Language Learning - Bueno, Bonito y Barato

Last week I found out that I was accepted into the Official School of Languages of Barcelona (EOI -  Escoles Oficials d’Idiomes) to improve my Spanish speaking skills.  I start on Sept 29, four days a week, 2.5 hours a day through late January.  I'll explain later why I am doing this, but first I'd like to give you a background of my Spanish language learning experience.

My Prior Spanish Language Experience

Everyone who learns a second language (or third, etc) has a different experience in how they acquired that skill set.  In my case, it was through total immersion.

The Valladolid University students that I was with from 78-81

When I was 25 years old, I had the opportunity to live in Spain for three years as an evangelical missionary with an interdenominational organization called The Navigators.  I virtually had no prior second language learning experience.  I was thrown into the city of Valladolid, supposedly one of the best places in Spain to learn pure Castillian Spanish, and I had to either sink or swim.

I quickly discovered that I do not have a gift of learning languages.  The first year was very difficult.  I felt useless because I couldn't communicate, nor could I understand others.  I was being tutored multiple times a week and I put time aside to study on my own.  But it was very slow. My listening skills were especially lacking. At the end of the first year, during the summer, I took a month long intensive course in Madrid, which helped a great deal.  Then with some American friends, I took a two week trip to Italy and the former Yugoslavia, and got away from the Spanish language all together.  When I re-entered Spain by train

Trip to Yugoslovia - 1979

and as I began to listen to people talking on the train, I was amazed at how I was easily comprehending what others were saying.  It seemed that my break from Spanish after the first year helped to rewire my brain and things started to make more sense to me.

The following two years I continued to improve my Spanish through study and through day-to-day interactions with Spaniards.  In all three years, I lived with Spaniards in the flats that we rented.  By the end of the third year I would say I was a strong intermediate Spanish speaker.

Thirty+ years in the U.S.

I returned to the U.S., came out as a gay man, and initially wanted to return back to Spain ASAP.  I got my Masters degree in teaching English as a second language to help me do that.  But I also got into a 14 year relationship and my life remained in the U.S.  Initially my first partner Joe and I would travel to Spain on occasion and those were great opportunities to practice my Spanish.  But over time my Spanish skills faded with lack of use.

In my relationship with Tom, after about 8 years, we took a trip to Spain and in that trip got to know

Spanish class in Madrid - 2006

Barcelona.  Tom was enthralled with Spain and we soon talked about the idea of moving to Spain together after I retired.  We soon got into the rhythm of going to Spain every one or two years, and I was able to practice my Spanish during those trips.  In 2006 we actually spent two weeks in a Spanish academy in Madrid, each of us taking Spanish at our appropriate levels.  Tom and I went to other Spanish speaking countries including Argentina, Costa Rica and Peru.  I also took a couple of Spanish courses at USDA to help me at least maintain my Spanish.

At work, I met my friend Carol, who was also an avid Spanish speaker.  She also wanted to improve her Spanish.  So we took some classes together in the DC area, traveled to Buenos Aires together, we only spoke to each other in Spanish when we would see each other, and finally found a great Sevillian Spanish teacher who tutored us in Spanish for the last few years that I was in the U.S.

I would say that all of this helped me to maintain my Spanish and just slightly improve it.  But I don't think I was able to make any significant leaps forward in my Spanish.

The Last Six Months in Barcelona

I've been here for over 6 months and I'm definitely immersed.  Since the people of Barcelona speak both Spanish and Catalan, I don't get the constant reinforcement in Spanish that I would get if I were living in a city such as Madrid.  But I have no problem conversing with people here in Spanish once they know that I do not know Catalan.

I believe my fluency has improved and my vocabulary has expanded.  However, it seems like I am hitting a road block and need to be pushed to deepen and improve my Spanish.  My friend Xavi suggested that I apply to the Official Language School of Barcelona, a very good, and very inexpensive school, as a means to improve my Spanish speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.

EOI -  Escoles Oficials d’Idiomes: Bueno, Bonito y Barato

There is a saying in Spanish that is often used here in Barcelona that when it comes to products or food, it is best but rare to find something to be "Bueno, Bonito, y Barato" or "Good, Nice, and Inexpensive" (it sounds better in Spanish).  It seems like EOI is one of those things that fit this description.

Because of that, it can be difficult to get into the school if you're a new student.  They have a lottery after you take the language placement test and it's simply the luck of the draw if you're selected to be in a class.  Luckily I was selected.  The placement test was pretty tough.  I was placed in level 3 (intermediate - there are 5 levels).  Although I was happy to be selected, I was at first disappointed that I didn't get into a higher level.  I've gotten over that and I am very much looking forward to being in these classes.

Future Language Goals

Depending on my experience with this semester, I may continue with Spanish in the Spring.  I am also thinking about focusing on Catalan in the Fall.  We'll see how things unfold.