In January, I stumbled upon a blog and a video of someone who was in a very similar situation as me- an Irish man who wanted to learn Spanish and after six months of exchange in Spain, had not achieved a level of fluency that he had originally hoped for. The posts really made me think about my own goals of learning Spanish in Mexico and how I was spending my time on exchange.
The blog helped me realize something that should be obvious: you aren’t going to magically learn another language by placing yourself in another country. As an exchange student in the modern world, it’s too easy to rely on your native language. If your goal for your exchange is to achieve a level of fluency, you have to commit to speaking, listening and reading in the host language. Here are a few tips of my own for fellow BIBers, based on how you spend your time while abroad:
At my school here in Guadalajara, you have to be very fluent to obtain placement test results to take classes taught in Spanish. This means I'm using English during most of my time at school. I am taking two Spanish courses this semester, which are helpful, but I find I have to challenge myself in other ways outside of school. If you are attending TEC as international student and would like to know more about the course selection, leave a comment and I can tell you more about it.
From what I have seen, those who did a home-stay program were very successful in learning the host language quickly. If this is not for you, the next best thing is to find some local roommates. This may be difficult depending on the country (a lot of Mexican students live with their parents while they go to university) but it’s not impossible! If you live with other international students (like me), be open about your goals and help each other learn by speaking together in the local language.
Watching television shows and movies is a great way to get some listening practice. You can learn the natural flow of conversations. I found it very difficult to follow along at first so use your judgement to find something to watch that wouldn't be too challenging. I have found it helps to watch children’s movie, or movies I have already seen in English since I already know what is going to happen. Watching shows or movies originating in their native language (as opposed to watching something that has been translated) is often better as the translation is simplified and not always accurate. This is especially true with comedies since a lot of the jokes don't translate. If you still feel like watching something in English though, it doesn't hurt to put the subtitles on to learn some new words.
Reading magazines is also something I enjoy doing. I find the content is really helpful because if you choose a magazine based on your interests and the vocabulary you learn has more value to you.
Reading the newspaper is a strategy that we used extensively in one of our Spanish classes at Carleton. It also helps to keep up with the news in your area.
Listening to music is one way of learning new vocabulary. It can be very difficult to understand the meaning of some songs, but there are a lot of websites out there that help explain the lyrics. You lose nothing by replacing listening to music in your native language with your host language and you get a better sense of the culture as well.
I have learned a lot of Spanish by getting out of my house and travelling around Mexico. This includes more than just travel vocabulary from booking bus tickets or hotels, but also meeting new people, visiting museums and going on tours where the information is all in Spanish. If there are options for English, push yourself to choose Spanish. You have a limited time on exchange and you won’t have nearly as many opportunities to practice the language when you go back home.
Learning a new language does not happen overnight. There will be some discouraging days, especially in the beginning, but don’t give up! The more you learn, the richer your experience will be. Remember your goals and enjoy your time exploring a new country and culture!