coralsoft

Nowhere near enough to be able to progress in the language, I'd say.

As someone interested in linguistics, communication and learning strategies, I decided to compare adult learning of Spanish with the development of my children's bilingual abilities.

For a child, adults go to extraordinary lengths to get them to understand: repetition (endless in the case of ours!), rephrasing, correction, changing tempo, accent - and volume!

For an adult, there's almost no effort made in most cases. Very little correction (I can think of one or two people on two or three occasions over several years), cursory repetition and little attempt at rephrasing. Forget it and move on. I got the impression that if an adult couldn't cope they weren't going to help out.

Maybe that's why the British did so well in their empire building. The natives got to learn English very quickly because they spoke to them slowly, loudly and repetitively until the natives got it.

Otherwise, welcome to Madrid. We're out in Aravaca to the north-west of Casa de Campo.

lynnxa

maybe they're different around here.............on the whole, the spanish are very helpful & patient & will endlessly repeat something, & even try a different way of explaining if you're stuck!

As a teacher of language, I am very aware that Katy will, at some stage, have to actually study the language to progress beyond what she needs at work, because obviously, as an adult, her learning abilities are different from those of a child. Children, as I'm sure you know, learn more by 'absorption' for want of a better word.

For now, though, I think Katy should build her confidence by just talking with the people she works with - and worry about 'study' later

marisol

Hi Betris
anyway in Madrid

katy mclaren

Where is Triskels bar in Malasana? How do you get there from Principie Pio? I am trying to build my social circle however it is proving to be a wee bit difficult with the shift that i work. Due to the fact the centre is open 7 days a week and i generally work most weekends!!!

katy mclaren

Do you know of any courses in the Mostoles / Arroyomolinos or in madrid? I definatley want to learn more and be able to communicate smoothly. It is very frustrating, and after the day that i have today i definatley need to learn more!!!!

betris

why I ask is that I used to go to madrid every week.coslada.or lots of the surrounding areas with the fish or gambas.or the Merca madrid or even the USAF base with the old camion.as you know we could not go into madrid.but I have had many a fantastic.(piss up ) time in madrid.good on you its a wonderfull place.trafics crazy but thats a different story.

Agnes

Hi Katy my Spanish teacher informed me that the best way to learn was to find a Spanish boyfriend. didn't go down very well with my husband. But as you are a swf go for it.

If yolu make it back down to Jerez would ove to meet up with you. I shall pm you my contact details

sicoboy

Hi Katy

My wife and i also just moved to Madrid. on the 11th of August from Kent.

We are both 28 and dont know anyone here yet either and are struggling with the language but still enjoying it.

Lets us know if you got any tips or know some cool places to go.

Simon

katy mclaren

I will let you know if i manage back down and we can meet up for a wee bit of tapas and and a few tinto veranos!!!

Well i am trying on the boyfriend front but at the moment with no success, but hey you never know wot is around the corner

katy mclaren

So wot do you both do then? Where abouts do you live in Madrid? Why have youo taken the plunge to move to Spain? Possibly in a couple of weeks i will be going out in town as my friend is over from Scotland, we could all meet up if you both fancy a night out. I will try and get some info from my management team to see where we should go. Will let you know l8r

katy mclaren

Do you still live in Madrid then?
I need to broaden my horizons cause at the moment the only people i know are the ones from work!!! not always the best solution for developing a new life.

sicoboy

Hi Katy
Well my wife is a teacher. she is going to be teaching science at one of the international schools starting in september. And i am a software engineer and will be working from home fof the same company i used to work for in the uk.
We live near las tablas metro station on north madrid.
We fancied living abroad for a while, then we got the oppurtunity and decided to go for it.
We are also in/out of town for the next couple of weeks but meeting up after that sounds like a good idea. We dont really know anyone in madrid yet either or many places to go out although we are exploring slowly.
Simon

coralsoft

Get the events magazines including the English one InMadrid, to see what's on. You'll meet like-minded people at events you're interested in. They are also a source of contacts for people looking for intercambio - cross-language chatting, basically, where you chat for a while in one language, then the other.

I think there's an intercambio group that meets on Tuesdays at Oneill's off Pza Sta Anna in the centre.

Possibly also worth looking at the language schools - English and Spanish, since they'll have people there interested in getting English experience and are a source of ideas for ways of getting experience, ie contact boards, events, etc.

betris

I never lived in madrid,I was there most week ends in a truck.

aragouzaridis

hi!

Not looking for any graduates to work in the Madrid store are you?

Alice