Get the most out of Madrid with Spanish courses
Madrid is the most populated area of Spain and the second-largest city in Europe. Also, it’s the Spanish capital city and an economic, political, artistic and cultural centre visited by thousands of tourists every year. Madrid is one of the most visited cities in Spain and the world.
Undoubtedly, there are many reasons why people decide to visit Madrid. One of them is language tourism. Travelling for educational reasons is a growing trend among Madrid visitors and world travellers.
Language tourism
It comes as no surprise that students are choosing to learn Spanish in Madrid through a long vacation in the city, given that it provides not only a chance to improve their language skills but also a lifelong experience.
There are many Spanish schools in Madrid, expressly arranged for international students seeking a fantastic learning experience. Improving language skills comes along with touring around the city and meeting people from all over the world.
Spanish schools are packed with programs, from group courses and personalized intensive lessons to long-term experiences, that will surely meet any student need and expectations. Click here to view more Spanish courses available in Madrid and start planning your learning vacation in Madrid.
Immersive learning
Travelling to Madrid is a great way to learn Spanish through an immersive experience that provides the perfect learning environment to improve your level of Spanish or learn it from cero while enjoying the city attractions.
Immersive learning is, in fact, the fastest and most effective way to acquire another language. It provides the opportunity to learn in context with native teachers and surrounded by the ideal cultural context to grasp a new language fully.
That is the main reason why immersive learning allows students to experiment with significant learning progress in a short period. Thus, it encourages them to continue learning since it feels like an effortless process with immediate results, undoubtedly different from long and tedious context lessons.
Tips to make the most of your language trip
Immersive learning experiences are a very effective way of improving your Spanish skills. Next, we will provide some tips that will surely be helpful to make the most of your language trip.
1. Getting involved with Madrid locals
As soon as your Spanish language trip to Madrid starts, you should do your best to get involved with the madrileños. Once you are embarked on your trip, you can’t miss the chance to know Spanish culture first hand by mingling with locals.
In fact, it’s highly recommended that, during an immersive learning experience, students avoid remaining isolated as a classmate group because it will completely alter the abroad learning experience.
Even though getting close with other foreign students with whom you share the learning experience is a great part of a language trip, a special effort must be made in order to socialize outside the group.
Many Spanish schools actually provide with the chance to participate in activities in which locals are involved, or even the chance to find accommodation with local families. By getting involved with Madrid locals, you will surely get the chance to learn extensive terms and vocabularies and to practice the fluidity of your speech, as well as to really grasp Spanish culture.
2. Being uninhibited
Starting a conversation in Spanish can be challenging, especially if your skills are at a starting point. However, it’s very important to overcome fears and start talking as soon as you arrive in Madrid, in order to make the most of the trip.
Fortunately, during Spanish lessons, students are encouraged to speak from the first moment. In fact, most of Spanish classes are conversational. This means that they are focused on oral communication and are a great way of getting the best of student speaking skills.
Talking is actually the only way of improving pronunciation and expanding vocabulary, so ideally, it should be done as long as possible.
Grammar mistakes or even pronunciation failures are part of the learning process. So, you shouldn’t be afraid of making errors because that is the normal and expected way of learning. Faults are what will drive your improvement. It’s crucial to allow yourself to make mistakes during Spanish lessons because they will help identify knowledge gaps and allow you to learn something new.
It takes practice to learn Spanish, as well as any other language. There’s no other way to do it. So be patient, especially at the beginning, where everything looks beyond the bounds of possibility. Let yourself be wrong and enjoy acquiring each new advance in the process of learning, because someday, without even knowing how, you will be speaking fluently.
3. Avoid using your native language
Once you arrive at Madrid, you should try not to speak your native language anymore during your time abroad. This can be challenging, especially if you are sharing a classroom with nationals or other foreign students who can speak your native language or even another one you might know and feel comfortable with.
Even though immersion learning processes come as a fact when you are living in a foreign community, an effort can be required in order to actually be involved with the language of the culture you are in.
Avoiding speaking in any other language besides Spanish will force you to immerse and learn to express yourself in a very fast way. Also, it will help you overcome the fear to talk in public that you may experience at the begging of your trip to Madrid.
4. Do some Spanish reading
Even though Spanish lessons in Madrid prioritizes oral communication, you will be forced to read in Spanish by your everyday routine.
Interpreting street name signs or even going to the supermarket and finding the right product you need to buy will surely put you in a situation in which you will need to read some text in Spanish. This will surely help to fully understand the language, even though it can be hard to start writing as a native.
Doing some reading during your trip, aside from what comes as natural in an immersive experience, will truly improve your Spanish writing skills.
During classes, teachers will surely suggest some literature according to your skills level. Going through Spanish books while you are abroad is a completely unique experience that will surely improve your text comprehension as well as your Spanish writing skills.
