SPAIN - BARCELONA

I only attend classes in English here in Barcelona. In Austria English has been taught as a subject since the lower level of secondary school, but I think to have daily conversations and generally to become more familiar with the English language you have to have lived in a country where you are forced to do so.

Before my semester abroad, I thought a lot about the English courses and was a bit afraid that I would have a hard time especially with the subject-specific English language. But surprisingly I can follow the lectures well. Of course, I have to look up some technical vocabulary, but nevertheless, everyday life at university works quite well. In the beginning it took some time to get into the language, but now it works very well. The one other challenge is when a lecturer has a strong foreign accent, even native English speakers have a hard time understanding them. But we students often talk after the lecture about the topic covered and thus find our way around it well and can follow the lecture well. This way you learn a lot of new vocabulary.

I also started reading English books and watching English series. This also helps me a lot to stay in the language and expand my vocabulary. And every time a new vocabulary comes up, I look it up and write it down in a notebook. I try to read through the new vocabulary more often so that I can remember it and expand my vocabulary. I will definitely continue this at home as well.

But what I have to say is that having small talk or long serious and deep conversations in English is again very different from university. It is sometimes difficult for me to express how I really think or feel. I would say for me it is harder to have a very deep conversation. For that, you have to have lived for a long time in a country where you speak English daily. But having normal conversations works quite well and I can communicate very well. We also speak English in our apartment because I live with girls, whose mother tongue is English. This also helps a lot to improve the English language and to get more used to it. Especially when you don't know a vocabulary word and you paraphrase it, and then they tell you what the word is, that helps you remembering the word. The same with grammar.

Especially here in Spain it is sometimes the case that they speak very little English  or not at all, especially in stores. It helps if you know a few Spanish words to order something. But that is not so difficult to learn.

I would say that the foreign language has improved a lot for me so far and I have learned a lot for the future and have been able to acquire useful knowledge. Especially in the economic field with the technical vocabulary. I think future English classes at my home university in Liechtenstein will be easier for me and I will be able to apply the knowledge I have learned here. As well as feeling more familiar with the language, it helps that I am no longer so nervous before a presentation and can speak more confidently. I cannot recommend doing a semester abroad enough to anyone who has the opportunity to do one. You learn a lot and take in a lot of knowledge for the future.