I took four years of Spanish when I was in Junior High and High School. I didn’t take it very seriously. If I could turn back time, I would have treated this opportunity so differently. I now realize the value of speaking more than one language. In today’s ever more global world, speaking more than one language is not a “nice to have”, it is a necessity.
Since my Spanish classes many years ago, I have had some rare occasions on which to practice the Spanish with some family from Costa Rica and travel to Spanish speaking destinations. While I have retained some vocabulary, I have forgotten the nuances and intricacies of what I learned so long ago.
As a tradeoff for quitting a dream job with marvelous colleagues, I set a goal to acquire another skill; learning Spanish. I found an incredible school in Sevilla. They teach several different languages and are one of the largest language schools in Andalucía. Part of a global language school (International House), here in Sevilla, they are called CLIC (www.clic.es). This school has students from age 17 to 80; and even host a few afternoon classes for young kids. CLIC is considered to be the most prestigious language school in Spain and has an affiliation with several colleges including Trinity College of London, University of Barcelona, University of Sevilla and University of Cambridge (United Kingdom). In addition, the United States Military sends their personnel to this school to improve their Spanish. Every three weeks, a new military crew begins their courses. As I write this, there is a group of 10 Navy personnel that started their three-week program on Monday. They attend classes 6 hours per day and all cultural activities put on by the school (programs are offered daily).
I signed up for 8 weeks of classes. Classes are Monday through Friday, 9:15am until 1:00pm. They have a coffee break for 20 minutes midway through the morning. The maximum class size is ten.
Prior to my start date, I took a written and oral exam to determine my starting level of knowledge. I was placed in an A2 level. Not quite a beginner (A1), but a good place to start as it turned out. Some of the content would be a review, but soon I would learn new material as well.
I was a bit nervous the first day. Although I had taken some continuing education classes to receive certifications in the Commercial Real Estate Industry, I hadn’t been to “school” in a long time. My first two weeks, I was in a class with 9 other students. The teacher was my age; however, the students in my class ranged in age from 17 to 28. I thought I would feel out of place, but I didn’t at all. Everyone was super welcoming.
The second two weeks, a few of the slackers in the class were placed into a more beginner level course. Because these students were younger, I don’t think learning Spanish was a big priority for them versus the more social aspects of living in Sevilla. Several of the students didn’t bother to show up to class, complete homework assignments or would continuously talk in English/their native language in the classroom. This is a big no-no. We are only permitted to speak Spanish in class. The students that remained in class are pleasant and extremely hard working. One is from Belgium, one from Switzerland, one from Germany and one from The Netherlands. It’s interesting because they cannot speak English, and I cannot speak their native languages – yet we all are able to communicate quite well in Spanish together.
As I write this post, I am through 6 weeks of classes. I have learned quite a bit in class. I can read and write pretty well; however, I still find it challenging to understand the locals when they are speaking as quickly as they do. Sevillanos also have a habit of dropping parts of words and combining separate words into one to facilitate this speed. Although I’m showing much progress, I just don’t have the confidence to speak at my best level. I graduated into a B1 level in my 5th week of class.
The class structure in general is quite good. We have text books, we watch quick video clips, we listen to audio clips and we have several talking exercises. One afternoon, we took an excursion to The Triana Market for half of our class to interact with locals and to practice Spanish. The classrooms are well appointed with very modern equipment. My classroom has a white board that is connected to a computer. You can write on the board and erase it with a swipe of a button. It’s much more advanced than what I had in school many years ago.
CLIC is a very busy school, with students coming and going every week. I have had four teachers already in 6 weeks; actually, five teachers as I took a few days of an afternoon class to make up hours missed on a National Holiday and a day of travel to Zurich. The teachers have all been professional, friendly but strict, patient and fun. The first floor interior courtyard was always full of hustle and bustle.
As mentioned earlier in this blog post, CLIC offers several extra-curricular activities, scheduled on a weekly basis. They have free walking tours, day and weekend trips to nearby cities, dinners, museum visits etc. It is a good opportunity to practice Spanish and get to know your classmates. 100% of these activities are in Spanish only. One Saturday, we took a day trip to Estepa – a small village in the outskirts of Sevilla. One evening, I participated in a wine and cheese tasting at a local wine tasting room.
In addition, I found several “Intercambios” to attend. What is an Intercambio? It’s a hosted event in a local bar. Locals and foreign students attend – it’s a mixer for those wanting to practice a new language. For instance, I went to one last week. There were about 50 people in attendance from Italy, The United States, Germany, France, Netherlands, etc… along with MANY local people from Sevilla. It’s a friendly setting to have a few cocktails and practice language. Everyone is truly sweet and patient. I spoke to a group of people in Spanish for about an hour, and then we switched to English to give everyone their opportunity to practice. Locals will gently correct you and encourage you to continue practicing. As a side note, even the locals I see everyday now know to speak Spanish with me, so that I get practice in unscripted situations.
The Spanish spoken in Spain is not typical of the rest of the world. They have some unique tenses and pronouns not used anywhere else in the world. Plus, the ever-present lisp and their infamous hatred of the “s” sound (as one Sevillano hilariously told us, why waste the breath on the ‘s’).
I am very grateful we picked Sevilla as our first Spanish speaking city to live during our adventure abroad. The experience has been exactly as we’d hoped. The locals here are supremely friendly, willing to assist and have patience while I practice speaking their native tongue. I am told that Chilean Spanish is a bit easier on the ear and tongue. I will let you know in a few weeks.
Wearehere 