The Spanish language is what drew most of my classmates here to Granada. The opportunity to live amongst native speakers for 4 months is not often presented. Moving to a country where almost everyone speaks your second language is a funny thing. The language isn’t so foreign that you feel isolated from it with everyone reverting to English when speaking with you, but you also clearly struggle a little with any Spanish person who does speak to you.
The IES program in Granada is made up of entirely Americans, which also creates an interesting dynamic. When in classes, your mind is in Spanish mode, but any activities or travel outside of class with your classmates is in English. I’ve found I go through phases during the week of thinking in Spanish and feeling like speaking is relatively effortless, and then after a weekend I’m in English mode and it takes more effort to express my thoughts in Spanish. One of the biggest challenges for me here is putting pressure on myself to try and put myself in situations outside of the English-speaking IES bubble. The IES program is small and homey and full of wonderful students and staff, and because of this it is very easy to stay within the comfort of the IES community. However, to feel more incorporated into the city, I have tried to extract myself from the bubble of American culture and engage in some activities that make me feel more emersed in the language. Here are a few opportunities students could consider taking advantage of in order to improve their Spanish skills while in Granada:
Sign up for a homestay I’d you really want to improve your language skills. Living with a family will force you to speak much more than living in the same dorm as Americans, even if there are other Spanish students around you. In a homestay, at every lunch that I eat with my host dad, I learn more about him and what it is like to live in Granada. I appreciate that there is a period of time built into the day to have this more relaxed sort of conversation outside of classes.
The clearest impression of what it is like to be a young Spanish person in Granada has come from going up to the University of Granada Cartuja campus twice a week for my Anthropology of Gender class. For every unit, students are given and article to read about feminist theory in anthropology, and tasked with writing a summary as homework. Classes are made up of lecture and class discussions about questions posed by the professor, as well as a good amount of small group work. This group work was a surprise to me, as I had thought that European universities relied more on lecture than anything else. I appreciate it because it involves speaking with the other students in class. Trying to communicate complex theoretical ideas that you don’t completely understand is no easy task in a second language, and neither is reading or writing about them. However, I enjoy the challenge and the solidarity formed with other international students as we struggle together to understand what we’re supposed to be doing. Although at first very intimidating, I am often thanking myself that I chose to take a UGR class. Classes offered can be found here.
Language exchanges are also a fantastic way to practice Spanish as well as meet new people. Almost everyone is trying to learn and so you’ll find a much clearer conversation. People are often foreign and interested in discussing culture and giving tips on living in Granada. The people I met at the most recent one at Lemon Rock, which hosts exchanges every Monday night, included a study abroad student from Germany, from China, a Spaniard from northern Spain, and a programmer from France.
The IES orientation leaders are always organizing events (many of them with other ESN students) that are fun and offer the opportunity to meet other students outside of IES. All are very welcoming and encourage students to engage with their activities around the city.
Meet up with your Intercambio Liguistico. Every IES student has the opportunity to meet up with a Spanish student who also signed up to be part of the language exchange network. By meeting up with them, you will be able to practice speaking, learn about student life in Granada, and get to know their friends.
Go out in the evenings. Granada is full of young people because of the university. Many of the conversations I have had with Spaniards have been at bars or clubs, and while it can sometimes be difficult to hold a serious conversation in these environments, it is a fun way to learn about their lives. Overall, I’ve found that any opportunity I take to simply converse with locals here I have enjoyed and learned from. Though it can be intimidating to take make the choice to go outside your comfort zone in this way, especially alone, I’m always glad that I did.