Learning Spanish Successfully in Madrid

Many people visit Madrid in Spain for many reasons. The most common ones are for vacation or business, however there are many people who come to live in the city from many parts of the world with the keen interest to learn Spanish. Firstly,it is important to realise that the Spanish which can be learnt in Madrid is different from the Spanish which can be learnt from South America for example.The differences lie in many factors like intonations and expressions. The common observation is that European Spanish ,also known as Castellano after a region of Spain called Castillo de la Mancha, has strong intonations and is less formal than South American Spanish.Therefore, the final choice to study Spanish in South America or Spain will probably be influenced by cultural curiosities of living for example in Chile compared to living in Madrid. Finally, if the choice is to study Spanish in Spain, Madrid has many advantages and places of interests as outlined in this article here. What makes Madrid a key destination for learning Spanish is due to its size and its cosmopolitan character.The other factor in its favour is the fact that Madrid does not have any other regional languages compared for example with Catalan in Catalunya,or Gallego in Galicia or even the Basque language from the North of Spain. All these factors make learning Spanish in Madrid a rich and rewarding experience because the sorroundings and ambience are completely Spanish from public tranportation to cashiers at banks or nurses in hospitals and shop assistants at stores.This experience can be very overwhelming at first because there is a significant majority of Spaniard who dont speak English,but the positive aspect is the endless opportunity to pick up on Spanish words and expressions .This article aims to guide and direct any person to find the best place for them to learn Spanish in Madrid.

The School Attendance Method:

This method is great to learn because it allows a student to have contact with the teachers and other students.There are usually students of many nationalities attending these Spanish courses and the schools have varying timetables.The decision to choose one school over another is based on fees, numbers of students per class, timetables, learning materials and location in Madrid. Langauge schools usually ask a student to take a level test in order to recommend the appropiate learning level. However,one can always skip that if they are starting from the beginning.Here are some popular language schools in Madrid:

CEE Idiomas:This language school has only one facility which is found in the city centre.They offer other languages like French, Italian, German and English.The number of students in a class vary and it is relatively cheap at 89 Euros or roughly 113 US Dollars per month at the time of converting this currency here.Students are required to buy a book used by the teachers called Sueño or dream in English.This school can get you a DELE (Diplomas in Spanish as a Foreign Language) certificate and is suitable for students and Erasmus youth.Their website is found here.

International House World Organization:International House (IH), as the name suggests,is an international language school also found in Madrid. This language school boasts a reputation of being the oldest network of language schools in the world being founded in 1953. It has 147 language schools in 53 countries and has processed 4 million students thus far. It has 5 centres located at Alonso Martinez, Colón, Ciudad Universitaria and Nuevos Ministerios. The IH Madrid academy located at the upmarket Alonso Martinez area is the headquarters.They have resourceful facilities with libraries,video libraries, study rooms as well as modern and innovative teaching methods like cyber cafees and multimedia courses .IH Madrid also caters for children's learning and with maximum group numbers being 12 it is also ideal for working people and corporate executives.Consult all the information for prices and timetables here.

The other way to learn Spanish in Madrid is by using social mediums.This method is very informal and will probably result cheaper or probably free.The way to do that is to take advantage of the notoriety of Madrid as a social and cultural melting pot.Some people joke that the best way to learn a language is to date a native,and as cynical as that sounds,it probably carries some truth.The mainstream ways of learning Spanish in Madrid are achieved by frequenting language learning and exchange commuties around the cities.These groups are well organised and bring people interested in exchanging lanuages together.These groups are dynamic and can be a great place to meet other expats if you are new.These groups can also be found on social networks like Facebook and twitter examples of whom are Madrid Babel and Intercambios Madrid.The group co-ordinators speak English and will facilitate your first encounter.I recommend trying thi option after at least 3 to 4 months of Spanish in a language school to learn the basics like vocabulary,grammar and pronounciation tips.All in all,if you want to learn a language you have to get ouof your shell and allow yourself to make mistakes.It also involves partaking in customs and living habits of your environement.For instance if you are English speaking in Madrid and want to learn Spanish,always hanging around other English speaking friends,watching movies in English,television in English and going to English stores is counter productive.