Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
Andalusian people have crazy ass accents and eat lots of letters, use strange phrases like "al carajo", "illo", and "pisha". Canarian people too, but they are very warm and easy going. Again nothing like staying in a private residence with lots of people to really learn good Spanish. I didn't mix with other ERASMUS students to concentrate and in hindsight a good balance may have been healthier because I arrived home really out of touch and missing Spain too much.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
I felt I was well prepared for university life as I had taken a four-month course of Spanish in Cadiz earlier the same year. I was therefore used to speaking to people in different situations and settings and besides that, Spaniards are very approachable and easy-going. Apart from practising Spanish at univerisity and with friends, I also learnt Italian and some French through the interaction with other foreigners.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations

Personal comments:
Before I went to Spain, I could speak well the language. Most peopöe are very happy when they hear some words of slang from you. Moreover, most of the natives are pretty open-minded and help you in case of language prblems. However, ypou have to be a very open- minded person, too. If not, it is difficult to have a good discussion with natives. Most of the contact will remain pretty superficial.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
My spanish was pretty good before coming to Spain, but now I'm almost fluent. I made a big effort to hang out with Spanish students and to live with Spanish people - it is too easy for your social life to centre in the international student circle, you have to make an effort...once I did I was received with open arms. Spanish people are very open.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
Living with a host family really forces you to learn the language in a hurry. Removing yourself from the comfort of fellow American students and getting out there and meeting natives was a big help with learnign the language. Becoming friends with the professors was not only helpful but lots of fun getting to know them.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
I took a spanish language course in the Centro de Lenguas Modernas which was a great help as i was put in a class with people of a similar level and we revised all the basics. The accent is quite strong down in Granada and can take some time to get used to it but the people are very friendly and patient which is very important.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
You learn spanish quickly because thats the language you are going to use. Learn it and you will love Granada. The accent of Granada is a little tricky to pick up, but by the end, you will love the nuances of it. Also, stay for longer than four months, then you can keep up with the language and be proficient while still there.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
It's a great opportunitie to loosen up your tongue in what comes to other languages. I, as the rest of the erasmus students, felt the need to speak the country's language in order to interact with the local people and cultures. It's feels great to be surrounded by a culture that is not our own.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
at the beginning you may find it hard to understand the andaluz accent...it sounds funny and sometimes totally different form the standard Spanish. But the locals are great and help you out in most situations. Mix with them and do not waste the chance to learn how the Andaluzes speak!

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
it was great. i met lots of spaniards throughout the year, which is how i acquired most of my language skills. granada is one of the most difficult places to learn spanish in because the people of that region speak with an accent that is quite different from the standard castilian accent

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
I had several years of Spanish instruction in the United States. However, I was not prepared for the accent, especially that of Andalucia. Within a few months, I was speaking very confidently. By the time I left, I was told several times: "You don't speak Spanish. You speak Andaluz!"

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
In Spain it is essential to speak the local language in order to "survive", both academically and socially. Luckily I had the advantage to speak fluently spanish before I arrived to Granada. I had studied both in Athens for a year and in Valencia in a summer school for two months.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
As spanish people like to talk, it was no problem at all to talk with them.Apart from the fact that the andalusians speak a pretty hard dialect I am able to understand the dialect after the exchange semester. Of course, I intend to speak the appropriate language.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
I lived in Spain before my Erasmus for couple months, so I handled well everyday situations, but my Spanish really improved especially thanks to all the readings and discussions we had on the University, but also because of the rich social life I had in my free time.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations

Personal comments:
I advanced incredibly doing the following: studying the language (as in language course), supplimenting with other litterature (ex.academic subjects), and socializing with the locals - it is hard work, but at the end it is all worth it :)

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: At ease in most situations

Personal comments:
I went to Spain with no confidence and limited language skills. I spent the first parts being unable to understand people/classes. I came away with a mountain of confidence, a decent accent, a lot more vocabulary and an ear for the language.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: At ease in most situations

Personal comments:
In classes its easier, but while taking a beer, people in andalucia talk faster then their shadow, and use losts of slang, so if you really want to perfectly be at ease with that, you have to live only with them. It's hard to catch.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
Gramatically, Spanish is quite an easy language to learn but the Andaluz accent is more difficult to understand because they cut off half of the words when they speak. Try to find someone from Granada and speak to them beforehand.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

Personal comments:
Gramatically, Spanish is quite an easy language to learn but the Andaluz accent is more difficult to understand because they cut off half of the words when they speak. Try to find someone from Granada and speak to them beforehand.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: At ease in most situations

Personal comments:
I knew very little spanish upon arrival in spain. within a month and a half I was speaking almost fluenlty. i also speack french and italian so it was not that difficult to pick up. i knew people however,who never learned anything