[cmason]

HI All

I have emailed before regarding where to live to learn spanish but we have decided not to go to Nerja or Benalmadena. However there are now so many towns to choose from, we are at a loss as to where to start!!

Can anyone recommend any towns/villages in southern spain where we can live for 6 months to maximise our chances of learning spanish. We are willing to live inland but we dont have a car so need to be close to public transport etc. We would prefer not to live in a city but near is ok.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
Claire

 

[XTreme]

HI All

I have emailed before regarding where to live to learn spanish but we have decided not to go to Nerja or Benalmadena. However there are now so many towns to choose from, we are at a loss as to where to start!!

Can anyone recommend any towns/villages in southern spain where we can live for 6 months to maximise our chances of learning spanish. We are willing to live inland but we dont have a car so need to be close to public transport etc. We would prefer not to live in a city but near is ok.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
Claire

Huescar....no English spoken apart from the small handful of Brits who are still left here.

But you are aware that the Andaluz dialect is different from mainstream Spanish?

 

[cmason]

Huescar....no English spoken apart from the small handful of Brits who are still left here.

But you are aware that the Andaluz dialect is different from mainstream Spanish?

I knew there were different dalects but I thought Andulicia was covered by the mainstream spanish! lol. In that case, where would you suggest to go then as we are desperate to learn and immerse ourselves as much as possible in 6 months.

Thanks

 

[jojo]

I knew there were different dalects but I thought Andulicia was covered by the mainstream spanish! lol. In that case, where would you suggest to go then as we are desperate to learn and immerse ourselves as much as possible in 6 months.

Thanks

The Andalucian dialect is very different cos they dont finish the ends of their words and abbreviate wherever possible!!!

I dont know where would be best, Madrid maybe???

Jo xxx

 

[XTreme]

Classical Spanish....suppose Madrid like Jo says!

You won't learn grammatically correct Spanish in Andalucia that's for sure.

 

[XTreme]

The Andalucian dialect is very different cos they dont finish the ends of their words and abbreviate wherever possible!!!

Examples:
mercado = mercow
passado= passow
esta= eta
hasta luego= talawaygo
Huescar= Wecka
diez= die
Jeuves= Jeuve
Los Guiris= Lo Guiri

 

[cmason]

Thank you guys. will have to rethink! Are there any other areas that dont speak mainstream spanish so we can avoid them too? Ta xx

 

[Joppa]

Thank you guys. will have to rethink! Are there any other areas that dont speak mainstream spanish so we can avoid them too? Ta xx

There are three other broad areas (autonomous communities) where they have their indigenous language, namely Catalunya (Catalan), Basque Country (Basque) and Galicia (Galician). While Spanish is also spoken and you can learn Castilian (standard Spanish) there, most people's first language isn't Spanish so may not suit your purpose of total immersion. Other areas with local lingo include Valencia and the Balearic Islands, where they have their own versions of Catalan.

 

[Pesky Wesky]

HI All

I have emailed before regarding where to live to learn spanish but we have decided not to go to Nerja or Benalmadena. However there are now so many towns to choose from, we are at a loss as to where to start!!

Can anyone recommend any towns/villages in southern spain where we can live for 6 months to maximise our chances of learning spanish. We are willing to live inland but we dont have a car so need to be close to public transport etc. We would prefer not to live in a city but near is ok.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
Claire

The Spanish spoken in Andalucia IS mainstream Spanish, it's just that there is a strong accent like a Geordie accent in the UK for example. If you start avoiding all the areas where there are possible "problems" you're going to end up in a village of 300 inhabitants and a flock of sheep in Soria. (Actually I believe Soria is supposed to be one of the areas with the purist Spanish)
Madrid certainly will have the widest range of courses and prices, but of course you’ll also have people from diverse nationalities that will probably have English as the common language between them. I don’t think it’s necessarily a problem; it’s what you put into it as well.
Salamanca has a name for language programmes, is fairly near Madrid for a visit, has a large student population and is a fascinating historical city. I don’t think it would be as expensive as Madrid either. However, it’s freezing in the winter… Toledo could be another good bet. There are a lot of tourists, but usually day visitors from Madrid. But, as I say, it’s not necessarily a big problem being in an area with lots of Brits, perhaps not the best scenario, but …

 

[Pesky Wesky]

Just another thought - I presume that you know you probably won't learn Spanish in 6 months. If you really immerse yourselves in it, and work at it you may get to a reasonable level. You'll need to keep up with the language practice and learning after the initial 6 months. After that if you could get a job in somewhere like a bar where you're in constant contact with Spanish speakers, it would help you mantain and build on what you've learnt, but you can't just stop after 6 months cos you'll lose what you've gained. BTW why do you want to study Spanish??

 

[Dona B.]

Hi,

I know there is a very good school in Benalmadena, "Colegio Maravillas", which propose adults courses, intensive courses, and the DELE exam (the only Spanish Certified Exam).

The course consists in a lot of oral practice and grammar lessons. You can find more information in the web.

I hope it will be a little help for you, but however, the best way to learn spanish is to speak with spanish people everyday, to read spanish newspapers and to be in a real immersion !

Sorry for my english, I hope all the best for your project !

Dona

 

[Expat Ben]

The best way to learn a language (i.e. Spanish) is to only speak that languaguage; that's why most students live with families (local) and are forced to converse in the one language (regardless of how many times you make mistakes)

And they go to college and do the same there

It's got nothing to do with where you live really; it's about what you do when you get there that matters (i.e. going to Expat bars does not help)


Ben

 

[cmason]

Just another thought - I presume that you know you probably won't learn Spanish in 6 months. If you really immerse yourselves in it, and work at it you may get to a reasonable level. You'll need to keep up with the language practice and learning after the initial 6 months. After that if you could get a job in somewhere like a bar where you're in constant contact with Spanish speakers, it would help you mantain and build on what you've learnt, but you can't just stop after 6 months cos you'll lose what you've gained. BTW why do you want to study Spanish??

HI All,

Thank you for your replies - much appreciated. We recognise that we will only get a certain level of language within that time but the plan is that hopefully we will like it so much, we wont be coming back to uk!!!

Think we will stick with the original plan and just travel to lots of little villages etc. We are studying spanish now before we go so can practise lots when we get there.

Once there, we can investigate where we would like to settle (if we decide that is what we want to do)

Thanks again...
XX

 

[jockm]

My two cents worth....

Hi!

I do fear if you just travel around, with your partner, you will be inclined to speak english with them - rather than if you find a place to stop and get involved in the spanish-speaking community. If you travel around, as far as being able to practice your spanish goes, your conversations may be limited to conversations in shops, when you are out at night at a bar, buying a bus ticket etc - all very helpful, but you can still avoid speaking too much spanish if you're not in the mood. From my own experience, that does happen - the initial enthusiasm can become a bit jaded after a while and you can mentally "drop out" if given an option.

Finding something that gives you a "hook" into a community could be the go - a situation where you are forced to interact constantly would be my recommendation. Perhaps a community-based project that you could get involved in, where people are speaking spanish all day around you and with you...? Perhaps not that exactly, but you get the idea. Something where you have a driver to speak the language every day, and are also able to learn from others speaking spanish around you.

Again from my own experience if there are english speakers on your language course you tend to revert back to english with them - which doesn't help with your practice. Of course, if you want to get your head around the grammar and take your spanish up a level, a course is invaluable for this.

I think if you can conquer andalucian spanish you will be able to do the lot - the Jordie analogy sounds about right! Nevertheless I wouldn't write it off on that basis - it's not another language such as catalan or basque, just a pretty full-on accent (relatively speaking to my ear, no offence to the jordies ). I think once your ear is tuned in you'd be right - plus you would hear other accents on television etc to balance things out.

All the best and I will be interested to hear how you fare!

Jockm