.

There's no conjugation tables and no rules.. just stories.

The stories are free to read on the website but they're not available for download or printing. All the content is copyrighted so please don't copy or reproduce it anywhere. If you want to read offline though, a lot of our stories are available as ebooks and paperbacks in our bookstore. You can check the full details in our terms of use.

Not right now. You can listen to the audio on the website but there's no way to download it at the moment. That said.. audiobook versions are something I'm working on so keep an eye out for that.

The audio on the free stories plays at one fixed speed. But don't worry.. it's already recorded slower than how native speakers normally talk so you should be able to follow along pretty comfortably.

If you still want it slower though, speed controls are available for learners with a Fluent with Stories account. You get one automatically (and for free) when you join any of our courses.

That's the dream! I can't say much more than that for now but if you want to be the first to know when it happens.. the newsletter is the place to be.

You'll receive an email after purchasing with a link to set up your password. After that, whenever you want to come back just click "Login" on the top right of the website, enter your email and password and you're in.

If you forgot your password just click "Forgot password" and you'll get a reset link.

Still need help? Send me a message at hello@fluentwithstories.com.

Accounts are exclusive to learners who join a course. When you buy one, your account is created automatically and you'll receive an email with everything you need to set up your password and get started.

Your account gives you access to all the course content and also additional features like progress tracking, audio speed controls and points.

You can only log in if you have a Fluent with Stories account, which you get when you join a course.

Just click "Login" on the top right of the website, enter your email and password and you're in. It works from any device. If you forgot your password just click "Forgot password" and you'll get a reset link.

Yes! And honestly.. what a gift.

Just use the email of the person you want to gift it to when you check out. They'll receive an email with everything they need to set up their account and start learning. You'll officially be their favorite person.

That's really sweet of you but I don't accept donations. The stories are free because I want them to be free so everyone can enjoy.

If you want to support the project, the best ways are checking out our books or courses and spreading the word to someone who's learning Spanish. That's more than enough.

The books are sold through Amazon and are available as ebook and paperback. You can find all of them on our bookstore page.

Yes! They're on the way. I can't give you a date yet but they're coming. The newsletter is the best place to know when they're ready.

When you subscribe to the newsletter you'll get a confirmation email first.

Click the link in that email to confirm your subscription and right after that you'll receive a second email with a link to access the ebook.

It opens in a new tab as a PDF and you can save it to your device from there.

First check your spam or promotions folder.. it ends up there more often than you'd think.

If it still hasn't arrived within 5 minutes after confirming your subscription, send me an email at hello@fluentwithstories.com and I'll sort it out for you.

Yes! You can project them, share the links with your students, use them for homework or class discussions.. a lot of teachers already do.

Just keep in mind the stories are meant to be used on the website. Copying, printing or reproducing the content isn't allowed since it's copyrighted. If you want something physical for your classroom we have ebooks and paperbacks available on our bookstore page.

Not yet but it's something I want to build. If you're a teacher using the stories in class I'd love to hear how you use them.. send me an email. It helps me understand what would actually be useful.

We have a classroom plan for that. Each student gets their own account with full access, progress tracking and everything included.

Check out our classroom page for all the details.