Jiveworld is designed with the intermediate or advanced language learner in mind, say, someone with a year or more of serious study.


We don't offer structured lessons that teach basic vocabulary and grammar. Rather, we focus on training your ear to understand real-world language, spoken at native speed in a variety of accents, and broadening your colloquial vocabulary as you hear words and phrases in non-contrived contexts.


If you are an "advanced beginner," there are ways of using Jiveworld. Try this:

  • Keep the speed at 0.7x
  • Reveal the entire transcript ("Show all words" from the X-ray menu in the player)
  • For the first listen, read along the English translation so you get a good feel for the story
  • Listen at least three times to each chapter using the Study Mode. For the final listen, increase the speed a little and hide some of the words (select “Show some words”)


The key is not to get hung up on trying to understand every word. You'll understand the story from the translation, and you'll pick up a lot of useful common vocabulary and expressions on the way — but you want to keep some momentum.


It's not for everyone, but many language learners embrace authentic content early on so they can develop a natural ear. Or maybe you are fluent in a sister language, like Portuguese or Italian to Spanish. There's no harm trying Jiveworld with the free stories provided: you may be surprised at what you can handle, and how much fun it is learning with true stories told by real people.


If you are not there yet, there are many excellent beginner-level products and free podcasts available.  We'll be here when you're ready!