We were assigned to different classes – which we anticipated and appreciated since we learn in different ways and it would allow us to compare notes. Shana’s class is slightly more advanced than Jeff’s, but during the week we covered some similar vocabulary.
The morning class (9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.) is generally dedicated to grammar concepts; the afternoon class (11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.) focuses on vocabulary. Each session has a different teacher. The classes are conducted entirely in Spanish so we get 3 hours of Spanish only five days a week.
What we like so far are the interesting people in our classes. Shana is the oldest student in her class – most of her classmates are 21! And from Germany. They start teaching English to Germans in first grade now, thus the German students all speak English quite well, as do the other European students. Jeff’s class is a bit more diverse in age and background.
As native English speakers, Spanish can be tough for a few reasons: (1) nouns are either masculine or feminine, which of course we are not used to; (2) there are so many irregular verbs; (3) word placement is different, especially pronouns and adjectives; (4) Spaniards use the familiar form of address, which we really have not studied much; (5) there are many words used here that are different in Castilian Spanish from Mexican or South American Spanish. There is a lot to learn and remember!
Each week the classes will be rebalanced as students come and go from the school, so each week will be different. It is interesting to be back in a classroom environment at this age.
We haven’t started dreaming in Spanish yet, but Shana is dreaming about Spanish (homework)!
Sending our best,
Shana & Jeff
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