After reading another post about the amount of time it takes to become comfortable speaking spanish I thought i'd as you all the same question about me.
I am 19 years old, and will be studying for all of next school year at UCM. I will arrive and spend the first 3 weeksliving with a family in Leon and studying spanish through a program there, then I will return to Madrid for the beginning of the school year.
I will be living in a resedencia with a native roomate.
I've taken Spanish classes from 6-7th grade, 9-12th grade, and have taken 4 so far at college. I would say that I can understand a lot, and can speak decently but I still have a long way to get to where id like to be.
How long do you think it would take for me to get fairly good at speaking spanish?

thanks
dave

Hi Dave! Good luck with your studies in Spain! You must be nervous but at the same time excited. I know I was when I did the same countless of years ago.

How long it will take really depends on you. Given that you will be living with a family and then will have a native speaking room mate once you get to Madrid will certainly help to facilitate the process. I had about the same level of Spanish studies (maybe one more year) as you do, and when I returned to the states 10 months later, my fluency ... better to say my fluidity in the language had improved 10 fold. One thing most schools don�t teach you (in the USA) is really how to speak the language. There is a lot of emphasis on grammar, reading and writing, and not nearly enough on conversational spanish (in my opinion). Your experience here will really help to develop that side.

When I studied here, I spent the first three months in a program at the UCM as well as a private school. It was very intensive... I felt like I was constantly in class. But I was constantly being exposed and corrected. Which was the important point. By the end of the three months, I felt very comfortable speaking with a degree of fluidity. When I moved to Valencia for the second half of my year, I was able to jump right in with Spanish speaking friends and essentially spent the next 5 months practicing what I had learned in Madrid.

Of course, if once you get here, you seek out Americans and other English speaking friends and spend most of your time outside of classes and home speaking English, your improvement won�t be as great. I recall studying in Valencia and the sense of panic that overtook a number of the students in my program as they realized that the year was drawing to a close and their Spanish skills were not much better than the day they arrived... primarily because they only socialize amongst themselves instead of seeking Spanish speaking friends.

So, go out, party, have a GREAT time...but do it in Spanish and you will be pleasantly surprised at your ability to speak by the end of the year!

Wow, I certainly didn't expect to find a post on this board that I could actually *answer* but here it is!

After similar Spanish education as yours in school, I went to visit Spain for a "student tour" when I was 16 and then returned to live in Madrid for a summer when I was 18 and had graduated high school. They set me up in an apartment where lots of students from all over the world lived, and I worked in an office as a secretary. I did not take Spanish classes while I was there. I quickly made friends with a group of Spanish college students who provided much fun and companionship all summer. I learned very quickly and I'd say within 6 weeks I was prattling along nicely. When I left Spain, I started college in the US, and my Latina roommate told me my Spanish was "excellent." Yay. However, my Spanish teacher said I had a lot of work to do, since I had spent my summer learning Spanish from other young people and hadn't taken classes. My grammar and writing were pretty pathetic. :b:

I also remember feeling like Spanish television in the US was aimed at babies or something...it seemed so slow and simple compared to what I heard in Madrid.

15 years later now I watch Spanish television and am saying to myself, "Huh?" Back to the classes for me.

Anyway, good luck with your travels and since you are taking classes and living with a family and, as others have said, if you intentionally immerse yourself, I think you'll be amazed how fast you learn.

thanks for your responses.

one more thing that i forgot to add was that I visited Spain for 10 days my senior year of high school....I don't know that that changes anything. But even the 10 days, Speaking to my friends on the trip, half of our sentences were in spanish. It felt weird like I was almost thinking in Spanish for that short trip. Thanks again for your advice. It was just an apprehension of mine...in english I love to talk a lot, its just my personality i guess. So getting fluent, or semi-fluent fast would be a huge influence over whether or not next year will be an awesome experience for me.

dave

Dave,

I agree with Chica and Juliette, please do EVERYTHING in Spanish and your language abilities will soar through the roof. It won't be hard to make friends in Spain.

When I studied there, I already came with an excellent foundation. I went out, made friends, helped a student with his English and even was invited to Christmas dinner by him. It was great.

I still keep in touch with all of my friends there and visit when I get the chance. Just remember that you are NOT ALONE in this and that there are people on this board that you can talk to that will help you get through this.

Let us know how things go.

Shawn

I agree that it depends on what you put into it. I didn't study Spanish until I began college. I took Russian in middle school and high school. I left Spain with a decent understanding of the language but I was not very good at understanding it spoken and often got lost during class discussions in my university.

Before my program in Seville started in spring of 2002, I spent 2 weeks with my best friend in Galicia. I had never understood the subjunctive form when I was in college. Within a week of being with my friends she had me understanding. It just clicked... But I WANTED to learn. I put everything into it and even though she's completely fluent in English, I asked her to please speak to me in Spanish. By the end of the two weeks my understanding of the spoken language had improved 200%. I was even beginning to understand Galician!

In Seville things were a little more difficult, though. It seems to me, and what I gather from the experiences of others I've met who've studied abroad, most study abroad programs do not make a great effort for you to meet Spaniards and you end up making friends with other Americans in your program rather than people who are native to the country. DON'T make that mistake.

Volunteer somewhere. If your program is associated with a university, join a club or an organization associated with the college. If you're religious become part of a church organization. Being in a residencia with a Spaniard is already a WONDERFUL help. I really didn't have a good experience with my family I stayed with. They had 2 adorable grandchildren (one of whom would only eat if I was there!), but the family itself was quite cold to me and my American roommate and we never felt included in the family activities.

Basically it's dedication, dedication, dedication. Take a small notebook and write down 10 new words or phrases a day and LEARN THEM. I still do that today.

If you can write decently now and have a specific interest in common with Spaniards right now, join a message board. When I left Spain I wanted to keep up with Spanish and continue working on it. I liked two singers from Operaci�n Triunfo so I joined some online groups dedicated to them even though none of the news really affected me and I couldn't see any of the TV appearances, concerts, etc. I just wanted to read about something that interested me as I learned new words and phrases. I think I've learned more Spanish from reading e-mails from other members than I did while living in Seville (although my friends in Galicia always tell me I have to stop talking to OT fans because they're teaching me all the wrong words LOL). Besides learning a great deal of new words and improving my grammar tenfold, I have made some amazing friends in places ranging from Cantabria to Catalu�a to C�diz that I will have for the rest of my life. One of them even invited me to live with her this summer and is helping arrange a job for me in her village near Girona! The internet is a very powerful tool. Take advantage of it to the fullest.

Besides being a way to meet people, there are a great number of websites with online exercises to help you with your grammar and vocabulary. If you want to practice understanding spoken Spanish, start listneing to their radio stations or watching their TV stations online. Every morning I wake up to watch the Telenoticias on CanalSur and I spend my lunch break on Wednesdays listening to the OT fan club show on los 40 principales. I hear the language spoken and I keep up with current events. It�s not the same as being there, but it's certainly better than nothing!

Start dedicating yourself now and you�ll pick it up a lot more easily when you get there. I�ve been studying Spanish for four years now and I�d say I�m at an advanced level. I understand 85% of what people say to me and I'm told I speak very well - I just feel I don't have enough of a vocabulary and there are certain complex tenses I haven't mastered yet so I try to creatively avoid using them LOL I'm sure that will come with time and I'm still working on it. I just need to get back to Spain so I can be surrounded with it again!

Good luck and have a wonderful time!

Melinda

Hey dave504, congrats on your upcoming trip to Spain.

You have been given some great feedback on this thread so far, just wanted to pop in and give you my opinion.

Redwood wrote...

quote:

I agree with Chica and Juliette, please do EVERYTHING in Spanish and your language abilities will soar through the roof. It won't be hard to make friends in Spain.

I third that!!!

I also took Spanish from 6th to 12th grade and then 4 yrs in College. I did my student teaching and then graduated after an extra semester (4+1/2 yrs. total). I then came to Madrid with Middlebury College to get my masters degree in on year and I must say, it only took me a few months here with the base I had to really get into the swing of things You have an EXCELLENT base and seem to be very enthusiastic and ambicious, I do not think it will take you long at all

Chica wrote...

quote:

Given that you will be living with a family and then will have a native speaking room mate once you get to Madrid will certainly help to facilitate the process

Here I would only add that you should make sure that the family and subsequently your Spanish roomate know that you are not there to teach them English but rather to learn Spanish. Often times, the native speaker will take advantage of the situation and get you to speak Enlish with them or teach then English. If that is the agreed aupon deal (like as in an "intercambio" where you help each other) fine, but make sure it is agreed upon beforehand.
Not saying this will happen to you but it is good to have "las cosas claras" (thing clear) from the start.

The best phrase for this type of situation is indeed, as Melinda328 stated above, "it depends on what you put into it".

Saludos,
jer...