Where to study Spanish in Spain?

[Villa]

Originally Posted by Santenello

Hello,


My girlfriend and I are looking to spend the next three months studying Spanish in Spain. We would like to be near the Mediterranean so Valencia looks good to us, but I also know they also have a different dialect.

We want to be in a place with many things going on since we will be there for three months. Any suggestions are much appreciated.


Thank you,
Peter

Hola Santenello. My sister's father-in-law is from Valencia. He is bi-lingual and speaks both standard Spanish and Valencian which is actually a dialect of Catalan. And of course Catalan is not a dialect of Spanish but actually a separate language. Realated to Spanish of course because it comes from Latin. The father-in-law tells and interesting story about when he first came to the U.S. he got a job in an Italian restaurant and was able to speak Italian or communicate with the Italian workers using his Catalan. The Italians said: "Look, a long lost cousin!"

[jazzalbert02]

There are several websites that provide you online courses and Spanish schools in Valencia. I do not recommend any website, you just find a reputable and authentic online website that can assist you learn the Spanish language.

[pjt33]

Missed this one the first time round, and it's too late to help the OP, but other people might find it through Google so I'll chip in a couple of comments.

Originally Posted by Santenello

Have you been to Valencia? Is it a good feel there with the people? Are they open to foreigners?

People in Valencia aren't very open, full stop. It's not just foreigners: I've heard the same thing from an Andaluz.

Originally Posted by carlosvilas

In Valencia and Catalonia there is a co-official language, Valenciano or Catalan, and it may confuse you a little bit.

This is true to an extent. In the city of Valencia there's quite a lot of written valencià, but it's fairly unusual to hear it spoken except at political events and set phrases at cultural events (Senyor pirotècnic, pot començar la mascletà).

[AdeSlater]

Hi,

I studied and worked in Malaga - pure Andalusian Spanish but with a lot less English speaking people of my age. Also by working I HAD to speak Spanish.

After a six week period I came back with enough Spanish to be able to have a reasonable conversation as long as it was in an area I knew about but that was OK for what I wanted (tourism).

[bilengua]

Try Pamplona. My friends went there in Summer of '13 and loved it.