It’s possible that you are planning to come to Spain with a student visa to study Spanish—but you are a little bit scared to come with little or no knowledge of the language, so you want to start to immerse yourself in Spanish before you even board the plane.
Or maybe you just want to learn Spanish because it is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, but you aren’t able to travel and you want to study from home.
In either case, I have good news for you: although immersion typically means living in the country where the target language is spoken, you can still immerse yourself in the Spanish language and culture even if you can’t travel. I’ll tell you more:
Use social networks
Follow your favorite Spanish-speaking celebrities, or groups or hashtags of Spanish-language resources.
You can laugh at Spanish memes that will teach you new vocabulary. Just go to your Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter or whatever is trending and browse through it.
And best of all, you’ll learn almost without realizing it. That’s the magic of language immersion.
What are you a fan of?
Well, I’m sure there are thousands of Spanish-speakers who have the same hobby as you! Get in touch with them through social media and participate in their groups, comment on their publications, read their reviews and if you want, even publish some content yourself.
Do you like music?
Look for singers and musical artists that sing in Spanish– you can subtitle their lyrics or find them online. And of course, don’t be shy, sing! “He who sings his evil scares it away”!
The variety of musical styles in Spain is huge, and if we consider all the music of the Spanish-speaking world, it’s enormous. Do some research and you will discover authentic musical treasures that will make your heart sing with emotion.
Remember that your memory uses a lot of emotions to remember better, and it’s been proven that music is a very powerful tool to help fix vocabulary in our memory.
Search for movies in Spanish
With new platforms like Netflix or Disney, you can subtitle the movie or series you’re watching with the language you’re practicing.
It is always better to watch movies with simple dialogues, for example action and adventure movies, because they are very stimulating but the translations are not too complex.
I also recommend that you watch the subtitled version a movie that you have already seen, so you are already familiar with the dialogues.
Learn how to cook typical Spanish dishes
On Youtube you have hundreds of Spanish cooking channels, and you will have a good laugh because they are very funny. And if the cook is Andalusian, you will be cracking up because Andalusians have a very funny spoken sonority.
You can start by trying the so-called Spanish potato omelette (with onion please!), and end up learning how to cook our wonderful Valencian paella.
Try to write in Spanish every day
Even if it’s only four lines. If you don’t dare to publish it in your social networks because you don’t feel confident, don’t worry, use Google translator or other tools to correct it, there are many.
With time you will gain confidence and fluency. Start with the simplest verb tenses and basic everyday vocabulary. You don’t need to write about philosophy or the unbearable lightness of being.
If you already have a certain level, download podcasts in Spanish.
But remember that podcasts do not have subtitles, so there is no ‘lifeline’ for you to understand what is being said. Listening to a podcast requires that you already have an advanced level of Spanish, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t catch everything.
Be interested in Spanish news
Online, there are newspapers with easy-to-read texts: start with the headlines and subtitles, and then if you understand them well, continue with the text of the article.
On Youtube, you will also find many Spanish news channels.
Sign up for our one to one online Spanish course.
That way you make the most of your time with a methodology and with the guidance and of our teachers.
You have very complete courses ranging from 37 to 66 hours. But you can also start by trying one of the two simpler packs. You can have 5 hours for 105€ or 10 hours for 190€.
Soon, you will be able to come to Spain with your student visa. We are waiting for you!
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