Studying Abroad in Spain

[Hankster1995]

Hello,

I am looking to study abroad in Spain for either a semester or a month during the summer to improve my Spanish. I will take a Spanish course and live with a host family. My question is which of those two would be better? Personally, I don't know if I feel like being away from home for five months, so I thought one or two months would be a good start. I do know that the semester-long course starts with an emergency immersion class for two weeks in addition to a full semester of Spanish, so I was wondering if that would be more helpful. On the other hand, most of the classes taken during that semester would be in English, so immersion would have to take place mostly outside of the classroom (as it should be). With the summer class, I'd just take one class (Beginning Spanish II, Intermediate Spanish I) and be able to focus on that.

Finally, would this improve or accelerate my language learning if I am doing the work and speaking?

[StringerBell]

While you're awaiting responses from the resident experts, I suggest this article by Luca Lampariello which discusses learning a language abroad as an absolute beginner vs. in the intermediate stages and this article from the Mezzofanti Guild site which discusses ways to maximize your time abroad.

[Hankster1995]

While you're awaiting responses from the resident experts, I suggest this article by Luca Lampariello which discusses learning a language abroad as an absolute beginner vs. in the intermediate stages and this article from the Mezzofanti Guild site which discusses ways to maximize your time abroad.

Thank you very much! I love the Mezzofanti Guild, so that will help!

[Hankster1995]

While you're awaiting responses from the resident experts, I suggest this article by Luca Lampariello which discusses learning a language abroad as an absolute beginner vs. in the intermediate stages and this article from the Mezzofanti Guild site which discusses ways to maximize your time abroad.

I also do need to be putting in extra work to get myself to a higher level so I can study abroad. The university does take care of some of the most pressing needs (food, shelter, etc.)

[StringerBell]

Can you give a little more information about your situation? Maybe: what kind of knowledge/abilities you have in Spanish now, what you hope to be able to do as a result of this study abroad...do you envision Spanish being in your life for a long time, or only for the sake of passing a few classes? The more info you give, the easier it is to give suggestions and advice.

[Hankster1995]

Can you give a little more information about your situation? Maybe: what kind of knowledge/abilities you have in Spanish now, what you hope to be able to do as a result of this study abroad...do you envision Spanish being in your life for a long time, or only for the sake of passing a few classes? The more info you give, the easier it is to give suggestions and advice.

I do want Spanish to be in my life for a long time, not just for passing a few classes. My goals are to get to at least a B2 level in Spanish and probably more, though how easy that is in a semester is certainly questionable. I think a realistic goal is to be able to speak at a high A2 low B1 level if possible after completing immersion, though that is contingent to how much effort I put in of course. I'm in Beginning Spanish I now and planning on studying extra material and am planning to schedule more Italki lessons. Hopefully at least 30 hours of speaking this semester on Italki and more, but I would prefer much more.

I've also looked at study abroad programs in Buenos Aires.

The study abroad program for Seville is through CIEE.

The study abroad program for Buenos Aires is through IES.

I am studying currently in class, flashcards through quizlet, flashcards I am making through Anki, Memrise, and Pimsleur, though I need to be much more consistent. I have completed 28-29 Pimsleur courses since late November, but am reviewing 24-29 before continuing on.

[Hankster1995]

Can you give a little more information about your situation? Maybe: what kind of knowledge/abilities you have in Spanish now, what you hope to be able to do as a result of this study abroad...do you envision Spanish being in your life for a long time, or only for the sake of passing a few classes? The more info you give, the easier it is to give suggestions and advice.

I do want Spanish to be in my life for a long time, not just for passing a few classes. My goals are to get to at least a B2 level in Spanish and probably more, though how easy that is in a semester is certainly questionable. I think a realistic goal is to be able to speak at a high A2 low B1 level if possible after completing immersion, though that is contingent to how much effort I put in of course. I'm in Beginning Spanish I now and planning on studying extra material and am planning to schedule more Italki lessons. Hopefully at least 30 hours of speaking this semester on Italki and more, but I would prefer much more.

I've also looked at study abroad programs in Buenos Aires, though I'm aware the Rioplatense is somewhat different.

The study abroad program for Seville is through CIEE.

The study abroad program for Buenos Aires is through IES.

I am studying currently in class, flashcards through quizlet, flashcards I am making through Anki, Memrise, and Pimsleur, though I need to be much more consistent. I have completed 28-29 Pimsleur courses since late November, but am reviewing 24-29 before continuing on.

[Cavesa]

Or you can learn more on your own, get to this desired level around B1, and then profit much more from the stay in country.

Based on my experience, learning the real basics in the country is mostly overly glorified way to not use your time and money and opportunity efficiently.

The immersion is the best at the intermediate or advanced level. That is the point, at which many language schools at home will no longer offer you any service, it will be harder to find competent tutors online, there will be fewer courses and similar resources, and all the input you will be able to consume will develop your skills but often a bit unevenly.

It's January. As you have already started and did some useful stuff, you could just keep going and get to B1 on your own and then go to the country. I am sure you will learn much more there.

It is simply more useful to practice complex conversations with your host family than basic survival phrases. You'll be able to profit from the media easily available to you in Spain (a library, a cinema or theatre, tv, all the Spanish in the public space).

And as you want to sign up for a group class, there is one more thing: it will be much easier to insist on using only Spanish with your classmates (that is a huge problem with the beginners) and you will be sourrounded by people who are more motivated than most beginners and who you are less likely to learn mistakes from.

[Hankster1995]

Or you can learn more on your own, get to this desired level around B1, and then profit much more from the stay in country.

Based on my experience, learning the real basics in the country is mostly overly glorified way to not use your time and money and opportunity efficiently.

The immersion is the best at the intermediate or advanced level. That is the point, at which many language schools at home will no longer offer you any service, it will be harder to find competent tutors online, there will be fewer courses and similar resources, and all the input you will be able to consume will develop your skills but often a bit unevenly.

It's January. As you have already started and did some useful stuff, you could just keep going and get to B1 on your own and then go to the country. I am sure you will learn much more there.

It is simply more useful to practice complex conversations with your host family than basic survival phrases. You'll be able to profit from the media easily available to you in Spain (a library, a cinema or theatre, tv, all the Spanish in the public space).

And as you want to sign up for a group class, there is one more thing: it will be much easier to insist on using only Spanish with your classmates (that is a huge problem with the beginners) and you will be sourrounded by people who are more motivated than most beginners and who you are less likely to learn mistakes from.

What would be the best ways to get to B1 on my own if I am not already doing it?

[Cavesa]

What would be the best ways to get to B1 on my own if I am not already doing it?

You seem to be doing a lot of things well, but I think that relying on a class as the primary method is the main obstacle to fast progress. Is your class gonna achieve B1 by the time you leave for Spain?

If you are content with the used coursebook in class, get the following volumes up to B1 and put more hours into progressing. That is the main thing that I have found useful.

Get extra grammar book or two with exercises, to learn the content more reliably, you are not mentioning this step. Perhaps extra listening exercises online could be helpful too

You seem to be doing just fine, the only catch might be the time frame. My main worry would be relying on the class to give you the central guiding structure, if the class is not at the appropriate level and progressing fast enough.