Spanish in Highschools
I was wondering what are your opinions on how spanish is taught in highschools/secondary schools where you're from. How is it that so many young people leave school, having studied a language for years and still can't speak a word of it?
Personally I sat in spanish class for the first three years of secondary without speaking a word of it ever! I managed to get As by rote learning things I didnt understand without any concrete gramatical knowledge at all, things were just never explained properly to us. Then I went to spain in summer 2009 for a 2 week course and was level tested at A1 level - productive three years in school right there(!) 
It was only once I took to learning spanish myself outside school that I truely began to get to grips with it, I used busuu, books, movies and this site in my spare time. I returned to spain last summer and attended a 2 week course at a fantasic language school but this time I was level tested to be C1. In one year of free internet resources I brought my level up more than 3 years of classes! I think that is a poor reflection on the schooling system's ability to teach languages to be honest.
I have heard many spaniards claim they finished school with a poor level of english also despite years of classes. Your thoughts?
4 Answers
You have posed an interesting question. My high school Spanish teacher said I did very good the time I studied.
First, in this area, some native Spanish speakers take issue with local school teachers because of inaccuracies in grading exams. If they contest the score, the native speaker is most often correct. This indicates (to me, at least) teachers do not adequately understand the material or the materials are inaccurate. I am not surprised at anything anymore. I know people with graduate degrees in Spanish that cannot simply converse in the language.
Second, in this area, I do not normally see an adequate level of motivation in students to learn language. This applies to English, also. Students will not learn without motivation, and the school system does not (and probably should not) provide motivation.
Here's the bottom line. If you want to learn the language, you can. Don't depend on the school system. Take the responsibility yourself and use every resource available.
What is learned in a class often depends more on the learner than on the teacher.
Many years ago I was top in school in French when I was 12 / 13 - but couldn't say any thing. We only had to learn conjugations. Waste of time.
