SPAIN-MADRID

 Before I came to Madrid, I thought a lot about how I would get on with the language abroad. Since I had already studied Spanish at school and felt I had a good level and knowledge of the language, I thought it would be quite easy for me to talk to people and have conversations here in Spanish. Unfortunately, when I came to Madrid, it did not turn out to be that easy. People here in Madrid speak very fast and often swallow a lot of words, so it's hard for foreigners to understand them. At the beginning, it was difficult for me to have a conversation with the Spanish people because I did not understand them. Also, most people don't speak English, which has been one of the biggest culture shocks for me since I've been here in Madrid. I thought in a cosmopolitan city, in the capital of Spain, with many tourists, people should know at least some basics. Neither in shops, supermarkets, in the bank, nor in the police or in the hospital is any English spoken. This really surprised me a lot, so I am glad to be able to speak a little Spanish. Since I did not get as far as I had hoped with my previous Spanish, I decided to take a Spanish course. I have two to three hours of Spanish lessons per week with a Spanish teacher and I can already see some progress. Since I have already learned the basics and grammar at school, I can practice having conversations and talking with my teacher. I'm already noticing how it's getting easier for me to speak Spanish with people in everyday situations and I can already hold deeper conversations. It also helps me to speak Spanish with my two flat mates. They are not Spanish, but French and English, although they have a pretty good level of Spanish. Together, we sometimes try to communicate in Spanish and watch Spanish series, which works well. When we don't speak Spanish together, we communicate in English. My level of English was already good before coming to Madrid. Nevertheless, I notice how it is still easier for me to have conversations in English without having to think too much and, above all, to have more in-depth conversations. Day by day, I learn more and more words and expressions and improve my English. I am happy to live with people who speak other languages, and therefore to be able to improve my English and Spanish. At university, I chose my courses in English, as Spanish would have been too advanced for me. I also thought that English courses would be challenging enough, as I had previously only had German courses in Liechtenstein. Before I came to Madrid, I was afraid that I would have difficulties with my courses in English, as there is a lot of technical vocabulary used at the university. But it has turned out to be the opposite. I find it easy to understand the material in English and I follow the lessons well. I can translate individual words that I don't understand. The only challenge for me is the English of the professors. Unfortunately, most professors speak poor English and have a strong Spanish accent. It is often difficult for us international students to understand the professors. For this reason, we always try to exchange information with each other about what we have learned and to clarify language barriers. In this way, we can help each other and understand the material well.

After my bachelor’s degree, I'm thinking about doing my master’s abroad and I'd also like to work abroad after my studies. For this, certain language levels are usually required. My semester abroad has already helped me to improve my language skills. In general, I can say that I have made a lot of progress in speaking English and Spanish during my semester abroad. I would like to continue using the time in Madrid to speak even more fluently and improve my language level.