Intermediate/ more advanced learners: Your advice please! :)

Question

Hi all

I would really appreciate your advice. I am in Madrid taking a Spanish course (2 hours every week day) while also working full time from home.

I was put into Intermediate 1 class and I'm finding the material not very challenging because I have covered it before, so im not really learning. However, my speaking is at a much lower level so I need to catch this up. I plan to do a language exchange.

Do you think I should ask to be moved up a class to challenge me a bit more even though I will probably find it very difficult and I cannot study Spanish for many hours a day outside the class? I dont care if I fail the test at the end because that's not the point for me - I am here to learn to communicate not for a certificate.

Your experience/advice would be ****SO**** appreciated!

Gemma

Answer 1

If you are living in Madrid my friend, what more can you ask for ... Fluency can only be attained by speaking with the natives..

Try going out to the market area close to your place every day and try communicating with shopkeepers and other people around, make friends in your neighborhood and speak to them for a few hours every day..

Yes I understand that before you start doing that some handle over the basics and grammar is a must but as you mentioned that you have already been promoted to the intermediate level by your language school so I am sure you have already acquired the basic knowledge so why don't you just move out and take a dive,,,

One can't learn how to swim unless he/she musters the courage to throw himself into the water ... Staying outside the pool I can give you hours and hours of lectures on the swimming techniques but they would stand for nothing unless you dive in for real...

People like me who don't have that option to communicate with the natives keep carping all the time and keep hoping to get some native exposure but my friend consider yourself blessed that you are staying in the Capital of Spain and what better can you ask for ... go out communicate any try to gradually learn the language by osmosis.. we are trying to learn it from the books as we don't have any other choice .. but you my friend are the luck one .. so do it the right way.. hehe

and while you do that, also keep reading your books so you can understand the important aspects of grammar which may be difficult to understand otherwise :) - Joydeep_Singh, Oct 7, 2014

lucky one ** typo error - Joydeep_Singh, Oct 7, 2014

Answer 2

Conversation is King. Is this class giving you valuable communication experience even though the content is familiar? If not, ask to move up. Or better yet ask for a conversation class. Most schools have them.

And get out on the streets and talk. Don't waste this opportunity. If you start in Spanish and the person you are talking to switches to English, you stay in Spanish. It doesn't matter if the conversation continues in two languages as long as you are communicating.

Finally, in verbal communications don't worry too much about the grammar. Most ordinary people don't use proper grammar anyway. You will make mistakes, so what. Keep on talking. You will be able to tell by the response if you have been understood. If you don't understand ask for clarification.

I know you said you are working. But that still leaves hours each day where you are free to wander and talk to people. When I first came to Mexico I found it easy to find people to help me in exchange for talking English with them. Face to face language exchanges are a great way to learn to open up and talk.

Enjoy.

Absolutely :) .. Very good advice ... don't waste this opportunity .. not every one gets it (living among the natives ) If I were in your place, Gemma, I would have spent each second of time trying to communicate with the natives .. hehe - Joydeep_Singh, Oct 7, 2014

Answer 3

In the end you have to decide. I remember at a language school being put in a conversation class far to basic and the teacher said on the first day I should move - I would have asked.

Somethings to consider -

1. Have you reached your present level self taught or have you had a teacher?

2. If you have had a teacher then provided you are happy with the grammar points he/she covered then there may be no point relearning them.

3. What is the class size? Do you find the other students contributions useful? Is the teacher motivating?

4. You need to find out if the next class up has a similar student/teacher ratio and whether the teacher is good. No point ending up in a less enjoyable class

5. Does the work at home involve using Spanish?

6. How long are you in Madrid?

7. Are the lessons at a government run school or a private school?

8. Do you know how quickly they are going to cover grammar? Do you have to write homework/present topics to class?

I have been to a few language schools and at one school I did cover some topics for the second time but I found it useful revision. A good grounding in grammar is priceless. However, you need to find out what topics will be covered and in what depth and how easy it is to move classes including if you can also move back! Speak to someone at the school in particular as to whether your listening and speaking skills are sufficient for a more advanced class.

Do find an intercambio or go to one of those socials where English and Spanish speakers meet.

Sorry I have rambled, but I do not know sufficient about your circumstances.

Buena suerte

Great advice! - rac1, Oct 7, 2014

Thank you, that is very useful! - gemmawilliams007, Oct 7, 2014

Answer 4

Hello Gemma.

Welcome to the SpanishDict forum

You asked:

Hi all I would really appreciate your advice. I am in Madrid taking a Spanish course (2 hours every week day) while also working full time from home. I was put into Intermediate 1 class and I'm finding the material not very challenging because I have covered it before, so im not really learning. However, my speaking is at a much lower level so I need to catch this up. I plan to do a language exchange.Do you think I should ask to be moved up a class to challenge me a bit more even though I will probably find it very difficult and I cannot study Spanish for many hours a day outside the class? I dont care if I fail the test at the end because that's not the point for me - I am here to learn to communicate not for a certificate. Your experience/advice would be ****SO**** appreciated!

I have almost the same problem, Gemma, in that my written level of Spanish is around the high intermediate level but my comprehension of spoken Spanish is at a much lower level and I can only understand when it is spoken much more slowly. However, I am taking clases with a Spanish native from Spain, through Skype, who comes from a town/city near Madrid.

How comfortable do you feel about the idea and challenge of being moved up to a different class; taking into account what you have told us that your level of comprehension is not at the same level?

I would strongly suggest/highly recommend that you speak with the language school, and in particular, your current Spanish tutor and honestly share your current concerns with him/her and ask for their advice!

One possibility is that you could ask to sit in on a class at the next level up from your current class and later review that experience with the class tutor and discuss how you felt about it... ie: how much were you able to take in (comprehend)

I am sure that you will be able to make rapid progress once you gain confidence in using the Spanish you already know and your ability to understand spoken Spanish catches up with your written understanding and other areas. I am sure that you know that there aare 4 main areas of language learning in any language: Speaking, understanding reading and writing

Do you have any native friend/s with whom you can practise on a regular basis, even if it is only going out for a coffee (drink) from time to time?

The language exchange seems like a wonderful idea to me..would that mean staying with a (native) Spanish family?

I love to 'role play' situations (Hacer una representación) in my Spanish classes with my native teacher to rehearse the kind of situations and vocabulary that I am likely to encounter in real life.! You are blessed because you can experience the real thing lol eg travelling on the Spanish buses and trains, visiting places of interest, going to work in Spain, going shopping, etc,,,

These are only some ideas that I am floating in the hope that something in you will say Yes, that's a good idea, I could try that ...it might work for me , too !

Finally, my teacher gave me a link to some traditional children's stories written in Spanish which are read aloud by a native and she encourages me to listen to the story to get the idea before reading it! If you would like me to post/ or send you the link or think that you could listen to some other Spanish material on the internet please let e know!

I have just remembered a website that you can join called Yabla (previously LoMás Tv where you can listen to short videos spoken by natives from different parts of the Spanish-Speaking world including Spain, Colombia, Mexico, etc..The videos are graded from 1 easy to 5 difficult and they have subtitles in Spannisha nd English which you can hide if you simply want to improve your language listening and comprehension skills. .There is a small subscription cost to pay but you can try out some free videos bere you join. Here is the link... please feel free to check it out and let me know if it proves helpful in any way

Thank you for reading this I hope that these suggestions help you

Thank you so much for taking the time to write! I did talk to my teacher as you suggested and he advises me to stay in the lower class and spend my effort speaking as much as possible outside of class. The childeren's book link would be great, thanks! :) - gemmawilliams007, Oct 8, 2014