Hello readers! We hope that you are doing fine and enjoying your time learning Spanish! Here in Valencia, where our Spanish lessons take place, we have lots of things to do and lots of local people interested in meeting foreigners to change a little bit their point of view and getting to know other people’s culture. Therefore, in today’s post we are going to talk about the things you can benefit from when making local friends in Valencia in your Spanish learning process. Let’s go!
What is clear is that none knows a city better than those people who live in it. Of course, not everyone knows a lot of history from every tourist attraction or famous spot, but they will know where to take you to have a nice paella or at least to those places that are not a tourist trap. This is a must when you are beginning to learn Spanish and you are not really confident speaking Spanish or even being in a city on your own. What is a plus, here in Valencia people speak another language, quite similar to Spanish, but in the end it is different. Having a Valencian friend could help you in case you do not understand something, or someone tries to speak to you in this language.
Actually, learning the Valencian culture is quite linked to learning Spanish. When you start learning the culture, you realise that the ways of life, traditions, habits and history will help you understand the context in which Spanish has been evolving and will make your learning process easier.
Moreover, here in Valencia, people are really close and familiar and if you meet someone and both of you get along, you will get to know lots of other local people. Therefore, you will have the opportunity to listen to local conversations and practice your Spanish listening and speaking skills. However, you could also benefit from this type of practise in our private Spanish lessons. This way you will get used to speaking about day-a-day matters.
Furthermore, some parts of the new language acquisition are learning vocabulary, idioms and grammar that are different depending on the Spanish speaking place you are. Sometimes, it can be difficult to understand what local people are trying to say as they might be using local words or, in Valencia, they could even use Valencian verbs, vocabulary or grammar. It is not such a big deal, but a local Valencian friend will lend you a hand in these situations and will give you a clear view of what these words mean.
Also, agreeing with your local friends that you want to be corrected when you say something wrong is a really good option to upgrade your Spanish level because you will know at that exact moment how to correct your failures.
As we have seen, meeting local people is vital to get the immersive experience when learning Spanish because learning a language is not only grammar, vocabulary and that type of things, but also the experiences you get as a consequence of enter a new culture and language. So, what are you waiting for? Come to our Spanish learning lessons in Valencia and meet locals to have a real Spanish experience!
Text: Alba Boví Felipe
Photo: Photo by Anna Tarazevich