The role of listening skills in language acquisition in super important. That’s why in our Intensive Spanish courses we always dedicate some time to listening exercises.
When students come to Madrid they are exposed to different Spanish accents, since not everyone that lives in the capital is from here. In fact, it’s difficult to find so many gatos nowadays (Madrilenians- inhabitants of Madrid – that are third generation).
So one of the challenges in real life when visiting Spanish speaking countries is to get used to the way of speaking of people from the North, South, East and West of Spain. It’s surprising how different it can be! And remember that in Madrid we speak a very pure very proper Spanish!!
Intensive Spanish Listening Course: tips and keys
Another useful way to “train the ear” is to listen to music and watch Netflix with Spanish subtitles. Not only will you learn a lot of vocabulary, but you will also grasp the nuances in accents. Castillian is the official language of Spain, but there are also other widespread varieties: Catalan/Valencian, Galician, Basque and Aranese. And let’s not forget regional varieties you can hear such as Asturian/Leonese, Andalusian, Aragonese, Eonavian, Fala, Erromintxela, Extremaduran!
While listening to your teacher at Academia Contacto it’s also crucial to keep learning, like continue working at home watching TV or a movie, and listening to audio-only entertainment like music, radio or podcasts, but always in Spanish!.
Intensive Spanish Courses in Madrid are a good opportunity to be part of playful dynamics such as games, contests and role plays. There, you will speak with your colleagues in pairs, groups, or individually, and listen to what they have to say.
For example, a very interesting group exercise in a Spanish class is the Six Thinking Hats (for looking at a decision in different ways).
Occasionally (especially Fridays, to get into weekend mode!) we offer students the possibility to vote for their favorite songs in Spanish. We listen to them, do fill in the blanks exercises, and obviously, end up doing karaoke! The variety goes from Estopa’s classics from the 1990s, to the latest C Tangana or La Rosalía tune. Throughout the course we might dedicate some time to the cultural aspect of flamenco dance, guitar and singing. As you can see, there are infinite ways to learn grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and improving your listening skills!
